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| Magician: Master (Riftwar Saga, Book 2) | 
 enlarge | Author: Raymond E. Feist
Publisher: Spectra
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $0.05
You Save: $7.94 (99%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (124 reviews)
Sales Rank: 11026
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 499
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0553564935
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780553564938
ASIN: 0553564935
Publication Date: January 1, 1994
Release Date: December 1, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good, but not perfect . . . July 25, 2007
MAGICIAN: MASTER had a number of good elements that I have not seen in fantasy before. I liked the exploration of societal slavery, oriental themes and unique magics.
For the most part the story moves quickly, however, there are broad departures from this fast pace. There is a major side-adventure that adds little to the story. Unfortunately, it drags on for several pages (50+).
Furthermore, the climax and denouement of the book were both uninteresting and long. Like many movies nowadays, this book could have trimmed the length of the tale (by 100 or more pages here) and improved the story. I would have liked to read the original issue of the book: MAGICIAN.
Still, the tempo of MASTER is generally fast-paced. I enjoyed the look into the villain's motives. I also liked the exploration of the villain's society, which struck me as interesting and rare in the fantasy genre.
MAGICIAN: MASTER is a book that fits squarely into the 4-out-of-5 star category. You will enjoy it, but it won't blow you away.
 Move over Tolkien... April 3, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
You'll have to excuse me if I'm blurring books here. I originally bought one large novel simply called "Magician" back in 1985 - it has since been split into two, the one I'm now reviewing being the second half of my book.
At the time, I found Feist's concept unique, his writing style compelling and his characters colourful and alive. 22 years later, I'm happy to say that I firmly maintain the same beliefs. In my eyes, this book (or now 2 books) firmly places Feist at the top of the fantasy genre, easily surpassing the rather stodgy writing of Tolkien. While this in itself is amazing for a first novel by an unknown author, Feist astounds us again in creating two distinct, vivid worlds complete with histories, cultures, societies.
The story starts out in Midkemia in a typical medeival setting, following primarily two boys - Pug (the magician the title refers to) and Tomas. Pug finds himself apprenticed to the Duke's magician, although something seems to be blocking his progression, mentally speaking. A while later, a strange ship is shipwrecked close to their town of Crydee. Upon closer inspection of what is left before the ship sinks, and a look into a dying soldier's mind, it is discovered that these people aren't merely from another land - they are from another world. The people are Tsurani from the world of Kelewan.
On a journey to warn the king of the potential invasion by these aliens, the boys become separated. Tomas is given some magical armour by a dying dragon in the depths of a mountain (and the armour turns him into a mighty warrior who is more than human). Pug later becomes captured and transported to Kelewan...and is eventually trained as a Great One - a magician of their world.
That is the gist of the 800 page novel. Obviously, there are far more characters, and much more in the way of plot development, but I wouldn't want to bore you with every single detail. Instead, I invite you to step into Feist's worlds...and be prepared to have difficulty putting the book down!
I highly recommend this book, and would dearly love to give it more than 5 stars :)
An even grander journey than the first! August 17, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As you can infer from the title of this review, I liked this book even better than Magician: Aprrentice, and I enjoyed Apprentice very much, so that's saying something for this one! In this book, we continue the tale of Pug and Tomas, as well as Arutha and the Riftwar. No longer is Pug a young boy from Crydee, but a young adult in Kelewan, where he is held as a slave. He is not alone, however, as a new friend, Laurie, stands by his side. It is in this world that Pug will find his true power.
This book has much more of a darker tone, though not overbearingly or even fully dark. Many of the horrors of war are shown throughout the book, and the characters must deal with them. One thing I liked about this book was that it gave Prince Arutha a much larger role than in the previous book (which I liked him in). He has a much greater responsibility, now, and you are able to see new traits of him show that reflect upon that. Tomas also has responsibility on his shoulders, though it is more grave than anyone can imagine. I like his role even better in this book, as well, because of the sheer emotional impact.
Enough of the characters, however, or I shall get carried away. The story in this book continues on the last one (obviously) and, in my opinion, is nothing short of epic. You literally feel like you are not simply just reading different 'scenes' of the book, but zooming in upon these instances while a living, breathing world continues on. As you read on, you can see that the Riftwar is doing much harm to both worlds. Just like the previous book, however, Feist still manages to give you an occasional breath of hope, never leaving you *entirely* downtrodden or depressed. And, I must say, I REALLY enjoyed the ending to this book (though I can't say anything more due to spoilers).
Now, for the bad, to keep this from being a mindless glowing review. Luckily, there's only one thing which I truly disliked. It is: at times, you may find yourself just a little bored with the conversations that the characters have, for Pug, in numerous places in the book, seems more of a 'political activist' than a magician (though I suppose if you enjoy reading about politics, than this is not a problem). I don't find politics boring, but it almost seems as if Feist is trying to cram this huge political system into one book.
All in all, this is a great book that I deeply enjoyed reading through. It takes you to another place, this novel. And while the conversations can be a little boring, almost jarring you out of your reverie, Feist always manages to keep each chapter interesting in it's own way.
Good Read August 6, 2006
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Raymond E. Feist is my favorite author of all time, probably becuase he just writes well. Yet it seems on part two of his huge book list he gets a little carried away with romance. STILL A GOOD READ.!
Better Than the First May 23, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the second book in the Riftwar Saga. This was a new author for me but I have always been a fan of fantasy novels. The first book, Magician: Apprentice was okay, but this book was great. For just the one scene where Pug, now called Milamber, first uses his full magical powers, the book is worth recommending. Fortunately, the entire book is highly entertaining and VERY readable.
Synopsis: A rift has been created between two worlds. In this book, Pug is a slave on Kelewan, the capital city of the Tsurani empire (the other world). He is discovered by one of the "Great Ones" as having magical talent and he begins his training in the art of magic. Back in his own world (Midkemia), his friend Thomas, is undergoing mental and physical transformation while wearing the armor of the long dead Velheru (the first race/Dragon Lords that commanded the world). The armor was not meant to be worn by humans. The storyline goes back and forth between the two worlds and the various characters, but it does this so smoothly, you are never "lost" or constantly re-reading pages (something I really dislike). There are many characters, but the writing follows them for a time so you don't forget who they are. Thank goodness, the book does not introduce a lot of named unnecessary characters that are mentioned one time then are never heard from again! The character names (in both worlds) are not complicated, so they are easily remembered, something I really appreciate when reading fantasy.
After reading Magician: Master, I realized the first book was focused on development of the characters, political climate and settings for the saga. "Master" has everything I love in my fantasy. Great characters, warriors, magic, interesting creatures and races and combat. If you were not really thrilled with the first book "Apprentice", I would HIGHLY recommend this second book. This one is a solid 5+ stars. For other highly readable fantasy authors, try R. A. Salvatore, the Icewind Dale Trilogy and Margaret Weis's Dragonlance series. The Dragonlance series is a classic so be sure to read them in order, Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
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