Is this highly anticipated fantasy prequel worth the wait? (The Magician's Apprentice - Trudi Canavan)

Member Name: CrazyJamie

Product:	The Magician's Apprentice - Trudi Canavan
Date:	25/06/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent character development, easy to read

Disadvantages: Plot weakens towards the end, not up to the standard of the previous trilogy

The Magician's Apprentice is a stand along prequel set 200 years before Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy, and it is stated in the book that it is the ideal introduction to that trilogy. However, I will say from the start that I disagree with that. Personally I would recommend reading the trilogy first before approaching this novel. The reason is simply that a lot is mentioned in the Magician's Apprentice that will spoil the impact of twists in the trilogy, whilst once you have already read the trilogy this book throws up some nice twists and tidbits that will have you relating back to the trilogy. The Magician's Apprentice was written after the trilogy, and this in my opinion is how it should be read.

Now, on to the plot. The story mainly centres around a young girl called Tessia, who is a healer in a small village called Mandryn. Mandryn is part of the country of Kyralia, in which magicians rule over assigned areas of land and train young potential magicians. In fending off the advances of a magician from the neighbouring country of Sachaka, in which the magicians are far more extreme in their policies and keep slaves, Tessia instinctively uses magic to defend herself. This proves her status as a 'natural' magician, and she is therefore taken on as an apprentice by Mandryn's ruling magician, Lord Dakon.

However, Tessia's long and gruelling path to becoming a fully fledged magician is halted when a group of magicians from neighbouring Sachaka make plans to invade Kyralia. She is quickly thrust into a group of magicians charged with defending Kyralia and stopping the ever more destructive group of powerful Sachakan magicians. As all out war between the two countries becomes ever more inevitable, dangerous and destructive forces are unleashed, and Tessia and her allies are forced to consider just how far they are prepared to go to protect the country that they love.

Throughout the book the narrative switches regularly between three different groups; the Kyralian magicians, the Sachakan magicians, and a group of women within Sachaka itself. In terms of characters, Canavan retains the character building aspects of the Black Magician trilogy that made the characters within that series so accessible. Each group has several 'main' characters with numerous supporting characters. Tessia is the main focus of the Kyralian magicians, and indeed the book, and is accompanied by Lord Dakon, her noble master, and Jayan, her fellow apprentice. With the Sachakan magicians we follow Takado, the leader of the Sachakan army and villain of the piece, with his loyal slave Hanara as he strives to conquer Kyralia. Finally the story is seen from the different perspective of Stara, a young woman who has moved to Sachaka and struggles to adapt to its extreme culture, and her slave Vora.

Canavan's character development always has been her strength, and thankfully the trend continues here. The characters in the Magician's Apprentice really do give the plot a lot more depth and make it more vibrant. The stereotypical heroes and villains are all here to an extent, but as each side examines the other's tactics and approach established principles are questioned by all the main characters. Nothing is ever black and white, and every character has multiple facets. This lends a degree of realism to the choices that are made, giving proceedings much more substance. The large number of minor characters also adds more variety and enables the book to retain a somewhat epic feel despite primarily focusing on a limited number of characters. Overall, I found the characters in this book to be the runaway highlight, and the character building here is of the type that really makes you take an interest in the characters, which is only ever a good thing.

The plot itself, however, seems to get lost in itself as the book reaches its climax. It is by no means complex, indeed quite the opposite. Canavan makes a point in all of her novels of moving the plot along relatively slowly and developing characters as she does so. The problem is that the last quarter of the book feels a little rushed and forced. This is in stark contrast to the first half of the book, which as with her previous novels is perfectly paced and is developed expertly. The ending is still intriguing for those who have read the previous trilogy, but is simply not of the quality that Canavan has previously shown that she can reach, and will doubtless leave those who have not read the previous books underwhelmed.

That is not to say that the book is not worth reading. It is still an example of fine fantasy writing. It is nicely paced for the most part, accessible, and just very easy to read. The character development is absolutely first rate, and elevates the plot, which fundamentally is a little one dimensional, to something that is intriguing and enjoyable. In many ways it is the perfect book for newcomers to the genre. But it doesn't reach the (admittedly very high) standards set by her previous trilogies, and as most will read this book having read those it is something that this book must be marked down for.

I would recommend either way that anyone considering this novel reads the Black Magician trilogy first, as without reading those books I imagine that this novel would be anti climatic and honestly not as good as it actually is. And whilst this book is clearly not as strong as the trilogy that it is related to, it is still a very good fantasy novel and highly enjoyable. But those waiting for a worthy follow up to the Black Magician trilogy will have to wait for the Traitor Spy trilogy, the direct sequel to the earlier books which is currently in production and will, hopefully, live up to the high expectations that will be placed on it. For now the Magician's Apprentice is a filling fantasy snack for those wanting more after the Black Magician Trilogy, and will tide you over until the next trilogy arrives.

Summary: Good enough to plug the gap until the next trilogy