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The Misfit Apprentice
Her training terminated because of her failure to control her magic, fifteen-year-old Maria joins a mute boy, Tristan, on a quest, into the land of their enemies, for the lost magic scrolls. By the author of Clan of the Shape-Changers.
- GenresFantasy
183 pages, Hardcover
First published March 22, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 30, 2017
This book has a special place in my heart. My grandma gave me a copy of this book, and I read it throughout school and it was the 1st book that I was magnetized towards. It's a wonderful story of self-esteem and power in spite of the odds.
February 27, 2021
Great book! Rediscovered it through Reddit's What's That Book.
Read this as a youngun and could not remember the title, only that it had apprentice.
Read this as a youngun and could not remember the title, only that it had apprentice.
October 29, 2014
This book actually ties in somewhat with Clan of the Shapechangers, but it's more of a companion book than a pre/sequel. Maria was studying to be a magician, but got kicked out to live on her own when her master was called away and her own talent wasn't up to snuff. She hooks up with Tristan, a mute young man, and sets out on a journey with him to gain the knowledge to free the mage who cared for Tristan as he grew up.
Tristan was easily my favorite character. Mute, he's forced to use sign language to communicate. More often than not, he just does things his own way. He has some power, but it doesn't work all the time, and he doesn't know what he's doing to use it, since magic is supposed to only work if it's spoken.
Personally, I thought Clan of the Shapechangers was a lot better than this. This book put a heavy emphasis on Maria's journey to become a full magician, but I agreed with her when she said she was mostly useless. She only contributed when she was acting as Tristan's voice. The whole concept of learning to take hold of the power she already had was reiterated so many times I wondered if a tattoo would help her remember it, since talking about it obviously wasn't working. By the end, they really haven't discovered that much about the nature of magic, and it seemed to be advocating the fulfillment of her random daydreams.
I might pick this one up just to have the set once I get Clan of the Shapechangers, but on its own this was a pretty drab book. It wasn't bad so much as boring. Neutral.
Tristan was easily my favorite character. Mute, he's forced to use sign language to communicate. More often than not, he just does things his own way. He has some power, but it doesn't work all the time, and he doesn't know what he's doing to use it, since magic is supposed to only work if it's spoken.
Personally, I thought Clan of the Shapechangers was a lot better than this. This book put a heavy emphasis on Maria's journey to become a full magician, but I agreed with her when she said she was mostly useless. She only contributed when she was acting as Tristan's voice. The whole concept of learning to take hold of the power she already had was reiterated so many times I wondered if a tattoo would help her remember it, since talking about it obviously wasn't working. By the end, they really haven't discovered that much about the nature of magic, and it seemed to be advocating the fulfillment of her random daydreams.
I might pick this one up just to have the set once I get Clan of the Shapechangers, but on its own this was a pretty drab book. It wasn't bad so much as boring. Neutral.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews