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Review Summaries
"Pug is an orphan brought to the duchy of Crydee when still a baby. at the age of sixteen the time of choosing he is apprenticed to master magician Kulgan.
Pug is failing in his practical workings but is theoreticaly capable though something is stopping the magic from taking form, then for some reason, while out on a horse ride with the princess Carline he uses magic to drown two trolls. meanwhile an alien race has begun mapping the forests in preparation of an invasion.
Pug and Kulgan are sent on a mission to gain information of the enemy the Tsurani where Pug is captured and sent to Kelewan the planet where the Tsurani come from and is used as a slave for several years untill he is found using a magical technique to calm himself.Pug is whisked away by a tsurani magician to begin his training as a magician where he in time becomes the most powerful magician in two worlds."
macros, Resident Raymond Feist Scholar
"Pug is only a poor orphan and he is lucky to be a servant in the palace kitchens. He is not sure what he wants in life but his friend Tomas dreams of winning fame and fortune as a soldier in the royal army. A chance encounter reveals that Pug has the talent to make a magician - given the right training and attitude. He struggles as a 'prentice mage but still shows rare flashes of great power when he saves the Princess from certain death by marauding trolls. Still something holds him back, and is not until the invading magicians of another world open up a time rift and start the invasion that he has the good fortune to be captured and made a slave. In their world the paradoxes of their Oriental--as opposed to his Occidental--way of thinking channel and develop his true power. But, once unleashed, his powers as so great that they cannot control him and he decides to attempt to end the Riftwar by closing the Rift, permanently. Meanwhile, his friend Tomas has inherited the ancient armour of a friendly Golden Dragon and becomes a warrior-mage of titanic power. The two sides seem poised for mutual destruction until Macros, the Master Mage himself intervenes: but even if they succeed in closing the Rift will it stay closed?"
Michael JR Jose, Resident Raymond E. Feist Scholar
"This is the first half of Magician, the first book in the Riftwar Saga (followed by Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon).
Pug is an orphan boy of thirteen. Seeing great potential in him, Kulgan, the Duke of Crydee's adviser and magician, takes him as apprentice. However, even after months of training, Pug can't master the arcane power, until the day he unexpectedly saves Princess Carline's life from a troll attack. He'll be made squire.
Later, when his best friend Tomas finds a mysterious ship stranded on the cliffs, the boys search the wreck looking for treasures. Discovering only two alien corpses and a scroll, they decide to go back to the castle. On the way though, they find a third creature. This one is still alive and with the help of the Duke's sons, is made prisoner. After Kulgan has deciphered the scroll, and from the information Father Tully, the priest, manages to get by reading its mind, it all becomes clear: the alien Tsurani are soon to invade Midkemia.
The story goes on to describe the Duke's party's journey around the world seeking for help, a journey in which Pug and Tomas will of course take part. From the first chapters, Magician seems very promising, but after a few it slowly deteriorates. As a whole it's very irregular and I didn't find it very passionating. Time passes too fast, sometimes skipping a whole year, and there are far too many races and villains. In short it's a fairly light fantasy about men, elves and dwarves vs. trolls, goblins, wraiths, the Tsurani and if you still can't get enough, there are also the Meredhel, a kind of black elves. Moreover, Pug is never really taught to use magic, not to mention that there's hardly a word about him in the last quarter of the book. I'll read the end of this trilogy all the same, in hope it gets better, but so far I have to say it has put me off reading the whole Midkemia saga."
crooty, Resident Raymond E. Feist Scholar
"Tom and Pug, members of the court at Crydee are to be apprenticed. There is no suprise with Tom as he is apprenticed to the swordsmaster but a lot of suprise when the court Magician choses Pug. After the rift between Midkemia and the unknown land of the Tsurani people is opened Crydee finds itself under attack from invaders. Pug and Thomas are called to join an expedition for help, while on this however Thomas gets separated from the group and stumbles upon a dragon who gifts him with magical armour, transforming him into another being, a mighty dragon rider or Valheru. Pug on the other hand is captured and taken to the Tsurani land where he is kept as a slave, until his magical ability is discovered and he is taken to be trained as a great one. During his time as a great one Pug discovers power he didn't think was possible. Now he must team up with Macros the Black, a mysterious and powerful Magician to close the rift between the two world and bring about peace to both lands."
Neil Morey, Resident Raymond E. Feist Scholar
"A young boy and his best friend find themselves thrust into dire responsibility when they find evidence of an imminent invasion. But the adventure is to be a lot more dangerous than they had anticipated, when to succeed one must become a great mage but cannot belive in himself, and the other a great warrior, but with a terrible rage to his power. Together they set off to warn the nation but when they are separated and disbelived they find the journy a lot longer and harder than they had originally thought... "
Daniel Smith, Resident Raymond E. Feist Scholar
"A story of two young boys, one of whom becomes the apprentice of a master magician but is destined for a greater path. The other inherits an ancient legacy of power. These two boys are essential for the protection of their homeland. "
A Johnson & D Smith, Resident Raymond E. Fiest Scholar
"He held the fate of two worlds in his hands...
Once he was an orphan called Pug, apprenticed to a sorcerer of the enchanted land of Midkemia.. Then he was captured and enslaved by the Tsurani, a strange, warlike race of invaders from another world.
There, in the exotic Empire of Kelewan, he earned a new name—Milamber. He learned to tame the unnimagined powers that lay withing him. And he took his place in an ancient struggle against an evil Enemy older than time itself.
"
Cory, Resident Raymond E. Feist Scholar
"A lowly servant in a keep in the far stretches of the 'civilized world' has great plans of serving his King as a soldier. But when a strange ship from a far away land washes up apon the shore near his home, his life is changed for ever and his destiny set."
Jeff Reddy, Resident Raymond E. Fiest Scholar
"Pug and Thomas are two friends growing up together on the world of Midkemia. Their lives are disrupted by the opening of a Rift between their world and the world of the Tsuranni, a warlike race with designs on Midkemia. During Midkemia's invasion by the Tsuranni, Pug and Thomas must begin to learn how to use their unique powers (Pug as a Magician's Apprentice, and Thomas as the unknowing recipient of a long-dead race's powers)to save their world from Tsuranni domination."
Heather Cantrell, Resident Raymond E. Feist Scholar
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Overall Review
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Plot
Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence - 20% planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- fantasy world/fantasy past
Coming of age
Yes
Youngster becomes
- a powerful magician
Political power play
Yes
Political plotlets
- preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- mage/magician
Age:
- a teen
Has magical/special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- fire/lightning/weather cntrl
- can cast many different spells
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an entire race
Has magical powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- fire/thunder/weather cntrl
- mind reading
- mind control
- teleportation
- can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
Terrain
- Water
- Mountains
- Forests
Earth setting:
- during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- humans in a primitive/fantasy society
- very controlled society
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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