Second book of the series continues almost seamlessly from the first book. These books so far do not tend to have the needless details that some authors prefer.. The only thing i did not like about the book is that Sonya's friend Ceryni only has a brief appearance. Sonya first year as a novice is full of hardships and moments of total despair. This leaves plenty of room for the next book to explore. ( )

After the first book, this is where the story really hits a sprint, it is fast paced, totally consuming and one of the best fantasy novels i have read in a long time. Canavan is one of the best writers in the genre and this is a superb troligy and a fantastic book. ( )

Now the foundations have been laid, this is where the story really gets going. In this second offering from The Black Magician's Trilogy Sonea is taking her first steps in learning not only about magic, but also the prejudices she faces in being a magical slum dweller rather than a high-class house magician. Evil Regin, the class bully, is infuriating and given the chance I'd give him smack myself... if only.

In The Novice the reader also gets to read more about the forbidden Black Magic and the travels of Lord Dannyl, tasked with retracing Lord Akkarin's journey 10 years prior. The character development of Lord Akkarin is perfect, as the more the reader learns about him the harder it becomes to establish whether or not he is the story's bad guy. My judgement is reserved until The High Lord, of course. ( )

The second book in the Black Magician trilogy, The Novice is better than the first book, The Magician's Apprentice. I really enjoyed it. Readers Harry Potter would probably find this enjoyable. It's possibly a little bit more 'young adult' than many fantasy books on the market but no less enjoyable because of it, just slightly more simple a storyline and slightly less grand in scope. ( )

Now that Lord Fergun has been sent into exile, Sonea is starting her first year as Novice at the Magician's Guild University, under Lord Rothen's guardianship. She's eager to learn, but being a slum girl she knows it won't be easy to be accepted by, not to mention make friends with, her wealthier and nobler classmates from the Houses. However, she doesn’t understand the depth of their scorn yet. Regin is the ring leader in turning the no ices against Sonea, probably because he simply can't stand a mere slum girl outdoing him. He rallies the others and they gang up against her, bully her constantly, play pranks on her, repeatedly ambush her to exhaust her strength and destroy her notes. In other words, make her life hell.

In the meantime, Lord Dannyl has taken up his new role of Second Guild Ambassador to Elyne. After an adventurous sea voyage, and after sorting out some of his appointed duties in the capital Capia, he finally has some time to himself to investigate Akkarin's journeys. Indeed, Administrator Lorlen, who suspects the High Lord of performing black magic, which is forbidden by the Guild's laws, has asked the young magician to retrace Akkarin's footsteps, ten years earlier. In this journey, Dannyl meets Tayend, a scholar who works at the Great Library and has an amazing memory. The handsome lad will aid him in research and they'll become close friends. In fact, the gay subplot involving Dannyl and Tayend was the only disappointing part of this book. It is a distraction that doesn’t add anything to the overall story.
This middle novel is very exciting, I just couldn't put it down. All the great characters from the first volume are back, with the exception of Cery, whom we almost hear nothing of. Replacing Fergun, Regin is suitably despicable and irritating, and you can really feel Sonea's frustration when she can't find proof enough to expose him. The High Lord, although first depicted as the ultimate invincible villain, becomes more three-dimensional throughout the book. I'm looking forward to reading the third instalment – I suspect there is far more to Akkarin than what we are being shown here.
This is a good follow up to the first book in the series. Also, as the middle book in a trilogy, it has a suprisingly satisfactory end, with just enough plot hooks to keep the reader interested without being too much of a cliffhanger. ( )