欧宝娱乐

Raymond Feist is to fantasy literature what Greg Rucka is to crime/espionage literature. He presents stories in a workmanlike fashion, neither embracing literary elegance or dwelling overlong on that which does not forward the story itself, and yet he offers a rollicking good time. His characters are all interesting and his narrative twists retain reader interest. He is not a great author, but he is certainly a good author.

And sometimes, good is just what the doctor ordered.

Both halves of Magician (Apprentice and Master) are incredibly entertaining. The whole story spans about a decade and the changes in character design are sometimes remarkable (certainly this is the case as we see the two principles develop from teenagers into adults who only vaguely resemble their former selves). The book features the typical inhabitants of fantasy kingdoms: elves, dwarves, goblins, kobolds, and dragons all dwell within fighting distance of their more mundane human neighbours. Magic plays a role as well. But things quickly turn to something more than your average sword-and-sorcery epic. Portals to whole other planets are opened and wars begin for military as well as cultural dominance. Apart from the more overt aspects of these clashes, Feist excels at portraying the fascinating internecine struggles that plague the human kingdom above and beyond the obvious conflict delivered to their gates via these strange portals.

If you are looking for a light read that might cater to compulsive reading in either bed or bathroom, Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master may just fit the bill (I figured since I had already opened the floodgates of clich茅s, a couple more wouldn't kill us anymore than the first had).