Fantasy

Magician

Magician

  • Downloads：4932
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-16 09:53:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Raymond E. Feist
  • ISBN：0007466862
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

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。

"Totally gripping。。。 A fantasy of epic scope， fast-moving action and vivid imagination。" -- "The Washington Post Book World"

Download

Reviews

Rebecca Olive ，

I was drawn into this world from the start。 Fantastic characters that I （mostly） cared about and an exciting story。 There is a big caveat to my enjoyment of the story though， which is the sexist way Feist writes women that makes it feel quite dated to read and I found myself cringing at the moments where “her eyes were moist with emotion” and Feist’s obsession with what he sees as the exciting time when girls are transforming into women。 That got a bit creepy。 So read it if you can handle those I was drawn into this world from the start。 Fantastic characters that I （mostly） cared about and an exciting story。 There is a big caveat to my enjoyment of the story though， which is the sexist way Feist writes women that makes it feel quite dated to read and I found myself cringing at the moments where “her eyes were moist with emotion” and Feist’s obsession with what he sees as the exciting time when girls are transforming into women。 That got a bit creepy。 So read it if you can handle those moments and you’ll find a wonderful world to lose yourself in。 。。。more

Barath G D Krishnan ，

Good but not great。I'm a huge fan of fantasy fictions， and a very choicy reader。 I'd say this book is definitely worth a read， but just once。 Raymond started off really well with what promised to be an epic fantasy， but digressed along a lot of times and then suddenly come to a moderate conclusion。 I'd suggest the book to people are done reading all epic fantasies and are unable to find new good fantasy fiction。 I will continue with the series to see how it goes henceforth。 Good but not great。I'm a huge fan of fantasy fictions， and a very choicy reader。 I'd say this book is definitely worth a read， but just once。 Raymond started off really well with what promised to be an epic fantasy， but digressed along a lot of times and then suddenly come to a moderate conclusion。 I'd suggest the book to people are done reading all epic fantasies and are unable to find new good fantasy fiction。 I will continue with the series to see how it goes henceforth。 。。。more

Goran Huško ，

Finally a fantasy saga worth reading。 After "The black magician" and "The Riryia relevations" I had a hard time finding something to stick with。I can see there some 30 or so books regarding the Riftwar saga。 I do not think I will read all of them but I will continue with "Silevthorn" and "A Darkness at Seathlon" for sure。 Finally a fantasy saga worth reading。 After "The black magician" and "The Riryia relevations" I had a hard time finding something to stick with。I can see there some 30 or so books regarding the Riftwar saga。 I do not think I will read all of them but I will continue with "Silevthorn" and "A Darkness at Seathlon" for sure。 。。。more

Yvonne ，

Read it， and loved it， when I was 16。 Chose it for a book review essay， only to be given feedback that fantasy wasn't serious reading。 I stand by my choice lol。 Tried again 30 years later。。。 It wasn't the same。 Chose to stop and remember it as amazing Read it， and loved it， when I was 16。 Chose it for a book review essay， only to be given feedback that fantasy wasn't serious reading。 I stand by my choice lol。 Tried again 30 years later。。。 It wasn't the same。 Chose to stop and remember it as amazing 。。。more

Erik M ，

I read the book（s） years ago but listened this go-around。 Great narration， and a wonderful story as always。

Alice ，

Decent story but I found the writing style lacking。 Also， 650+ pages before the book barely squeaked a pass on the Bechdel test。Not saying I won’t read others in the series but I won’t be rushing to do so。

stix_antics ，

A wave of murmuring swept through the assembled Craftmasters。 A few voices could be heard saying it wasn’t proper for a magician to participate in the Choosing。 The Duke silenced them with a sweep of his gaze， his face stern。 No Craftmaster would challenge the Duke of Crydee， the third-ranking noble in the Kingdom， over the standing of one boy。 Slowly all eyes returned to regard the boy。tThe Duke said， ‘As Kulgan is a recognised master of his craft， it is his right to choose。 Pug， orphan of the A wave of murmuring swept through the assembled Craftmasters。 A few voices could be heard saying it wasn’t proper for a magician to participate in the Choosing。 The Duke silenced them with a sweep of his gaze， his face stern。 No Craftmaster would challenge the Duke of Crydee， the third-ranking noble in the Kingdom， over the standing of one boy。 Slowly all eyes returned to regard the boy。tThe Duke said， ‘As Kulgan is a recognised master of his craft， it is his right to choose。 Pug， orphan of the keep， while you take service？’ Pug stood rigid。 He had imagined himself leading the King’s army into battle as a Knight-Lieutenant， or discovering someday he was the lost son of nobility。 In his boyish imaginings he had sailed ships， hunted great monsters， and saved the nation。 In quieter moments of reflection he wondered if he would spend his life building ships， making pottery， or learning the trader’s skill， and speculated on how well he would do in each of those crafts。 But the one thing he never thought of， the one dream that had never captured his fantasies， was that of becoming a magician。Epic fantasy isn't really my genre; apart from George R。 R。 Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher Saga， there aren't too many epic fantasy books that I have found myself really getting into。 I think I spoke about my relationship with the genre in my review of BLOOD OF ELVES， but I'll give a shortened version here: with school going on， I find it hard to remember the difference between Urg and Urge， both of whom are very different people whose differences are very important， so you'd better remember that even while a bunch of other pieces of information are crammed down your brain's mouth。 However， despite this， I quite enjoyed Raymond E。 Feist's MAGICIAN （published as two individual volumes in the '80s， then revised and made into one book in 1992）， which was recommended to me by a teacher at my school。 MAGICIAN is considered by the good folks of Goodreads to be a young adult novel， which made me a bit uneasy when I first noticed this; I do not really like young adult novels （except for Clive Barker's Abarat series）， as I feel that they don’t really give you the complexity provided in adult books…along with the tame levels of gore。 Hey， I'm weird…Anyway， what I'm saying is that despite MAGICIAN being a young adult novel， I still managed to enjoy it。 In the town of Crydee， Midsummer Day strikes。 To many， this means nothing more than a new year; however， to men such as Pug and his friend， Tomas， it is the day of the Choosing， in which their ascension to manhood shall be marked by being selected for a certain trade。 At the event， Pug finds himself worrying; what shall he be chosen to do？ Shall he， like the brother-figure who is Tomas， become a swordsman？ Or will he be neglected a chance to find a trade in Crydee， the place he does not want to leave？ This last option seems that which shall be true—until， at last， he is chosen by Master Kulgan， the Duke’s magician。 After over a dozen months of study， however， Pug’s future as a magician does not seem too likely—until， while saving the princess of Crydee from a pair of trolls， he recites a deadly spell that should be impossible for one to say without using a scroll。 It soon becomes apparent that Pug is not as normal a boy as everybody has thought all along。 However， Pug—along with the residents of Crydee， even the whole of Midkemia—soon finds something else to worry about when a mysterious ship is found near the town。 An investigation into the matter finds that this ship may not be from their world—and that it may foreshadow an invasion。 Pug is suddenly plunged into a war between worlds as foreign invaders threaten to destroy the world that he had been so eager to explore， all while his mysterious powers grow stronger and stronger。 Silence descended over the room， and Pug was struck by a feeling of hopelessness。MAGICIAN was an interesting experience， being unlike any epic fantasy novel I have read; although it is set in another world （other than the Earth we are all familiar with）， it still concerns itself with Other Worlds， which I found to be quite interesting。 Feist really explains this aspect of the story well， and I enjoyed the dread that he created in the first hundred pages。 After this initial lead-up， the pace begins to increase as the namesake of this series breaks out: the Riftwar。 I found the characters to suit their purposes—likeable， unlikeable; good， bad—but apart from a few small traits， they were fairly black-and-white for the most part。 There are some exceptions， but more often than not， the characters are either noble good guys or vicious bad guys。 However， they are not black-and-white on a Koontzian level， instead being as realistic examples of pure good and pure bad characters as can be possible。 Feist also makes them worth taking note of， and I managed to remember almost everybody I was meant too—how about that！ I also found that some of the depictions of the transition from being a boy to being a man were fairly emotional， preventing MAGICIAN from being another emotionally-detached epic fantasy novel about a war。 With exaggerated stealth they crept along， playing the part of hunters。 Tomas led the way as they left the footpath， heading for the watering pool they knew lay not too far distant。 It was improbable they would spot game this time of the day unless they simply blundered across it， but if any were to be found， it most likely would be near the pool。 The woods to the northeast of the town of Crydee were less forbidding than the great forest to the south。 Many years of harvesting trees for lumber had given the green glades a sunlit airiness not found in the deep haunts of the southern forest。 The keep boys had often played here over the years。 With small imagination， the woods were transformed into a wondrous， place， a green world of high adventure。 Some of the greatest deeds known had taken place here。 Daring escapes， dread quests， and mightily contested battles had been witnessed by the silent trees as the boys gave vent to their youthful dreams of coming manhood。 Foul creatures， mighty monsters， and base outlaws had all been fought and vanquished， often accompanied by the death of a great her， with appropriate last words to his mourning companions， all managed with just enough time left to return to the keep for supper。I personally enjoyed learning the lore of Midkemia， a foreshadowing of which comes towards the start of the novel in the form of a fellow named Martin Longbow， who introduces an aspect of elven culture。 On that note: despite using “stereotypical” devices of epic fantasy， such as elves， dwarves and dragons， Feist manages to prevent his story from feeling like a Lord of the Rings-wannabe。 It even goes so far as to try explaining why dwarves have thicker voices than usual humans （perhaps this is done in the Lord of the Rings books， but I have not been able to get through even a quarter of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING， so I wouldn’t know）。 There were a few aspects of MAGICIAN that hampered my enjoyment of it: towards the middle of the book， at the start of Book II， I found my attention wandering。 Pug evolved into another character， but one that I have met before on multiple other occasions: the underdog。 He went from being a charming character to being， to be blunt， a stereotype。 He was still likeable， of course， but in the sense that the reader liked him because they were meant to。 The same can be said for the story at the start of Book II: still good， but just not as good。 It picks up， of course， along with Pug as a character， but I must still take into account the tedious middle section of the book that made me contemplate putting MAGICIAN down （which I did end up doing， though for other reasons）。 Also， it took me way longer to read MAGICIAN than it should have， considering that it took me about three weeks （？） to read an 800-page book when I have read 1000-page books in just over a single week。 I’m not bragging， but it took me a while to read this tome， which prevented me from reading other books since I like to finish one book before moving on to another。 Perhaps I am to blame for this—I probably read it slowly so I didn’t speed through one important detail or another—but still， it was a bit annoying。 However， despite the struggle that bits and pieces of the second half presented， I still enjoyed MAGICIAN。 It was an interesting experience， with scenes of both exciting action and genuine emotion， and it has successfully pulled me into Feist’s fictional universe。 I do not know when I will read SILVERTHORN—I don’t plan on reading A STORM OF SWORDS， the third novel in George R。 R。 Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire， until the upcoming school holidays—but I most certainly will。 。。。more

Daniel Verberne ，

I've read this book dozens of times， I think！It's simply one of my favourites。 There's something about this book， especially the innocence and grandeur of the set up， of Pug and Tomas and their shared exploits; that is classic。 There's something potent in some of the fundamentals of this story and yet Feist twists some of the more familiar plot points with the introduction of the travel-between-worlds concept， setting our protaganists on new paths。There are many wonderful parts of this most wond I've read this book dozens of times， I think！It's simply one of my favourites。 There's something about this book， especially the innocence and grandeur of the set up， of Pug and Tomas and their shared exploits; that is classic。 There's something potent in some of the fundamentals of this story and yet Feist twists some of the more familiar plot points with the introduction of the travel-between-worlds concept， setting our protaganists on new paths。There are many wonderful parts of this most wonderful of books and for me， one of the standouts is when the forces from Crydee are routed and must escape the only way possible - into the abandoned mines of the Mac Mordain Cadal。 The scenes of the weary fighters and our protaganists Pug and Tomas in the mix， being haunted by spectral wraiths in the darkness - is exciting， full of horror， tension and adventure。 It's a wonderful scene and sets up the next act where our protaganists are literally a world apart。There are those who may criticise this book and some of Feist' creations as being heavily inspired by the works of authors like Tolkein。 I admit， having read some Tolkein and knowing the films and read plenty of Feist; that yes， there are definitely common elements， but I find Feist far less concerned with deep lore and more interested in the possibilities for adventure， be it exciting and fun， or terrifying and fearful。 To me， there are not many book series that can boast being as singularly entertaining， as engrossing and as fun as the Riftwar trilogy and Magician is not just a fantastic start to the series， it works perfectly well in its own right。Fans of Magician like myself often look at lavish TV and movie adaptations of other written fantasy works and wonder 'How on Earth did they convince producers to do this？'。 If they spent $X million on that， surely they could make an incredible movie out of Magician！？ Well， yes and no。 While I'd love to see some sort of adaptation of Feist works， I'd also be very worried about it either spoiling the written works， or simply failing to adapt properly。 Magician would definitely be an expensive and CGI-reliant work to adapt for the screen。 If it ever gets done， I'm sure it would an exciting project， but for now I'm just content to love this book。 。。。more

Jessie Dean ，

Good book。 Raymond’s ability to create such a detailed and expanse world within his books is just bonkers。 Loved how the story went between worlds and characters， truly made it impossible to put down as there was rarely a time when the story dulled down enough to bookmark the page。 My gripe with this book is that at times the plot was quite predictable。 Raymond also often set up these romantic plots only to almost ruin them with a sort of boy like awkwardness that just felt off and disappointing Good book。 Raymond’s ability to create such a detailed and expanse world within his books is just bonkers。 Loved how the story went between worlds and characters， truly made it impossible to put down as there was rarely a time when the story dulled down enough to bookmark the page。 My gripe with this book is that at times the plot was quite predictable。 Raymond also often set up these romantic plots only to almost ruin them with a sort of boy like awkwardness that just felt off and disappointing。The same boy like censored writing can be said for the battle scenes。 Would of liked Raymond to be more descriptive in these as it was honestly a bit boring and vanilla。 I often found that I would just skim over them and not miss anything。 I enjoyed how Raymond ties future books into this initial one with introductions of characters and brief insight into the history of the kingdom etc （don’t want to spoil）。 。。。more

Sonia Keulder ，

Even betterRead the first edition about 30 years ago and loved it。 This edition is even better！ Looking forward to the rest of the series。

Anna Ahveninen ，

I remember really enjoying this trilogy like， uh， almost a decade ago？ Picked it up again as some lockdown escapism。 Halfway through I was still waiting for the enjoyable bits and came across the actual harem and decided it wasn't worth the effort anymore。 I remember really enjoying this trilogy like， uh， almost a decade ago？ Picked it up again as some lockdown escapism。 Halfway through I was still waiting for the enjoyable bits and came across the actual harem and decided it wasn't worth the effort anymore。 。。。more

Reuben Mulligan ，

Read this a few years ago and absolutely loved the story。 Great book， would recommend

John Adams ，

Raymond E。 Feist is the internationally acclaimed author of nine bestselling fantasy series， but 'magician' is where his decades-long success story began。My review of 'magician' by Raymond E Feist is up on the John C Adams Reviews website now！https://www。johncadamsreviews。com/sin。。。#magician #raymondefeist #fantasy #swordandsorcery #JohnCAdamsReviews #JohnCAdams #FantasyFriday #fiction #book #Review #Reviews #BookReviews #BookReview Raymond E。 Feist is the internationally acclaimed author of nine bestselling fantasy series， but 'magician' is where his decades-long success story began。My review of 'magician' by Raymond E Feist is up on the John C Adams Reviews website now！https://www。johncadamsreviews。com/sin。。。#magician #raymondefeist #fantasy #swordandsorcery #JohnCAdamsReviews #JohnCAdams #FantasyFriday #fiction #book #Review #Reviews #BookReviews #BookReview 。。。more

Llona Lalluvia ，

Epic Fantasy in tutti i modi possibili。 Ragazzi poveri elevati dalle circostanze。 Secolari elfi buoni e elfi oscuri。 Nani guerrieri。 Maghi misteriosi。 Draghi morenti。 Cerche， invasioni e guerre

William Green ，

Dragged on slightly and some character decisions were irritating。 Surely macros and pug and kulgan could’ve snuck off and closed the rift without having to start a battle that caused thousands of deaths？ Would’ve given four stars if things like this weren’t in there。

Aryan Leimbach ，

Enter the world of Midkemia for the time honoured battle of good vs。 evil。 Incredible character arcs with breath-taking story telling this is a fantastic entry into fantasy。

Tero ，

So many characters and so very long。

Wouter ，

First of all: as the title， Magician， entices you to think， "oh this book is full of magical invocations， exploding bursts of pure energy， mad wizardry， and the like"， I'll have to stop you right there: it's not。 The protagonist， Pug， is indeed a Magician's apprentice that much （much） later （forcefully？） is turned into a master， the actual sections where the actual magic happens are spread very， very thin。 Second: the boring LOTR rip-offs are starting to get a bit tiresome。 A dragon in the mount First of all: as the title， Magician， entices you to think， "oh this book is full of magical invocations， exploding bursts of pure energy， mad wizardry， and the like"， I'll have to stop you right there: it's not。 The protagonist， Pug， is indeed a Magician's apprentice that much （much） later （forcefully？） is turned into a master， the actual sections where the actual magic happens are spread very， very thin。 Second: the boring LOTR rip-offs are starting to get a bit tiresome。 A dragon in the mountains？ Oh， Dwarven mines， you say， and a hidden Elven city in the trees？ Even the name of the world， Midkermia， almost sounds like Middle-Earth！Third: some sections， such as the beginning of very chapter， feel very stiff， and although not too disruptive， clearly show the age of the book。 I just wish there was more magic going on。 I felt like Feist tricked me into reading a 600+ heavyweight。 I could have stopped after a few hundred pages， but the first few are actually pleasant， and in the end， I just wanted to know what would happen。 That said， I think I'll pass on the other Riftwar books。 。。。more

Russ Nielsen Petres ，

I really struggled with this。 You can tell that his editor and publisher told him to take out whole chapters， and that it was his first major book。 Some of the writing was very fluid， but， for me， most of it was very fluffy， choppy and disjointed。 At times he rambles on about non important things and then he goes into raptures about something trivial。 It has put me off reading anymore by him。

Jared - Jarock on Discord ，

8。5 out of 10How do you fairly rate a classic？ I flipped flop back and forth between an 8。5 and 9 repeatedly。 This is one of my favorite works of all time but there are some clear flaws。The good - Raymond Feist is one of the great fantasy authors of the 1980s and he absolutely built an epic fantasy world that rivals the best。 Magician is an exceptionally long book and despite its title has many protagonists from an orphan who becomes the titular magician to his best friend who becomes a warrior 8。5 out of 10How do you fairly rate a classic？ I flipped flop back and forth between an 8。5 and 9 repeatedly。 This is one of my favorite works of all time but there are some clear flaws。The good - Raymond Feist is one of the great fantasy authors of the 1980s and he absolutely built an epic fantasy world that rivals the best。 Magician is an exceptionally long book and despite its title has many protagonists from an orphan who becomes the titular magician to his best friend who becomes a warrior with few peers， a Duke who lovingly raises his children and is the picture of a good ruler who still has secrets that may shape the Kingdom's future。 This only scratches the surface of all the characters who you are introduced in this first book。 The cast list is large but never feels overwhelming。 For those who choose to continue in the world， many of these characters will return， but Feist continually introduces new heroes in each series and each one has their unique qualities。This is classic fantasy。 That means if you are expecting sex and violence to be thrust in your face， look elsewhere。 As the name Riftwar implies there is war aplenty but don't expect gruesome descriptions。 Feist follows the approach that most authors of his time period did and does not focus on such matters。 That makes this work appropriate for readers of teen years and even younger if they are advanced enough。There are tons of feats of derring do。 Classic creatures like elves and dwarves with Feists unique spin on each。 Preists of varied gods and the hints of threats that could end universes。 All of these things combine to create a fun and fascinating journey through a world that you quickly realize you are just scratching the surface。 This work is epic in scope and length and sets up an entire universe to be explored。What keeps it from perfection are issues that plague most books of this age。 The characters while deeper than they appear at first glance clearly hold to common tropes of epic fantasy。 Female characters are particularly problematic by modern standards as are many of the relationships。 Feist puts the feudal system on an underserved pedestal when you consider the problems that feudalism creates。 Critics will point out the glorification of Western European society while the clearly Eastern Asian inspired Tsurani are initially painted as warmongering enemies。 This is resolved in the second half of the book but whether these things are deal breakers depends on the reader。For fans of epic fantasy， Magician will introduce you to a wide and varied world that is well worth visiting。 。。。more

Millie W ，

I dont understand why this book is so popular。 I found the prose quite bad and overall the book was far too long。 The story ran out of steam about a third of the way through。 And for a book called magician， there wasn’t that much magic， and certainly not a developed magic system。The characters are poorly fleshed out （and it defo fails the bechdel test， you can very much feel the 1980s brand of feminism where empowering women is giving a poorly fleshed out female love interest a sword and calling I dont understand why this book is so popular。 I found the prose quite bad and overall the book was far too long。 The story ran out of steam about a third of the way through。 And for a book called magician， there wasn’t that much magic， and certainly not a developed magic system。The characters are poorly fleshed out （and it defo fails the bechdel test， you can very much feel the 1980s brand of feminism where empowering women is giving a poorly fleshed out female love interest a sword and calling it a day）。 。。。more

David ，

The best book ever written in the world of fantasy。 It's has everything from character development， to romance， to battle， to an amazing created world from the author。 The best book ever written in the world of fantasy。 It's has everything from character development， to romance， to battle， to an amazing created world from the author。 。。。more

Ulrikke ，

It was difficult finishing this book。 I was bored， but determined to complete it。 Slow-moving while still skipping through years and months at a time。

George L ，

DNF 20% Sick of YA novels of the past decade？ Try the YA novels of the previous century and get sick in different way。

court ，

i like arutha quite a bit。 good fantasy but not amazing。 great world building。 drags on a whole lot and pug is the most one dimensional main character ever。

TheIslander's Library ，

I really liked this book。 But if you are going to read the entire series- Riftwar Saga， I suggest reading them in order and at a stretch。

Superdan ，

Loved this read。 This was my first fantasy and adventure book。 I read this at the age of 13， which coincides with the main characters age。 Thoroughly enjoyed it and went on to read Feists other books。

Misty ，

When I read this for the first time， 25-30 years ago， I was instantly hooked。 Pug， Tomas， Kasumi， Laurie， Arutha。。。 I knew them all intimately and I often reread their adventures through the years。This year I decided to do a complete read of Riftwar since it stopped in Italy after the third book and I never went further than that。 I will this time。 But I had to start at the beginning， because how could I not？And so， I met again with all of them， and like then， I fell in love。 This is the fantasy When I read this for the first time， 25-30 years ago， I was instantly hooked。 Pug， Tomas， Kasumi， Laurie， Arutha。。。 I knew them all intimately and I often reread their adventures through the years。This year I decided to do a complete read of Riftwar since it stopped in Italy after the third book and I never went further than that。 I will this time。 But I had to start at the beginning， because how could I not？And so， I met again with all of them， and like then， I fell in love。 This is the fantasy I like， the one that calls to me。。。 this tale of loyalty， sacrifice， bravery， magic， war！A masterpiece， if classic， that stays with you and refuses to be forgotten。 。。。more

Ryan ，

The book that opened my eyes to magic。

Kourtney ，

The story builds nicely with all the different teams giving an incite into their respective views on events。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Magician

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Magician&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Magician&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0