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Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Riftwar Saga (Book #1 of 3 or 4), The Riftwar Cycle (Book #1 of 31)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Classic Fantasy

Pages: 509 pages (Kindle edition)

Word Count: 145,000 words

Published: 1st October 1982

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Magician: Apprentice is a familiar and enjoyable start to a beloved classic fantasy series.

“Pug would have been the first to tell me that nothing is forever. That living in the past is foolish and robs us of the future.”

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Riftwar Saga and Riftwar Cycle by Raymond E. Feist for years now; it is one of the series that I know has sparked a lot of reader’s passion for reading fantasy books. And that’s always a good thing in my dictionary. Honestly speaking, though, I don’t have nostalgia goggles for this series. The main reason why I wanted to read Riftwar Saga was so that I could dive into Riftwar: Empire trilogy without missing any necessary details. The reason for my slight reluctance in reading the Riftwar Saga trilogy was because I don’t often gel well with fantasy books written pre-1990. I tend to find either the writing too outdated now without nostalgia goggles, or the story being too clichéd already. To be fair… Most of the time, these series invented the clichés. It is not a fault per se. Is this applicable to Magician: Apprentice? Yes and no. And on my reread after finishing Riftwar: Empire trilogy, many parts I struggled with on my first read felt more tolerable.

“’Tis a wise thing to know what is wanted, and wiser still to know when ‘tis achieved.
‘True. And still wiser to know when it is unachievable, for then striving is folly.’”

Now, I realize that Magician: Apprentice is the first half of a single big book named The Magician. Although it’s true that Magician: Apprentice ended on an awkward scene, I also totally understand why Magician was divided into two books. Especially on my reread. First of all, The Magician as a single book is as big as Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon combined. Secondly, The Magician as a single book might feel too long for some readers. I know many fans of the series loved the fact that The Magician is being rereleased as a single book, but having it divided into two parts gave readers the right moment to stop and take a break before continuing with the second half of the series: Magician: Master. But most importantly, I do think there is a big change in Magician: Master as Feist started to turn the series into his own thing while retaining influences from Tolkien.

“Magicians are training to seek explanations. Understanding things is very important to us.”

One of the purposes of Magician: Apprentice is to introduce the readers to the characters, the world, and the premise of the series. It is a big plus to me that none of the main characters ever felt infuriating. The friendship between the two main characters—Pug and Tomas—was one of my favorite parts of the book. In general, I think Feist is good at portraying genuine friendship. It felt believable, and through a similar landscape of tropes, Feist did a great job developing and preparing the characters for the events to unfold in Magician: Master. The highlight of Magician: Apprentice is Tomas and his constant conflict with the power of the legendary Ashen-Shugar. You don’t get to see a lot of them here. But as I said, this shines in Magician: Master.

“Some love comes like the wind off the sea, while others grow slowly from the seeds of friendship and kindness.”

From stories, tropes, and execution, Magician: Apprentice is without a doubt a classic fantasy. I, as a reader, love classic fantasy elements but gravitate a bit more toward a modern narrative structure and pacing. The issues I often have with classic fantasy are not the tropes or familiarity; I love them. But the way they’re written. That’s what I do appreciate so much about Feist’s writing style. Don’t get me wrong, the writing still felt outdated at times. Understandably. This is a book written in the 1980’s and it is very clear from the prose. For example, the progression of each chapter does not feel seamless at times. There were some occasions where the chapters felt like a series of connecting short stories combined into a novel.

“The faults we see in others never seem as dreadful as those we see in ourselves.”

Similar to many fantasy novels in the 80s or older, I have some issues with the way the action scenes are written. While I agree many classic fantasy writers are amazing world-builders, actions in classic fantasy novels often feel brushed off or end too quickly. Personally, I was not a big fan of Arutha’s storyline. His scenes and war scenes in the book felt overwritten, while Pug’s and Tomas’s battle scenes ended too quickly to my liking. That being said, for a book published 40 years ago, I am pleasantly surprised by how relatively accessible the writing felt. Also, before I forget, speaking of Tolkien earlier—Elves and Dwarves aside—there was an obvious ode to Moria in Mac Mordain Cadal. This is the moment Tomas’s story turned into something great for me.

“Father used to say that, among man’s strange undertakings, war stood clearly forth as the strangest.”

As I said, the book ended in an unsatisfying manner. The two main characters—Pug and Tomas—weren’t even featured in the last few chapters. I remember putting down the series after I was done with Magician: Master. But because I am rereading this after I finished the absolutely incredible Riftwar: Empire trilogy, I’m more hopeful about the second half of Magician now. Magician: Apprentice has served its purpose as an introduction and foundation of the series. Despite some evident issues I had with it, judging from my reread experience with a clearer understanding and knowledge of the Kelewan and Tsurannis, I expect to have a superior reading experience on my reread of Magician: Master. I am hopeful this reread, this time of the entire trilogy, will improve my reread of Riftwar: Empire trilogy.

“Well, knowing your own part in this is a good sign that you’re becoming a man. Most boys would have tried to justify their actions, by shiting blame or by claiming some moral imperative to fight.”

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