djl@ptsfb.UUCP (Dave Lampe) (12/18/85)
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Magician: Apprentice
by
Raymond E. Feist
If you liked Tolkien you will like this series. If you like stories
of ordinary people forced to fight against great evil, you will like
this series.
This book is apparently the first of a tetralogy set in a feudal world
where magic works. The hero, Pug, is an orphan being raised in the
castler of the local lord. As the book opens the time is approaching
when Pug, and other boys his age, must be apprenticed to a craftsmaster
for training in the occupation chosen for them. As is obvious from the
title, Pug is chosen by the lord's magician.
As in any Tolkienesque (is that a word ?) fantasy, there are dwarves, elves
and dragons. But this is a book that stands on its own. I did not get the
same feeling of a direct ripoff of Tolkien that I got from the Shannara
trilogy. As in "The Lord of the Rings" the story does get confusing at
times with several different substories occurring at once. There is one
major difference between this book and TLoR, the enemy here is not
painted in an unrelieved black as Sauron is. I hope that the society of
invaders, who bear a strong resemblance to Samurai, is explored further
in the following books.
In case it wasn't obvious from the first paragraph, I strongly recommend
this book for anyone who likes heroic fantasy.
Dave Lampe @ Pacific Bell
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(415) 823-2404