Title:

Author: Trudi Canavan

Published: Orbit, 2007, pp. 674.  Originally published 2003.

Genre: Fantasy

Blurb: In the city of Imardin, where those who wield magic wield power, a young street-girl, adopted by the Magicians’ Guild, finds herself at the centre of a terrible plot that may destroy the entire world…

Sonea has learned much at the Magicians’ Guild and the other novices now treat her with a grudging respect.  But she cannot forget what she witnessed in the high lord’s underground room — or his warning that the realm’s ancient enemy is growing in power once more.  As Sonea learns more, she begins to doubt her guildmaster’s word.  Could the truth really be as terrifying as Akkarin claims, or is he trying to trick her into assisting in some unspeakably dark scheme?

When, where and why: I got this book along with the first two from someone on BookMooch.  I made the mistake of loaning them to the Old English Thorn, who devoured them and has been pestering me to give him the third one ever since.  Naturally I couldn’t let him have the book before I had read it, and so I thought I should get round to it sooner rather than later.

What I thought: I thought that The High Lord was a tremendously satisfying end to The Black Magician Trilogy: it ties up all of the loose ends from the previous two books while still leaving room for further development if the author decides to revisit the series.  I know that Trudi Canavan has several other books out related to this world, although I’m not sure how exactly the books tie in with the story of The Black Magician Trilogy, so it may be that she’s already done so.  After the enjoyment I’ve had from this trilogy, I’ll definitely be investigating the others at some point.

What I liked most about this book was that it actually managed to surprise me, unlike its predecessors.  Trudi Canavan’s system of black magic is intriguing and different, not least because of the culture that she has created around it.  I thought that the tension that builds up as Sonea and Akkarin try to counter the Ichani on their own is well sustained, helped by the continued futile or dangerous attempts of others to defeat them.  The plot twists are excellent, making this definitely the best book in the trilogy and a fitting culmination.

My only issue with the book is that Trudi Canavan’s habit of picking up and dropping characters as it suits her rears its ugly head again.  I was pleased to see that Cery makes a return after being mostly (and inexplicably) absent from the middle installment, but other characters suffer the same fate.  The first half of the book is set in the Guild and yet Regin, the focus and driving force behind The Novice, is mentioned once in passing and never appears again.  I can understand him not being physically present, but Sonea doesn’t even think about him, despite the important role he plays in her development.  I like what Canavan did with Regin in the end, but his sudden disappearance prior to that irked me.  The same is true of Dorrien, who was also fairly significant in The Novice but isn’t even thought of until the mid point of the book.  The part he plays in this final book is also unrelated to his importance in the previous book, which seemed a little disjointed to me.  On the whole though, while I would have preferred more consistency, I really liked this trilogy and will definitely be investigating Trudi Canavan’s other books.

Where this book goes: At the moment this book is in the care of the Old English Thorn, but once he has finished reading it, it will be back with its friends on my fantasy shelf.

Tea talk: It’s been cold again recently, so I’ve been drinking Lapsang Souchong.  To me, it tastes like curling up in front of a fire on a miserable day and I’ve been doing a lot o that recently.

Author: Trudi Canavan

Published: Orbit, 2007, pp. 581

Genre: Fantasy

Blurb: Imardin is a city of dark intrigues and deadly politics, where those who wield magic wield power.  Into this established order has blundered a young street-girl with extraordinary magical gifts.  Adopted by the Magicians’ Guild, her life is changed forever — but for better or for worse?

Sonea knew that she’d face a tough time training within the Magicians’ Guild but she little realised the level of animosity she would face from her fellow novices.  The sons and daughters of the most powerful families in the realm, her classmates seem determined to see her fail — at whatever cost.  But in accepting the protection of the guild’s high lord, Sonea may have embraced a far bleaker fate.  For High Lord Akkarin harbours a secret that is far darker than his magician’s robes.

When, where and why: I’m always interested in reading new fantasy series and so I managed to snag all three of these books at once from a lovely person on BookMooch.  I read the first book, The Magicians’ Guild, at the beginning of August and I wanted to continue the series while the events were still fresh in my mind.

What I thought: Although I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, I thought that The Novice was even better, probably by dint of being the middle book and therefore not requiring much exposition.  This book allows all the setting up of character, place and themes which took place in the first book to be utilised, and consequently there is much more in the way of plot and subplot.  Old characters are developed, new faces are introduced and the story progresses at a swift and exciting pace.  Obviously, it is impossible to discuss book two of a trilogy without revealing something of what happened in the first installment, so please be warned.

Whereas The Magician’s Guild has only one narrative focus, finding Sonea as she tries to escape the Guild and then her decision whether to accept or reject her magic, The Novicedivides its time into two: in one story, Sonea struggles to find her place among her fellow novices and in the other, Dannyl journeys through the allied lands gathering information about ancient magic on a mission for Lorlen.  Although the two stories are geographically distant, events in each impact upon the other and so they do not feel disparate as can sometimes happen.  Instead, I enjoyed the dual narrative and the chance to see some of the rest of the world outside the Guild, particularly in light of how insular the events of the first book were.

Perhaps the most interesting development allowed by having two plots is the increasing focus on Dannyl and what the reader learns about him as the old malicious rumours started by Fergun concerning his sexuality surface once more.  Perhaps it’s a sign of how little recent fantasy I’ve read but, with the exception of Jacqueline Carey’s books where everyone sleeps with everyone else, I think that this is the first time I’ve encountered gay characters in fantasy novels.  It’s certainly the first time that homosexuality as an issue has been discussed, and I was really impressed with how Trudi Canavan handles it.  Rather than being preachy and heavy-handed with her views, she uses varying views of homosexuality to deepen the reader’s understanding of the different cultures and characters that are presented.  It adds an extra dimension to the book which I wasn’t expecting.

The story of Sonea and her trials among her hostile classmates is also enjoyable.  Every time I read a story which involves magic schools I hope that it won’t be a thinly disguised Harry Potter and this one manages to avoid falling into that trap.  Instead of being the main focus, the lessons act as a framework for Sonea’s torment at the hands of Regin and his gang and so the focus is on character development and the advancement of tensions there rather than on how magic is taught.  Some people have complained that Sonea is too passive as a heroine, but I think that her inaction is appropriate given her situation, her background and her nature.  To have her react in a more aggressive manner would be unrealistic, in my opinion.

As book two of three, The Novice serves its purpose well.  It advances the story from the first book and whets the reader’s appetite for the denouement.  I’m particularly looking forward to seeing what Akkarin is up to when it is hopefully revealed in The High Lord.  I still maintain that this trilogy does nothing particularly startling or original, but sometimes it is enough to simply execute the typical and expected very well.  That, for me, is what The Black Magician Trilogy does.

Tea Talk: More milk oolong for me today.  It’s one of those wonderfully economical teas which can be brewed multiple times, so I’m still using yesterday’s tea leaves to brew more delicious tea.

This was a typical, good fantasy book. There was nothing startlingly new about it, but the story was engaging and fast-paced, the characters were likeable or enjoyably not so, and the world was well-defined and interesting.

It has to be said, very little happens in this book in terms of actual plot progression. I felt that, rather than being the first book of a trilogy, this was the first third of a story which just happens to be divided into three separate books. It makes the individual book less satisfying, but I hope that all three are going to cumulatively create one great story.

The Magician’s Guild by Trudi Canavan.  Published by Orbit, 2004, pp. 469.  Originally published in 2001.

N.B. This is an old review written in 2010 and posted on Goodreads and LibraryThing before I started keeping track of all the books I read here at Old English Rose Reads.  I’ve decided to keep copies here so that this remains a complete record of my reading since I started reviewing books for my own pleasure.