Magician (novel)

Magician
Magician first edition cover.
Author(s)	Raymond E. Feist
Cover artist	David Gatti
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Riftwar Saga
Genre(s)	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Doubleday
Publication date	October, 1982
Media type	Print (Hardback& Paperback)
Pages	545 pp (first edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0385175809 Apprentice: ISBN 0-553-56494-3 Master: ISBN 0-553-56493-5
OCLC Number	8220861
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 19
LC Classification	PS3556.E446 M3 1982
Followed by	Silverthorn

Magician is a fantasy novel by Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book of the Riftwar Saga and was published in 1982. It led to many books written by Feist in the world of Midkemia, which was the setting for this book. Originally reduced in size by his editors, it was re-published in 1992 (after the author's fame had grown) in an edition titled "The Author's Preferred Edition" (or "revised edition" in some markets) with much of the deleted text restored. Magician was broken into two volumes for the United States market and published as: Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. The book is still published as a single volume, titled Magician, in the UK.

Plot introduction

At Crydee, Pug, an orphan boy is apprenticed to a master magician. Suddenly the Kingdom is aswarm with alien invaders, destroying the peace of the kingdom. Pug and his friend Tomas are swept up into the conflict, with Pug's destiny leading him through a rift to a new world.

Plot summary

In the twelfth year of the reign of Rodric the Fourth, an orphaned kitchen boy named Pug is made an apprentice magician to the magician Kulgan in Crydee. An indifferent student of magic, he rises to high station by saving Princess Carline, Duke Borric’s daughter, from mountain trolls and becomes a squire of the Duke's court.

Following the discovery of a foreign ship wrecked after a storm and reports of bizarrely dressed warriors appearing in the forests, Pug’s liege, Lord Borric sets out for Krondor, the capital of the western realm of the kingdom, to convey the news and ask for aid. Their party is attacked, however, by dark elves and they are rescued by dwarves and their leader Dolgan who leads them through a series of mines to the coast.

Shortly after in arriving in Krondor Lord Borric’s band are instructed to carry on to Rillanon, the capital of the kingdom. Once there, however they are refused any help from the King Rodric, who suffers from madness and delusions, and they are turned away.

War erupts between the Midkemians and the otherworldly Tsurani. The Duke's troops engage in a fierce battle in an effort to locate and destroy the rift in spacetime which gives access to the Tsurani, but Pug is captured and taken back through the rift to Kelewan, the Tsurani homeworld, as a slave. After years of stalemate fighting on Midkemia by the two opposing forces, Pug returns as a magician, a Great One, the Tsurani name for master practitioners of magic. Meanwhile, a fellow slave, Laurie, along with a Tsurani warrior, Kasumi, embark on a secret errand of peace from the Tsurani Emperor to King Rodric in Rillanon, but also fail to persuade the mad king.

Discovering that Pug is alive and prospering as a magician, the dying Duke Borric reveals that he has adopted Pug into his family, also giving him an island – Stardock, where Pug is to begin an academy of magic. Duke Borric also reveals that Martin is his son and the older brother to Lyam and Arutha. Upon Borric’s death, Lyam becomes Duke of Crydee and commander of the Armies of the West. Shortly after, King Rodric appears at the camp after hearing the news of Borric's death. King Rodric himself then leads a charge against the Tsurani, breaking their ranks and driving them back, but suffering a mortal wound. While dying, the King's sanity seems to return and he apologizes to Lyam and names him heir to the throne.

With Rodric's death, Lyam assumes command and sues for a peace treaty with the Emperor Ichindar. During the peace conference, the two rulers, with Pug as the interpreter, begin on good terms by exchanging gifts. Due to the interference of powerful and mysterious sorcerer Macros the Black, the elves and dwarves mistakenly perceive treachery, and the truce dissolves into an all-out conflict. Macros enlists Pug's help to close the rift once and for all, and the connection between the two worlds is severed, leaving numerous stranded Tsurani soldiers in Midkemia, including Kasumi. The Tsurani, who expect to be put to death as is custom on their world, are instead granted freedom in return for their pledge of service to the Kingdom, and are stationed in LaMut with Kasumi made Earl and given command.

Lyam chooses to reveal Martin's birthright on the eve of his selection and coronation, threatening to throw the Kingdom into turmoil and potential civil war, but Martin relinquishes his claim, making Lyam the rightful king and ending any possibility of dispute.

Critical reception

The book placed 89th on the BBC's 2003 list "The Big Read Top 100".^[1]

Comic book adaptation

In March, 2006 an adaptation of Magician began to be released by Dabel Brothers Productions and Marvel Comics. Currently they are publishing the adaptation of Magician: Apprentice in its entirety, and the first six issues have been released as a graphic novel hardcover. After almost one year of collaboration, Dabel Brothers Productions and Marvel parted ways, with all the books, including Magician, being retained by Marvel. In 2008, issues seven through twelve have also been released as graphic novel hard cover (Volume 2) by Marvel. Issues 13-18 are planned to be released under the title Magician:Riftwar

Publication history

Since its release magician has been published in over 20 countries.

Note: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have the same release dates as the UK.

Magician

• 1982, USA, Doubleday ISBN 0385175809, Pub date November, 1982, Hardback
• 1983, UK, Granada ISBN 0246122056, Pub date 1983, Hardback
• 1984, USA, Doubleday ISBN 0385196210, Pub date October, 1984, Trade Paperback
• 1984, UK, Granada ISBN 0586058281, Pub date 1984, Paperback
• 1984, DEU, Goldmann ISBN 3442238420, Pub date February, 1984, Paperback
• 1984, USA, Hayakawa ISBN 4150200602 (Part 1) ISBN 4150200610 (Part 2), Pub date April 15, 1984, Paperback
• 1991, HUN, Unikornis Kiadó ISBN 9637519416, Pub date 1991, Paperback
• 1992, UK, (Revised Edition) Grafton ISBN 0586213430, Pub date December, 1992, Trade Paperback
• 1992, ITA, Editrice Nord ISBN 8842902926, Pub date 1992, Trade Paperback
• 1993, UK, (Revised Edition) Grafton ISBN 0586217835, Pub date June, 1993, Paperback
• 1995, UK, (Revised Edition) Harper Collins ISBN 0002253755, Pub date 1995, Paperback
• 1996, CZE, Poutnik ISBN 808589212X (Part 1) ISBN 8085892138 (Part 2), Pub date 1996, Paperback
• 1996, POL, Zysk i S-ka Wydawnictwo sc ISBN 8371500823, Pub date 1996, Paperback
• 1996, SWE, Midkemian Books, Pub date 1996, Hardback
• 1997, NLD, Meulenhoff M ISBN 9029054220, Pub date 1997, Trade Paperback
• 1997, NOR, Tiden Norsk Forlag ISBN 8210042386, Pub date August 1997, Hardback
• 1997, RUS, Azbuka ISBN 5768403256, Pub date 1997, Hardback
• 1998, FRA, Florent Massot ISBN 2908382989, Pub date October 1, 1998, Paperback
• 1999, NLD, Meulenhoff M ISBN 9029055502, Pub date 1999, Hardback
• 2002, CHN, GAO FU GUO JI ISBN 9867806107, Pub date October 2, 2002, Paperback
• 2002, UK, Harper Collins ISBN 0007134118, Pub date 2002, Leatherbound
• 2002, TUR, Ithaki Yayinlari ISBN 9758607979 (Part 1) ISBN 9758607812 (Part 2), Pub date 2002, Paperback
• 2003, USA, Barnes Noble, Pub date 2003, Hardback
• 2006, SWE, Wahlstroms Fantasy ISBN 9132435622, Pub date August 8, 2006, Paperback
• 2007, ITA, TEA ISBN 9788850213108, Pub date 2007, Paperback

Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master

• 1986, USA, Bantam Spectra ISBN 0553255754 (Apprentice) ISBN 0553267612 (Master), Pub date January, 1986, Paperback
• 1997, Hebrew, Odyssea Publishing, Pub date July 22, 2004
• 1998, USA, Easton Press, Pub date 1998, Leather Bound
• 2002, KOR, Goldenbough ISBN 8982735550 (Apprentice) ISBN 8982735569 (Master), Pub date July 22, 2002
• 2002, RUS, 3KCMO ISBN 5699003258 (Apprentice) ISBN 5699008411 (Master), Pub date 2002, Hardback
• 2002, GRC, Άγνωστη Καντάθ ISBN 9608112028 (Apprentice) ISBN 9608112036 (Master), Pub date December 2002 (Apprentice) May 2004 (Master), Trade Paperback
• 2003, ESP, La Factoría de Ideas ISBN 8484218589 (Apprentice) ISBN 848421866X (Master), Pub date July 2003 (Apprentice) April 2004 (Master), Paperback

The Riftwar Saga (box set with Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon)

• 1988, USA, Bantam ISBN 8768768760, Pub date November, 1988, Paperback

References

1. ^ "The Big Read Top 100". BBC. 2003. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml.