Riftwar: Magician Apprentice (Spoiler Free Review) by Raymond Feist
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
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Tolkien got me into fantasy books but this is the series that made me devote my life to them. Glad to hear you enjoyed!
That's wonderful!
This was one the books I got in my first Science Fiction Book Club order as a youth and it absolutely hooked me.
Also points to Feist for having some really lively, fun characters. I still want to be Nakor when I grow up. :)
Sequel The Empire Trilogy is probably considered as one of the best trilogies in the The Riftwar Cycle.
Great to hear!
I am so happy to see that you read and loved this book. I read this when it first came out and it propelled my love of fantasy ever since. Newer (or younger) readers discount these old school fantasy books because they are not edgy and grimdark. It’s a shame… Feist, Eddings and Brooks kept fantasy alive in the time between Tolkien and today’s authors such as Abercrombie, GRR Martin and Gwynne. They deserve an open mind when reading and the truly mad respect you just paid him. Thank you so much for shining such a bright light on an important fantasy classic. Another home run Matt.
Thank so much Thomas, and great insights!
The entire riftwar series is my all time favourite. Some books in the series aren't as good as others but overall I've serious attachment and nostalgia and have reread all 30 something books many times over the years. Enjoy the journey
Thank so much!
Magician is amazing. The second part is even better than the first, and the 2 sequels are great, too. I re-read the series last year after 20 years and I loved it.
That's so great to hear!
I never had any interest in these books, and now I am considering adding them to the TBR. Just call it the "Matt" effect; you have a lot of influence on my future reading decisions.
LOL, thank you!
I'm so glad you give books a chance that are older. They never had the time to shine on TH-cam. Pugggggg! Definitely read part two Magician Master. If you want to see the other side of the war from the invading perspective.... You have to check out daughter of the empire trilogy.
FYI the rights have been bought to bring both sides of the rift to television as a series.
This was also one of my favorite books growing up (the whole Magician, and its two sequels, as well as the Servant of the Empire -trilogy Feist wrote with Janny Wurts about the other side of the Rift). The series itself is now long as heck, but these early works are my undeniable favorites.
Feist's Riftwar series was probably one of the biggest epic fantasy series in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and there was even a PC game made set in the world. It's unfortunate that it has fallen out of spotlight over time, but it might be that readers got a bit exhausted with the series as it went on. That still doesn't detract from how good the earlier entries are, and they stand perfectly well on their own.
Awesome to hear, I can't wait to keep reading!
Betrayal at Krondor, classic game, I played the crap out of it way back when.
I’ve worked in bookstores off and on for 15 years and Raymond Feist has always been there haunting me from the fantasy section. Guess it’s time to finally dig in 😂
Yes, definitely get this!
Glad you loved this! I reread all my favorites from the '80's - Eddings, Brooks, Feist, DragonLance, etc., and this was the one I wanted to read more. In case someone hasn't already mentioned, the publisher split Magician into its two parts, and it wasn't published as a single volume till later. The "author's definitive version came later and added 50-60 pages the publisher cut the first time around. I read the single volume version for the first time in January and liked it a lot more than the 2-volume version. I think you'll like part 2, as it will explore the other world across the rift.
Wonderful, I can't wait to get to it!
love both of your channels, and YES shoutout to dragonlance novels, Raistilin is one of my fav fantasy characters! cheers yall
I'm glad that somebody on booktube finally put some respect on Feist's name a great old-school fantasy writer, you gave him a great review that he definitely deserves all his books are just as fantastic as the one that you read he has his ups and downs but they're all pretty good if not better glad that you enjoyed it keep up the great content
Thank so much, as always!
Thanks for reviewing this book, Matt! Magician's Apprentice was my first ever book that I got from my uncle when he came for the first time here in the Philippines. He gave it to me because that day was my birthday and he didn't have any gifts to give me, but he had The Magician's Apprentice in his baggage, so he gave it to me as a gift, and this book started to make me fall in love with reading.
What a wonderful little story, thanks for sharing!
I read these books when I was a kid, and I remember liking it. Now I want to go back and read them again. Read his horror book 'Faerie Tale' - it's also excellent. Also, great political fantasy with the Daughter of the Empire series he co-wrote with Janny Wurts.
Yeah I can't wait to get to the Wurts co-written books!
I read the single volume of Magician and loved it. I remember sitting back after finishing the last page and just saying "Wow" as I thought about how far the Pug had come!
I did read Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon but unfortunately they didn't amaze me as much as Magician!
I've read quite a bit of the Riftwar Saga (of which this is the first book written) well over a decade ago and I hope to go back and read it all someday. My favorites were a series he did with Janny Wurts, called the Empire Trilogy, about a young noble woman inheriting her failing house in the Kelewan homeworld. Really good stuff and if you plan to read more Riftwar in the future I'd really recommend this series.
Yay Matt! Delighted that you loved this. One of my all time favourites for exactly the reasons you described and its made me (a bit) sad that recent reviewers have been critical about what it is not, rather than celebrating what it is. Sure, it has longer chapters but that just makes the world more lived in as the reader. Sure, it has plenty of things that have been done before and many more times since but none do a portal fantasty anywhere near this level. I've been looking to step inside a re-read of this series for a while and want to share that joy with others, so definitely down for a readalong - Steve has provisionally said he's in as well.
Wonderful review as always. I'm gonna watch it again when I feel like I need cheering up! :) Us older crew could start a revolution here lol.
I think many of those that complain about older fantasy being tropey don't realize fantasy back in the 80s and 90s had to adhere to Tolkein style/tropes to even be considered for publication. And a lot of tropes people complain about weren't tropes back in the 80s (other than Tolkein), the tropes began here.
Thanks so much Chris! Yeah let's talk about readalong with Steve!
There are plenty of those 80s and 90s books we waiting patiently for, that are just incredible on a reread when you can actually power through a whole series
Fun fact: in Portugal publishing commpanies think fantasie readars have the attention spam of a gold fish so they split the books. The magician are 2 so yes lets print in 4. Yes i read the 4 and a love it to.
That's absolutely horrible. Just sucking money out of you left and right!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews you should see my Robin hoob colection ( liveships and rainwild are not transalated the other triologys are 5 books.... Go milk that cow)
Yay!!! Riftwar definitely still holds up. Can't wait for you to read the Empire Trilogy if you continue.
Magician came out in two volumes originally because the publisher said no one would read such a long book. He had to split the books and edited out a lot of stuff. The author came out with new edition in the 90s that is the entire story in one volume and parts put back in. I've read both and the author's preferred edition is better than the split books.
Oh yeah I'm for sure continuing!
LOVE the Empire Trilogy maybe more than the Riftwar saga, only because it didn't overstay its plot.
I think it got split for US but not in UK, NZ and Oz, only ever as one book 😊
Class! I've read the series twice. Personally think it's a crime that is not mentioned more in the top series lists. Though it does drop a little at the end, but overall great fun
Great to hear, thank you!
I really need to read some Feist! Magician Apprentice sounds like my kind of read! Hahah, completely agree about not needing to follow our PoV's through every second of their life. Jumping to the next point can be great!
Will
Yeah check it out, it's really good!
Great book. The series falls off later on, but the first few are excellent. And the related series he wrote with Janny Wurts is amazing, too.
Wonderful, I can't wait to get to that Wurts series!!
So glad that you enjoyed this. Feist, along with Eddings and Gemmell, were the authors that cemented my love of fantasy 30+ years ago. I'm not going to lie and say every book going forward is excellent, but there's plenty to enjoy in this series. And this video has made me want to re-read this series, so thank you for that.
You are most welcome! I can't wait to check out the others!
Ive heard the books in this series written with Janny Wurts are amazing. If you like book 1, then I think you'll love those books.
Wonderful to hear!
You’ll love his Empire series even more!
When a friend recommended this to me many years ago he said it’s the only series that he’d ever read that he was angry with himself when he ended it so he turned around and read the series again and then again. I didn’t believe it could be that good but sure enough, I read the series three times back to back. Then the empire series came out and I did the same with it. Definitely one of my favorite fantasies of all time!
This is so great to hear!
The Riftwar Saga was pivotal in building my love for fantasy. Published as a trilogy here in Australia, each book in my opinion gets better and the final book “A Darkness at Sethanon” was for the longest time the greatest fantasy book I had read and was a spectacular conclusion to the story arc. Quality gets a bit variable after that, but there are a couple of gems in amongst the following books.
I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so 😂 I actually felt the exact same way when I started reading this series, I didn't think I'd like it, but I ended up loving it. So far I've read 4 books in the series and loved every one.
That's so great to hear!
Thank you very much good sir! This is the book that changed my life. Magician was my first introduction to Fantasy and now I'm a fantasy author. Booktubers should show Feist more respect and more screen time. He did what Tolkien did but in a better way in my opinion. Trust me... you want/need to read Master. Because magicien is just an intro to the whole picture. Also you need at least to read Silverthorn and A darkness to Sethanon to taste and understand the big picture of the Feist ideas. Feist wrote it in a way that you need to read Magician, Master, Silverthorn and Sethanon... If you push after Master which is the best Feist book of all, you will encounter one of the best character in fantasy. You will be the first Booktuber to talk about this character and you will be right to do so. Thank you for this needed review of an amazing book and author. Have a nice day!
I love how your enthusiasm comes across, thanks for this review/recommendation and above all thank you for always staying true to yourself and what you feel. That’s why I personally value your channel above many others.
Thanks so much Juan, I feel the exact same way about your channel!
I was so anxious for you reading this book Matt! This video made me smile, my favorite book tuber loving one of my favorites!
Thank so much Spyros!
I actually felt the same way about The Belgariad. I read it last year expecting it to be some dumb corny fun which I was in the mood for at the time, and I ended up growing extremely attached to the characters which I didn’t expect.
Nothing in the Belgariad is all that original or new, but it genuinely has some of the funniest banter, friendly comedy and lighthearted romance in a fantasy series I’ve ever seen.
I’ll definitely have to give Riftwar a try.
Wonderful, and I'll give Belgariad a try!
I recently read this myself. I'm excited to see you continue because much as I liked the first one, I thought Magician: Master was even better. It takes a bit of a left turn, but in a fantastic way.
That's so great to hear!
That's awesome to hear -- I purchased my battered paperback from a used bookstore down the shore, and then last week got on my Kindle because it was on sale for like two bucks.
I didn't know when I was going to read it, but a gush-review like this tends to get me to it faster 😄
I hope you enjoy when you get around to it!
It always fun to see you giddy about a book.
Added to the TBR
Thanks Rohann!
Sold! I have read a couple of Feist books that i thought were good, so I'm more than happy to give this series a try.
Wonderful, I hope you enjoy!
I've actually read the book. Not when it came out, but about 10 years later - when the computer game "Betrayal at Krondor" came out, that played in the same world.
I remember I liked Magician quite a bit - but somehow I never got to read the other two books in the trilogy (despite them sitting here at my shelf) for some reason - so it would be time for a re-read i guess 😊.
What is also interesting is that the world "Midkemia" was originally the homebrew setting for a D&D campaign that the author played with some friends when he was in college - much the same story as with the Malazan books 😀
That's awesome backstory. Thank you!
So glad you loved this Matt and you have only read half the original book really so a lot to look forward to. Silverthorn and a Darkness at Sethanon are also excellent and bring the story arc to a satisfying conclusion. I would also highly, highly recommend the series beginning with Daughter of the Empire that Feist co-wrote with Janny Wurts. It tells of the events happening in Kelewan at the same time as in Magician with some character overlap. It's less magic, more a political intrigue and reminds me a little of The Greenbone Saga (which I am reading now) but on a greater scale.
Dude, you're killing me by expanding my reading list by 4-5 books with every damn video. 😀
I'M SORRY! Also...you're welcome :)
I'm thinking of reading this now, especially with what you said about the author not dwelling on the traveling. I recently read and enjoyed Eye of the World, and I appreciate the character and world development Jordan did during the travel bits, but man was I worn out from all that walking.
Yeah you will likely love this one!
I purchased the entire Riftwar series a couple months ago. This video makes me move it up a bit in my massive tbr pile.
Mooooooovin' on up!
Your enjoyment is contagious that it made me feel like picking up the book! Question: whats your thought on the prose?
It's not going to wow you, but it's good and accessible.
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews thats great! Doesnt have to be purple prose as long as its not that bland
"Pick this book up, like yesterday." Lol I love your videos and your personality !
Thanks so much! :)
I just picked this book up for my Kindle so I was glad to see the review. I’m excited to read it now!
Wonderful, I hope you love it!
This is why I love this channel! Diversity of content makes it so good. Glad you loved this. I tried to read Magician as a kid but struggled because of the length. But it's just gone back on my TBR.
Thanks Andy! Yeah check this one out!
I'm excited to read it now. Fantasy books before Wheel of Time were generally more briskly paced than modern fantasy.
Yeah, you have to check it out!
I'm surprised but really happy that you loved this book. I've read the series and it really needs some more attention on booktube. Can't wait for you to continue.
Thank you Jennifer!
You are in for a nice ride. I liked the second and third books even better than the first. I’ve read six others by Feist and he is remarkably consistent. I don’t mean that he repeats himself, but the quality of his writing and storytelling stays on the same level. Always good, fun and very accessible. In addition to those, I’ve read The Empire series, co-written with Janny Wurts, and it is on another level. So good.
Also, there will come a point in this first series that I think was highly influential on Erikson. Won’t say more, but I will be curious to see if you see it.
Magician: Apprentice and Master are such bangers. I don't like Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon as much, but they're still good. I have the Empire Trilogy to read this year.
This was my favorite fantasy book for a long time!
Wonderful, what is your current favorite?
Glad to hear you liked this book. It’s been in my library for a couple years and never picked it up.
Time to pick it up!
I have the Grim Oak edition of Magician, and it is amazing. It is no longer in stock, but the next 2 in the trilogy are still available if you want to get some high-quality editions of those!
Glad you liked it. Read this one about 30 years ago, and it was excellent. It is tropy, but in 1982 it wasn't that tropy yet!! You have to read Magician:Master, to complete the book.
Couldn't agree more. Followed the usual Star Wars tropes of the 80's but it still felt fresh compared to other series. Darkness was my favorite of the series. Seriously bad ass battle at the end. One of the best wrap-ups to a trilogy thats been done.
I can't wait to get to that point in the series!
I love this book and the RiftWar Cycle. I am in about 15 books right now. I read the first one back in 2003.
I hope your review will get get people to go and pick it up.
P.S I am hoping that the tv adaption of these book doesn't stray from the book style.
You say it is written in 1982 as if that was a long time ago.. gulp, what! I feel old. :) - and it has all the tropes. Back in the 80's when we were reading these hot from the press those tropes were less trope-y. They were new tropes back then. ;) Glad you liked it.
Thanks Duane! I feel the same way when my kids treat the 1990s like it is the 1890s.
Oh, so many memories. This book and series/universe they started were one of my gataways to fantasy books. I read it long long time ago and remember fondly to this day. I am happy that new people discover and appreciate older fantasy books and series today. 🧙♂️
I've had "Magician" sitting on my shelf for months but your review has pushed me into reading it next!! Love your reviews!
Thank you, and enjoy!
Your excitement got me FREAKIN hyped for this book!!! haha 😂
YEAH!
I've been "planning" to read this for a while....looks like it's going to the top of the TBR! Thank you for your review!
Brace yourself: the first dozen books are all superb. I particularly enjoyed his trilogy with Janny Wurts.
You could probably read the 1st book of the Empire series after finishing Magician : Master if you wanted to see the perspective of the other side of the rift, but I would check the author's webpage for the 'alternate reading order' section and I would probably recommend skipping most of the 'non-essential' books as there is a bit of a drop in quality for the side stories
Thanks Matt. Thanks to you I am reading a whole lot more than before
That's so awesome to hear!
Ha. I just realized I read this one years ago. Ima read it again now. Thanks, Matt!
I'm glad to hear how much you enjoyed this as I have an interest in starting it. As I find later editions to the series from second hand sources I have been picking them up.
Awesome, I hope you enjoy!
Hi Matt, you should have a spoiler section in your videos just to revisit that after reading the book, it would be great
Yeah, I might toy around with that!
It was such a joy to hear you gush about my favourite fantasy novel, and for most of my youth, my favourite book. (KSR's Mars trilogy lives there now) Magician: Master is incredible, (as I see you know, I'll go watch that next). The rest of this first trilogy loses some of that magic for me, and I think Feist falls into a little bit of a slump where he is just writing for a living some of the time over the rest of his catalogue, but there are gems in there. Especially the Empire trilogy with Janny Wurts, where they dig deep into the world of Kelewan.
So wonderful to hear, I can't wait for the Wurts books!
This entire series is my absolute favorite. I compare all fantasy books to it. And honestly, there are better installments in this series. Keep reading
Was curious on your thoughts on this, and the Belgariad. Happy to hear you so enthusiastic about this old series, I read the first book as a kid and loved it but somehow lost the love of reading... Girls and booze I guess . But have the series awaitig on my shelf now. After Green Bone Saga and Memory Sorrow and Thorn I will start on the Riftwar Cycle.
Read these probably in high school. And yes, just fun reads.
Looking at mybshelf there are 20+ series but the latter ones seemed to get a little repetative after a while.
Kelewas is actually based on MAR Barker's Tekumel / Empire of the Petal Throne.
That's awesome, I hope I keep on liking the series as it goes along!
I read these back in highschool in the 90s. I really enjoyed this style of fantasy. Not going lie part of the reason i don't really like Malice that much is because it feels too much like Riftwar and Memory, Sorrow and Thorn but i just like the older books more. Corban just felt like a second tier Pug and Simon.
Btw if you end up enjoying this series, the side series Fiest wrote with Janny Wurts is great.
OMG!1! your channel ROCKS!!!, this series is AWESOME, thank you for blowing it up!!!!!
Thanks so much!
I have been wanting to start this series for a while since I heard Petrik mention them in a video a while back. Glad to hear another review of it and will keep it on my TBR!
I hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading it!
Silverthorn and honored enemy (a standalone set during the riftwar saga) are 2 of my favourite fantasy books ever.
Unfortunately I stopped reading books during the serpentwar saga, I don't really know why as I was enjoying the books, I just went off reading for a few years. Anyway, I've heard his latest stuff really dips in quality and have been reluctant to go back to him.
so glad you enjoyed this, its by far my favorite fantasy series, reading magician when i was a kid in the 90's, last year i went back and listened to every audio book in the entire cycle start to finish and had the best time. so many cool recurring characters (jimmy the hand is the best) a super fun story line while some of the books are well weaker than the first 6 i loved every minute of them all, and really enjoyed the conclusion in magicians end.
i will say listening to all the books in order one after the other probably helped me enjoy them even more as every thing was fresh in my mind. I will say 30 books is a lot to get through but i cant recommend Fiest enough.
Magician is one of the few paper backs i still own from my childhood and is well worn, Never read the split version only the full magician so i cant speak for any differences. wish more people enjoyed fiest as much as i
Awesome to hear, I can't wait to keep going with this series!
I got the first two books from a library sale for 2 bucks and it’s sitting on my self until I finish wheel of time
You are going to love it!
This book has been on my TBR for ages. I might have to move it farther up now. If you haven't read them I'd recommend the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams if you want another 80s/90s fantasy series.
Your enthusiasm is so freaking contagious. Every time I hear a glowing review, I want to put down the book I am on and read what you are so excited about.
Thanks Jason!
I read it a couple months ago and loved it as well...
Awesome, did you keep reading?
@Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews same as you the TBR is just too long... I do plan on getting back to it
I love this series. Really happy you're enjoying it.
Thank so much!
I read this book almost 30 years ago. It was a series I always thought about revisiting
Yeah I will for sure re-read it someday.
Getting ready to read this soon, was planning it down the line but as always your videos force me to prioritize 😂
Move that bad boy up!
Awesome, I read this over 20 years ago and bought the series. Keep going it's fantastic!
Wonderful, thank you!
On sale on Kindle right now for 1.99. Picked it up!
Wonderful, I hope you enjoy!
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews thanks man. I will start it after I finish book 2 in the Expanse series :).
Oh this is awesome to hear! I have the first two sub-series plus the co-written Empire trilogy on the shelf from used bookstores, but it's pretty far down on the tbr since it doesn't get much hype in our circles these days. Everything you say it has is right up my alley!
Yeah it's really, really good.
Happy you enjoyed it. I have read the first three books and will the last one this year at some point.
This now on the tbr! You sound so excited. I’m so going to read this 😄
Wonderful, I hope you enjoy!
The ones in the series written with janny wurts are very very good
Most of the books in Riftwar saga are great....I do envy you that Empire trilogy and Shattered Crown is in front of you still...especially Empire trilogy is amongst my top 5 ever.
So great to hear - thank you!
Glad you read this book! I had watched an older video where you rank the top fantasy series of all time and you hadn't read Feist yet and was hoping you had dipped your toe in. I am surprised and delighted that you gave Apprentice 5 stars. I figure if you give my all time favorite fantasy author a 5 star rating then I will probably like your other 5 star books. I've been looking for a new fantasy series to get into and that's how I found your channel.
I came across these books in junior high in the mid 90's and they were my introduction into fantasy. I dove right in and read all of the ones that were out at that point, and kept up with them until his more recent books. I read other fantasy books when I was younger (I'm more into classic literature now) but Feist was always my favorite by far.
The Serpent war Saga is also really good. It's got a new generation of characters and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would because the main characters are more "normal" than the Riftwar, and their journeys seem a lot more perilous because of it. Highly recommend it.
Anyway love your channel, keep up the good work!
I read this book so many years ago. I think I need to reread it.
Definitely!
Just finished it myself, it was on my list of required reading my wife has apparently started for me lol. I also loved it and am immediately starting the second book.
So glad you loved it!
Read these as a kid, I’ll have to reread them!
Yeah they certainly haven't gotten worse with age!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Feist is so under reviewed on book tube. This is my all time favorite fantasy series and I'm VERY happy to see it getting reviewed and getting a positive one at that!
I loved this series as well, but if you got the time I would also check out Belgariad series by David Eddings, its quite a similar premise but its also so great. It also came out around then. Got to agree older books are the way to go for fantasy.
Now you have to read part 2!
Oh yeah, definitely!
So happy to see your love for this book. You helped me get back into fantasy, and to see your enthusiasm for a book I loved when I was a teenager warms my heart. Keep up the great work. It’s sincerely appreciated.
I love hearing it, thanks for sharing that!
This is a great book, the dialogue is a bit forced at the beginning but, that doesn't diminish the overall quality.
Unfortunately, the rest of the initial trilogy wasn't able to live up to the high bar this was able to set. Still worth a read, although I didn't continue after those.
I want to read Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts. I have Curse of the Mistwraith on my kindle waiting to be read. There is a definitely age concern around both of their writing but between you and Petrik I think I’m read to dive in and give them a chance finally.
I will be picking this soon because of your review, thanks!
You are most welcome. Enjoy!
I also just read this. Wow I’m completely hooked. I love the tropes and the feel of the book. 😊
In the middle of memories of ice but this made me wanna pick up and read this series really bad