I liked this book overall but was slightly disappointed by it. It could have been a lot better I think and some of what happened in the book just didn't make sense and at times bored me. I loved the first half of the book and struggled through the second half. ( )

This was a fun book. I've got quite a few Feist sitting on my shelf mostly because it felt right. I always felt Raymond Feist seemed to rank up their with the greats of epic quest Fantasy with the likes of Weis and Hickman, Brooks and Jordan in terms of pure enjoyment but I since I had never read him, I didn't have any proof. Well now I do, at least from this first volume, I can say I enjoyed this as much as any of the other epics.

Here we have the typical rise from obscurity and poverty to power in the kingdom mostly through circumstance and the awakening of a hidden and misunderstood power, fighting against an evil and vicious foe. This is just the beginning volume of the Riftwar saga, in fact it's the first half of the first volume as it was split for publishing in the US, but if this book is any indication of the rest of the trilogy then I have something to look forward to.

On the downside; this is not deep, the twists and turns so far you can see from a mile away, and you can see some of the newness that comes with being the first work of an author (this is a strength as much as a weakness).

I'm already moved on to book two (or book 1b if you will) and am looking forward to the journey. ( )

One of the top fantasy novels. In typical fashion, it mainly concerns 2 young boys who live in a castle on the frontier of the Kingdom. When the Kingdom comes under attack, the two boys, previously unremarkable, both end up becoming heroes in very different ways. The main characters, Pug and Thomas are remarkable, but so are the other supporting characters - Arutha, Martin, Amos Trask, and many others. The start of a very long series, but it gets off to a very good start. One important thing to remember is that this was written long before the Wheel of Time, before Game of Thrones, before Sword of Truth - before most of the huge modern fantasy epic series. ( )

The first 7 books are excellent (Magicians, Empires & such) & well worth reading. The story paled for me with the next 5 & I never bothered to read any of the Kondor series. Feist is an excellent writer, just the world got old for me. If you like fantasy novels, you really have to read the first 7 though. ( )

Pug is an ordinary kitchen boy, an orphan in the kingdom of Crydee, the western-most duchy of Midkemia. He and his best friend, Tomas, await the day they will be selected for an apprenticeship, marking their ascent into adulthood. Tomas is chosen to apprentice as a soldier, while Pug, to everyone's surprise, is chosen to apprentice the magician, Kulgan. Pug has a boyhood crush on the Princess Carline, but soon finds her to be snobbish and willful. After rescuing her one day from trolls, he finds himself awarded a title and land, eating meals with the Duc and his family, a peer of the realm and an object of fascination for the princess. When a mysterious ship crashes upon their shores, Pug and the others realize they are on the brink of invasion by an alien nation from another world, the Tsurani, a warlike people driven by powerful magicians. The Duc of Crydee sets out for the far East in the hopes of warning the king, taking both Pug and Tomas with him. Along the way the boys get separated, Pug continuing on with the duc and Tomas wintering in the mountains with the dwarves - during this time both boys begin to discover their destinies. The story ends on a cliffhanger, with Pug being captured by the Tsurani and taken to their world.

Feist's style of writing is a bit different from what I am used to reading. It seems to lack a certain depth and emotion, almost as if he is just skimming the surface of description - like a man lacking imagination (not trying to sound sexist). The magic that is alluded to is mentioned only briefly and then shunted aside with no real development. It is a quick read, though, and once I got used to the writing I enjoyed the book enough to make me want to read the sequels. ( )

A good story, and a good premise (albeit one overused), but I found the characters lacking a certain depth -- everyone came off as shallow or static to me. ( )

I just couldn't stand this book. There was about %2 original material. So glad to finish, and get it out of my head. ( )

The First Church of Tolkienism welcomes you. Today's sermon will deviate a little slightly from our current coverage over the validity of "The Hunt for Gollum" and what Tolkienologists have to say about it.

Today, we're visiting the more apocryphal passages of the Legendarium, those believed to be penned not by Tolkien the Greater (or even Tolkien the Lesser), but instead by the Prophet Feist.

Feist, for those of you not familiar with the lesser prophets, stands apart from the others, such as Terrance of Brooks, First and Second Eddings, and Stephen The Son of Donald, as his epistle is not, as with the others, at times easily confused with works penned by Tolkien.

He is, in fact, considered the least of the tolkienoid prophets, minimally retelling the tales we all know and love from the Legendarium.

In his epistle, The First Book of Magician: Apprentice, he tells a tale that crosses some controversial lines with many experts. The tales of the Legendarium do not condone cross-dimensional traveling. Such tales dwell too close to the teachings of the Moorcockadans.

Nevertheless, this epistle tells the tale of a lowly boy named Pug, who is apprenticed to a magician, and who is rather indifferent to such a vocation. Shortly after the discovery of of a strange rift in the universal fabric, allowing soldiers from a strange new world to march on their land, the people of the land attempt to retaliate. However, it is not an our world versus their world, as the treachery of the dark elves waylays their plans, yet the boon of the dwarfs give succor. A nation at war with itself and with another world gives rise to many facets of drama.

On the whole, scholars believe this work to be greatly inspired by Tolkien, but not to the point in which it would be considered too similar. Such writings may appeal to those who find works considered "Fantastic" to be of value, but may fall short of the expectations of devout Tolkienians and their families.

May the light of the silmaril constantly light your paths. ( )

Pug and Tomas are growing up on the far end of a vast kingdom. Pug is taken in to be an apprentice to the castle magician while Tomas trains to be a soldier. The two boys stumble upon trouble of the highest degree while investigating a strange ship that runs ashore in a storm. The ship is odd, but is it really, as the magician Kulgan thinks, from another world?

Embark into high fantasy at its best. Meet dragons, elves, dwarves, magic, princesses, kings, princes, and pirates. This book is packed full of action and intrigue. It has a lot of pages but it's not long; it's EPIC!

This book is the first in a series. One book immediately follows it and two others feature many of the same characters and have their roots in the plot of this book. Check for the words "Author's Preferred Edition" on the cover. A few scenes were added back in after the first two books proved to be successful - the extra scenes add mostly worldbuilding and background that make "Silverthorn" and "A Darkness at Sethanon" make more sense. ( )

I read this book back in middle school, and decided to reread it recently to see if i would still like it.I think its still pretty good, maybe not as cool as it was back then, but my taste in reads have shifted a bit in the last decade. ( )

This is the reworked version of Magician, although its split into two books and there is some content that was dropped as part of the editing process for the original version. This version was developed for the tenth anniversary of the original publication. I read the original version as a kid and was so proud of myself when it finished it -- it was by far the longest book I had ever read at the time.

I've seen people online complain that this book is just a big ball of cliche. There are dwarves, wizards with funny hats, elves, and so on. But there are also new ideas here, such as alien invaders in a fantasy novel and so on. Overall I think the cliches don't get in the way and are largely used a sort of short hand... Feist doesn't need to explain what a dwarf is, so he can skip that bit and get on with telling the story.

After rereading this as an adult, I still really like this book.

http://www.stillhq.com/book/Raymond_E... ( )

http://eska-rina.livejournal.com/4948... ( )

A great book set in a medieval style society. A boy caught between two worlds warring and learning magic from both. I can't recommend this book enough! ( )

Summary: Pug is a thirteen-year-old orphan kitchen boy when circumstances find him apprenticed to Kulgan, the magician advisor to the Duke of Crydee. Pug struggles with his studies, but there are indications that he may have magical power beyond reckoning. And chances are, he'll need it, since his country is being invaded - not by enemies across the sea, but by aliens from another universe, pouring into his country through a rift in the fabric of space-time and bent on conquest.

Review: I am having a hard time understanding how this series frequently gets referred to as one of the great epic fantasy series, how it gets held up along side George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Robert Jordan's A Wheel of Time novels as though it was their equal. Because it's not... really, really not. For the most part, this book did tell a pretty exciting story, although the focus shifts about 2/3s of the way through from Pug's adventures to much more military-focused action with some peripheral characters. But a good story is not enough to save it from wooden and dimensionless characters, some unbelievable dialogue, and writing that ranges from serviceable but bland to stilted and awkwardly phrased, to sounding painfully like it was written by a junior-highschooler. For example: "The elves lived apart from the society of men, and their ways were thought strange and magical." That's not particularly egregious on its own, but the thing is: the whole book's like that. I'll probably pull the next book in the series off the shelf at some point, but only because this one leaves things remarkably unfinished - Pug's story is dropped 200 pages before the end and never returned to, and I'd like to know what happened to him - but unless the writing style matures, and sharpish, I have the feeling it's going to be somewhat of a trial to read. 2 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: There's other epic fantasy out there that's so much more complex, more mature, and better written. If you've really exhausted everything else out there, I'd think twice about re-reading some of it before starting this one. ( )

The sword-and-sorcery equivalent of comfort food or Tolkien-lite, depending how you look at it. The main characters are all pleasant enough though none are particularly interesting. Interesting sci-fi idea of interplanetary war via dimensional travel is a nice touch, but overall a bland work. Perhaps some of the most cringe-inducing romantic interludes I've read in a while. Comparable to Dragonlance novels. ( )

After waiting 10 years to read this book again, I have to say that it ages very well. The book does contain quite a few fantasy book stereotypes that are quite obvious. The characters Pug and Tomas are prime examples where one is a meek boy who trains to be a magician and the other is a boisterous lad who all the ladies love. However the author provides very interesting twists in the development of the characters and he is not afraid to place them in danger. The action in the book is expertly written and the battles are breathtakingly choreographed. The author sucessfully provides the reader with a real feeling of how large the battles really are. Perhaps, the biggest surprise of the book is the multiple times that I found myself borderline laughing or smiling due to the events in the book. It is a rare event when a book can near bring me to laughter. The book is not without it’s pitfalls though, most of which is the ending of the book. The author ends the book without any sort of cliffhanger or any sort of hint as to what is happening with the lead characters Pug and Tomas. Overall, the book is a greatly written fantasy novel that both sticks to the tried and true fantasy mold and breaks from the mold at the same time.

Check out the full review below.
http://www.thefantasyreview.com/2007/... ( )

This first book in a series follows a young boy as he develops into a man--and into a powerful magician. Pug grew up in the idyllic town of Crydee, in a medieval atmosphere of dukes and kings and swords. He is apprenticed to the local magician, and in later events becomes involved in the political infighting of the time while on a trip to visit the king. Pug is also there when a "rift" is discovered--a rift that turns out to be the portal to another world.
This tome is full of lots of great suspense and adventure, the political manuverings parrallel the best intrigues of history. Pug is an intriguing character as he grows and develops under trying circumstances. He seems a bit heartless at times, but when you consider the circumstances he was forced into there are reasons for his actions. This is a great series to get into for fans of swashbuckling fantasy adventures, but it is quite lengthy and occasionally I felt bogged down in the story. ( )

Not the best, not the worst. I have to get through the first one to read the rest of the series, which I am told is excellent. I have to have the background before I go on. ( )

As young Pug struggles as an apprentice magician to perform even the most basic spell, becomes acquainted with life at court, and deals with rivalry over the heart of a princess, his life at Crydee is unexpectedly interrupted. Strange warriors are beginning to appear seemingly out of nowhere, disrupting humans, dwarves, and elves alike. Pug follows Kulgan, his master, and Duke Borric of Crydee as they search for answers and possibly prepare for war.

For the most part, I enjoyed this first book in the Riftwar series. The author is not so much focused on Pug's learning of magic as he is with the forming of his character and with the greater events that are overcoming the realm. Point of view switches back and forth between characters yet seems to flow together well. True, there were times when I thought the dialogue was a bit stilted and it took me awhile to get used to the title character's name, but overall it is an enjoyable novel. The ending deliberately leaves many things unresolved and will have readers eagerly grabbing the next book in the series. ( )

This is the beginning of a great epic. We meet the boy Pug growing up in the Dutchy of Crydee. Things turn strange when a very unusual foreign ship crashed into the beach during a storm. It disappeared under the waves after Pug and Tomas rummaged and found a couple little clues as to the origin and intentions of the ships crew. The intentions were not benevolent to the citizens of the Kingdom. ( )

I read this book when i was 14 and i loved it. Then. I re-read it several years later, and didn't care for it nearly as much. This book and its direct sequal, Magician: Master, are the only two of R.E. Feist's books i can stomach. Most of them read like somebody's roleplay session transcribed. ( )

http://otter.covblogs.com/archives/01... ( )

I was disturbed to find myself in a reading rut last week- nothing I picked up seemed to appeal to me, even though I *knew* they were all supposed to be very good books, mostly recommended by people whose opinions mirror mine. I finally picked up Raymond Feist's "Magician: Apprentice" because it looked fairly short and like it would be a quick read.

And it *was* a quick read, but mainly because I sat and downed it almost in one go! What a story! It amazes me sometimes how such wonderful books can sit quite calmly on your shelf, waiting for you to be ready to read them. And then you open them and you can't for the life of you understand why you couldn't *tell* that it was one of those books. In my opinion, Feist's first of the Riftwar books is just such a book.

Certainly, there are echoes of Tolkein here, with elves and the dwarves (and even the evil lurking in the deepest of dwarf mines) and all creatures needing to unite to fight an epic battle. But Feist certainly holds his own in the fantasy world.

His main characters develop into complex people by the end of the book (and, being 100 pages into the next book, I can say very easily that they develop even MORE in the next one), as do several of the secondary characters. The plot does not develop so much in this first book- there are many loose ends left and I finished it not *quite* knowing what the nature of the war was, or exactly what was going on. But that is, I think, part of what epic fantasy is about- there is a whole series of books written about this Riftwar, and it would be silly for Feist to give away the whole bag in the first book. Rather, his method is to deliver a little bit at a time, and give the reader time to mull over the presented facts before giving us something else to chew on.

I strongly suggest having "Magician: Master" easily accessible to you after finishing Apprentice because it is almost impossible to not move immediately onto the next book- I have a feeling that was probably the publisher's reason for splitting the story in two at that point. Even though the ending is abrupt, and not many plots are resolved by the end, I think Apprentice is a GREAT start to the Riftwar series, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy. ( )