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    The Novice: The Black Magician Trilogy
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    The Novice: The Black Magician Trilogy
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    The Novice: The Black Magician Trilogy
    Ebook711 pages8 hours

    The Novice: The Black Magician Trilogy

    By Trudi Canavan

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    "Even if a magician's powers surface of their own accord, he will soon be dead if he does not gain the knowledge of how to control them."

    Alone among all the novices in the Magicians' Guild, only Sonea comes from lowly beginnings. Yet she has won powerful allies—including Lord Dannyl, newly promoted to Guild Ambassador. But Dannyl must now depart for the Elyne court, leaving Sonea at the mercy of the lies and malicious rumors her enemies are busy spreading … until the High Lord Akkarin steps in. The price of Akkarin's support is dear, however, because Sonea, in turn, must protect his mysteries—and a secret that could lead a young novice mage deep into the darkness.

    Meanwhile, Dannyl's first order to resume High Lord Akkarin's long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge is setting him on an extraordinary journey fraught with unanticipated peril—as he moves ever-closer to a future both wondrous … and terrible.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061798313
    Unavailable
    The Novice: The Black Magician Trilogy
    Author

    Trudi Canavan

    Trudi Canavan is the author of the bestselling Black Magician trilogy—The Magician's Guild, The Novice, and The High Lord—as well as Priestess of the White and Last of the Wilds, Books One and Two of her Age of the Five trilogy. She lives in a little house on a hillside, near a forest, in the Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully in Australia. She has been making up stories about things that don't exist for as long as she can remember, and was amazed when her first published story received an Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story in 1999. A freelance illustrator and designer, she also works as the designer and Art Director of Aurealis, a magazine of Australian Fantasy & Science Fiction.

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    Reviews for The Novice

    4/5

    1,411 ratings61 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The Novice follows immediately from The Magician’s Guild with Sonea’s acceptance into the ranks of the Guild. She struggles to find her place among the other novices who are sourced from the influential Houses of Imardin. One student in particular, Regin, takes exception to Sonea’s skills in magic and attempts to have her expelled. The level of bullying in the book was surprising but realistic in nature - it was shielded from teachers and encouraged by other novices. I felt Sonea’s pain keenly and understand her desire to remain anonymous and unwillingness to seek the help of teachers who also judge her on her background.The promotion of Lord Dannyl to Second Guild Ambassador to Elyne allows the reader to experience other cultures in Canavan’s world. The people Dannyl meets are many and varied, and I found the depiction of other cities very interesting. I looked forward to the chapters narrated by him because of the insight he had into the politics of the Guild, and his musings helped me understand Sonea’s experiences even though Dannyl wasn’t physically with her. The Ambassador’s personal journey and realisation of self was also a wonderful addition to the plot that I enjoyed reading.The characterisation in this novel is much more engaging than in the previous book, with all the characters gaining depth and growing well throughout the story. I found it refreshing that there are no purely good or evil characters, but humans driven by political and personal motivations. Administrator Lorlen, with his complicated relationship with the ‘villain’ of the story, is one of the most interesting characters to read, and his unique views and captivating journey keep the reader hanging on until the end of the book. This was a great book, and in some ways an improvement on the previous novel in the series. If you like fantasy, I suggest Trudi Canavan as her books are exquisitely detailed and thrilling to read. She makes it very hard to leave Sonea’s world, so I suggest you have the third book of the trilogy handy when you are reading The Novice. Read the full review here.
    • 4/5
      The novice of the title is the young Sonea whom we met in the first volume of this trilogy, The Magicians’ Guild. She has overcome her anxiety about joining the Guild following an exhausting search for her when her burgeoning powers threatened to endanger both herself and the inhabitants of Kyralia’s capital Imardin. Having been reluctantly accepted into the Guild by the magicians she is then subjected to concerted bullying by a cohort of students led by Regin who are persuaded that, as a former inhabitant of the city’s slums, she is fair game for victimisation. But as her magical potential continues to grow a close interest is taken in her by Akkarin, the enigmatic High Lord of the Guild, with consequences that nobody in the Guild could have foreseen, and as the story unfolds the High Lord’s dark secret becomes increasingly obvious to the attentive reader.A trilogy’s middle novel is potentially difficult in terms of lack of resolution and loose ends. Canavan largely gets round this by having a central theme, namely bullying. Knowing a little about the psychology of bullying (from my partner who is a psychologist) I was distressed on behalf of the fictional heroine. If anything, what happens to Sonea illustrates the weakness of the advice usually given to victims by those in authority. Ignore it? Certainly in this case it doesn’t go away. Tell an adult? The Guild magicians in the University where Sonea is enrolled are mostly dismissive of her accounts, believing she is lying or exaggerating or that it’s just a bit of fun. Fight back? That is almost certainly likely to get a social outcast like Sonea into more trouble. Of course, a fictional educational institution is not going to have the anti-bullying policies in place that a modern school might have, let alone have an idea of suitable strategies for an individual to employ, so it’s clear that she has to get on with it, on the basis that enduring the treatment meted out to her must only make her stronger. In actual fact, her growing natural ability, combined with her determination to succeed by practising her skills and studying assiduously, is what finally allows her to get the best of her tormentors. It’s not the best of messages to give to readers who might be similarly suffering from bullying, but it makes for a good plot driver, even if it’s one told at length.We had this neighbour, Audrey, who would try to regale us with details of her day. She would waylay us as we rushed in or out of our house to tell us her news, which almost invariably began with the beginning of her day: “George woke up at 5.30 this morning, no I tell a lie, it was a quarter to six because that was when he heard next door’s alarm going, and he…” And so it would go on until we got to the nub of her complaint or gossip or until we conjured up an urgent appointment with the dentist, an imminent meeting or a train to catch.At times The Novice is like this. We get to hear what happens in real time to Sonea, or Rothen her Guardian, or Second Ambassador Dannyl, from the moment they wake up, or leave a classroom, or walk into a building, along with their constant inner chatterbox: what if this, or what happens when, or why must someone do such-and-such, and then what do I do after, and what do I think about that? It would certainly be pandering to stereotypes to suggest that the habit of constantly describing and analysing and judging others peoples’ actions and motives could be a gender-related habit, and as a male I wouldn’t dare suggest it; but though continuous internal dialogue is one that any reflective person would engage in, in The Novice it can and does get a little wearing at times.Equally wearing are the little verbal tics that the author indulges in: when a character dismisses a private thought they shrug; when the High Lord is faintly amused a corner of his mouth turns up; when anybody is appraising anybody else their eyes narrow. There is consequently a lot of eye-narrowing throughout the trilogy.I don’t want to give the impression that I disliked this novel; far from it. I enjoyed it for a variety of reasons, not least because the storyline drew me along. Told from a limited number of points of view the character-building encourages you to care about these protagonists. Add to that an increasing sense of sexual tension between two of the characters, a clear concept of how magic works in this fantasy world, and a strong sense of geographical place (I’ve noted before that Kyralia bears a superficial resemblance to the Australian state of Victoria, with Canavan’s Magicians’ Guild occupying a site corresponding to Canavan’s own place of residence in the Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully) and you get a well rounded world in which to enjoyably immerse yourself for prolonged periods of time, as I certainly did.
    • 4/5
      Sonea continues her training growing in strength and intrigues occur at the Guild.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable Series
    • 5/5
      Best fantasy book that I've read in many years.

      Great character development (I did get a little tired of Dannyl) as evidenced by the fact that 2/3 of this book nothing was happening and yet I never wanted to put the book down.

      Looking forward to the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      Sonea continues her training growing in strength and intrigues occur at the Guild.
    • 4/5
      The second of The Black Magician trilogy, The Novice by Trudi Canavan was better than the first one, The Magicians' Guild, in terms of pace. Characterisation and plot continue to be strong and gripping, and Canavan manages to make us imagine every single character in flesh and blood.

      This book builds on the premise of the first book, showing us Sonea's extraordinary magical strength and her progress in the classes. The bullying by her classmates and their rejection of her as a Magician is an unveiled attack on the class differences and the sense of privilege the rich are born with. We also learn more about what Akkarin did before he became High Lord, but it is shrouded in enough intrigue to keep the storyline moving and leaving space for a third book.

      We also discover more of Lord Dannyl, now Second Ambassador to Elyne. His quest of the black magic trail, questions about homosexuality, and the conflict between Administrator Lorlen and High Lord Akkarin form the rest of the narrative. We don't see much of Rothen in this book, and I missed him as much as Sonea did.

      But I wasn't very pleased with Sonea's way of dealing with her tormentor novice bully Regin. I thought she was too meek and diffident. It almost seemed as if she cannot form a functional strategy on her own. She needed alchemist Lord Rothen until he was her guardian, and later her best moves came with the help of healer Dorrien.

      The end of the book did not satisfy me either. It ends the torturous times for Sonea, at least for now, and opens up the plot for the last book of the trilogy, but given the pace at which the book was moving, it came too abruptly.

      All that said, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. Which is why this one gets 4 stars in review!
    • 2/5
      it was a struggle to get through this book. 7 hundred pages of a teenage girl being bullied, and the climax being a formal challenge to said bully. where she won 3 out 5 matches. weak, 7 hundred pages of woe is me ,self-pity, and allowing herself to be hurt. i don't know if i can read the next book. this was just to boring. i started skipping pages bc of being so bored. and the gay crap wasn't needed
    • 4/5
      In "The Novice", Sonea, a girl from the slums, starts her studies at the university to become a proper magician. She is the only student who is not a member of a genteel family, and the other students as well as some of the teachers are giving her a hard time. So much of this novel feels like a high school novel, mainly revolving around bullying, pranks and exams. I must say that I did not enjoy these aspects very much, mainly because it was too repetitive, because it is not what I look for in a fantasy novel, and because it was just too frustrating. The other storylines - Dannyl becoming ambassador and traveling to other countries, and of course, the dramatic plot line about the High Lord - held my attention, though, and I enjoyed these chapters very much. There are a few new characters that bring new aspects to the novel, as well, and I just felt at home in this world and rooted for my favorites. All in all, what I wrote about book 1 goes for the second installment of this series as well: There were several things I didn't like so much, but still this is a great read and I am looking forward to continuing this series!
    • 5/5
      Nicely written...
      Aspires me to write fantasy fiction myself....
      might even do it someday....
      Magic, Mysteries and Old Pagan religions...
      A great read....
    • 2/5
      Though I still liked the story and the characters, I felt it could have been executed a little better. If you summarised the book from start to finish you'd realise that there´s not a whole lot happening in it.On top of that, it irks me that the personality of the characters we met in the last book weren't added to; I was hoping for better round characters as opposed to type characters.Still, it was n enjoyable lazy-day read and Trudi Canavan's style is pleasant.
    • 3/5
      .ngvtbu . yb
    • 5/5
      This was a spectacular continuation to the Black Magician series. After reading the first book in the series I wasn’t sure if I would continue it; but I am so glad I did. This book is much better than the first one and incredibly interesting and engaging.I listened to this on audiobook and I really love the narrator of these books. He is a pleasure to listen to and does an awesome job with character voices and emotion. I would highly recommend listening to this series on audiobook.There is so much tension throughout this book, it just about kills you. Sonea, Lord Robin, and the Administrator know a deadly secret about the High Lord Akkarin that they are desperately trying to keep secret. As if this isn’t enough stress Sonea’s fellow classmates have taken a strong dislike to her. Sonea remains admirable through the book; she is smart and resourceful but continues to get caught up in events that test her. I loved her character and my heart just broke for her throughout this book; there were a couple of times I just wanted to scream “Enough, give the girl a break and some happiness!”Much of the story is also told from Dannyl’s perspective. I adored his parts of the book just as much as Sonea’s. Dannyl does a lot of traveling and ends up on a quest to trace Akkarin’s travels and find out more about the ancient history of magic. These parts of the book had a lot of adventure and history involved in them and I loved them. Both Sonea and Dannyl develope love interests in this book; much of that is in the background but it was nice for these characters to have some happiness in midst of all of their trials.The only thing that really irked me throughout this book was everyone’s fear and assumption that The High Lord Akkarin was evil. Yes, Sonea saw him practicing black magic but did anyone ever try to figure out why Akkarin would do that? Throughout the book Akkarin remains alof, intimidating, and at times strict and even a bit cruel. However, he is never outright evil and I can’t help but believe he isn’t the problem in this book. It bothered me that all the magicians and novices that know his secret just assume that he is evil without finding out if maybe he has a greater ulterior motive. It made me disappointed in the intelligence of the surrounding characters and seemed short-sighted to me. I was especially disappointed in Robin and the Administrator.The other thing I found frustrating was how all the magicians turned a blind eye to how Sonea was tormented by her classmates; at times this torment is so severe as to be torture. I found it disturbing that the adults in this book are okay with the students ganging up on and torturing one young girl. Overall aside from the above two complaints I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The whole book is written in a fantasy style that feels a bit older to me (like 90’s epic fantasy) and I enjoyed it a lot. There is some excellent world-building in here along with a complex plot and characters that are easy to engage with and relate to. The book ends on a cliffhanger that will absolutely kill you; I want to read the third book immediately! I would recommend to fans of classic fantasy.
    • 5/5
      The plot of this series really picks up in the sequel as Sonea comes into her powers and we see more of the world through Dannyl's perspective. There's also a lot more about how being homosexual is taboo, accepted in others, or downright condemned depending on the country. Funny how something like that still feels relevant...If you liked the characters and world of the first book, I think it's safe to say you'll enjoy the sequel.
    • 5/5
      Well, a lot happened in this book. I can't put it down. I was interested in all of the characters, especially the two most featured. I love everyone so much. Well, except the persons killing people. Canavan created a wonderful universe and story. Sonea is absolutely wonderful. I barely have words to talk about everything right now. I was going to give it a four, but then I couldn't think of any reason why I should do that because the book was actually amazing. I don't think I'll put it on my favourite shelf just yet, but it really was a wonderful read.
    • 3/5
      I don't think this book/series is marketed as young adult, but it does have that sort of feel to it. Everything is a bit simplistic; the main conflict between Sonea and the magicians is mainly that of misunderstanding and extreme differences of class. The characterization is rather simplistic as well with no real depth. The setting is the rich magician's guild complex and the poor slums.

      There's lots of opposites in conflict, lots of black and white but very little in shades of grey. It's a relaxing read, especially considering the heavier books I read earlier this month, but I do hope that the rest of the series has a bit more depth to it.
    • 3/5
      I really quite can't make up my mind about how I feel about this book. On the one hand I loved the idea of the world that Canavan has created, even though it feels very derivative, and the idea that a girl, from the wrong part of town, can have magical powers. But on the other hand, I found the book quite flat and just misses the mark. Sonea's journey through the slums as she tried to elude the Magicians should have been exciting and interesting, but, because we'd been told that she'd die unless she was properly trained, and the only place to do that was with the Magicians, it just felt overly long and, frankly, boring. The other issue is that there's something missing from the characterisations as the spark that would bring them alive is missing, as a result, I couldn't even work myself up into caring for the villain, and usually the villain of the piece is the most exciting and charismatic character in the book, and the most memorable. It just feels as though if Canavan had written another draft that would’ve put the spark into the book.
    • 4/5
      This book is about a girl, Sonea, who grows up in the slums of Kyralia. It turns out that Sonea has untapped magical potential that will kill her is she does not find out how to control it. Knowing this, the magicians of the Guild go into the slums to find her. The Guild wants to help Sonea, but she doesn't know it. Eventually she is taken the the Guild and taught to control her powers. Sonea decides to stay with the Guild and learn about her new powers, but this comes with consequences. Being the first slum girl accepted into the Guild, Sonea is met with rejection and criticism from the older students. I really liked this book as it was well within what genre of books that I like to read. One bad point is the the story is slow paced and takes forever to get somewhere. For example, Sonea has several close calls with the Guild when she is trying to escape from them. At first these were exciting but after the fifth thrilling escape from danger, it got a bit monotonous. On the other hand, I loved the characters themselves. Sonea is brave, intelligent, and a bit stubborn, but that makes her more human. Overall, this book was a pretty good read and I would read it again and I probably will.
    • 4/5
      This is a well written book overall, but the plot does require characters to be a bit thick on occasion.Several characters fail to see the obvious. People fail to ask questions that would cast an awful lot of light on things, and other people alienate old friends by not having the sense to trust them with bits of knowledge that they really ought to have.And the school's policy on bullying is ridiculous and rather unbelievable.
    • 5/5
      I loved it. Simple as that.

      I should say that I don't think this style of book is for everyone. It reads like a long epic tale; the smallest of details such as the temperature of the wind should be taken into account as should relationships and rules, etc. If you are looking for a light quick read, then this isn't for you.

      I saw the Sword&Laser interview with the author and decided to pick up the first book. Then I finished the 1st book and immediately bought the 2nd and finished it and I just purchased the 3rd. The only thing stopping me from reading the 3rd one right now is the fact that I wanted to write a quick review before I started...

      There wasn't much new introduced in this book, but it did wrap up some questions that were asked in the first book and then of course asked some new ones that were unexpected.

      I have some speculations about some characters that I hope to have answered in the next one. And I think I should go start it now... :)
    • 3/5
      Full review on the final book. This one kept me interested in the trilogy. Again: interesting, good for a quick read, but not groundbreaking.
    • 3/5
      Very smooth narrative and quick to get through, but nothing really happened. After the basic set up of the rules of the world in the first book, this was a set up for the action in the third book. There is the necessary antagonist filling the pick-on-the-new-kid-in school villain role, and development of the is he/isn't he evil mysterious magician. The main character didn't really grow much. And yet, I did enjoy it.
    • 4/5
      Jan13:Sequel. Not as good as the first. Never is. Did have some cool magic battles though.
    • 4/5
      Sonea trys to fit in among the other novice magicians but her background as a dwell and her strength in magic make it difficult. She finds herself as the outcast and a target for bullying, matters do not improve when she is made the high lord's favorite (to keep her from exposing his dangerous secret). The main focus in this book is how Sonea's magic develops and gets stronger while she struggles to best her nemesis . Sadly, Cery does not have much of a role in this installment, but there is another romantic intrest for Sonea. Overall a great book, I can't wait to finish the trilogy.
    • 3/5
      Sonea begins her studies in the magicians guild while protecting the secret she accidentally knows: the High Lord is practicing dark magic, but no one can know until they can defeat him. Unfortunately she is not accepted in her classes, shunned by nobility and teachers alike. Meanwhile, Dannyl is sent abroad as ambassador to investigate the High Lord's past.This is an incredibly frustrating book, mostly for its slow pace, and somewhat for its wishy-washy characters. Dannyl is discovering not only the High Lord's past but also his own sexual preferences. Not that these preferences are blatantly stated. The subtlety is extremely overdone. I wanted to yell at the pages, JUST SAY THE WORD "GAY" ALREADY.Our time with Sonea is mostly spent watching her being bullied. At first it makes sense and it's realistic and sad, and then as the pages go on it's more and more annoying. She never speaks up or asks for help, and it goes beyond the understandable. We even hear her consider time and again solutions to her problem, each she rejects like a badly-written sit com character. And just like in the first book, she's absolutely reactive, having no actions or ideas of her own until prompted from elsewhere. Argh, Sonea!The world is well developed and I'm compelled to find out the truth behind the High Lord's actions and whether anything in the guild will change. I have also come to like Dannyl and I respect that the issues behind the character are difficult to address, so the author has shown some bravery. But Sonea, our apparent protagonist, is a huge disappointment. If she weren't in the third book I wouldn't really care.
    • 4/5
      This book was a nice read. The idea in it was nicely worked out, the magicians complied reasonably with the stereotype but in a nice way. The characters are well defined and they grow in the story.
    • 5/5
      Another Brilliantly written novel in the Black Magician trilogy. We follow Sonea through her training in the Guild university. She faces many challenges and bullying from Regin and other class mates. I found myself feeling for the charaters as Sonea did, I felt such hatred for Regin! Trudi Canavan has developed the characters more and they have become much stronger. A great read, I could hardly bring myself put it down.....
    • 2/5
      The first in the Black Magician trilogy, a coming-of-age tale focusing on a girl called Sonea, a commoner who’s power is so strong she is able to work rudimentary magic (something that hasn’t happened for hundreds of years, as magic must be unlocked.) The first novel follows her from the gutter, to a minor riot, to a cat-and-mouse game between herself and the magicians and then finally her inevitable capture. This book came out clinging to the coat-tails of Harry Potter, though offers none of the action or humour. The style of writing is smooth – so much so I want to call it airbrushed. It is so carefully non-insulting it’s dull. Pleasant enough but there is nothing that throws sparks in the mind. Nothing that bursts with flavour. It’s also far too fussy at times. Ms Canavan for some reason can’t call an ox and ox. That goes for spiders, sheep, cows, wolves, rats and mice. It is so redundant when the animals are obviously things with familiar names. There is also the issue with humour. I know not everyone can write it, I myself have a similar issue, but Ms Canavan disguises the fact in the most jarring, irksome way. Take one scene, where Sonea is spying on a lesson within the Guild. She can hear the teacher loud and clear, but when the students make a joke she can’t hear a word. The male characters have some interesting points, but Sonea is very, very badly created. She is stupid but thinks herself clever, she is oddly reserved and polite for someone who grew up in the slums and she is uninteresting to the extreme. They all seem to be very hollow and 2D. And then the culture. The city the book is set in apparently didn’t have organised thieves until fifty years or so before. It’s been standing for over 800 years, and the thieves only seem to hang out in the slums. Why, when no one in the slums have anything worth stealing? There is so much potential and it’s just fluttered at meekly. It’s so very frustrating. For itself, the book is, well, boring. The chase doesn’t climax until over midway through and the rest is dedicated to persuading her to become a member of the Guild. It lacks plot and action. I have no idea what possessed me to purchase the entire trilogy. I seem to remember the next books being a vast improvement, which I hope is correct. Characters: 2/10Setting: 3/10Plot: 2/10Dialogue: 3/10Overall: 2.5/10
    • 4/5
      Trudi Canavan is a remarkable author. Her characters are very believable, and her stories are energetic and interesting. This is book is a good example of that. The main character, Sonea, acts like an actual person. It's easy to see the reasoning behind her actions. The writing is very readable, although the book does switch between characters often, which can get annoying. Overall, I recommend this book to those who are a fan of fantasy.
    • 5/5
      The Magicians' Guild by: Canavan Trudi is one of the most interesting books for me. It has a girl, an adveture of the olden day and above all else magic that could kill you in an instance. This should be your #1 choice to read book! For all fantasy lovers you must read THIS book. ITS A MUST!