Magician: Apprentice (Riftwar Saga)

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It's a hit!

Though my origins in fantasy are in Tolkien's world and I ultimately give title of "greatest fantasy author ever" to him, Feist's world is where my... (show more)

Though my origins in fantasy are in Tolkien's world and I ultimately give title of "greatest fantasy author ever" to him, Feist's world is where my heart dwells among published authors. From the time I first toyed in Midkemia (in the PC game Betrayal at Krondor with a childhood friend with whom I also shared the books), I've never really been able to shake the writing style and any time I write anything of my own, I find my own style floating back to a style akin to Feist's. There's just something completely gripping about his characters that stays with you...and this is where it all begins. (show less)

 

 

by Facebook User

No, it's a flop!

Un classique tout de même.... mais on a fait bien mieux par le suite. Se laisse lire avec plaisir tout de même

 

 

by Brigitte Degruffy

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  Whatever the critical blurbs say, Feist is no Tolkein. The story he has created here is very straightforward: the protagonists discover that humanoids from another plane are preparing to invade their own, spread the word, rally the troops, and participate in a few battles themselves. There's really little more to it than that; certainly no big twists or surprises. Nonetheless, it makes for fairly enjoyable reading, at least toward the beginning and the end. The middle half of the book, ho... (show more)

  Whatever the critical blurbs say, Feist is no Tolkein. The story he has created here is very straightforward: the protagonists discover that humanoids from another plane are preparing to invade their own, spread the word, rally the troops, and participate in a few battles themselves. There's really little more to it than that; certainly no big twists or surprises. Nonetheless, it makes for fairly enjoyable reading, at least toward the beginning and the end. The middle half of the book, however, consists mainly of the protagonists traveling from city to city in order to convince various nobles that there's war on the horizon, and for that section, the story drags out and gets bogged down in politics.

  Pug, Feist's titular protagonist, isn't a particularly memorable character. Apart from having an unfortunate name, he's practically an existentialist anti-hero, and as such, doesn't get much opportunity to show any personality. A few of the other characters are more well-developed, but still not quite memorable. At the other extreme is the Princess Carline, whose wildly inconsistent personality makes her love interest with Pug feel rather awkward.

  Magician: Apprentice does have its moments, but overall, it's not terribly good. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Sep 02, 2009 at 09:17AM

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  A very fast read; focuses more on plot than characters. The characters are not ones that you immedietely fall in love with. I maintain the same criticism I have for the Eragon series; great plot but flat characters. However, Feist is a much better writer then Paolini. I also started to really like Tomas when he started to get all psycho-warrior like. The last 100 pages are very well done and I didn't put it down until I finished. Even though I prefer books that have more character devel... (show more)

  A very fast read; focuses more on plot than characters. The characters are not ones that you immedietely fall in love with. I maintain the same criticism I have for the Eragon series; great plot but flat characters. However, Feist is a much better writer then Paolini. I also started to really like Tomas when he started to get all psycho-warrior like. The last 100 pages are very well done and I didn't put it down until I finished. Even though I prefer books that have more character development, the plot and writing are good enough that I want to finish the series. (show less)

   

  by Danny Bennett on Aug 07, 2009 at 06:26PM

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