The Novice

I still absolutely love this instalment of the series on a reread!

The very minor issues I had with the writing in the first book weren't present in this one, at least I didn't notice them as I flew through reading it as usual.

I particularly enjoy the exploration of other countries in the Allied Lands through Dannyl's ambassadorial trips, they are a great setup to the final book in this series as well as the follow up trilogy.

I also love the final showdown between Sonea and Regin, which has been built up to the entire book. You spend 400+ pages wishing Sonea would just fight back and smash his smarmy face in then the battle happens and it's so good! :)

I Enjoyed this book. The story took me deeper into the magicians school, the politics involved which was interesting and I loved to see more of the High Lord.

However.
I was expecting more from the story than student squabbles.

I'm hoping book 3 will make up for this disappointing read.

The Magicians' Guild ???????????????The Novice ???????????????

The Novice is a massive improvement on book one in the series, and I loved The Magician's Guild. The series as a whole are full of find memories for me as ten years ago they were the first adult books I ever read. They opened a door for me into adult fiction and fantasy fiction in general that I am forever glad I found.

I said in my review for book one of the series that while I loved the atmosphere of the book it was lacking in plot and made for a strong set up for the later books. I completely agree with this statement since finishing book two. The same atmosphere is present in this book, with added uneasiness and intrigue. The plot moves quicker than previously, and has slightly more complexity.

In fact, my only complaint in the entire book is the way a characters sexuality is handled. Spoilers ahead. One of the main cast is gay, but is revealed to have used magic to suppress these feelings as his sexuality is frowned upon in his home land. When he reaches magical exhaustion, he is no longer ‘healing' his feelings away and remembers his past. Honestly I feel this is a ridiculous way to handle the situation - homosexuality isn't something wrong with any person and should be able to be healed away. I think the author was trying to do something with the character, who remains a favourite of mine despite the blunder, that she simply did not properly consider when writing.


I'm giving this book ??????????????? regardless. It's a fantastic novel that balances a large cast well and gives each character plenty time as to build up familiarity with ease. There is a real sense of history withing the world, and there isn't any part where I feel exposition was laboured or obvious. I am fond of every character, even some I shouldn't like.

Finally the ending was just enough of a cliffhanger to make me desperate to read book three.

Walau buku ini tebal & alurnya lambat pake banget, tp bagus banget... 5 stars. si miss trudi canavan ini mirip2 sm miss cassandra clare deh, kalo bikin buku alurnya lambat, penggambarannya lama, dan dialognya itu puanjang banget ala emak2 curhat.
Tp worthy banget, selain trilogy Bartimaeus & trilogy Slated, ini trilogy ketiga yg ak kasih 5 stars, untuk buku tanpa romance. tp di buku 3 sptnya ada. can't wait....