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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Magicians' Guild (Black Magician Trilogy, #1) in Books
Nov 20, 2019
Trudi Canavan has been on my 'to read' list for a long time (far too long really). I finally found the time to read The Magicians' Guild - book one of the Black Magician trilogy.
The story revolves around Sonea, a girl living amongst the poor and near-poor of Imardin. The city is home to the titular guild, where the greatest magicians in the world learn and teach.
Those showing magical talent only come from the ruling classes. But Sonea has magical talent so the guild need to either break tradition and train her or block her powers as unless she is trained they will unleash themselves and kill her. The problem is that Sonea (along with the rest of the less privileged city dwellers) distrusts and fears the guild.
The book is in two parts - the first involves Sonea hiding from the guild and their attempts to find her. This is quite a clever strategy from a story telling point of view since the world and characters can be gradually introduced. We meet Sonea and her friends, and also the Thieves that control the slums. On the magicians' side we find some are sympathetic towards Sonea while others are outraged at the thought of training a slum girl - some for more personal reasons than others.
The second half involves Sonea's initial training at the guild. I do try not to give away major plot direction in these reviews, but I don't think it's much of a spoiler that she does end up in the guild, given the name of the book. In this part we find out more about magic and the guild, plus the plot that forms the core of this book moves forward and is resolved in a satisfactory - and dramatic - style.
Canavan's writing is focused firmly on character, although the world around them is fully realised, with the slums suitably dingy and grubby and the guild grand and opulent. The characters are allowed to develop through the pages. I found the start a little slow going, but I think that was mostly because the previous book I read was for more action based. There is also very little dramatic tension about Sonea ending up in the guild, but I don't think that is the purpose of the first half of the book anyway.
This story is clearly there to set up the characters for the trilogy as a whole - and as the plot progresses Sonea discovers some things that are clearly going to be important in her future. The way the ending is left is therefore very finely balanced between the resolution of the main plot and leaving the threads for the next book, and Canavan is spot on in delivering this.
Overall I really liked this book and will read the other installments as time allows without hesitation. If you are looking for some brutal anti-hero cutting a swathe of destruction through his enemies this is not the book for you. If you want some careful characterisation and a personality driven and human-scale plot, pick up this book. It is also refreshing to have a female main protagonist in the traditionally macho world of fantasy. Recommended.
The story revolves around Sonea, a girl living amongst the poor and near-poor of Imardin. The city is home to the titular guild, where the greatest magicians in the world learn and teach.
Those showing magical talent only come from the ruling classes. But Sonea has magical talent so the guild need to either break tradition and train her or block her powers as unless she is trained they will unleash themselves and kill her. The problem is that Sonea (along with the rest of the less privileged city dwellers) distrusts and fears the guild.
The book is in two parts - the first involves Sonea hiding from the guild and their attempts to find her. This is quite a clever strategy from a story telling point of view since the world and characters can be gradually introduced. We meet Sonea and her friends, and also the Thieves that control the slums. On the magicians' side we find some are sympathetic towards Sonea while others are outraged at the thought of training a slum girl - some for more personal reasons than others.
The second half involves Sonea's initial training at the guild. I do try not to give away major plot direction in these reviews, but I don't think it's much of a spoiler that she does end up in the guild, given the name of the book. In this part we find out more about magic and the guild, plus the plot that forms the core of this book moves forward and is resolved in a satisfactory - and dramatic - style.
Canavan's writing is focused firmly on character, although the world around them is fully realised, with the slums suitably dingy and grubby and the guild grand and opulent. The characters are allowed to develop through the pages. I found the start a little slow going, but I think that was mostly because the previous book I read was for more action based. There is also very little dramatic tension about Sonea ending up in the guild, but I don't think that is the purpose of the first half of the book anyway.
This story is clearly there to set up the characters for the trilogy as a whole - and as the plot progresses Sonea discovers some things that are clearly going to be important in her future. The way the ending is left is therefore very finely balanced between the resolution of the main plot and leaving the threads for the next book, and Canavan is spot on in delivering this.
Overall I really liked this book and will read the other installments as time allows without hesitation. If you are looking for some brutal anti-hero cutting a swathe of destruction through his enemies this is not the book for you. If you want some careful characterisation and a personality driven and human-scale plot, pick up this book. It is also refreshing to have a female main protagonist in the traditionally macho world of fantasy. Recommended.
Designing for User Engagement on the Web: 10 Basic Principles
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Designing for User Engagement on the Web: 10 Basic Principles is concerned with making user...
Domonique (0 KP) rated The Walking Dead: v. 1: Days Gone Bye in Books
May 12, 2018
This was awesome! I've been watching the show for years, but I never read the comic even though I knew that's what it was based on. And people kept saying how good it was, but I read so many other things that I just never had a chance to check out. But I got this free trial on Comixology and thought, why not? And let me tell you, I am hooked, I think I read this in a day and it's a comic book so it's not like it takes longs to read anyway but I found it hard to focus on other things when all I wanted to do was read this. It's exactly like the show, and of course I know this came first, but it's kind of cool to read this after watching the show to see how true they stayed to the story. I've started Volume 2 already and I'm pretty sure I'm going to finish this quickly as well. Before long, I might be caught on the comics like I am with the show.
ICOON global picture dictionary
Travel and Lifestyle
App
"Those who want to go abroad should download ICOON" CNET "I am confident, ICOON will become one...
Little Green Dresses is a very creative interesting craft book. The instructions are good, and Tina has step by step instructions for how to cut or create your own patterns, or make your own based on the ones in the book.
As far as the dresses themselves: They are all very unique. It's hard for me to visualize how I personally would wear some of them. Some are really cool. I like most of them. Some are just odd.
But then I was never much of a fashionista. My sister used to match my clothes for me. And I'm amazed I haven't gotten kicked off campus for some of the things I've worn.
Still, most of the dresses have a very artistic appeal to them. Only a very few do I actually dislike.
The only reason I don't give this book a 4 or a 4.5 is because, although they are very creative and interesting, some are impractical and I can't really see someone wearing them for anything other than a very specific occasion.
Recommendation: intermediate/advanced seamstresses
As far as the dresses themselves: They are all very unique. It's hard for me to visualize how I personally would wear some of them. Some are really cool. I like most of them. Some are just odd.
But then I was never much of a fashionista. My sister used to match my clothes for me. And I'm amazed I haven't gotten kicked off campus for some of the things I've worn.
Still, most of the dresses have a very artistic appeal to them. Only a very few do I actually dislike.
The only reason I don't give this book a 4 or a 4.5 is because, although they are very creative and interesting, some are impractical and I can't really see someone wearing them for anything other than a very specific occasion.
Recommendation: intermediate/advanced seamstresses
SO
Stochastic Optimization Methods: Applications in Engineering and Operations Research
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This book examines optimization problems that in practice involve random model parameters. It...
Tom Turner (388 KP) rated Prince of Thorns in Books
Apr 29, 2021
Having read The Book of the Ancestor series last year and absolutely l loved them, I was hesitant to read The Broken Empire. Tried was because I was lead to believe that BOA was a step up from BE. So I assumed I would be disappointed. What clicked with me and made me take the plunge was reading that Mark Lawrence based Jorg, our brutal protagonist on Alex from Anthony Burges' A Clockwork Orange. I had also heard that the reason why people didn't consider it as good as BOA was that they couldn't connect to study a horrible protagonist. It would be interesting to know, had I read Prince of Thorns without knowing this tidbit of trivia, whether I would have fallen into the trap of misunderstanding this book as others had. But I do definitely feel that this knowledge greatly enhanced my understanding and therefore enjoyment of the book. I would even go as far as saying I might even like it better than BOA, and that's saying something!
How to Deal with Low Self-Esteem: A 5-Step, CBT-Based Plan for Overcoming Negative Thoughts and Eliminating Self-Doubt
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Everyone can identify with feelings of uncertainty. To worry about our status in the world and to...
Jornalero: Being a Day Laborer in the USA
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The United States has seen a dramatic rise in the number of informal day labor sites in the last two...
Physical Activity in Diverse Populations: Evidence and Practice
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The health benefits associated with regular physical activity are now widely recognized. This book...