Magician: Apprentice

I read the first two books in one novel and I liked the continuity of the story like that. If you like LOTR series, this is similar in world building.

This books a great start. Like most epic series books, this one takes a little time to get into, but he does a good job and getting you into it after pretty quick. You will love all the characters. Wow, I have read the 1st 7 books. They are so great. I love the character. Pug is a good character a standard reluctant hero, but boy does his story change after the 2nd book.

This world captivated me in the very first moment I opened the book. For anyone who grew up reading fairy tales "Magician" will show a world hauntingly familiar yet full of the excitement of discovery, and a bunch of characters we get to know as if we met them in real life. Good heroes are not perfect and bad ones are not evil: all of them are so human (or elf, or dwarf...) that it makes us feel what they feel, neither of them is flat and they improve a lot, like real life people. Feist uses all the elements of classic fantasy yet his work is original and a masterpiece of imagination. The story of two empires in war is almost like real history, not the over-used "good guy" - "bad guy" conflict but a clash of two different civilizations.Warning: Don't begin to read it 'till you've bought the next book of the series, "Magician: Master", or you won't be able to think of anything but getting it after you've finished the first.

This book, originally published in two parts (Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master), tells the story of a war between worlds. Midkemia is a world of elves and dwarves, knights and castles, dragons and hedge wizards, which suddenly finds itself invadered by a human empire from another world, an oriental world whose vast empire has power beyond Midkemia's imagination. This is also the story of a group of young people on Midkemia, who grow up during the war, and develop beyond anything they might have imagined.This is a great work of high fantasy, perhaps the greatest since the Lord of the Rings. Author Raymond Feist succeeds in this story in bringing to fascinating life not one, but two worlds. I loved the world of Midkemia with its forgotten history of potent magic, and the world of Kelewan with its oriental flavor. Overall, I found this to be a fascinating and highly entertaining read. If you are interested in fantasy literature, then I must say that you have to read this book!

When I first picked up this book 4 years ago I was bored and hoping to find a book that could hold my interest for more that 15 minutes. I didn't put it down until i was finished. I was hooked from the first page. The characters were amazing. I felt like I knew them personally, they held my affection and loyalty. I loved the plot, the setting, the magic, and the adventure. From this book I went on to the next 3 in this series which were just as good, and the other 7 books by this author that are set in the world of Midkemia. I highly recommend this book for people who love adventure!

Raymond E. Feist originally wrote one large volume called "Magician" to kick off what turned into a major series. In 1998 this extremely large novel was broken into two, edited by the Author and published as "Magician: Apprentice" and "Magician: Master". In the process, extra material was added, filling in some of the gaps and fleshing out a few characters more fully.In retrospect it seems like the original book was begging for a split. Almost exactly half way through, there was a major change in direction. The focus moved from one world to another along with the central character, Pug. Naturally, the Apprentice and Master mentioned in the book's titles refer to Pug's stages in his training as a magician.I was not completely happy with the remaining books in the series, however, the two Magician novels are perfect and also work well without ever reading the proceeding books. The characters are real, rich and engrossing. The plot is complex but focused. The environment, is carefully crafted, particularly the political landscape.At the risk of becoming hackneyed, you will have difficulty putting these books down. The underlying level of suspense is intense which in itself is the sign of a good writer but even more, you will begin to care deeply for Pug and a need will grow to find out how everything turns out.