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Product Description
Review
Praise for Trudi Canavan: 'A wonderfully and meticulously detailed world, and an edge-of-the-seat plot, this book is a must for lovers of good fantasy' Jennifer Fallon, 'Canavan is a natural storyteller' Emerald City, 'Containing everything you want from a fantasy tale' DeathRay, 'High calibre fantasy from one of Australia's best' SFRevu
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Book Description
The stunning prequel to the worldwide bestselling Black Magician Trilogy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This books is a stand-alone prequel set 200 years before The Black Magician Trilogy. It's a must-read for lovers of the the Black Magician-universe, but I wouldn't recommend it, if you haven't read the books.
Having read all of Trudi Canavan's other works, I looked very much forward to this title.
I really wanted to love it, but I wasn't pulled into the story, and it was too easy to put down.
What really makes this book worth reading is Trudi Canavan's way of describing characters. She has a talent not too often seen in the YA fantasy genre, a talent of making characters believable. Nothing is black or white, every character has a multitude of facets. The characters are like real persons, developing throughout the story.
CONCLUSION: Good storyline, lovely believable characters, but a little slow and boring, this is a book you should read if you've read the Black Magician Trilogy and loved it, but if you haven't read Trudi Canavan before, I'd recommend the wonderful Age of the Five Trilogy.
Having read all of Trudi Canavan's other works, I looked very much forward to this title.
I really wanted to love it, but I wasn't pulled into the story, and it was too easy to put down.
What really makes this book worth reading is Trudi Canavan's way of describing characters. She has a talent not too often seen in the YA fantasy genre, a talent of making characters believable. Nothing is black or white, every character has a multitude of facets. The characters are like real persons, developing throughout the story.
CONCLUSION: Good storyline, lovely believable characters, but a little slow and boring, this is a book you should read if you've read the Black Magician Trilogy and loved it, but if you haven't read Trudi Canavan before, I'd recommend the wonderful Age of the Five Trilogy.
45 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Let me say first of all that I'm a big fan of Trudi Canavan's work and I was really looking forward to reading her latest book. It's felt like an age since I heard she was planning a prequel, and I spent the time rereading the Black Magician Trilogy and the Age of Five. I've always felt that the Black Magician was the stronger of the two trilogies. The Age of Five seemed to lack originality somehow, but the praise and criticisms can't be addressed in this review. I shall simply say that I feel as if Trudi Canavan is writing on a sliding scale, every book becoming gradually less and less original.
The Magician's Apprentice is, in my opinion, completely unnecessary. Prequels should reveal things we never knew in order to keep our attention, but The Magician's Apprentice does not do this. I read it feeling as if I already knew exactly what was going to happen. It was predictable, almost cliche at times, particuarly with regards to romance. The lead character felt lifeless, often boring and unlikeable. Often characters seemed like they were put in just to add to the word count.
That said, it was easy to read, I finished it almost in one sitting. You don't need to think too much, you'll be absorbed into the world and you'll probably enjoy bits of it.
In conclusion, however, I have to say that I feel The Magician's Apprentice has failed on three levels. Firstly it feels unnecessary from a fan's point of view, providing no new information and a weak imitation of Sonea and Auraya as a lead character. Secondly it fails also as a good read, because the magical battles of the world Canavan has made have already been used in her first trilogy, and this is more of the same. It feels like a cash in on a popular book and totally unnecessary. And finally it fails to attract new readers, because it is simply not that interesting, it is predictable and like every other fantasy book out there. This book is unlikely to attract new readers to Canavan's works.
I am utterly disappointed. The Magician's Apprentice is a forgetable book in a world that has now been drained of all possible use. There is no story left to tell, and I hope that Canavan will create a new world and characters that are completely different from her previous books.
To conclude, I would not recommend this book to someone who has not already read The Magician's Guild. Start with Canavan's original works, they are much better. To fans of the series, you'll probably want to read this book no matter what the reviews of it say, but I would suggest you read it out of curiosity only. Don't expect a groundbreaking fantasy novel. This isn't one. It's simply more of the same.
The Magician's Apprentice is, in my opinion, completely unnecessary. Prequels should reveal things we never knew in order to keep our attention, but The Magician's Apprentice does not do this. I read it feeling as if I already knew exactly what was going to happen. It was predictable, almost cliche at times, particuarly with regards to romance. The lead character felt lifeless, often boring and unlikeable. Often characters seemed like they were put in just to add to the word count.
That said, it was easy to read, I finished it almost in one sitting. You don't need to think too much, you'll be absorbed into the world and you'll probably enjoy bits of it.
In conclusion, however, I have to say that I feel The Magician's Apprentice has failed on three levels. Firstly it feels unnecessary from a fan's point of view, providing no new information and a weak imitation of Sonea and Auraya as a lead character. Secondly it fails also as a good read, because the magical battles of the world Canavan has made have already been used in her first trilogy, and this is more of the same. It feels like a cash in on a popular book and totally unnecessary. And finally it fails to attract new readers, because it is simply not that interesting, it is predictable and like every other fantasy book out there. This book is unlikely to attract new readers to Canavan's works.
I am utterly disappointed. The Magician's Apprentice is a forgetable book in a world that has now been drained of all possible use. There is no story left to tell, and I hope that Canavan will create a new world and characters that are completely different from her previous books.
To conclude, I would not recommend this book to someone who has not already read The Magician's Guild. Start with Canavan's original works, they are much better. To fans of the series, you'll probably want to read this book no matter what the reviews of it say, but I would suggest you read it out of curiosity only. Don't expect a groundbreaking fantasy novel. This isn't one. It's simply more of the same.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Last weekend, I had the misfortune to be ill in bed. Thankfully, my daughter's Father's Day present arrived early, so I was able to read The Magician's Apprentice in two sittings.
If you have read and enjoyed The Black Magician trilogy (TBM) and The Age of Five (Ao5) trilogy, I'm confident you will enjoy this addition to the Magician's Guild stories. As ever, Trudi Canavan writes well and chapter after chapter flows into a good read.
There are some problems, however. For a prequel set hundreds of years before TBM I often found it difficult to actually notice this. The culture of Elyne is the same, as is that of the other countries. Apart from the magicians, the day to day lives of normal people seems the same. The character of Tessia is very similar to Sonea (BMT) and Auraya (Ao5). I liked her and enjoyed reading about her, but I think Trudi Canavan would have been better writing about a male protagonist, a magician who wasn't a natural or at least someone who differs significantly from her standard main character.
My review is titled 'maintains her standards'. Ms Canavan certainly does that with this book, but she doesn't really improve on them. We still have a young woman with a strong interest in healing who discovers she's a natural magician. As Tessia is so like Sonea, I found myself wondering why Imardin still has slums in Sonea's time.
There was no real sense of place for me, the story did not feel like it was set hundreds of years before Sonea, even though it was before the Magician's Guild was formed. The character of Narvelan changed quickly and the really interesting stories such as the devastation of southern Sachaka by the source-stone were not given much pages. The war between marauding Ichani and Kyralia has been written about before and didn't need re-telling.
That said, I found the discovery of healing magic enjoyable. The side story of Stara was fascinating, offering hints of what might happen in the sequels to BMT. The hints of Duna are also intriguing. It's easy to immerse oneself in the setting and as a read it satisfies.
I have read most of the reviews posted here and I agree with most of them too. If I had to be critical, there could be lots I could find in this book to criticise. This book is not as good as TBM or Ao5; those two trilogies are better. However, the Magician's Apprentice does compliment TBM very well and although a lesser book the differences are slight. However, I still think this deserves three or four stars. It's an enjoyable read, Ms Canavan's writing engages the attention and it's a good story. There's a lot I found in the book that I enjoyed. It's just that it's not the first time we've met this sort of character and this sort of situation.
If you have read and enjoyed The Black Magician trilogy (TBM) and The Age of Five (Ao5) trilogy, I'm confident you will enjoy this addition to the Magician's Guild stories. As ever, Trudi Canavan writes well and chapter after chapter flows into a good read.
There are some problems, however. For a prequel set hundreds of years before TBM I often found it difficult to actually notice this. The culture of Elyne is the same, as is that of the other countries. Apart from the magicians, the day to day lives of normal people seems the same. The character of Tessia is very similar to Sonea (BMT) and Auraya (Ao5). I liked her and enjoyed reading about her, but I think Trudi Canavan would have been better writing about a male protagonist, a magician who wasn't a natural or at least someone who differs significantly from her standard main character.
My review is titled 'maintains her standards'. Ms Canavan certainly does that with this book, but she doesn't really improve on them. We still have a young woman with a strong interest in healing who discovers she's a natural magician. As Tessia is so like Sonea, I found myself wondering why Imardin still has slums in Sonea's time.
There was no real sense of place for me, the story did not feel like it was set hundreds of years before Sonea, even though it was before the Magician's Guild was formed. The character of Narvelan changed quickly and the really interesting stories such as the devastation of southern Sachaka by the source-stone were not given much pages. The war between marauding Ichani and Kyralia has been written about before and didn't need re-telling.
That said, I found the discovery of healing magic enjoyable. The side story of Stara was fascinating, offering hints of what might happen in the sequels to BMT. The hints of Duna are also intriguing. It's easy to immerse oneself in the setting and as a read it satisfies.
I have read most of the reviews posted here and I agree with most of them too. If I had to be critical, there could be lots I could find in this book to criticise. This book is not as good as TBM or Ao5; those two trilogies are better. However, the Magician's Apprentice does compliment TBM very well and although a lesser book the differences are slight. However, I still think this deserves three or four stars. It's an enjoyable read, Ms Canavan's writing engages the attention and it's a good story. There's a lot I found in the book that I enjoyed. It's just that it's not the first time we've met this sort of character and this sort of situation.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A step into Kyrelia's history
Written after The Black Magician trilogy, The Magician's Apprentice is a prequel of sorts to said series. Read more
Published 2 months ago by W.M.M. van der Salm-Pallada
Its actually quite good
Having read The Black Magician Trilogy (TBMT), I was looking forward to reading this book as in what does it relate to TBMT, and if it does not how well the story is. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Iqbal
a welcome return to form
I loved Trudi Canavan's Black Magician books but was quite disappointed by The Age of Five series. Magician's Apprentice returns us to the world of Kyralia and is an enjoyable... Read more
Published 3 months ago by MKJ
None
As always was not disappointed with Trudy Canavan. Couldn't put my kindle down. Drawn in from the start into another world. Read more
Published 4 months ago by CJ
A decent read
Having already read the The Black Magician Trilogy, this book was a prequel to the series. As the characters were all new it took a little while to get used to them and the story... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kazzie17
Like watching paint dry
First of all, I'd like to point out that I'm a huge fan of Trudi Canavan' s work. I loved the Black Magician Trilogy and was looking forward to this prequel and a return to the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by smallblondehippy
Really bad voice actor.
The narrator sounds completely bored and puts no effort at all in to it. The voices they do are mumbled and just... bad. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Xerrick
Really Enjoyable
I think the fact that I got to read a Trudi book where I didn't have to wait for a sequel was brilliant. Read more
Published 10 months ago by cmd2612
A good read to get you back in touch with Imardin.
Having not read any of Trudi Canavan's work for a while, I have to say I enjoyed getting back the happy feeling I get when reading her work. Read more
Published 11 months ago by E. Murphy
Hooked from the Start!
I was hooked from the first page and finished this book in two days, the only reason I stopped reading was to sleep and to go to work. It is a definite page-turner. Read more
Published 12 months ago by S.Duncan
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