4.5 stars.

It was an excellent second installment in the rift war series. As I delved deeper into the story and neared the end of this book, I found myself increasingly eager to order the next one.

I truly relished the overall ambiance of the book. The world-building was magnificent, creating a vivid and immersive setting. The characters were also well-developed, each with their own unique personalities and motives.

The only way I can aptly describe this book is as an old-fashioned, wholesome story. It had a certain charm that made me feel as if I had been transported back in time to the era in which the story was set.

However, the ending was a bit peculiar. It didn't conclude with as much of a cliffhanger as I had anticipated. Nevertheless, this minor drawback did not dampen my enthusiasm for the series.

I simply can't wait to continue this captivating story and see what adventures lie ahead for the characters.

Amazing storytelling! This book truly stands out in every aspect. The characters are vividly brought to life, each with their own unique personalities and traits that make them instantly relatable. The plot is equally captivating, filled with twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. It's a literary masterpiece that you simply can't afford to miss. Do yourself a huge favor and embark on this wonderful series. You'll be hooked from the very first page and find yourself completely immersed in this fictional world. Whether you're a die-hard fan of the genre or just looking for a great read, this book has something for everyone. So don't hesitate, pick it up today and prepare to be amazed!

The second half of Magician took a markedly darker turn as I drew closer to the climactic conclusion of the Kelewan-Midkemian Riftwar.

I witnessed a definite evolution in Pug and Tomas, from adolescence to full maturity. This growth, from boyhood through young adulthood and into adulthood, is perhaps what I mourn. It's the typical rite of passage for most young boys, yet Pug and Tomas could never be considered ordinary.

While the first half of the novel (also known as Magician: Apprentice) was filled with wonder and adventure, in the second half, I felt the weight of circumstances, the impact of colliding events, and the devious plans of a magician once thought reliable.

It wasn't all doom and gloom, but I didn't finish this book with a sense of overwhelming happiness.

A couple of scenes seemed a bit excessive and pushed the boundaries of believability. For example, Milamber's reaction to the Imperial Games and Tomas' ability to defeat a fearsome god-like being with his youthful mental strength. And I have to admit, I was deeply affected by Macros' last-minute betrayal.

For a debut work, Raymond Feist has crafted a magnificent tale and laid the foundation for a beloved fantasy epic. I'm looking forward to continuing the Riftwar Saga by reading Silverthorn this month.

Buddy read with the Fantasy lovers of BB&B.

The previous installment of the series left us in a state of uncertainty regarding the ultimate fates of our beloved heroes. Naturally, this piqued my excitement to delve into this book and discover what lies ahead for them. Magician: Master truly did not disappoint!

Most of Pug's point of view was centered on Kelewan, the world from which the Tsuranni invaders originated. It was a captivating world, teeming with strange and exotic creatures, a complex political and social order, and powerful magicians. As always, I had significant issues with the Tsuranni due to their abhorrent tradition of keeping slaves. This repeatedly incited my anger towards them. However, as the story unfolded and Pug became more deeply integrated into their society, I began to perceive the Tsuranni not as an absolute evil but as individuals who had never had a reason to change their ways. Initially, I found Pug's training as a Great One to be both strange and infuriating, but I soon came to appreciate the wisdom behind those methods. There was a particular moment during Pug's training that vividly reminded me of another renowned fantasy series - the Wheel of Time. More specifically, it brought to mind the visions one experiences in the Aiel city of Rhuidean. Of course, there are differences between the two, and one could argue that there are no similarities at all :D

A few new characters were introduced, and along the way, they became just as endearing and dear as the original cast. Laurie and the son of the lord of the Shinzawai were especially memorable. Tomas' storyarc was incredibly interesting yet equally terrifying. There were times when I questioned whether the gentle and courageous boy from Crydee would manage to emerge unscathed without succumbing to becoming a monster. From the flashbacks he received from the armour, I became truly curious about the Dragon Lords, and I am eager to learn more about that era of Midkemia's history.

All of the characters from the first book exhibited remarkable growth. Perhaps Carline showed the most significant transformation - evolving from a spoiled princess into a noblewoman worthy of following. The same can be said for all of the children of the Duke of Crydee.

The sorcerer Macros the Black played a pivotal role in the events of this book, and there were moments when I suspected that he might actually be one of the antagonists. The explanation provided did make sense, but I would have felt much more at ease had he explained it to both Lyam and the Emperor of the Tsuranni instead of leading them to believe that the Midkemians had broken the truce. I推测 there will be more exploration of this topic in the subsequent books, or at least I sincerely hope so. In any case, the next couple of books hold the promise of being highly engaging and captivating.

Thankfully a Total Absence of Campfire Songs

A well-realized and clever political story, this book truly had two distinct acts for me.

The first act gave me the impression that the author was reading "The Lord of the Rings" while penning this tale. "The pass is blocked, we will have to go through the mines" - it felt so familiar! If I hadn't been a fan of the genre, I might have stopped reading right then. However, I'm glad I didn't.

The second act was brilliantly original. I really enjoyed the mixture of cultures and the society on the other side of the rift. The twisted gladiator battles were especially captivating. I would have loved to read more about the role played by metal and mining. I thought that was the most interesting concept in the book.

As an aside, if the author was influenced by "The Lord of the Rings" while writing this, it's possible that Peter Jackson was influenced by "Magician" while filming "The Lord of the Rings". The soft focus coronation scenes that dragged on a bit too long are a feature common to both.

On the whole, it's a good read with some great ideas. It's hard to ignore the fact that it owes a debt to Tolkien, but then again, most books in this genre do. Thankfully, there was a total absence of campfire songs, which was a relief!

This was an extremely hard decision.

I have so many conflicted emotions regarding this book.

In my opinion, it lacks a sense of continuity. There are just too many story threads and too many different places. However, strangely enough, I do love that sort of books. But for some reason, that's precisely what made me rate this book only 3 out of 5.

Pug's storyline is truly awesome. I cherish every single moment of this book when we witnessed Pug's adventures. But Tomas' inner turmoil felt rather vague. The politics in King's world was interesting and fun, but it seemed to pale a little after reading about the Empire.

The characters are loveable and the worlds described are undeniably beautiful. But somewhere along the line, something was missing. Perhaps the next books in the series might have changed that and filled in the gaps that I felt were present in this particular installment.

DNF

I tried... I understand why it might be liked, but when I read it, I see nightmares - seriously, it torments me a lot in my dreams. It is so vivid even though it's just words on paper. The emotions it generates are so intense. It is so real, even though it's just fantasy. Maybe at some point in the future, I will attempt to pick it up for the 3rd (!) time.

DNF has this strange allure. On one hand, it seems to have elements that draw people in. But on the other hand, for me, it has this almost haunting quality. The way the words come alive on the page and seep into my subconscious is both fascinating and disturbing. It's as if it creates a world that I can't escape from, even in my sleep. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to face it again for the third time, but there's a part of me that is curious to see if my perception of it will change.

Magician (Apprentice and Master) holds a special place in my heart as one of the very first fantasy books I recall reading. It has truly been a formative work in my life as a fantasy enthusiast, and I'm delighted to say that it still stands the test of time.

I re-read Apprentice last year, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I remembered a fair amount of that half of the book. However, when it came to this volume, I realized that I had retained very little beyond the sequences involving Tomas. Nevertheless, just like the first half, this part also holds up well.

When this book was released in the eighties, it was a rare gem in the world of fantasy fiction as it wasn't centered around a traditional quest (which comes in Silverthorn). For this unique aspect alone, it deserves our appreciation. Overall, it remains a great read. The story is captivating, the characters are interesting, and the invaders add an element of intrigue.

That being said, it does have its drawbacks. The female characters in this book, namely Colleen, Anita, Aglaranna, and Katalya, have very little role in the story other than being princesses (and an elf-queen). While Aglaranna does have a bit of agency, she essentially hands it over to Tomas.

Despite these flaws, it is still a favorite even after re-reading it some 30 or more years later. I highly recommend it. Someday, I hope to read the Author's Preferred edition where it is all in one volume. I'm not sure if these two audio books are essentially the same or not.

Magician: Master by Raymond E. Feist is the second installment in the Riftwar Cycle, which is part of the larger Riftwar Saga. While the first book, Magician: Apprentice, set the stage, this one concludes the main storylines in a satisfying way. I found myself enjoying it nearly as much as the first, although it had a slightly different feel. Some characters went off in different directions for most of the book, which lessened the ensemble camaraderie I had loved in the first. However, there were still many great moments, especially towards the end. Several characters were paired off, and while there were some insta-love moments, fortunately, the relationships didn't overly dominate the story. I did have one issue with a particular relationship, which I'll discuss in the spoiler tags.

As I was nearing the end of the book, I noticed that female characters were underrepresented. They were mostly minor and served to show their bravery and support for the male characters. This didn't bother me too much, but I know it's important to some readers. I also had some thoughts on Tomas' storyline and the relationship between him and the Elven queen, Aglaranna, which I'll also cover in the spoiler tags. Overall, I still really enjoyed the book and gave it a 4.5-star rating, rounding down to 4 stars on Goodreads. I'm looking forward to the next book, which I believe focuses more on my favorite characters.

Magician: Master offers a satisfying conclusion to the main storylines, but with some minor flaws. The underrepresentation of female characters and some issues with Tomas' storyline prevent it from being a perfect read, but it's still a great addition to the Riftwar Cycle. I'm excited to see where the story goes next.

There are indeed large portions of this novel that are truly great. The author has managed to create some captivating scenes and storylines that keep the reader engaged. However, the problem lies in the large portions of the novel that are simply awful. It's almost as if there were two different novels mashed together. I hardly recognized some of the characters, especially when the majority of the character development took place off the page. This made it difficult to form a connection with them. It felt less like a sequel and more of an author figuring out what type of book they had originally wanted to write. There were moments when the story seemed to lose its direction and meander aimlessly. Overall, while there are some redeeming qualities, the novel falls short of expectations.

I really enjoyed this book a lot more upon rereading. Magician: Master is an excellent “sequel” that heightens the stakes of the series and shows that it's not just a copy of Lord of the Rings.

I need to retract my previous statement. Before, I said I wouldn't continue with the Riftwar Saga after my first read. But after finishing Riftwar: Empire and rereading Magician: Master, I have to say it's a really good sequel now. Before we start the updated review and thoughts, note that I'm calling this a sequel, but depending on the edition of Magician you have, you might be reading it as one big book instead of two volumes. However, if you're like me, Magician: Master is the second half of Magician—the first book in the Riftwar Saga trilogy—by Raymond E. Feist, and this will be my updated review of Magician: Master as a sequel to Magician: Apprentice.

Pug was an orphan apprenticed to Kulgan, a sorcerer in the magical land of Midkemia. He was a Magician Apprentice, and in this book, it's not a spoiler to say we'll see how he becomes a Magician Master and earns his other name, Milamber. Unlike the first book, Magician: Master makes the readers witness and observe the politics of two worlds mixing and clashing.

On my first read, although I was intrigued by the world of Kelewan and its culture, I didn't think Feist developed the Empire of Kelewan, Tsurani, and the Game of Houses enough in this book for me to be fully immersed. I'm glad I was curious enough about the politics, characters, and world-building to jump to the amazing Riftwar: Empire trilogy spin-offs back then. Feist himself said this was fixed in the next trilogy because of Wurts's involvement in Riftwar: Empire, and I can confirm that's true. And because I read that trilogy, reading Pug's story in the world of Kelewan and seeing the characters I already know was much more enjoyable. However, the highlights of this book are still the same as my first reading experience. Similar to Magician: Apprentice but enhanced, the best parts were the character development of Pug and Tomas in every aspect and the action sequences involving them.

The beauty of rereading is that I reread this book to continue the series and then reread Riftwar: Empire with more context. Although the Riftwar: Empire trilogy can be read without this series, reading this (at least the first book) will improve the experience and the crossovers between the worlds. When I read Magician: Master a few years ago, I was annoyed by the info-dump way of Pug's character development. In simple terms, Pug became a completely different character from how he was in Magician: Apprentice in just one chapter. The power creep is still crazy, even on this reread. After that one chapter, Pug turned into a super-powerful Magician with unimaginable power. This time, I've come to accept that this way of doing it is a product of its time.

Tomas's story is also good, and his struggle with his Ashen-Shugar persona is my favorite part of the entire Magician novel. On rereading, I appreciate the different voice given to Tomas as he gradually changes into Ashen-Shugar. The battle and wrathful scenes involving these two characters, whether at the Colosseum or in the Elven forest, were amazing. I'm also interested in Ashen-Shugar's history and wouldn't mind reading a book about it. As far as I know, Silverthorn won't have these two characters as prominent, and I'm already sad about that.

The only downside of Magician: Master is Arutha's story. I'm not sure where his story will go from here, but at the moment, his encounter with Jimmy the Hand felt like an introduction. It seemed like a setup for the next book, and if that's the case, I can understand why there were some long chapters dedicated to Arutha. Until then, I can only say that I felt underwhelmed and impatient every time I read Arutha's story in Magician: Master. Even though their paths do all come together, most of his chapters felt like fillers compared to Milamber and Tomas. I hope it will be better in Silverthorn.

This updated review is to say that yes, I will be continuing my journey with the Riftwar Saga. Will I continue beyond the first trilogy and the Riftwar: Empire trilogy? That remains to be seen. This series is part of a huge series, and at the moment, I'm just enjoying my time with the Riftwar: Saga and looking forward to rereading Riftwar: Empire. But just like how my reading mood made me decide to give this series another try even though I said I gave up on it, the possibility of finishing all the sub-series in the Riftwar Cycle is always there. I'm glad I did this reread, and I look forward to finishing Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon. If you read this and decide to stop here, that's okay too. There's no cliffhanger in Magician: Master. But as I always say, please consider reading the Riftwar: Empire trilogy if you've finished this.

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If Magician had been written 20 years later, it would've been spread out across five 700-page books. I sort of wish it had been.

The story of Magician is truly captivating. With its rich and detailed world-building, complex characters, and thrilling plot, it has the potential to be an even more epic and immersive experience if expanded.

Each of the five 700-page books could have delved deeper into different aspects of the story. We could have seen more of the magical realm, explored the backstories of the supporting characters, and witnessed the evolution of the relationships between the main characters.

Additionally, the extra pages would have allowed for more in-depth descriptions of the magical spells and abilities, making them even more vivid and exciting.

While the original Magician is already a great book, I can't help but imagine how much more amazing it could have been if it had been written and expanded 20 years later.