GreyDoor

This is a great book. If I were only allowed ten books on my bookshelf, this would be one of them, along with LOTR and the rest of the Magician series. The story is so rich with detail it's not surprising it has spawned so many spin-offs. If you say you are a fantasy fan, then you must have read this, if not, then you aren't!

Magician is the first book from Raymond E Feist and in my opinion one of the very best books I have ever read. The Hobbit got me hooked, Magician embedded it further. It is a story of the rise to power of several characters over many years. There is something for every fantasy lover. Magic, heroism, love and loss, intrigue, elves, dwarves and more. This book is a must for any alternate reality reader.

Pug and Tomas of Crydee, on the planet of Midkemia, have just been selected for their apprenticeships and long years of training. Pug is disappointed he was not chosen for the army like his friend Tomas but is even more surprised when he is chosen as apprentice to the court Magician. But not long after their day of Choosing, Midekemia and the lives of Pug and Tomas are set to change forever when an alien army invades the Kingdom. This starts them on a journey that will lead them both into a world of magic, intergalactic rifts, past lives, prophecies and war. Magician has such a depth and richness of characters that is spread across two worlds, many different cultures and a score of years. But what I love most about it and what brings me back to it time and time again are the theories and explanations of magic, how it is taught and how it is practised. I believe it is the most comprehensive that has ever been written (even if it is only fiction), many authors try to just take it for granted that magic exists in a world, Feist actually brings it to life. Arguably one of the great fantasy epics ever written and has spawned a whole new generation of fantasy writing. Don’t be afraid of the 800 odd pages this is a definite must read for any fantasy fan and also a good way to introduce new people into the genre.

Magician was Raymond E. Feist’s first published work, in 1982. It, and Feist’s subsequent novels in what will become known as the Riftwar Saga, have come to be called classics of the genre. I wasn’t impressed with this first entry, for a variety of reasons. The orphaned keep-boy Pug has lived a pretty idyllic life at Castle Crydee, working in the kitchens. When he reaches the age of 13, he takes part in the Choosing – when all the Craftsmasters in the castle choose their apprentices from those boys who have reached that age. (Girls that reach that age don’t seem to rate a ceremony.) He’d wanted to become apprenticed to Swordmaster Fannon, like his best friend Tomas. However, it is Kulgan the magician who chooses him. But Pug finds that he is no good at magic…he can learn the spells, but he can’t cast them. However, the Duke of Crydee selects Pug to learn to ride, so that he may accompany the Duke’s daughter Carline when she leaves the castle, since her brothers, grown now, no longer have the time to escort her on these forays, and apparently there are no girls or other boys – such as squires, who will suit the purpose. On their first ride together, Pug saves Carline from an attack by two trolls…by casting a magical spell in a way that no other magician has ever been able to do. He is rewarded by being elevated to the rank of squire. And it is at this point in the novel, after about 70 pages, that the action really starts. Tomas and Pug find a ship stranded on “Sailor’s Grief.” There is a single survivor…a man not of Midkemia, not of that world (with its dwarves, elves and other creatures) but an alien from a world called Kelewan, home of the war-like Tsurani. The ship came through to Midkemia by way of a rift between the two worlds. The Tsurani soon find a way of sending more ships and men through the rift, and the battle for Midkemia begins, as the Tsurani covet Midkemia’s metals . Pug and Tomas each to play a major role in whether or not the people of Midkemia can withstand the invasion. Pug develops into a powerful magician, and Tomas into a powerful warrior. So what didn’t I like about the book? It’s slow pace in the beginning didn’t really bother me. Feist was setting the stage. It was a stage I didn’t really like, though. It’s very much a book for boys…girls have no place in the world of Midkemia. In castle Crydee the girls, “worked in the service of the ladies of the castle, cleaning and sewing, as well as helping in the kitchen.” On sixthday (as days are distinguished in Midkemia) , the boys get to run around the interior of the keep and play, while the girls sit “along the low wall by the Princess’ garden, occupying themselves with gossip about the ladies of the Duke’s court. They nearly always put on their best skirts and blouses, and their hair shone from washing and brushing.” (So that they might attract a boy, obviously.) The only female with a role of any size is Carline, the daughter of the Duke. She is a spoiled brat…but since her only role in life is to be beautiful so that she can be wed to a powerful lord, one can hardly blame her. Perhaps the reason why this character annoys me so much is that I know in real life, back in the middle ages of Europe, that was exactly the fate of all noble born women – sold in marriage to whichever man could benefit the parent the most. She matures throughout the book, even taking up a sword to defend herself at one point, but my initial unfavorable impression remains. The writing is little more than serviceable. Feist is an American, attempting to sound English, but failing, more often than not. Every fantasy novel needs a certain “archaic flavor” to the dialog to sound convincing, but Feist’s dialog and descriptions are just a little bit “off.” In addition, one is also always conscience that one is reading…the prose never draws one into the story to such an extent that one forgets that one isn’t actually part of the story. Magician has dozens of characters, on both sides of the war…and it would have been nice to have a Cast of Characters listed at the beginning of the novel, as an aid to keep track of who’s who. Much of the book takes place on Kelewan, and we meet some of the Tsurani face to face – they are much more than mindless evil warriors, such as the Orcs were in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. They have their own motives and reasons for battle, and are the heroes of the story in their own eyes… A map of Midkemia itself is provided, which does come in handy. While the writing might be better, the reader does develops an interest in the major characters, in particular those of Pug and Tomas, and their adventures, both separately and together, keep one reading to find out what happens next.