The Nameless Planet - Book Reviews

Magician: Apprentice - Raymond E. Feist

I was facinated by the first few chapters. I don't know, I just love stories that start off with a young nobody who becomes a hero by being in the right place at the right time. This is a story of a young lad named Pug who is apprenticed to become a Magician. Pug has talent, but he cannot learn to wield it from a teacher. Instead he must learn at his own pace, because the magic Pug uses is of a different, more powerful kind. The first part of this book is great. We see young Pug and his friend Tomas, grow up and become apprentices (Tomas is apprenticed to be a swordmaster). Then, suddenly, we get the typical childish romance between Pug and the young Princess. Ack! The worst kind, reminiscent of Robert Jordan. Once out of that mire, we get to the main plot. There is a rift between two dimensions where soldiers of a different race are coming through. With this pending invasion, the Duke of Crydee must petition the King to gather an army before it is too late. This book is a pleasant mixture of action and political intrigue. The scene where the Duke's party must flee Dark Elves while journeying to the King is really cool. I felt like I was there, riding away in a panic on horseback. However, the book suffers by spending too much time on the journey itself. I was more looking forward to seeing the King and amassing a giant army to battle the evil Tsurani forces. Instead, we get this nonsense about the Duke going from place to place, warning the rest of the Kingdom. I understand it's necessary, but it was a bit drawn out. Then we get to the battle where the evil invaders try and overtake Crydee. Very well written and action packed, not overly complicated. The only problem I had with the novel was Mr. Feist's use of time. For instance, within a chapter we span a week, then 2 years? It's slightly annoying, but it doesn't take away from the feel of the whole book. Overall a very good read, but I can only recommend it to those who don't take Fantasy too seriously. Rating: **** (Added 1999.06.30)

Magician: Master - Raymond E. Feist

When Raymond Feist first wrote the story of Magician, it was originally one book. He came back to it in 1992, made a few changes and split the book up into two volumes: Apprentice and Master, and labelling them "Author's Preferred Edition". I have to admit, I kind of groaned when I saw this and dismissed it as another author trying to squeeze a few more bucks out of one of his books. I was happily proven wrong. This volume in the duology of Magician is written a lot better than the first, to me. I was whisked away to the worlds of Midkemia and Kelewan, and unlike other fantasy authors, Feist doesn't spend too much time on describing the surroundings and focuses on advancing the plot. I was deeply involved in the story, and those who think Feist is a Tolkien rip-off, think again. Firstly, Tolkien is only the master because he was the FIRST. Of course every fantasy book written after the great JRRT will seem like a rip-off. Now that that is cleared up, the characters actually matured since the last volume, which is nice to see after reading Jordan and his permanently child-like characters. You see Pug fully develop his powers, and turn into a formidable wizard of immense strength. The book also describes the culture of the Tsurani (the book primarily takes place in the land of Kelewan) and you learn to sympathize with their race, even though they are portrayed as the antagonists in Apprentice. To say any more will ruin the surprises throughout the book. I will gladly continue reading The Riftwar Saga. I even upgraded Apprentice to a recommended book. Although it can be a bit light and fluffy at times, Magician: Master was a lot of fun to read. Rating: **** 1/2 (Added 1999.09.14)