Raymond E Feist

[Wolfshead]

[quote=""marklord""]Sometimes books are much better the first time round!

I haven't read Magician, but I have always toyed with the idea of trying it - I've never seen it on a library shelf and have never felt the urge to risk buying it, so that's why I haven't read it yet.

Is it the kind of book that is a good read when you are young and new to fantasy or could a cynical 40 year old enjoy it too?

[/quote]

Hmm, I'm not sure Mark. I was only about 20 odd when I read Magician, but I'd read a lot of fantasy by then, so I think you would probably enjoy it first time around. It just seems to be my experience recently, every book I re-read years later seems much worse than I remember it.

[marklord]

Just curious about Feist - are his books historical in any way - or are they really fantasy set in a pseudo-medieval society?

[sweetpotatoboy]

[quote=""marklord""]Just curious about Feist - are his books historical in any way - or are they really fantasy set in a pseudo-medieval society?[/quote]

Yes, definitely the latter, not the former. And even then, nothing resembling medieval society that closely (not like GRR Martin, for example). Though, granted it's a long time since I read him. I loved "Magician" but the others paled by comparison if I recall correctly.

You might enjoy Guy Gavriel Kay.

[marklord]

Yes I've listened to Tigana as an audio book and plan to read some other Kay books soon.

Would like to try Magician though.

[michaelbolan]

OK, I'm biased. If you have a problem with me being a great fan of Feist, then you don't need to read any more.

When I was 12, I went through the most literary rebellion of any tweenager - I stopped reading. Up to that point, I had been a precocious devourer or words, reading way way way beyond my understanding of the topics covered in the books I was reading. Then I stopped. From one day to the next, I ceased to read. My mother ended up bargaining with me - any book I wanted to read, she would buy, just as long as I would read it. And still I refused.

Raymond Feist's Magician saved my life.

I don't know if it was the cover design, the blurb, the concept or even just the coming-of-age nature of the book, but I picked it up and within a week was once again an avid reader. The scope of his concepts and his world-building puts him at the very pinnacle of his genre, alongside the greats. His writing's not perfect, you can poke holes in some of his storylines, and the whole series (all 30 or so books) goes up and down like a rollercoaster, but it all came from one man's mind.

And you have to admit, that's pretty impressive.