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Adam's Reviews > Magician: Master
Magician: Master (The Riftwar Saga, #2)
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This book made my top 10 fantasy reads from 2021, check out the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9pwG...
Another enjoyable read in The Riftwar Saga; I liked this book more in some ways and less in others than the first entry.
I thought the first book was written better. There were a few examples early on where it really seemed like Feist was telling instead of showing. From page 14: “Their eyes locked briefly before Pug dropped his as a slave is expected to do. For an instant communication passed between them. It was as if the soldier had said: You do not believe that I am a friend. So be it, as long as you act your part.”
I really don’t need the look spelled out for me, let me figure it out.
And also on page 29, “The Shinazawai lord said, ‘Kasumi! It is good to see my firstborn son. When did you return?’”
Who talks like that? Ah, hello, my 3rd child out of 4! It’s clearly just Feist making sure we know who this new character is, and it’s clumsy.
These examples are nitpicking of course, but I don’t remember having any of these issues with the first book, so I noticed.
I also thought the first book just had a tighter and more enjoyable plot. But I also criticized the first book for being generic fantasy; there was a long period of time where it seemed like every fantasy book walked in The Lord of the Rings shadow and Magician: Apprentice certainly fit that mold.
So, despite the story being a bit more hit and miss here in Magician: Master, it certainly was much more unique and original, and I appreciated that. In particular, Pug’s journey’s in the other world and his ascension to power was riveting. This was highlighted by his ultimate test of worthiness where he battles the elements of wind, rain, fire, and earth in an awesome concert of force that reminded me of the opening sequence of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The alien race of the Tsurani fails completely when thought of as an entity that lives in a world separated by time and space. However, if viewed as just a VERY foreign country, they are quite interesting and I think worth spending roughly half the book with.
Overall I enjoyed this entry and plan on continuing the series.
Story-9, Language-8, Ideas-8, Characters-9, Enjoyment-8, Overall-8.3
Another enjoyable read in The Riftwar Saga; I liked this book more in some ways and less in others than the first entry.
I thought the first book was written better. There were a few examples early on where it really seemed like Feist was telling instead of showing. From page 14: “Their eyes locked briefly before Pug dropped his as a slave is expected to do. For an instant communication passed between them. It was as if the soldier had said: You do not believe that I am a friend. So be it, as long as you act your part.”
I really don’t need the look spelled out for me, let me figure it out.
And also on page 29, “The Shinazawai lord said, ‘Kasumi! It is good to see my firstborn son. When did you return?’”
Who talks like that? Ah, hello, my 3rd child out of 4! It’s clearly just Feist making sure we know who this new character is, and it’s clumsy.
These examples are nitpicking of course, but I don’t remember having any of these issues with the first book, so I noticed.
I also thought the first book just had a tighter and more enjoyable plot. But I also criticized the first book for being generic fantasy; there was a long period of time where it seemed like every fantasy book walked in The Lord of the Rings shadow and Magician: Apprentice certainly fit that mold.
So, despite the story being a bit more hit and miss here in Magician: Master, it certainly was much more unique and original, and I appreciated that. In particular, Pug’s journey’s in the other world and his ascension to power was riveting. This was highlighted by his ultimate test of worthiness where he battles the elements of wind, rain, fire, and earth in an awesome concert of force that reminded me of the opening sequence of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The alien race of the Tsurani fails completely when thought of as an entity that lives in a world separated by time and space. However, if viewed as just a VERY foreign country, they are quite interesting and I think worth spending roughly half the book with.
Overall I enjoyed this entry and plan on continuing the series.
Story-9, Language-8, Ideas-8, Characters-9, Enjoyment-8, Overall-8.3
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