Magician

by Raymond E. Feist

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy

Paperback

About the author

Raymond E. Feist was born Raymond E. Gonzales III, but took his adoptive step-father's surname when his mother remarried Felix E. Feist. He graduated with a B.A. in Communication Arts with Honors in 1977 from the University of California at San Diego. During that year Feist had some ideas for a novel about a boy who would be a magician. He wrote the novel two years later, and it was published in 1982 by Doubleday. Feist currently lives in San Diego with his children, where he collects fine wine, DVDs, and books on a variety of topics of personal interest: wine, biographies, history, and, especially, the history of American Professional Football.

Reviews

[Slothski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a good epic fantasy read and decided to start the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. Magician is the first book in the trilogy and started off strong. I was easily pulled into the fantasy world he creates and the main character of Pug. However, some of the characters felt a bit weak and could of done with some more development. In particular his teacher Kulgan and potential love interest Carline. As with a lot of fantasy books this one also suffers from a lack of female characters. They seem to be resigned to be wives or only talking about their romantic relationships. Given that it was written in the 80s it isn't surprising but it does get somewhat tiring when it is always male leads that get to go on adventures and have the magical powers. The book jumps forward in time and I definitely got lost a bit with who was doing what, where and with who. By this point Pug is now in a different world and the war has been raging on for years. It eventually picked up again near the end when the various storylines began to merge back together but at over 650 pages it did feel like a long read. I am hoping that the second book is more refined with a clearer plot and better character development. But for a reader of fantasy I would still recommend it.

[Nicky · Rating 1 out of 5]

was not a fan of it

[Meikoningin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear FBs, stay safe and read books! I decided to pick up some fantasy for a change. Therefore the pick of the day is:

Magician: Apprentice (The Riftwar Saga #1) by Raymond E. Feist


There is a forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles. There the orphan Pug comes to study with the master magician Kulgan. His courage won him a place at court and the heart of a lovely Princess. This strange new magic he is discovering may save two worlds from dark beings who opened spacetime to renew the age-old battle between Order and Chaos. This book has been on my to-read-list for about thirty years, ever since my then-boyfriend read the series and loved it. Recently I was looking for an epic fantasy read and decided to start the Riftwar Saga, late to the party, again, or was I? Magician is the first book in a trilogy. It started off strong: I was pulled into the fantasy world the author created even though this book suffers from a lack of female characters. Feist is obviously a good writer and he has created an interesting world. The problem is that I am not really interested in fictional worlds with too many characters and too many places, I just get lost. Besides that, this book is about a war lasting ten years with an invading force from another dimension: I am perfectly fine with just one dimension. Also I am not interested in books about a battle over land which is taking the whole book. I prefer my fantasy the way Tolkien did it: a middle ages type of fantasy, if you get my drift. I know this is an awesome read for many it just was not for me. 2,5 out of 5,0 for this one.