This review was written by Manon for RantingDragon.comThe redundant beginningSonea is a dwell that lives in the slums. Everyone in the slums hates the Magicians that live safely, luxuriously and arrogantly up in their Magician’s Guild. Only those of the Houses can become Magicians, and those in the slums are regarded as rats of the city, without any magical potential.Until Sonea and her gang start throwing rocks to the heads of the Magicians that have gathered for the annual Purge (the Purge bei...

Here's me being ruthless. It's my new year's resolution.I'm giving this away at 16%. I'm not going to rate it because I haven't given it enough of a chance - but the style of writing reminds me of the first Harry Potter book ie written for young children, but without the same charm. The audio narration by Richard Aspel wasn't terrible, but very average - maybe it was what he had to work with?Possibly, if I gave this more of a chance, this would grow on me as I like coming of age, process of disc...

“If this young woman is a natural, we should expect her to be more powerful than our average novice, possibly even more powerful than the average magician.”This one started off a bit slow and dragged on a bit but for some strange reason I kept on reading as I felt that it would eventually pay off. The characters were well developed and the world building great. The heroine annoyed the crap out of me at times but I'm glad that I held on.I really would like to see where this trilogy goes so I eage...

Canavan became so popular that she unavoidably made me interested - she is getting lumped together with big names in industry, such as Rowling, Paolini and even Meyer. Out of these only Rowling is worth something, being the one to cause this avalanche. I was really curious whether Canavan was as bad as other fantasy-related authors loved by the public and finally got to read her books, courtesy of a friend.The Magicians' Guild starts simply enough - lowest caste tangles into skirmishes with the

Reading through this felt like trudging through mud. The writing was horrible, it was so dry and lifeless that I had to push myself really hard to reach even a quarter of the book. The characters are cardboard cutouts, having some traits borrowed from other more successful novels.And don't get me started on the dialogue. It was nightmarish. The magic in this book has no construct to it, its just random people reading thoughts and throwing balls of fire. No joke.The protagonist is a scared little...

The Magicians' Guild (Black Magician Trilogy, #1), Trudi Canavan The Magicians' Guild is the first fantasy novel in The Black Magician series by Trudi Canavan. Published in 2001, it is followed by The Novice (2002) and The High Lord (2003). The book tells the story of Sonea, a young girl from the slums, as she discovers her magical potential. When she hurls a stone through a magical barrier, accidentally injuring a magician behind it, Sonea finds herself on the run from the powerful Magicians'

I was going to put this up on my "currently reading" shelf, but it didn't take me long enough to finish it. Or, perhaps, I read more than I check this website.Either way, this book I just finished half an hour ago is a cute little start to what seems to be a simple and inoffensive fantasy trilogy set in a stock-and-trade fantasy setting with basic characters and a plot you would expect. THAT being said, it was interesting enough to make me go look for the second and third books. Or, rather, I WI...

This was a very enjoyable read with an interesting story and some very likeable characters. I particularly enjoyed the chapters about magic and entering other people's minds. Loved the descriptions likening minds to rooms in houses. It was all very interesting and made a change from the usual magic books where everyone is throwing magical stuff around and killing each other. The ending was very obviously the lead up to the next book and I have no problem being led. In fact I am looking forward t...

As a first novel it's not bad and, while it's enjoyable enough, that fact shows throughout.The story lacks any real depth, character development is minimal, the plot is extremely predictable and the dialogue very stilted. I get the impression that Ms. Canavan has done a bit of Dungeons and Dragons playing as it comes close to such an adventure - all surface, single-layer action and no deep storyline. There is a little hint of a darker story in there but we don't get to see much of it here - perh...

This is in no way a romance (there is a TINY romance thread). So why am I even mentioning romance?Well. The mechanics of many romances are to bring two people together and have them misunderstand and mistrust each other despite it being obvious to the reader that they belong together.The heart of this story centres on our main character, Sonea, a young magically gifted girl from the lower orders, and Rothen, an old magician from the aristocracy. We know from the early pages that Rothen intends o...

“It is said, in Imardin, that the wind has a soul, and that it wails through the narrow streets because it is grieved by what it finds there.” I picked this up with every intention of reading this the same as with every book I pick up. The synopsis piqued my interest and I'm ready to cut my arm for a copy of this. However, when I took a quick look at the review section, I was surprised to see that it has so many bad reviews. Did that deter me from reading this? Absolutely not. I read book

"She was special, but in a way he could not have guessed. She had magic!" - DNF 67% - I am sorry, but I can't take more of the insipid interactions between these flat and dull characters (also, stupid) who keep running around in this vague and generic world where nuance doesn't exist and where everyone generalize to excess. Don't even get me started about the writing, so bland and repetitive that it would be laughable if it wasn't so terrible. I really don't care if it gets better after. I ca

A protagonist that is super special, and a world apparently divided into slums and powerful rich magic people? I like my fantasy in shades of grey, not black and white, and I'm sick of protagonists that are born more special than other people, rather than character development and hard work making them more special, so I guess I should have known this one wouldn't thrill me. But I was looking for a kickass female magician protagonist, and I thought maybe this would give it to me.Pet Peeve: Canav...

Telling the story of Sonea a girl trying to live in a world of division where the magicians rule. Not only is she a girl but she is a commoner who could never be part of such a precious world. Well, things change and in an instant Sonea life changes through no fault of her own but all by accident.. The adventure begins when she discovers that she too possess the same precious power, that is ten times the strength of an ordinary magician.. Not only does this shock her but it also shocks the magic...

I first read this as a teenager and I remembered loving it. Re-reading it now,it's lost a little of its shine. The book centres around Sonea,a teenager living in the slums who discovers she has magic powers. Magic has traditionally belonged to the upper classes alone, and so Sonea flees the magicians,believing they will attempt to kill her. In reality, they want to bring her in to teach her to control her powers. The first half of the novel feels like a cat and mouse tale that goes on far too lo...

I love Trudi Canavan's ability to create imagined worlds with strong characters. Sonea is an ordinary slum girl, poor, yet honest. She has questionable ties that she left long ago in order to pursue a life her aunt and uncle would approve of. When the magicians of the guild come to purge the city of slum scum, Sonea finds herself amongst her old friendships. In the spirit of the rebellion from the city folk Sonea throws a stone at a group of magicians who have a magic shield up. Using her anger,...

In the first volume of this fantasy trilogy we hear the story of young Sonea from the poor district of the city, who suddenly develops magical powers. However, it is forbidden to work or be able to work magic outside of the Magician Guild, so the city guard and the mages immediately start seaching for Sonea. If you want to know, if they find her and what happens next, you’ll have to read for yourself. 😊 I finished reading the book, but I have to admit that it didn't really grab me. The reason fo...

CORA AND THE REREADS5 Words: Magic, power, misunderstanding, prejudice, secrets.It is said, in Imardin, that the wind has a soul, and that it wails through the narrow streets because it is grieved by what it finds there.Buddy read with my bookish bestie Steph.Yeah, I just love this book.

This book is a perfect example of the phrase "saying a lot without saying anything" The first part of this book, over 200 pages, could have been captured in like 50 pages. The second half of the book is better but still dragged on. There is no reason for this to be over 400-pages long The first half Girl finds out she has magical powers by attacking a magician. Magicians are surprised because girl is poor and poor people are not meant to have powers. Girl runs away because she thinks magicians