Magician by Raymond E Feist

I have been on a real fantasy binge lately - and not a book review writing binge, that's for sure!

Magician. Classic fantasy... highly regarded... and very enjoyable! I did find I skimmed quite a few pages, glossing over the finer details of war and blow by blow accounts... "A good yarn" certainly described this novel well!

My major quibble was later in the novel, one of the main characters finds a wife. That in itself is plot, however Feist totally left her an empty personality that was unbelievable. Pug unexpectedly returns after four years absence, they re-unite and within minutes their four year old child becomes hungry and she meekly absents herself to feed him - hello!!!! This character, after all the detailing of Carline, is a non-entity and certainly fits the sterotype of the non-dominant woman who has no opinions or participation other than "there." She should have become a major character, in my opinion!

I also found some of the major characters did not get enough attention. For example, Tomas' change of appearance and personality seems as abrupt as Pug's was... and why did not Tomas confide in anyone? His actions were not believeable, so I would say character development was both excellent AND lacking, even in the "author's preferred edition" that I read.

Don't let me put you off! If you enjoy fantasy this is worth escaping into! A nice thick book as well (even if you are like me and prefer to gloss over wars!) There's humour and plot surprises, intrigue and your curiosity is certainly aroused in places... yes, "not a bad yarn!"