A Book Review
Plot:
Magician: Apprentice follows the adventures of Pug, a thirteen year orphan boy, as he becomes a magicians apprentice. Pugs storyline is a long and drawn out coming of age story—it’s a bit of slow burn. As is the case in all coming of age stories, Pug struggles with what he wants, who he is, and most of all with the magic he is supposed to learn.
Though Pug is the main character and protagonist, the story includes many points of view in a third-person omniscient style that is rarely seen in today’s writings. One such viewpoint is that of Pug’s oldest friend Tomas. Tomas, an aspiring soldier, has a similar arc to that of his friend Pug—many of their challenges are the same, and yet unique to each of them as individual characters.
The story also includes viewpoints that focus on the fate of Crydee. When duke Borric conDoin, duke of Crydee, is put in charge of leading forces against an invading Tsurani army, he leaves his youngest son Arutha in charge of the dukedom. The fate of Crydee sits in his shoulders as castle Crydee is eventually besieged by the enemy.
Perhaps my favorite point of view comes at the end when you get to be inside the head of Tsurani strike-leader Kusumi of the Shinzawai clan. This brief intrusion into Kusumi’s head reveals much about the Tsurani people, and his personal respect for the battle leaders of castle Crydee.
Overall, the plot is really good but again it’s pretty slow. Part of the reason for the pacing is that the first book in the original trilogy was split into two separate novels—Magician: Apprentice being the first of the now two novels is slow and has a lot of build of for the events that follow in the second volume. Knowing this I provide a lot of grace for how slow this novel feels.
Setting:
There isn’t much to say about the setting as it’s set on an earth-like planet called Midkemia. I think the most interesting thing about the setting is that it’s an epic fantasy with elements of science fiction. The fact that the invading Tsurani people come through a rift that joins their space and time is a fun science fiction element, but you also get magic, elves, dwarves, and dragons. It’s really awesome.
Midkemia, though earth-like, is set in more of medieval monarchy—like most fantasy books.
Characters:
Kulgan is the magician who takes Pug on as an apprentice. Kulgan is a master magician of his art. He is a loyal servant to the Duke Borric of Crydee and serves him nobly for many years. Magicians in the world Midkemia aren’t well thought of. They are seen as a suspicious lot and are often blamed for things such as failed crops and famines. Kulgan as a magician has a deep love learning which is made very clear in the way he acts, and in his wisdom with the way he teaches Pug.
Martin Longbow is a mysterious character. He is the hunt master of Borric’s court. He was brought to Crydee as a young adolescent by Borric and became the hunt master years later. He is the only human able to come and go to Elvander—the home of the elves—as he pleases. This mysteriousness about who he is, and his special privileges raises suspicion about him among many. But he’s one of my favorite characters.
The duke and his family are noble not just in birth but how they act. They are duty bound to the kingdom as loyal subjects of King Rodric with a high sense of loyalty. This isn’t however the only noble features of the family. Borric, treats all his subjects incredibly well and his two sons Arutha, and Lyam take after their father in such matters. Princess Charlene is also young girl who develops affection for Pug when he saves her life. She is a young girl and fits the stereotypical adolescent female of her age.
I would be remiss if I didn’t talk more about Pug and Tomas. Pug is the main character of this first book and his story is again a coming of age story. He is the smallest boy his agein the keep and is often picked on, though he does enjoy some respite as he is good friends with Tomas. His arc is that of a teenager trying to balance his priorities, and figuring out what he actually wants. He is a noble character—though not by birth—and is often rewarded for his noble acts.
Tomas is Pug’s friend. He too is noble in that he is a loyal friend and loyal to his kingdom. He struggles with matters of infatuation with the elven queen, and having a friend that is suddenly a higher station than himself. His Arc is similar to Pug’s and yet different. I actually thought it made the story feel more reel because it felt like real people going through similar things but having different experiences.
My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed the story and thought it was incredibly well written. The prose in the story was reminiscent for me of name of the wind. From the beginning, every sentence seemed to flow with intentionality, purpose, and a rhyme that was pleasing to the ear. I found this especially true as I listened to the audiobook version. we all know how important the narrator is when it comes to audio books, and I thought Nicholas Guy Smith did a great job. This was the first book he’s narrated that I’ve listened to but I had no problems with it.
Though I really enjoyed the book, I did have a glaring problem with it. It seemed like everything for everybody was too easy. Everyone was too trusting, and there was no betrayal. The characters always seemed to have what they needed or just the right person would show up and provide them what they needed at the perfect time. This would have been fine but it happened so much that it started to take me out of the story. Though it was glaring, ultimately I did see this as a minor flaw and thought the story was great.
Published in1982, Raymond E. Feist was writing at a time when pretty much all fantasy authors were writing in the shadow of grandpa Tolkien. I thought this book was really cool because it was able to combine what I loved about Tolkiens writings, and introduce some pretty cool science fictions elements like rifts, which are essentially worm holes. It was a fun spin that I hadn’t really read before and I really enjoyed.
Overall, I give this 4.25 stars. It was a great read and I recommend it to all who enjoy slow burn epic fantasy stories.
