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Magician (Riftwar Saga)
 
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Magician (Riftwar Saga) (Paperback)

by Raymond E. Feist (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Magician (Riftwar Saga) + Silverthorn (Riftwar Saga 2) + A Darkness at Sethanon: The Triumphant Finale to the Riftwar Saga (Riftwar Saga 3)
Total RRP: £26.97
Price For All Three: £19.54

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Product details

  • Paperback: 704 pages
  • Publisher: Collins; 2nd Revised edition edition (28 Jun 1993)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0586217835
  • ISBN-13: 978-0586217832
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11.2 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (167 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 954 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Magic & Wizards
    #3 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > F > Feist, Raymond E.

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Like a venerable patriarch, Magician stands at the head of a great tribe of fantasy writing. When Raymond Feist's enormous novel was published, critics called it "the best new fantasy concept in years", and Feist has refined and explored that concept over a dozen novels. His "concept" was to bring together two (and later, more) whole, intricately realised fantasy worlds. Midkemia is a Tolkienian realm, a European- Medieval series of kingdoms in which magic is prominent, and where men share the earth with dwarves and elves. Feist's genius was inventing another sword and sorcercy realm based more closely on eastern models, the Empire of Tsuranuanni, as vast as Ancient China, as formalised and devoted to the arts of war as a samurai Japan. A magical rift in time-space brings these two worlds clashing together, and the young boy Pug and his soldier friend Tomas are thrown into the ensuing maelstrom of invasion and epic battle, before embarking on a more fundamental magical journey towards the very roots of evil itself. Feist's two sequels to Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon complete the richly conceived Riftwar Saga, and Feist has gone on to chronicle other aspects of his invented worlds. More recently he has returned to the world of Medkemia, and to his hero Pug, with the Serpentwar saga, beginning with Shadow of a Dark Queen and continuing with Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King and Shards of a Broken Crown. Heroic Fantasy is a crowded-enough field, but Feist stands out in it for his sheer inventive power, the scope and range of his narratives, the diversity of his characters and his thundering battle sequences. Start reading here, and you may find yourself unable to stop until you have followed the saga right up to date. --Adam Roberts

Review

'Epic scope! fast moving action!vivid imagination' WASHINGTON POST 'tons of intrigue and action' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

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Customer Reviews

167 Reviews
5 star:
 (130)
4 star:
 (19)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (8)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (167 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The benchmark for fantasy, 6 Oct 2005
By J "chasingshadows" (Liverpool, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Fantasy stories tend to rely on stock characters, as well as some pretty standard clichés. Characters such as the naïve but uniquely gifted young boy and his powerful yet mysterious instructor, and clichés such as the seemingly undefeatable foe and journeys across great distances that function as the backdrop to passages into adulthood. Depending on your point of view these can either be negative or positive aspects of the genre. But considering this is my absolute favourite genre of all- obviously these are characters and clichés I just can't get enough of, even if I must occasionally trudge through those plainly unimaginative and painfully formulaic examples.

'Magician' however, whilst containing all these characters and clichés and more common themes besides, is an exceptionally original and absolutely gripping novel. At first Pug is the uninspired hero, who aspires to the service of the Duke of Crydee and in companionship with his boyhood friend Thomas begins his unrelenting pursuit of that goal. But the twists and turns in Pug's story are unlike those in most fantasy stories- his ascendance into adulthood and the form his service to his country takes are completely different from that of his fellow apprentices and indeed his fellow heroes in fantasy.

Concepts of space and time, as well as the mastery of magic are areas terrifically brought to life by Feist and it's in the education of Pug in these arts that this book really comes into its own and where all competition is completely blown away. Clearly Feist has done a lot of research into this area, particularly in regards to some unequivocally harsh teaching techniques that seem to take their inspiration from Eastern philosophies, as do the 'undefeatable' foes and their far-off land. And it's in the culture-clash and the repercussions of such differences between these two peoples that makes this story truly compelling and makes this finely printed, but effortlessly readable book...totally gripping, ground-breaking fantasy. If you love fantasy, you'll LOVE 'Magician' and to add one more cliché into the mix...it's magic!
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding story., 27 Dec 2007
By John Nunn (Coventry, U.K.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Magician (Hardcover)
This is the book that started my passion for reading, I found a copy in a second hand shop over twenty years ago, and since then I have read this story at least once a year. The story arc spans two worlds and many years following a two primary characters Pug and Thomas along with a number of secondary characters that have enough depth as to be used as the primary characters in future books.
The plot twists and sometimes fantasy clichés work well and are crafted in to an outstanding story that is engaging and entertaining.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Good book - shame about the "special edition", 23 Sep 2002
By S. Gelder "Stfe (Short tame fluffy elephant)" (Leicesteshire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Magician (Hardcover)
The book itself is great.

IRaymond Feists first and best book, I love this book and the first series of books that follow it as well are not bad.

My only gripe with this "20th Edition" copy is the actual quality of the book itself, being an anniversary edition, with a higher price tag I did expect the book itself to look and feel a bit better quality then it does.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
First read this book about 28 years ago, loved it then and still love it. Read it a number of times and my age change has not diminished its enjoyment for me. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Mr. Russell Scott

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic in every sense
'Magician' (it made the BBC best reads top 100) is the first book in a long series of books centred around inhabitants of the world of Midkemia who have just found out that there... Read more
Published 12 days ago by AnetteF

5.0 out of 5 stars the book i always come back to....
Well what can i say about this book that wouldn't take ages to write. I came across this book simply by chance. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Kelly Leech

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read if you like sword and sorcery.
A good story, well written. A cross between Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter (but MUCH better written than Harry Potter, which, let's face it, is dire in terms of plot and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Feng

5.0 out of 5 stars Magician
This by far is the best fantasy novel i have ever read. It is EPIC! What makes it so great after reading not so many good fantasy novels is that there are alot of twists within... Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Bolland

4.0 out of 5 stars Slow to start but shows some promise later on - whether it holds for the whole trilogy, I've yet to find out
The book has been oe recommended to me for many years and I finally took the plunge to read it. It took me some time to get into it, as the start is painfully slow and somewhat... Read more
Published 2 months ago by AK

5.0 out of 5 stars couldnt put it down
This book is fantastic, I love fantasy and adventure but for me this book (and the rest of the riftwar saga) was completely captivating. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Paul Cammock

4.0 out of 5 stars 1st book of it's kind I've ever read.
I was surprised I enjoyed this book. I am a member of a recently established book club in my area. I thought that this book would only appeal to teenage boys but hey I was wrong... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Kitty Next

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Book Ever
My mum told me about this book as she read it when she was a child and i love it just like her. I think it is amazing it's the best book ever. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sweetpea

5.0 out of 5 stars The one that started it all.
This is the book that got me into reading fantasy. I started reading Magician and I couldn't stop until I had read all of Feist's books that he had published to date. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Cantia

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