Book Review: Magician by Raymond Feist (Riftwar Saga #1)

  There is a list for books called The Big Read, this is a survey carried out by BBC in 2003, to find the most beloved novels in the UK of all time. There are 200 books on this list, very few of them are fantasy novels, written by famous practitioners of the genre such as; Terry Pratchett, J.R.R Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, and C.S Lewis. At number 89 of this list, is a fantasy novel called Magician, written by Raymond Feist,.

When Magician was published in 1982, it was an instant success. Based on this success, Feist expanded the storyline and wrote 2 more books, and the trilogy is collectively known as Riftwar Saga. When Magician was published, it defined what the fantasy genre was going to be for the next two decades, at least until the recent arrival of “grim dark” fantasy such as A Song of Ice and Fire and The Malazan book of the Fallen, in the 21^th century.

I guess this means, a 21^th century reader may expect Magician to be a typical fantasy trope tumbling with cliches. This is why I did not read this book until recently, when Magician (and the rest of Riftwar Saga) were published with new covers. I really like the artworks on these new book covers, so I purchased the entire trilogy (yes, I confess, sometimes I buy a book based on its cover). After I read Magician, I have to say this is an excellent book, but most importantly, I was really surprised by this book, because it proved my expectations for this book were completely off the mark.

Today, I would like to provide a review for Magician.

Synopsis:

Kingdom of Isles has enjoyed two decades of peace, one of its frontier cities, Crydee, is ruled by Duke Borric, the third most powerful man in the kingdom. Our story began at the city of Crydee with two boys, Pug, and his best friend Tomas. Pug was an orphan, a kitchen boy at Duke Borric's castle, while Tomas was the son to the master cook at the castle. When they came to age, Pug became an apprentice to a master magician, his friend Tomas became an apprentice to the duke's sword master.

An otherworldly, mysterious shipwreck landed at the coast of Crydee. Out of curiosity, Pug and Tomas arrived at the scene to investigate the alien wreckage. What Pug and Tomas discovered at the wreckage whirled them into a tornado of conflicts, a war waging across a rift that tore through the fabrics of time and space. Here began an epic adventure, where a kitchen boy is destined to become the most powerful magician ever lived, and the fates of two worlds will be changed forever.

What I think about this book:

I love Magician. I regret not having read this book sooner than later. As I have mentioned earlier, when Magician was published in 1982, it defined the fantasy genre for the next two decades. Therefore, it does have story elements that would be deemed as cliches by modern day readers. For examples, not only do elves, dwarfs and goblins appeared in this book, but the story hinged on the journey of two seemingly unimportant boys, as they gradually transitioned into mighty heroes who would eventually save the world. This kind of story elements have almost taken the status of permanent residency in the fantasy genre, especially in fantasy novels from the 80s (such as The Belgariad by David Eddings).

However, at the same time, Magician also surprised me. Yes, this book does have elves, dwarfs, and goblins. Yet, unlike most fantasy novels, these magical creatures have very little to do with the main story. Furthermore, while the protagonists are two boys becoming mighty heroes to save the world, but the story of Magician is also refreshing, and in many ways, it is unique because it is not a typical good versus evil yarn. Neither is Magician radiating auras of moral ambiguities (A trademark of “dark grim” fantasy). Instead, what makes Magician unique and refreshing, is at its centre, it is a story about the clash of cultures. Not just a clash between the old culture against the new one, but it is also a story about two, totally different cultures colliding heads on against each other, presiding over a conflict of interests.

Let me explain (minor spoiler alert here), in Magician, the story revolves around a war, waged across a rift that tore through time/space, bridging two worlds together. On one side, we have the protagonists who are denizens, and defenders for Kingdom of Isles, which is based on a culture resembling the medieval, European influence. On the other hand, we have the invading Tsurani forces, they resemble a pseudo Samurai, feudal Japanese culture. In this book, the invading Tsurani forces played the role of antagonists, but as the story unfolds, readers gain an insight into the Tsurani world, where the book explored the motivations behind the Tsurani invasion. And just like most real life wars involving 2 nations, there are good and bad people fighting on both sides. Meanwhile, the conflict may be resolved by improving the old culture with an integration, and an understanding of the new one. This book weaved the theme of a cultural clash into its essence, depicting the complexity and the dynamics of a cultural clash thoughtfully, it is unique and refreshing in that it did not inherit the typical fantasy trope such as a quest against an evil overlord (minor spoiler alert ends here).

Magician is also vast in its scope. The story spanned over almost a decade, where more than a handful of characters appeared in this book. All characters are very likable, portrayed vividly with memorable qualities. Feist included a titanic amount of story elements, and subplots into this book, but it is marvelous that with this amount of content, this book never became convoluted. Despite it enormous scope, the story was extremely easy to follow through. The story flowed at a very good pace, it is fast enough such that there is not a dull moment. Yet, the story is not told in haste, allowing readers to explore the world and the characters in great details, savoring the rich background and the atmosphere in this book. This book can truly be described as “epic”, in a good way. I was really impressed by how Feist managed to fit a story of this scope into one book, and still kept the story exciting, concise and easy to follow. I mean, usually a story of this scope would be released in the format of a series, but Feist managed to put everything into one book at 800 pages in length, so that at the end of Magician, all plots and subplots are neatly concluded, and it is pretty much a stand alone novel by itself.

After I read Magician, I have decided to add this one to my personal list of favorite books. This book is vast in its scope, and rich in the story, blended with an interesting theme that is atypical to most fantasy novels. I have read many fantasy novels, and many times in the past, I felt a sense of relief when I finished a book. Magician, however, is not one of those books, I felt refreshed after I read this book instead. In fact, reading Magician turned out to be a rare occasion when I wished a book would never end, and was sorry to see the last page, wishing for more. In my opinion, I think Magician is a “must read” for any lovers of fantasy fictions, don't miss out on this one!