The Novice – Trudi Canavan

Category: Fantasy

Picking up after the events in The Magicians Guild (what do you mean you haven’t read it! Go and read the review), the story continues…

Sonea is about to be initiated as a Novice and is understandably nervous. Not only does she have the more mundane concerns about how her fellow novices will treat her, but she also has to worry about the High Lord finding out that she knows about his practice of Black Magic.

Very soon Sonea is embroiled in her studies hampered at every stage by the attentions of her fellow students. They have taken exception to having a street dweller in their class and are determined to make life miserable for her.

However these problems are nothing compared to what happens later, when other events take a frightening turn for the worse.

Trudi Canavan continues to embroider a rich tapestry of a story full of colourful and detailed characters. I really lost myself in reading this and found it very hard to tear myself away from its pages.

The story flows wonderfully and you will find yourself torn between hurrying to reach the next page, to find out what happens next, and wanting to linger on the current page, to take it all in, afraid of missing some subtle nuance. I can’t wait to read the last book.

Rating: 8/10

The Black Magician Trilogy:
The Magician's Guild
The Novice
The High Lord