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The Magician’s Apprentice
Prequel to the Black Magicians trilogy

by Trudi Canavan

     

This is the prequel to the bestselling Black Magicians trilogy, which is set several hundred years before the events described in The Magicians’ Guild (also reviewed for Myshelf.com), The Novice (Amazon US || UK) and The High Lord (Amazon US || UK).  Young Tessia dreams of being a healer like her father, but women are not allowed to do this, and despite her training, her parents are now urging her to marry.  When an incident at the house of the local magician, Lord Dakon, causes her to defend herself, Tessia’s latent magic reveals itself for the first time.  By law, Dakon must take her on as an apprentice and train her, but he already has one apprentice who is none too keen on the newcomer.  But soon, larger events change everything, and the land of Kyralia is at war.

I’m always keen to read a fantasy novel contained within one volume, and found this to be—although on the wordy side (no surprises there)—a good page-turner.  It is easy to get involved with compassionate Tessia and her desire to heal and find a place in society, just as it is to sympathize with the life of sequestered Stara.  Aimed at female rather than male readers, this is very much a novel dealing with women’s lot and how to make the best of it.  The parts dealing with the individuals are more engrossing than the series of skirmishes that make up the war.  Do not expect dazzling set pieces of military literature but instead enjoy the more skilfully handled portraits of the characters and their lives.  Despite its well-worn plot of villager making good in a magical world there are surprises in this book, such as who the true heroes and villains are.  There is also the message that war is not just about winners and losers, and the people it brings out the worst in are not necessarily the enemy.  This is not an Atom title, but I suspect that it will probably also be released by this Little, Brown imprint for teens soon, as, like the Black Magicians’ series, it is suitable for young adults.

The Book

Orbit (Little, Brown)
5 February 2009
Hardback
1841495972 / 9781841495972
YA and Adult Fantasy / Fantastic Location
More at Amazon.com US || UK
Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2009
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© 2009 MyShelf.com