Series: The Black Magician Trilogy Authors: Trudi Canavan
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit Books
Release Date: 2001-2003
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
"We should expect this young woman to be more powerful than our average novice, possibly even more powerful than the average magician."
This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work-—until one enraged girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated invaders...and effortlessly penetrates their magical shield.
What the Magicians' Guild has long dreaded has finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with a force she cannot yet control.
This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work-—until one enraged girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated invaders...and effortlessly penetrates their magical shield.
What the Magicians' Guild has long dreaded has finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with a force she cannot yet control.
Although I’m a huge fan of fantasy and magic, I haven’t had the opportunity to read many books of this topic, and the trilogy of The Black Magician by Trudi Cavanan was one of them. I picked up the first book, The Magicians' Guild, only to try it out. I didn’t know the synopsis, but the cover was pretty interesting. Yes I know, its white, and only have a person with a hood, but it got my attention, so I bought it, and I read it.
The first book, The Magicians' Guild, takes place in a fantasy world, in a city called Imardin, where there are different kinds of social classes, the nobles or rich, the commoners or poor, and the magicians. The Magicians are special people who, naturally, have powers and can do things that normal people can’t. All of them come from rich families, and receive special education. That is why when a poor girl called Sonea is able to do some magic, they are desperate to find her. She is in danger if she doesn’t receive the adequate education, but Sonea, like many other poor people who live in the city's slums, hate the magicians.
The first book is slow, I must say that, and what I mean with slow is that something that shouldn’t have taken more than 3 chapters, is in fact half of the first book. That is a big downside for many, especially for those who prefer books with a plot that doesn’t get stuck with the same thing over and over again. So, if you’re able to read book one entirely, you will find out that the story is a lot more rich in the next books than it seemed at the beginning, and that in fact is pretty good.
I really liked the second book, The Novice, which reminded me Harry Potter, but it is not so great as book three, The High Lord, which is the best of all. The story gets complicated, with more magic, new cities, wars, dark magic, secrets, and why not, love. Yes, there is romance, it is not the main theme of the book, but at the end, it takes some importance. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. Those who have read the series will know why.
There is another trilogy, The Traitor Spy, which is a sequel, so takes place in the same world but some years later. Naturally, many characters from this trilogy appear in the new one. I haven’t read it, and I’m not planning to do it, since I hated with all my heart the ending of the first trilogy. There is a pre-sequel and stand-alone novel, The Magician's Apprentice, which I will read if I have a chance.
In conclusion, I liked the series, the story is not the best, so don’t compare it with famous fantasy books, but at least is good enough to have a great time reading.
Trudi Canavan was born in Kew, Melbourne and grew up in Ferntree Gully, a suburb at the foothills of the Dandenongs.
In November 2001, The Magicians’ Guild was first published in Australia. The second book of the trilogy, The Novice, was published in June 2002 and was nominated for the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. The third book The High Lord was released in January 2003 and was nominated for the Best Novel Ditmar category. All three books entered Australian top ten SF bestseller lists.
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