Raymond E. Feist’s Magician: Apprentice was published in 1982, and more than forty years later I think it teaches fantasy writers some lessons that modern books often forget. So today I want to look at what this novel gets right—and a couple things I think it gets wrong.
Magician: Apprentice follows Pug, a young orphan boy who becomes a magician’s apprentice, while an invasion threatens his homeland—a planet called Midkemia. It’s a classic coming-of-age epic fantasy with multiple POV characters and a surprisingly interesting blend of fantasy and science fiction.
I think writers can learn a lot from this book, because Feist does some things extremely well.
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Worldbuilding That Feels Familiar, Not Generic
One thing I really appreciated was that Midkemia feels familiar without feeling generic. Feist doesn’t overwhelm you with worldbuilding in the opening chapters. Instead, he introduces the world gradually through the characters. I think that’s something newer fantasy writers can learn from.
Omniscient Narration, Done Right
Something that I quite enjoyed, more than I thought I would, was the omniscient third person narrator. This is a style rarely used these days because it’s kind of hard to follow what’s going on or whose head the narrator is in at any given time. I listened to the audiobook, and it was indeed challenging to follow, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Writers are often told never to use omniscient narration anymore. This book reminded me that the real issue isn’t the point of view itself—it’s clarity. If readers always know whose perspective they’re experiencing, omniscient narration can absolutely still work.
Slow Pacing That Still Pulls You Forward
One thing writers should notice is pacing. This is an extremely slow novel. Whether you enjoy that will depend on your taste, but it does teach an important lesson: slow pacing only works if readers continue asking questions. I kept reading because I wanted to know what Pug would become, what the Rift really was, and where the invasion was leading.
Characters: A Huge Cast Done Right
Another area where Feist really shines is his characters, and there are plenty of lessons to learn.
This book has a gigantic cast of characters, and this cast gets larger and larger with each passing book. It sounds intimidating, but Feist does a fantastic job of getting you to care about each character because every character is distinct and different. I find it cool that with a cast of characters as large as this one, there don’t really seem to be any carbon copies of each other.
A huge lesson comes through the way Feist introduces his characters. Introducing characters at a slow pace is vital if you want your readers to remember who everyone is. If you came in guns blazing with ten different characters on the first page, it’s pretty likely that your reader will be overwhelmed with names. It’s essentially like an info dump on the first page, because names are information.
This story starts out with one character alone—Pug, alone on a beach—and then ever so slowly, more and more characters are brought into the story.
Let’s dive into the characters a little bit more and talk about what writers can learn from individual characters in Magician: Apprentice.
Pug: Characters Have to Earn Their Success
If you want people to suspend their disbelief for the sake of your story, then your characters need to earn every scrap of success they have. Nothing should be handed to them, and if it is handed to them, they should have failures that are directly related to their lack of experience. Pug is a great example of this. As the main character, he rises to unbelievable stations, and yet it feels like the natural progression, because Feist had laid the groundwork with hundreds of pages of failures and struggles.
Tomas: Distinct Doesn’t Mean Different Circumstances
Tomas is Pug’s best friend and quasi-brother. When Pug first comes to the dukedom of Crydee, Tomas’s family takes Pug in as if he were one of their own. They frequently get into trouble, as boys their age do.
What I think writers can learn from Tomas’s character is that it doesn’t take much to make characters different. Not every character needs to be from their own exotic place or be completely different in every way to feel distinct. Tomas and Pug grew up under the same circumstances and had similar experiences—and yet they are totally different characters. And despite that, they still share qualities: they are both loyal and brave, and both develop a noble air about themselves.
Martin Longbow: Save Some Backstory for Later
Martin Longbow, the huntmaster at Crydee, is another character that I think writers can learn from. He is introduced quite early in the story and plays a big role, yet he is shrouded in mystery. Raised by monks, he was brought to the castle at a young age and given a station there without trial. Not only that, he is the only human who can visit the elves as he pleases.
Writers should learn that they can save a character’s story and background in their back pocket. Hint at that background through character actions and thoughts, and then slowly peel back the onion to reveal who the character is. Don’t dump it all the moment a character is introduced.
Prose: A Different Kind of Rhythm
I think a vital lesson you should learn from every book is its prose. I really enjoyed the prose in Magician: Apprentice, and it honestly kind of reminded me of The Name of the Wind, because every word seemed well thought out. Patrick’s writing is more lyrical and often has a rhythm to it. Feist’s also has a rhythm, but it’s played on a different drum. His writing is very straightforward and drives the narrative forward in an extremely palatable way, with very intentional words.
Tropes: Blending the Familiar With Something New
It should be remembered that this book was originally published in 1982, a time when fantasy writers were writing in the shadow of grandpa Tolkien. I could see how tropes such as elves and dwarves would have gotten old even at the time, but I think Feist does a great job in this novel of blending foundational—sometimes overused—fantasy tropes with elements of science fiction, such as rifts, which are essentially wormholes. It made it very fun to read.
Where the Book Falls Short: Conflict Beyond Villains
There was one specific thing that took me out of the book that I think writers can learn from. Conflict doesn’t only come from villains. Sometimes conflict comes from suspicion, skepticism, or characters refusing to believe each other. I think the novel could have used a little more of that early on.
Check out my full review at the link below.
