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savage_book_review 's review for:
The Magicians' Guild
by Trudi Canavan
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Every winter, the King orders the streets clear of the poor and homeless. His guards are assisted by Magicians, members of the high ranking Houses that have been trained in the arts of Alchemy and Healing, and as Warriors. To the 'dwells', they are a symbol of oppression. But when Sonea accidentally manages to injure a magician during the Purge, and in doing so discover that she herself has the capability, her whole world is turned upside down. Can she elude them and the punishment she is sure is waiting for her? Or by running, is she risking more than she realises?
The premise of this story is great, and the author has clearly spent a lot of time building this world inside her mind; the detail is incredible. Everything from the wider world, right down to the slang used by the 'dwells', the rules of magic and even the outfits make this an easy place to visualise and bring to life. The author has even gone as far as including a list of terms at the back of the book to help you understand.
Most of the characters appear to be fundamentally 'good'. There are of course a couple of notable exceptions (every story needs a bad guy, after all!), but there seem to be very few shades of grey. There is a brief moment where you wonder whether there's going to be a twist and everything you've been expecting is wrong... but it never materialises. The main antagonist seems very much a 'stock' figure - there purely to be the issue the hero has to overcome. To me, he doesn't have much depth of character and is completely disposable.
On similar lines, the author tries to build some tension by introducing who I can only assume will be the 'big bad' of the series without naming them. Except it seemed pretty obvious to me who it was going to turn out to be.
The story itself is enjoyable, but the pacing is a little slow. It reads like a very, very long introduction to the main story, which I can only hope will actually get going in the next book. I don't know if it's because I've read a couple of very good fantasy books lately, but this one just didn't quite match up. The ideas are there and I'll certainly try to continue with the series to see how it plays, but this one was missing depth of character and plot for me. However, I can see it making a stunning TV show or film... we can only hope!
The premise of this story is great, and the author has clearly spent a lot of time building this world inside her mind; the detail is incredible. Everything from the wider world, right down to the slang used by the 'dwells', the rules of magic and even the outfits make this an easy place to visualise and bring to life. The author has even gone as far as including a list of terms at the back of the book to help you understand.
Most of the characters appear to be fundamentally 'good'. There are of course a couple of notable exceptions (every story needs a bad guy, after all!), but there seem to be very few shades of grey. There is a brief moment where you wonder whether there's going to be a twist and everything you've been expecting is wrong... but it never materialises. The main antagonist seems very much a 'stock' figure - there purely to be the issue the hero has to overcome. To me, he doesn't have much depth of character and is completely disposable.
On similar lines, the author tries to build some tension by introducing who I can only assume will be the 'big bad' of the series without naming them. Except it seemed pretty obvious to me who it was going to turn out to be.
The story itself is enjoyable, but the pacing is a little slow. It reads like a very, very long introduction to the main story, which I can only hope will actually get going in the next book. I don't know if it's because I've read a couple of very good fantasy books lately, but this one just didn't quite match up. The ideas are there and I'll certainly try to continue with the series to see how it plays, but this one was missing depth of character and plot for me. However, I can see it making a stunning TV show or film... we can only hope!