The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

I read Magician about 12 years ago in my early twenties, but remembered extremely little about the novel, and as I couldn't get hold of any other Riftwar books at the time I simply let things be. I do not have the fond recollections nor nostalgic associations about Feist that many people seem to. Understandably, this is one of the highest regarded books in the world. If you gain any enjoyment whatsoever from reading fantasy then this is a novel that you simply cannot afford not to read. This is an extremely powerful and memorable book. Magician was voted the 89th most popular book of all time in the BBC's Big Read Top 100. The chapter in which Pug sees the beginning of worlds is possibly one of the finest in fantasy literature. Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon complete the trilogy.

This is the first (and by far the best) of the series called the Riftwar Saga.

The story is set in Midkemia, a world created by Feist which also includes an impressive back history.

The plot twists plus the use of two culturally different worlds make for very interesting reading. The character development is also excellent and they come alive in your mind and leave you genuinely caring about what happens to them. This book is not short (650+ pages) but it never feels overly long as the fine narrative guides you effortlessly through the story. Feist has an amazing imagination and here he brings to us a war between two worlds reminiscent of Medieval Europe and Japan in the time of the Samurai. This is an epic tale of intrigue and action. Pug's destiny is to lead him through a rift in the fabric of space and time to the mastery of the unimaginable powers of a strange new magic. Tomas will inherit a legacy of savage power from an ancient civilization. A magically created rift in space brings together the two worlds, the world that Pug has always known and the world of the invading Tsuranuanni. The peace that he has known all his short life disappears and is replaced by war in the shape of invaders from another world. An orphaned young boy named Pug becomes a master magician’s apprentice and two world’s destinies are forever changed. The story begins in Crydee, a frontier outpost in the Kingdom of the Isles.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede