Fistandantilus
New Member
Dragonlance
The Dragons of Autumn Twilight is one of my favourite books, I read it two years ago.
The Dragons of Autumn Twilight is one of my favourite books, I read it two years ago.
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Raymond E. Feist: Magician
- Thread starter Fistandantilus
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Nakmeister
New Member
Magician - Raymond E. Feist
Hi all, I've just signed up to the forum today, and thought I'd best add my comments on Magician and Raymond Feist in general. Magician is one of my all time favourite books. I think it's a truly classic modern fantasy novel. Some elements may seem simplistic and stereotypical, but equally there's lots of intrigue and the further through the series you get the greater the complexity of the storylines and backplot.
I think of Magician as a standalone fantasy novel, but for people who really enjoy it, it can be the start of a huge ungoing saga. The books have many archetypal fantasy elements - dwarves, magicians, elves, magicians, orphaned kitchen boy etc. but it's what Feist does with them that's so good, he aimed to create 'a ripping good yarn' and that's exactly what he did in my opinion. If you want to see some other opinions of Magician, take a look at my bookring on Bookcrossing. The book is travelling the world and has already had quite a few people read it:
Magician Bookring on Bookcrossing
Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon are the sequels to Magician, and the three together comprise the 'Riftwar Saga'. Individually they're both a lot weaker than his first (which is probably his best) and alone aren't the best, but together they make a good series. Then came a couple of standalone novels featuring some of the same characters, and introducing my favourite character, Nakor.
As some others have said, Feist's Empire Trilogy which is set on Kelewan (Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire) is very different and complex from many of his other books. Part of that is an inevitable part in collaborating with another fantasy author, Janny Wurts, but partly it is the change of format. Most of his other books follow in some way or another the 'quest story' so common in fantasy fiction. The Empire Trilogy isn't, it's stuffed full of political intrigue, unusual characters and great storylines - you'll have to read it to fully understand what I mean.
Feist went solo again for his 'Serpantwar Saga' which began with 'Shadow of a Dark Queen'. Set many years after his first books, most of his original characters are dead. Their children and grandchildren crop up some of the time, but aren't the main focus of the book. A good series.
He then wrote a trilogy of books (the 'Krondor' series) based on computer games set in his fantasy world. They're fairly poor in comparison to his other work.
Then came a trilogy of standalone books (which sounds suspiciously like an oxymoron), which were ok, but not spectacular. Then finally there's his 'Conclave of Shadows' series, set even further in the future from his original books, and these are again very good, back to old form. He's currently on book 3, with the next book due out in September.
Phew! Hope I didn't bore you all, sorry if I did. Feist is my favourite fantasy author. All the other fantasy authors I read as a teenager I've got bored and given up on - Eddings, Jordan, Goodkind, Brooks. Feist's books I still love though, and eagerly await each new book.
Anyway that's it from me for now. I promise I won't be quite so wordy in all my posts on here.
Nakmeister
Hi all, I've just signed up to the forum today, and thought I'd best add my comments on Magician and Raymond Feist in general. Magician is one of my all time favourite books. I think it's a truly classic modern fantasy novel. Some elements may seem simplistic and stereotypical, but equally there's lots of intrigue and the further through the series you get the greater the complexity of the storylines and backplot.
I think of Magician as a standalone fantasy novel, but for people who really enjoy it, it can be the start of a huge ungoing saga. The books have many archetypal fantasy elements - dwarves, magicians, elves, magicians, orphaned kitchen boy etc. but it's what Feist does with them that's so good, he aimed to create 'a ripping good yarn' and that's exactly what he did in my opinion. If you want to see some other opinions of Magician, take a look at my bookring on Bookcrossing. The book is travelling the world and has already had quite a few people read it:
Magician Bookring on Bookcrossing
Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon are the sequels to Magician, and the three together comprise the 'Riftwar Saga'. Individually they're both a lot weaker than his first (which is probably his best) and alone aren't the best, but together they make a good series. Then came a couple of standalone novels featuring some of the same characters, and introducing my favourite character, Nakor.
As some others have said, Feist's Empire Trilogy which is set on Kelewan (Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire and Mistress of the Empire) is very different and complex from many of his other books. Part of that is an inevitable part in collaborating with another fantasy author, Janny Wurts, but partly it is the change of format. Most of his other books follow in some way or another the 'quest story' so common in fantasy fiction. The Empire Trilogy isn't, it's stuffed full of political intrigue, unusual characters and great storylines - you'll have to read it to fully understand what I mean.
Feist went solo again for his 'Serpantwar Saga' which began with 'Shadow of a Dark Queen'. Set many years after his first books, most of his original characters are dead. Their children and grandchildren crop up some of the time, but aren't the main focus of the book. A good series.
He then wrote a trilogy of books (the 'Krondor' series) based on computer games set in his fantasy world. They're fairly poor in comparison to his other work.
Then came a trilogy of standalone books (which sounds suspiciously like an oxymoron), which were ok, but not spectacular. Then finally there's his 'Conclave of Shadows' series, set even further in the future from his original books, and these are again very good, back to old form. He's currently on book 3, with the next book due out in September.
Phew! Hope I didn't bore you all, sorry if I did. Feist is my favourite fantasy author. All the other fantasy authors I read as a teenager I've got bored and given up on - Eddings, Jordan, Goodkind, Brooks. Feist's books I still love though, and eagerly await each new book.
Anyway that's it from me for now. I promise I won't be quite so wordy in all my posts on here.
Nakmeister
pwilson
New Member
OK, now I'm a little confused. Above we had come to the conclusion that it was a stand alone trilogy but now I've noticed that there are four books:
Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Master, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon. Is that right? So those four can be read as stand alone? Are the two "Magician" books sometimes combined?
Magician: Apprentice, Magician: Master, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon. Is that right? So those four can be read as stand alone? Are the two "Magician" books sometimes combined?
direstraits
Well-Known Member
Yes, Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master are actually 2 halves of one book. So it's really just Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon.
Nakmeister, thanks for giving the overview of Feist's books!
ds
Nakmeister, thanks for giving the overview of Feist's books!
ds
Kookamoor
New Member
I never knew they'd broken the first book into 2? Weird.
There's actually 2 versions of Magician - the original and the 'directors cut' version. The latter has more text added in 2 or 3 scenes, but ultimately it doesn't matter at all. He wanted to pad out one scene in particular, but the addition I found a little boring (it was about 10 pages extra or so, from memory). Just to let you know if you're looking at two books in the store and wondering.
There's actually 2 versions of Magician - the original and the 'directors cut' version. The latter has more text added in 2 or 3 scenes, but ultimately it doesn't matter at all. He wanted to pad out one scene in particular, but the addition I found a little boring (it was about 10 pages extra or so, from memory). Just to let you know if you're looking at two books in the store and wondering.
pwilson
New Member
Thanks, Kook. It is weird that it was broken into two books. I remember thinking it was a little strange that the first two books of the "trilogy" had names that began Magician:... and the third one was completely different. Mystery solved. I'll have to check and see if mine are original or extended. From what you said, it doesn't sound like it makes too much of a difference, though.Kookamoor said:
Nakmeister
New Member
I think Magician was broken into two books over in America for marketing reasons. Here in the UK it's always been one volume only. I agree with Kookamoor, it doesn't really matter whether you've got the original or the revised version. I think there's an extra 15,000 words, but spread over a 300,000 word book that's not a lot and it's mostly just a few extra sentences here and there and a couple of scenes extended. I prefer the extended version as there's more too it, it adds a couple of details to an important scene, and it's closer to how the author originally wrote it. But that's just my opinion.
Kookamoor
New Member
I thought that scene was waaaaaaay too long and wordy in the revised edition. Perhaps I'd appreciate it more now, however. I've read Magician many, many times and whenever I get to that scene I kinda skim through it (I own the revised edition).
By the way, Nakmeister, thanks for the input on what the exact difference between the two versions was.
Anyone else got any feedback? I've long been curious about people's preferred version. Don't forget your spoiler tags, though!! I don't want pwilson to have the ending where the dragon leaps out of a skyscraper and is taken out by the monkey with the machine gun to be ruined...
By the way, Nakmeister, thanks for the input on what the exact difference between the two versions was.
Anyone else got any feedback? I've long been curious about people's preferred version. Don't forget your spoiler tags, though!! I don't want pwilson to have the ending where the dragon leaps out of a skyscraper and is taken out by the monkey with the machine gun to be ruined...
pwilson
New Member
Thanks a lot Kook! Now I guess I'll have to forget to add spoiler tags when I ask ds what he thought about that scene in Tigana where the amazons are attacking the giant chameleon with rusty razor blades.Kookamoor said:
Dragons and machine gunnin' monkeys, huh? I definitely need to read that book!
Feist wasn't the first book I picked up, that would be Edding's, then Jordan, and then Feist. Feist is the only one who I've picked up more than once. All of Feists books have alot to offer, I just recently found out he's writing again about Midkemia so I'm gonna have to go pick up those books.
Bacardi Jim
New Member
A lot of fantasy grew out of the huge Dungeons & Dragons fad of the late 70's and early 80's. TSR even created its own line of books for D&D-inspired fiction--Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weiss made a lot of money writing mediocre D&D inspired novels for them. But Feist's Riftwar Saga is the crown jewel in this particular sub-sub-genre. The original novel grew directly out of his Friday night D&D and Bushido (a similar game set in medieval Japan) games. (In fact, Magician is dedicated to the "Friday Nighters.") The societies and their magic/religion are clearly lifted directly from Gary Gygax's games. But Feist manages to create interesting characters and a depth of storyline that seemed to elude all the other D&D authors who cropped up in the 80's. Although some of his later Kelewan books lost some of the energy and freshness, the Riftwar Saga and Magician in particular stand out as real achievements in the realm of fantasy, regardless of their origin.
On a side note, it's a real joy to see Magician being once again published as a single volume. This is how it was published in hardback, but when originally published in paperback, the long novel was split up into two books: Apprentice and Master. Only recently has a paperback version of the full book been available in a single volume. And it is an "unexpurgated" version, which includes material cut from the original release.
On a side note, it's a real joy to see Magician being once again published as a single volume. This is how it was published in hardback, but when originally published in paperback, the long novel was split up into two books: Apprentice and Master. Only recently has a paperback version of the full book been available in a single volume. And it is an "unexpurgated" version, which includes material cut from the original release.
pwilson
New Member
Well, I finished Magician and I have to admit that it just never really grabbed me. I didn't hate it or anything but I just never felt myself getting attached to any of the characters. I've seen several people comment that it was nostalgic for them since they read it when they were younger so maybe I just started too late? I know a lot of people don't like Edding's Belgariad but I read it early on and it will always have a spot on my shelf. Maybe it's the same kind of thing.
Maybe it's the same kind of thing.well even though it was split into those two sections, master and apprentice, I don't believe I've ever seen them published apart.
as to the thread itself, I've been a great fan of Feist for quite some time now, and I think Magician and the Empire Trilogy are among the best fantasy books I've ever read.
just to comment on that revised edition, I also think they used that to include certain references to other events. like for those that have read the empire trilogy, you'll recall the meeting of pug with the slaves at the Acoma estate, I would imagine that part not being included in the first editions of Magician.
nicely done though.
as to the thread itself, I've been a great fan of Feist for quite some time now, and I think Magician and the Empire Trilogy are among the best fantasy books I've ever read.
just to comment on that revised edition, I also think they used that to include certain references to other events. like for those that have read the empire trilogy, you'll recall the meeting of pug with the slaves at the Acoma estate, I would imagine that part not being included in the first editions of Magician.
nicely done though.
i have read all of his books and just can not wait until the next comes out in the Darkwar saga. Its ment to be called "Into a Dark Realm".
i think feist writes the most amazing books.
i started reading them around 6months ago and just finished reading "Flight Of The Nighthawks" yesterday.
AMAZING BOOKS
i think feist writes the most amazing books.
i started reading them around 6months ago and just finished reading "Flight Of The Nighthawks" yesterday.
AMAZING BOOKS