Magician: Master (Riftwar Saga, Book 2) by Raymond E. Feist
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.97 You Save: $4.02 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Magician: Master (Riftwar Saga, Book 2)
Book Review: An Excellent Book . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
Magician: Master is the absolute most outstanding book I have ever read, second only to Magician: Apprentice, the prequel to Magician: Master. If I had my way, I would rate this book a six out of five stars. In Magician: Apprentice, the orphan boy known as Pug trains under the master magician, Kulgan. As fate would have it, he also rescues the Duke of Crydee's Princess, Carline, and obtains the rank of Squire. With his newly found position, Pug quickly makes a name for himself, though he still tends to play with his lifelong friend, Tomas. When an alien vessel crash lands on the jagged cliffs known as Sailor's Grief, Pug and Tomas investigate the wreckage. After several tense meetings and councils, the aliens, known as the Tsurani, eventually appear in Midkemia and commence their massive invasion. On the way to the Kingdom capital of Rillanon, Tomas is separated from the others, is found by a dragon,and obtains a mystical armor. At the end of the first chapter of the war, which is known as the Riftwar, Pug is captured. On the Tsurani homeworld of Kelewan Pug becomes a Great One, one who is a master magician of the Greater Path, and soon becomes the most powerful magician on both worlds. As the war drags, Tomas falls in love with the elven Queen, Aglaranna. Tomas soon merges with the Valheru who once donned the mystical armor, and they become as one. Like a flying beacon he flies through the Tsurani ranks, bestowing death upon all who are so unfortunate to have been caught in his path. The story comes to a surprising conclusion at the end, and Feist creates his characters with such depth and detail that it is easy to imagine the characters in the world that he creates through his books. Book II of the Riftwar four book set (it's really three, but the original Magician was separated into Apprentice and Master), Magician: Master is definitely one of the best books ever written . . . if you like fantasy.Book Review: An excellent tale, well written
Summary: 5 Stars
Raymond E. Feist's "Magician: Master" delivers a fast pace, action, tension, summary histories of Kelewan and Midkemia, and a very satisfying wrap-up at the end. In all of these, it excels its prequel (Magician: Apprentice) by a wide margin, but the same characters that starred in the first book (Pug, Tomas, Arutha, Martin) also star in this one, and nearly all of the heroes end up marrying the girl, princess or elf queen of their choice. They also have grown up and, in one way or another, come into some sort of hard-won maturity and power.
The pace of the story is kept rapid, in part, by Feist's leaving out the boring details of days of travel by sea - except when something really exciting happens, like a battle with a warship or a passage through the Straits of Darkness.
While "Apprentice" was a good book, "Master" is a better one and would have been truly great if a bit more Midkemian natural philosophy been woven into the story. Like: "Why are goblins nasty? Are they born that way, or is it something they learn in Goblin School?"
The main irritation of the story turns out to be a necessary part of the plot: when Macros tricks the elves and dwarves into betraying the peace conference with the Tsurani Emperor.
The major unresolved plot element involves something known only as the Enemy, a vast and powerful entity capable of destroying an entire universe, from whom mankind fled in ages past to colonize other worlds through ancient rifts in space and time. Macros instigated the betrayal at the peace conference as a means of closing the rift to Kelewan, in order to preclude the possibility of the Enemy using the rift to find Midkemia.
Will the Enemy find Midkemia anyway? Maybe a future book by Feist will answer that question.
Book Review: The triumphant conclusion to one of the best fantasy stories out there.
Summary: 5 Stars
In MAGICIAN: MASTER we get the triumphant second half of Feist's first novel. Fast-paced and huge in scope, this was quite an undertaking for a new writer, but was carried out almost flawlessly. In this second half of the story, we find the young boys from APPRENTICE develop into their full potential, becoming heroes of astounding proportions. We also get a nice conclusive ending to the primary story. While they technically make up only the first half of the 4-book Riftwar Saga, the story is effectively ended here and you aren't forced to continue on with the story if you don't have the mind to.
Some reviewers have commented that they don't like how MAGICIAN was split up into two separate novels, but IMO it makes a lot of sense and actually helps the presentation. MASTER is a much more epic-feeling part of the story than APPRENTICE, taking place over a longer time frame and chronicling events occurring all over two unique worlds. The scope and pacing of the two books are very different from each other, and the transition between them would result in a rather jarring experience if they were read as one book. I can't really say which of the two I like better (both are top notch) as they are in reality quite different from each other. APPRENTICE was centered around young men growing and learning from their first experiences, while MASTER is more about realizing their full potential and taking the weight of the world on their shoulders.
I first read these books about 15 years ago, and they have maintained their appeal during that time. A fun, fast, and magical read, these first two books by Feist rank up in my all time favorite fantasies.
Book Review: Unique and enthralling epic fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
Magician: Master, is the second book in the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist. In this fantastic epic fantasy, we see the main character, Pug, transform from a peasant boy with seemingly limited potential into a powerful magician. During this transition, we watch as the plot twists and turns and progresses. I had a very hard time putting this book down when I first read it over 12 years ago, and on subsequent reads, it still had the same affect for me.
Overall, I find the most compelling aspect of the story is the setting. In the first book, Magician: Apprentice, Raymond Feist weaves an expansive setting in his world of Midkemia. As if that is not enough, Magician: Master throws the reader into yet another hugely expansive world/dimension called Kelewan, while at the same time continuing the exploration of Midkemia. Seeing new cultures and traditions represented in the book, and watching the main character adapt and adjust, helps the reader get into both the plot and story, as well as into the characters emotions.
While many fantasy novels (or any fiction for that matter) follow similar threads of coming of age, Raymond Feist is able to add another layer into his story through the well-thoughout development of his rich universe. I thoroughly enjoyed Magician: Master, and it also motivated me to proceed through all of the books written by Raymond Feist.
I believe any fantasy lover would quickly become a fan of Raymond Feist by reading Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master.
Book Review: Epic Fantasy at its Best
Summary: 5 Stars
Pug was taken prisoner on the battlefields in Midkemia and now, several years later, he has persevered through work as a slave in the swamps of Kelewan. He is transferred to an easier position as a house slave and life is beginning to look up when he is brought to the attention of one of the strange and powerful magicians of this world!
Meanwhile, the battle still continues on. Arutha seeks help from the Prince of Krondor, only to find that he has been disposed. With the help of Jimmy the Hand, Arutha has to find a way to smuggle Princess Anita out of the city.
Tomas fights alongside the dwarves and the elves, growing more and more like the fabled Dragonlords day after day. Can nothing reverse his transformation? And can anything bring this terrible war to an end?
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 second in a series. One book immediately precedes it and two others feature many of the same characters and have their roots in the plot of this book.
If buying it used, 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 from this book were really good and give you a deeper understanding of the world of Kelewan and its links with Midkemia.