Finish the first 2 and you're done with the most interesting storyline in my opinion. One good thing is that you really don't have to commit to the 4 book series if you don't enjoy it. There are no outstanding innovations but it's worth reading if you don't have any other recommended books on your plate. Overall, this is one of the better typical epic fantasies I've read even after all the negative things it seems I've said. Personally I like this but I know some like to follow the characters progression at least a little over the years. At times, he'll skip years to get to the next important event. The author really keeps a quick pace to everything. Sometimes you'll figure something out long before it ever occurs in print. Most of the time, you'll know the outcome of a certain event before you read it. There is a certain predictable nature about everything that happens. I wish that could have been done a bit quicker. It took until book 3 before I really had a good understanding about what these people were about though. The other hero Tomas never really grew on me. He doesn't get too deep into them but you learn to care for Pug. The characterizations are reasonably good. They tell different stories about the same people, though all are related. Books 3 & 4 are more like a follow up rather than a continuation. Having all of that said, I enjoyed Magician: Apprentice the most in the series. "The Kingdom" Who named that? Probably "The King." The other major civilization is "The Empire." A little boring. Speaking of "The Kingdom," how unique is that? That is actually the name of the place. I only wish he had explored this a bit more. There is a lot of unexplored territory by people of "The Kingdom," and other civilizations that are about that they are not even aware of. Although, most of it takes place in "The Kingdom" there are other kingdoms that are mentioned or passed through briefly that make you realize that "The Kingdom" is not alone on the world. One thing I did appreciate is the size of the world. Though I did like his reasoning for their assault on the kingdom. He tries to be unique by creating the 'Rift' between worlds which allows the Tsurani (bad guys) to come through from a different dimension, but I didn't fall for it. Magic is mysterious for a time in the series but it eventually becomes a constant focus which makes me lose interest in it. You have the usual elves, dwarves, giants, trolls, goblins, etc. Oh, wait, then you read books 2 - 4 of the series and find out it's actually the same old thing. It was somewhat refreshing at first to find that the "bad guys" of the book were another race of humans rather than some omnipotent unknown evil menace with hideous henchmen as its disposal. I call this a "typical" epic fantasy because it didn't knock my socks off with any kind of originality as far as races, magic, plot, etc.
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