But I’m hopeful about the second half of Magician.
#Raymond e feist book reading order series
I will admit that although I enjoyed reading Magician: Apprentice, my motivation to continue with the series isn’t too positive. I mean, the two main characters weren’t even featured in the last few chapters. “Father used to say that, among man’s strange undertakings, war stood clearly forth as the strangest.”Īs I said, the book did end in a bit of an unsatisfying manner. Speaking of Tolkien-Elves and Dwarves aside-there was an obvious ode to Moria which I enjoyed reading. At the very least, the writing certainly felt more modern than Tolkien’s. There were several moments where the narration shifts to an omnisicient narration, which I didn’t like, but they’re not too noticeable. However, for a book published 39 years ago, I’m pleasantly surprised by how relatively “modern” the writing felt. Similar to many fantasy novels in the 80’s or older, I have a lot of issues with the way the action scenes are written many scenes in the book felt overwritten, and the war scenes actually dragged the pacing of the book for me. For example, the progression of each chapter never felt seamless chapters felt like a series of connecting short stories combined into a novel. Now, don’t get me wrong, the writing still felt outdated at times, and it’s very clear from the prose that this is written pre the year 1990. That’s what I do appreciate so much about Feist’s writing style. The issues I often have with classic fantasy are not the tropes or familiarity, but the way it’s written. I, as a reader, love classic fantasy TOLD with a modern narrative/voice. “Some love comes like the wind off the sea, while others grow slowly from the seeds of friendship and kindness.”įrom stories, tropes, and execution, Magician: Apprentice is without a doubt a classic fantasy. In general, I think Feist is good at portraying genuine friendship.
#Raymond e feist book reading order plus
It’s a huge plus to me that none of the characters ever felt infuriating, and the friendship between the two main characters-Pug and Tomas-was definitely my favorite points of the book. Magician: Apprentice introduced us to the characters, the world, and the premise of the series. But having it divided into two parts gave me the right moment to stop and take a break before continuing with the second half of the series: Magician: Master. I know that many fans of the series really loved the fact that The Magician is being rereleased as a single book. This is just my personal feeling, of course. Second, and most importantly for me, The Magician as a single book felt too long for its own good. First of all, The Magician as a single book is as big as Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon combined. Although it’s true that Magician: Apprentice ended in an awkward scene, I totally understand why Magician was divided into two books.
Now, I realize that Magician: Apprentice is the first half of a single big book named The Magician. And still wiser to know when it is unachievable, for then striving is folly.’”
“’Tis a wise thing to know what is wanted, and wiser still to know when ‘tis achieved. Is this applicable to Magician: Apprentice? Yes and no. I tend to find either the writing being outdated or the story being too clichéd already by now. The reason for my reluctance in reading Riftwar Saga is that I don’t often gel well with fantasy books written pre 1990. Honestly speaking, though, I don’t have nostalgia goggles for this series, and the main reason why I wanted to read Riftwar Saga was so that I can dive into Riftwar: Empire trilogy without missing any necessary details. And that’s always a good thing in my book. Feist it is one of the series that I know has sparked a lot of reader’s passion for reading fantasy. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Riftwar Saga and Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Magician: Apprentice is a familiar and enjoyable start to a beloved classic fantasy series. Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Classic Fantasy Series: The Riftwar Saga (Book #1 of 3 or 4), The Riftwar Cycle (Book #1 of 31) I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: