At the Gates of Darkness: Book Two of the Demonwar Saga

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Description

Ten years after the terrible Darkwar finally ended, catastrophe once again threatens to engulf Midkemia and Kelewan, as the demon hordes continue their relentless quest to infiltrate this realm of magic and wonder. . . .

At the Gates of Darkness
Book Two of the Demonwar Saga

To protect their world from the savage demon hordes, the Black Sorcerer Pug and Midkemia's clandestine protectors, the Conclave of Shadows, forged an uneasy alliance of formidable magical talents. Together, this brave band of wizards, demon masters, warriors, and elves defeated the brutal Demon King Maarg and turned back the onrushing death tide.

But Maarg's fall has not stopped the demonic onslaught, and danger now looms greater than ever before. Amid the barren ridges of the Valley of Lost Men, in the shadows of an ancient Keshian fortress, the fearsome demon Dahun and the mad necromancer Belasco have joined forces, creating an unstoppable union of deathly black magics that even Pug and a united Conclave may not be strong enough to withstand.

Battling the Demon Legion has taken a heavy blood toll on the valiant and dedicated magician, claiming the lives of nearly all those he loves. Though he is racked by despair and rage, Pug knows that the time for mourning must wait. Putting aside his pain, he and the Conclave and their allies—the cold-blooded master spy Jim Dasher; the fearsome young Knight-Adamant Sandreena; her former lover the necromancer Amirantha; two renegade Star Elves; and Pug's surviving son, Magnus—must marshal their resources against this latest threat. None can forget the dozens of worlds overrun by the demon plague and the millions of dead left behind in their wake. At the gates of darkness, where shadows hide even deeper shadows, these magical defenders will face what is sure to be the bloodiest, nastiest fight their land has ever seen. And as evil, mayhem, and dark magic are unleashed, none can predict if they—and Midkemia itself—will survive.

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Customer Reviews

A fine novel of fantasy and confrontation evolves
Book 2 of Raymond Feist's 'Demonwar Saga' is out, and it's a top pick for any collection enjoying popularity from Book One. It begins where RIDES A DREAD LEGION left off, a decade after the conclusion of events in his three-volume Darkwar Saga. An uneasy magical alliance to protect the kingdom hasn't stopped the demonic onslaught, and the Demon Legion is taking a tool on magician Pug, who has lost nearly all he loves. A fine novel of fantasy and confrontation evolves.

2010-07-18 (Oregon, WI USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Reminicent of the fantasy novels I used to flip through as a child, while I was hiding in the library. It's pulpy and makes me want to roll some dice.

2010-07-12 | Good Mourning Sunshine (California) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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A good read, but short
Suprised so many people are giving this a bad review. I personally found this to be quite an enjoyable read - defintely up to par with some of Feist's best works. Every moment I spent with it felt rewarding - and any time I put it down it wasn't due to lack of interest, but rather due to me needing to take a break from reading.

This is defintely a page turner - but as some other reviewers have pointed out it is a relatively short book, with nearly 300 pages of large print. So it's hard to justify shelling out 20 dollars for the hardcover version (unless you have money to burn). I ended up just renting this from the local library, but I'm glad I did.

As for what it's about - there are a few sub-plots, such as:

- Relationship issues between Sandreena and Amirantha
- Pug getting over the loss of a loved one
- Two Star Elves making their way home from demon-infested worlds

...but mostly it's about what could potentially be the greatest threat Midkimia has ever faced - an invasion of a horde of demons from the fifth circle of hell. Most of the book is about understanding the nature of the demonic threat - which I found to be pretty interesting. Then there's the "reconnaissance mission" towards the end, which actually turns out to be the climax of this series.

With such a dire threat posed by the demons - I was suprised it ended as abruptly as it did. However as far as endings go I found this much more satisfactory than the ending to the previous book, Rides A Dread Legion (actually that ending was so depressing I considered dropping the series right then and there). It answers alot of questions , but leaves the biggest ones unanswered - presumably to be explored in his next work.

All in all I say this is definitely worth a read - but only after you've read Rides a Dread Legion - it more or less picks up exactly where Rides left off.

2010-06-26 | AtrophyOffline (Massachusetts, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Is Ray in financial crisis?
all I got to say is I read magician when I was 15yrs old. I loved it. I went to his book signings,
bought every book he has ever written but honestly I found his novels getting shorter and worst each time. I just feel he is using his past reputation and name just to make some money. I hate to see an author I worshipped become a victim of his own achievement, but sadly, I believe that this is becoming the reality. Come on Ray, don't divide a novel into a trilogy and a mediocre novel at that!

2010-06-13 (Sydney) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 1

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The Demon Wars
At the Gates of Darkness (2010) is the second Fantasy novel in the Demonwar Saga, following Rides a Dread Legion. In the previous volume, Pug and Magnus found the starved body of Maarg, the Demon King. So who was impersonating the dead demon?

Miranda brought her group out of an ambush by Belasco only to find the demons attacking Sorcerer's Isle. Pug and Magnus returned to fight the attacking demons, but one leaped on Miranda and tore out her throat. Caleb died in the burning buildings.

In this novel, Pug is a Master Magician. It has been a year since the demon attack, but he still misses his wife Miranda and his son Caleb. He is now fiercely protective of Magnus.

Magnus is Pug's only remaining son. He is also a Master Magician and even stronger than Pug in certain skills.

James Dasher Jamison is a Baron in the Kingdom of the Western Isles. Jim is also the Minister of Intelligence for that Kingdom, a member of the Conclave of Shadows, and The Upright Man. He is truly the great grandson of Jimmy the Hand.

Amirantha is a demon summoner. His brother Siri is dead, but Belasco is alive and still trying to kill him. Brandos is his foster son and Samantha is his foster daughter-in-law.

Sandreena is a Knight-Adamant in the Order of the Shield of the Weak, serving in the name of the Goddess Dala. She was born to a prostitute in Krondor and followed her mother into that profession. Jim sold her to a merchant, but Brother Mathias brought her into the temple.

Father-Bishop Creegan is head of the Order of the Shield in Krondor. Only the Grand Master in Rillanon is higher within the hierarchy of the Order. He is the single most powerful Father-Bishop and is probably going to be the next Grand Master.

Laromendis is a Taradhel Conjurer -- an illusionist -- and the head of the council of Taradhel magic users. The Clansfolk don't usually like magicians, although those who raise and maintain the Portals -- rifts -- are acceptable.

Gulamendis is a Master of Demons -- a demon summoner -- and the brother of Laromendis. Since the Taradhel believe that the demon summoners paved the way for the Demon Legion to come into their realm, he and others of his nature are hated by their fellow Elves.

In this story, Jim is scouting a ruined Kesh fortification. He finds a mass of fanatics killing themselves in worship of Dahun, a great demon. Belasco is conducting the orgy of violence. When the magician signals his archers, Jim fades into the rocks while hundreds of other fanatics are shot down.

Jim provides a report on this matter to Sandreena and then goes on to tell Pug about the incident. He mentions that something seems to be amiss in this scenario. Amirantha also thinks that something is wrong.

The threesome consult with the High Priest of Lims-Kragma, the Death Goddess. The Archive Keeper gives them a hint of an answer. So then they go to consult the Ishapian Abbey. There they discover that a book in the Quegan Imperial Library may have more answers.

Sandreena reaches Krondor and gives the report to Father-Bishop Creegan. The Father-Bishop is preparing for the convocation. He promotes her to Sergeant-Adamant and leaves her in charge of the Order within his Bishopric.

Naturally, Sandreena reads the report immediately after the Creegan departs. Then she leaves Brother Willoby in charge and travels to Kesh to check out the incident. She and two more knight of the Order venture down into the Valley of Lost Men and find more trouble.

Laromendis and Gulamendis are left behind on Hub World. They manage to fix the portal and flee to another world. There they find two demon armies fighting each other. Then they discover another world that contains a workroom of Marcos the Black.

This tale leads the Conclave of Shadows into a new understanding of the Fifth Circle, the dimension of demons. They also discover an immediate threat from Dahun -- another demon king -- in the Valley of Lost Men. Pug discovers that he is still needed.

This novel introduces a new threat to Midkemia as well as to the Fifth Circle. The next installment will more fully develop this menace. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Feist fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of demonic possession, magical conflict, and courageous paladins. If anyone is not familiar with this sequence, the initial volume is Magician: Apprentice.

-Arthur W. Jordin

2010-06-05 (Smyrna, GA USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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Rides a Dread Legion: Book One of the Demonwar Saga

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• ISBN13: 9780061468353

Description

The remnants of the Clan of the Seven Stars are returning to their long abandoned homeworld . . . but not as friends. The elves, led by the conjurer Laromendis, flee the relentless demon hordes sweeping through their galaxy—and the conquest of war-weary Midkemia is the Clan's sole hope for survival . . . if the Dread Legion does not pursue them through the rift.

The magician Pug knows what horrors will surely follow the elven invasion, for slaughter alone will sate Demon King Maarg's minions. For the death tide to be turned, Midkemia's constant defender must somehow unite bitter foes and vengeful former lovers—because failure to do so will mean annihilation.

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Customer Reviews

Decent story telling
Some of the material was very repetive and hang up the story. I like the fact that hardly any of the new characters are 'goodie two shoes'. Armiantha is quiet interesting. The story finally encounters the threat that has been plauging every other world. The ending was a bit sudden and much but I can see how the author would add that as a punch line. NOt sure how all these humans lived so long.. Oh well. I do like the new elves here. Dangerous and prideful!

2010-06-23 | Going West (South MS) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Great if you can't fall asleep
I love this kind of books when they are well-written. I finished the Deed of Paskenarion, which was absolutely amazing.

Rides a Dread Legion could have been written by a 12-year old, as far as I know. It uses all the old cliches, not even attempting to hide names from the Tolkien lore. There is no originality in it.

2010-05-29 (Virginia, US) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 2

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If you have read Feist before, you will like this book.
I have read all of Feist's works going back to 1983 in order as they came out, so I am old now ;-). As many of these reviews will show, there are those who get ticked that there is not more closure to the story and it does not stand on its own. Well, folks, it is a SAGA and those tend to be very long stories in mnay volumes. Feist is not the only author in fantasy doing that now - everyone is. I think the writers are being pushed in this direction more than they want to, but I digress. This is actaully one of Ray's strongest books in quite some time. The two orignal trilogies from back in the 1980s starting with Magician and Daughter of the Empire are the best and most essential to read before getting into these later stories of Ray's because he uses the same fantasy world and old characters, and also much of what happens in later sagas is reflective of past sagas/trilogies. Pug, Tomas and the old crew from the past books are like old friends and I'm always glad to see them again. However, be warned Ray has started knocking off some of the old gang in the last couple of series so there are some unexpected things out there. I found this to be a fun book, not overly complicated, and look forward to the next couple in the saga. Anyone who likes Feist will to.

2010-01-22 | Analog Kid (Little Rock, Arkansas) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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Good read
This is a good Raymond E. Feist book so long as you remember that it is a setup book and you are caught up on all of the other series. I did not read the last book in his series and missed a few references. This has the chance to be one of his better works and I hope ti happens.

2009-12-15 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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FEIST RETURNS TO THE RIFT WAR
Rides a Dread legion begins a new series in Feist's long-running Riftwar saga first begun back in 1982. While it's not essential to have read Feist's previous books, he does assume that readers have a basic familiarity with his character and mythos. A vast number of worlds are connected via magical portals or "rifts". The central world of the original Riftwar and of this book is Midkemia. It is here where Pub, the greatest sorcerer on the planet lives with his wife and sons. But that's not where the story begins. Feist introduces a clan of Elves called the Tarehel whose world is being overrun by a demon horde. From where the demons come and how commands them remains a mystery.

With their world on the brink of destruction they locate another world in which to flee...Midkemia. But more than that, these elves are shocked to find that Midkemia was their home world in eons past. A home they fled when the Gods made war. An so the Taredhel begin their exodus to Midkemia, a world they expect to become lords and masters over. Midkemia is not only the home to many elf clans, but also to humans and dwarves, all enjoying relative peace which the fleeing elves are sure to upset. What's more, the demon hordes are not far behind. Now longtime enemies will have to put aside their differences as a conclave of disparate leaders and magic-users must try and stem the tide of the demonic Dread Legion.

What I really loved about this book is how Feist started the first half-dozen chapters all dealing with different characters and plots that, at least initially; don't seem to tie-in with each other. This is where Feist has always shined as a writer. He can skillfully juggle numerous plots and characters and just when you think he's forgotten about one of them, he weaves it back into the main story. With Feist you know you can expect intricacies and intrigues that settle just below the surface of the main story and he never fails to spring a few surprises on the reader. It's also nice to see characters like Pug and Tomas again. While a nice synopsis of previous stories and events would have been nice for new readers, Feist again proves why he is one of the best writers in fantasy today.

2009-11-19 (Michigan) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Wrath of a Mad God: Book Three of the Darkwar Saga

Description

The Darkwar rages, bringing bleak days of destruction and despair to Midkemia and Kelewan. To save both worlds, the powerful sorcerer Pug and select members of the mysterious Conclave of Shadows must journey deep into the dangerous realm of the bloodthirsty Dasati on an audacious mission that has little, if any, chance to succeed. In Midkemia, young warriors Tad and Zane and their fellow soldiers must protect the Kingdom from raiders. And Pug's beloved wife, Miranda, finds herself a prisoner of the Dasati and, even more ominously, of Pug's nemesis, the evil sorcerer Leso Varen.

But salvation may come from a friend thought long dead—an unlikely ally whose remarkable powers will be sorely needed. For there is a momentous battle looming . . . a final, fevered onslaught against the most malevolent agents of evil ever known.

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Customer Reviews

Sad to say it, but...
With this book, Feist has finally lost me as a reader. I've been reading his Midkemia books for years; Kings Buccaneer was really my introduction to the fantasy genre when I was a kid, and still one of my all time favorites. My Riftwar Saga books are practically falling apart because I've read them so many times. But when I finished this book, I set it down and said to myself "what the hell was that?!?" When you have to force yourself to finish a book by one of your favorite authors, it's time to leave that author behind.
The plot made next to no sense, the pacing was disjointed and dull, and as for the characters...let's just say that he's finally completely abandoned everyone but Pug, who's reduced to whining and brooding more than anything else. To be fair, Pug was always the central character, but several of the characters in earlier books were just as well developed: Jimmy and Arutha, for instance. With this book it's more clear than ever to me that Feist has been discarding characters left and right in increasingly implausible ways so he can introduce new ones in an effort to capture the original chemistry. Even within the Darkwar trilogy itself, he gave up on several characters that figured highly early on, but barely get a footnote here.
And now he has a new "saga" where Midkemia is threatened worse than ever by the forces of yet another deep dark level of hell and an all new cast of lackeys to kill off or relegate to some background role when they display the slightest sign of being interesting. Thanks, but I'll pass.

2010-03-15 (Abilene, TX) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 1

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good book, love all his work.
great finish to the new trilogy, and lays the groundwork for his next. can't wait.

2010-02-13 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Descent into madness
In this thrilling conclusion to the Darkwar Saga, we find Pug, Magnus and Nakor still in the Dasati realm, seeking a way to prevent the Dasati invasion of their realm, which would affect both Midkemia and Kelewan. At the same time, Miranda escapes the clutches of two Dasati deathpriests in Kelewan, tries to track down the fiendish necromancer Leso Varen, and prepare Kelewan for the Dasati invasion which seems increasingly likely.

Pug, Nakor and Magnus learn more about the Dasati, and more importantly the true nature of the Dark God of the Dasati. As those on Kelewan find them facing overwhelming numbers and odds, they come to realize the true horror of the Dasati invasion and can only speculate at the madness which seems poised to engulf the world.

Feist amazes us again with a complex story and an intelligent take on the nature of fantasy gods. Familiar characters are with us once more, and a few interesting twists are thrown in. Further, his vivid portrayal of the horror of war helps the reader envision, and pity, those facing the reality in Kelewan.

There are a couple of things that are obvious, and a couple that seem somewhat bizarre. I won't go into them, for fear of spoiling the plot. However, I have faith that Feist has more than a few explanations coming our way in the next series, the Demonwar Saga.

In my eyes, Feist remains the king of fantasy, long known for his creation and depiction of new worlds, vivid and intense descriptions of battle scenes, incorporation of stunning magic (although part of this book's use seems to defy belief/logic), crafting of endearing characters, and helping readers understand more easily the complex nature of deities.

True, he's not perfect...but who is? However, if you're looking for a book which rapidly cranks up the pace till you find yourself flying through the final third of the book, unable to stop until you've reached the dramatic climax...look no further.

I highly recommend this book.

2009-12-08 (Jamestown, NY United States) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 5

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A titanic battle and the answers to some mysteries
This final book in the Darkwar Saga is full of adventure and answers, as the events that began all the way back in Magician come to something of a close. The storyline that includes Tad, Zane, Kaspar, and the other non-superpowered characters continues to be filler, as in previous books, but overall Wrath of a Mad God moves forward at breakneck speed.

Side note: since the "truth" behind all the events occurring on Midkemia, Kelewan, the Dasati worlds, etc. keeps changing with each new trilogy, the human stories in these books are seeming more and more insignificant. Whichever cause the characters believe they are fighting for, the fact remains that no matter what they do, millions are being drawn into, and ground up by, the struggle of characters that are now near god-like in power. Hopefully with the Demonwar trilogy, this trend does not simply continue, but Feist finds a way to bring it back down to a manageable level. Otherwise, I expect to see magicians throwing planets at each other soon. Oh wait, didn't that happen already?

2009-10-27 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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GREAT BOOK
Mr. Feist did a great job in the final book and it peaked my interest through the reading.

2009-09-12 | DAREALTAZMAN (OVERSEAS) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Jimmy the Hand: Legends of the Riftwar, Book III

Description

Jimmy the Hand, boy thief of Krondor, lived in the shadows of the city. The sewers were his byways and a flea-ridden, rat-infested cellar his home. Although gifted beyond his peers, he was still but a nimble street urchin, a pickpocket with potential. Until the day he met Prince Arutha.

Aiding the Prince in his rescue of Princess Anita from imprisonment by Duke Guy du Bas-Tyra, Jimmy runs afoul of Black Guy's secret police. Given the choice of disappearing on his own or in a weighted barrel at the bottom of Krondor's harbor, Jimmy flees the only home he's ever known, venturing south to the relatively safe haven of Land's End. Suspecting that the rural villagers have never encountered a lad with his talent and nose for finding wealth—other people's wealth—he's fairly optimistic about his broadening horizons. But Jimmy is completely unprepared for what greets him.

For Land's End is home to others who tread the crooked path, and more, to a much darker secret: a dangerous presence unknown even to the local thieves and smugglers. And Jimmy's youthful bravado and courage will plunge him deep into the maw of chaos and even—if he isn't careful—death.

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Customer Reviews

Not his best work
I have read nearly all of Feist's books and this series was the only one I had to really work at to get through the entire series and was disapointed in the end. Looking forward to starting the next Saga, when available.

2010-03-12 | Workout Mama (CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 2

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Enjoyable Adventure in Midkemia
Ok, so it's not an epic multi-volume tale like other Feist efforts. But it is definitely a highly entertaining story about one of the most endearing characters in the world of Midkemia, in his formative, yet still impressive years.

I felt the writing style was very easy to read and you can easily get immersed in the story.

If Feist (and friends) wrote another 20 books of Midkemian tales of this quality, I would read every one of them. I enjoy this world so much I can't get enough of it. There are millions of untold stories in Midkemia. Keep 'em coming.

2010-01-13 | Reader, writer, gadget guy (Algonquin, IL United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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GREAT BOOK
A truly great book which will keep you on the edge most of the reading.

2009-09-12 | DAREALTAZMAN (OVERSEAS) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Feist and Stirling Fan...
But really nothing new or exciting here. I finished it, but I kept wanting to give it up. Sorry guys. Not sure what happened but it just wasn't there this time.

2009-08-15 (Castle Rock, CO) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 2

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lackluster effort
I will put as much energy in this review as Mr. Feist put in writing this novel.

Mechanical and poorly written. Don't waste your time or money on this novel.

2009-07-16 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 1

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Into a Dark Realm (The Darkwar Saga, Book 2)

Product Details

• ISBN13: 9780060792824
• Up: New
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Description

The dread plot to destroy the Empire of Great Kesh has failed. The Conclave of Shadows has ended the murderous Nighthawk brotherhood's horrific reign of terror and death. But the mad sorcerer, Leso Varen, has fled, taking refuge among the most powerful men and women on Kelewan—a world now threatened, along with Midkemia, by hordes of the most vicious warriors in the known universe. The great sorcerer Pug knows of no power that will vanquish these invaders. And now he, brave Magnus and Nakor, and a disturbing young stranger named Bek must venture into the poisonous heart of the Dasati realm—the most terrible place they have ever encountered—in a valiant, impossible attempt to turn the tides against the encroaching doom that would swallow their world.

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Customer Reviews

GREAT BOOK
This author's books are well written and each part of multiple volumes is riveting. This work was no exception either.

2009-09-12 | DAREALTAZMAN (OVERSEAS) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Into a Dark Realm
I greatly enjoyed this book. I've like Raymond's writing style sinse He did his 1st series of books - The rift war.

2009-09-04 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Set Aside Some Time Cause You're Not Putting This One Down
This is a spell-binding book, pun intended, that had me wrapped up in it's pages for a week. I couldn't put the book down or keep myself away. Even when I wanted to go to sleep, if I picked this book up I would stay up an extra hour or two.

It's another masterpiece by Raymond Feist. He has an excellent ability to describe worlds in such detail, it's as though you are there, living, breathing, experiencing everything he's sharing.

Great book and I recommend Raymond Feist to all readers.

2009-06-11 | Jared Krauss (Iowa City, Iowa) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Set Up
I enjoyed this book more than the first in the trilogy. Still it is basically a set up for the grand finale third book. The story does add a little growth to the 3 boys Tad, Zane and Jommy. More importantly it really delves into the world of the Dasanti. This is a completely unique culture Feist has created, and a really interesting world. With some of his realms, you can see the obvious influences from the European Kingdom, the Middle Eastern Kesh or even the Asian Kelewan. The Dasanti are not like anything you would ever find on earth. I found myself enthralled by their culture. A good book overall.

2009-06-03 (Jersey) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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A good second novel in the Darkwar trilogy.
This is the second book in the Darkwar Trilogy, now for a bit of the story.

In this novel we see Pug and his allies trying to save the world of Kelewan from the twisted mage Varen and his alien allies the ruthless and blood thirsty Dasati who through the worship of their dark God yearn for war and slaughter, but among these blood thirsty warriors are a small band who worship the White and for many years these followers of the whit have waited for a prophecy to be fulfilled, as Pug readies to travel to the Dastai with his son Magnus and his long time friend Nakor and Nakor's new Allie Bek in time to stop the destruction of his world and all he holds dear.

This is another great book in the Darkwar trilogy, plenty of action and adventure, well worth any fantasy lover reading.

2009-05-10 | Fantasy Doctor (Liverpool,England) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Magician (Volume one of The Riftwar saga)

Description

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.


From the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

Feist does epic right
When I first read magician 13 years ago I was blown away. Here was a story with the epicness and character depth of Lord of Rings, but as accessible as a reenn reader.

Not meaning that the writing is aimed low and everything is simplistic, oh no, but Feist has this quality that just keeps you turning page after page, and before you know it it's 3am.

If I have a criticism it's that the story isn't original, but what he did was take a standard fantasy plot and bend it to his sown will and style.

If anyone loves fantasy and hasn't read this book (which I'd duobt, but hey it happens) than you should read this now. If you're new to fantsay and want somewhere to start, I'd recommend Magician over any other book, yes even Lord of the Rings. If Tom Bombadil showed his face in Midkemia he'd have it torn off by a Saur before he could sing his first verse.

2009-10-22 (Australia) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Mediocre Fantasy
As the author states in the introduction, this book is not as good as people made it :-)
the story may be compelling, but there are many faults in this book that make the reading boring and exhausting:
Despite the fact that the story walks with the main character from childhood to adulthood the book fails to portray it as a real person, which results in lack of proper complexity that each one of us have. This goes for all characters of the book. The author touches each one briefly and unsatisfactory.
The dialogs are short and sometimes childish.
There is an irritating inconsistency in point-of-view where one sentence starts with one character point of view and 2 sentences afterwards you see it through another's character point of view.
The story is slow and when I was half way through the book I was wondering when will the autor ever get to the point.
I am sure this book at the time was considered better and maybe even innovative, but today after reading many good fantasy books, it just doesn't cut it.

2008-05-25 (Haifa Israel) | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 3

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Fantasy Lite (but entertaining)
"Magician" (Apprentice and Master) was entertaining, but my impression is that Feist cares more for his characters than he does his story. If you want only virtuous, very likable characters, happy endings and G rated banter between hardened warriors then he's your kind of writer. He's very good at this "safe" epic fantasy genre though (and I don't mean that disparagingly), and he does manage to keep things interesting. I prefer a little more reality and darkness and moral flavor in my fiction, personally. "Magician" was like Star Wars without the Empire. Or rather, Star Wars with a misunderstood Empire that's really good, but just set in its ways and in need of reform. It's the kind of adventure fantasy that I imagine aging, virginal, matronly English professors would enjoy ... if it had a bit more shear literary merit.

Never-the-less, if you like the kind of fiction I've described or you just want a change of pace, it's at the very least entertaining reading. Feist is a good story teller, even if he plays softball with his main characters, protecting them from any real tragedy.

2008-02-16 (Athens, GA (US)) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Not Free SF Reader
Grow up to fight the dark lord with your best mate, but gotta stop that alien invasion first.


Feist takes a fantasy epic that it seems grew out of his own fantasy roleplaying games, and gives the standard plot a pit of a tweak. While there is your evil dark lord figure to deal with, there is also an alien invasion (but of humans from a different culture, technology and type of magic).

One boy ends up in the other world with a touch of Shogun, learning magic, while the other ens up in a situation a lot more like Michael Moorcock's Corum.

An extremely well done fantasy adventure story that even appealed to my dad, of all people, being a bit of the old fashioned type of tale.

2007-10-23 | - Research Finished | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Too long and too little pay-off
This book was originally published in 1982. The version I have in my hands is the "New Revised Edition" published in 1992 which "incorporates over 15,000 words of text omitted from the previous editions".

I guess its my own fault for going for the New Revised Edition, but I thought this was way too long. I'm sure Raymond Feist is in love with every word he put down on paper, but in my opinion this book could have done with being a lot shorter. Several whole plot lines could have been easily removed from this book without harming the story in anyway. I've worked my way through Russian epics in less time than it took me to read this book, and to be honest, now that's its finished, I'm not sure what I got out of it.

In the forward to the revised edition, Raymond Feist writes, "I hesitate to admit this publicly, but the truth is that part of the success of this book was my ignorance of what makes a commercially successful novel. My willingness to plunge blindly forward into a tale spanning two dissimilar worlds, covering twelve years in the lives of several major and dozens of minor characters, breaking numerous rules of plotting along the way, seemed to find kindred souls among readers the world over."

Which raises the question: after he's already admitted the book's major faults, is it still fair for me to go after him on these points?

Well, let's start at the beginning. This book is set in the standard fantasy genre setting. Some of Feist's fans (and publisher's reviews) have compared him to Tolkien. He's not in Tolkien's league, but, like most modern fantasy writers, he should probably consider paying royalties to Tolkien's estate, because most of the elements in Feist's fantasy world come straight out of Tolkien: the elves as tall mystical forest druids instead of small little mischievous creatures in a shoemakers shop, the dwarfs as a race of underground miners, the anachronism of having characters based on ancient Norse mythology smoke tobacco, and even going so far as to steal the idea of the Elves and the orcs (or "Dark Brotherhood" as Feist calls them) being related races.

As Feist admits, he has probably far too many characters and plotlines going on in this world of his. Just as your beginning to get a handle on who everyone is, and where all the different races is, and what the relationship between the Dark Brotherhood and the Elves are and all that stuff, the entire world is invaded by beings from another planet. Kind of almost like a sci-fi Alien invasion, I guess, except instead of technology and spaceships they use magical powers to travel back and forth between worlds.

At first the aliens are just an invading host, but then eventually one of the main characters gets captured, and goes back to the aliens world, and then we have to learn all about the history, politics, and culture of that planet.

Now all this can be part of the charm of the book if you let yourself go along with it, but at the end of the day for me personally it was too many characters and plotlines to keep track of, and too little pay off. I guess I don't really expect any big life changing sociological or political messages from a book like this, but even in terms of plot, once everything was said and done, there was nothing extraordinarily special about this book which would cause me to recommend someone to wade through all 700 pages of it.

The descriptive passages are actually pretty good in this book, but the dialogue is terrible. It's somewhat a cross between the formal epic style of Tolkien and a more colloquial modern style, and it just comes off very stilted sounding. Everyone sounds like a character in a book instead of real people. (I'm told by one of my co-workers that even among Feist's fans his dialogue skills are often criticized.) The dialogue attribution is also overloaded with either adverbs or adverbial phrases, given the old "Tom Swifty" effect.

2007-05-23 | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 3

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