Magician : Master - Raymond E. Feist


MAGICIAN : MASTER

Book 2 of 'Riftwar' Saga

Read about Book 1 here

ISBN - 978-0-553-56493-8
FIRST PUBLISHED - 1982
PAGES - 499
EDITION - Paperback
GENRE - Fantasy

AUTHOR - Raymond E. Feist

BEST-SELLERS -
Silverthorn, Prince of the Blood

SYNOPSIS -
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 unimagined powers that lay within him. And he took his place in an ancient struggle against an evil Enemy older than time itself.

EXCERPT - The Elf Prince sat quietly.

Calin awaited his mother. There was much on his mind, and he needed to speak with her this night. There had been little chance of that of late, for as the war had grown in scope, he found less time to abide in the bowers of Elvander. As Warleader of the elves, he had been in the field nearly every day since the last time the outworlders had tried to forge across the river.

FL Speaks - The book continues the story of Pug and his friends, although they have been separated now. The story starts four years after the end of the first part and the war between the two nations is still going on (rolls eyes). Pug works as a slave to his Kelewan rulers and gives up hope of returning to Midkemia.

Four long years has passed and neither side has gained an upper hand in the war and it seems the fight would go on endlessly. Pug is sent to work in one of the Clan's houses where a Great One (sorcerer's in Tsurani are called Great Ones) discovers his talent and sends him to be a master magician. There, his loyalties to his old home are broken and he is taught to serve the Empire for all purposes. Though the magicians constitute of an autonomous body, a few of them assists the soldiers of the Empire during the war. As time flies, Pug begins to master his craft and is known by a different name, Milambar.

Midway into the story, the reason for the rifts in space is explained as the work of a single entity which is purely evil. Though who or what that evil is, the entire book rarely covers the subject on it. Meanwhile in Midkemia, Pug's boyhood friend is transformed into a mighty warrior and begins to control his sanity as an old ruthless warrior continues to hunt his mind and soul. The elves foresee that, Tomas may be their Saviour or might very well be their doom.

Pug aka Milambar soon realizes that he cannot live in Tsurani, if the Empire is to progress and hence decides to leave through the rift after falling out with the Warlord of the entire Tsurani forces. Together with the son of a Shinzawai Clan, he leaves for Midkemia with the boy whose father had sent him to sign a peace pact with the rulers across the world.

Lots of twists towards the end including the fate of Pug, a mystical sorcerer and the rulers of Midkemia makes this book a worthwhile read. The unknown dark entity is yet to be revealed and book 3 looks more promising to hold the answers you seek after the end of this book. The saga has a lot to offer and Feist is slowly building up to an explosive finish. Recommended only if you feel like continuing the saga. I, for one, am looking forward to it.

What some people might hate is the lack of detailed background. Thankfully, that bodes well for me. Too much of details and i don't think i would stop myself from skipping paragraphs. Stuff like those are the reason why SoT and WoT series lose focus and become uninteresting in the end. Although this book has more wars and events, i somehow miss the innocence and laughter of the first book. Nevertheless, a fine book.

My Rating - 3.5 stars

PRICE - INR 286/- from Tor Publications (Flipkart Price)

2 comments:

  1. I am taking a beak from fantasy .. specially war ones :P

    ReplyDelete
  2. every fantasy has a bit of war. You can't expect anything less. But thank your stars, this aint the works of Steven Erikson. Man, his works are kabooom!

    ReplyDelete

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