The Novice

The Black Magician Trilogy, Book 2

By: Trudi Canavan

Narrated by: Richard Aspel

Length: 18 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Sonea knows the other novices in the Magicians' Guild all come from powerful families, but she also knows she can turn to Rothen and Dannyl for help when she needs it. That is, until someone starts spreading malicious rumours about her – and Akkarin, The High Lord, steps in.

Promoted to Guild Ambassador, Lord Dannyl leaves for the Elyne court. His first order from Administrator Lorlen is to resume, in secret, High Lord Akkarin's long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge. Not knowing the true reason for his journey, Dannyl is soon facing unexpected dangers.

Meanwhile, Sonea has almost forgotten the High Lord's dark secret, but keeping the truth hidden may be a grave mistake.

©2002 Trudi Canavan (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'A wonderfully and meticulously detailed world, and an edge-of-the-seat plot, this book is a must for lovers of good fantasy.' (Jennifer Fallon)

'Epic, vivid and believable.' (on Thief's Magic) (The Guardian)

Good story but too much of author’s worldview.

Storyline was interesting and usually exciting. Narration was excellent. Unfortunately though, about a third of this book is an apologetic for the morality and acceptability of homosexuality. The author can write about what she wants but, imho, that didn’t belong in a fantasy book.

Weaving a web of plots and story lines.

Would you listen to The Novice again? Why?

Yes! This second book in the Black Magician's Trilogy pulls on the strings of the many different character stories and weaves them together into a compelling story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The High Lord. One of the few characters who's story is still wrapped in a cloak of mystery. He's intriguing and beguiling and it sucks you into the story!

What does Richard Aspel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I'm sure that Richard Aspel would add something to the right story. However, this series is not one that I actually enjoy him reading.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not extreme, but it did certainly leave me wanting more.

Any additional comments?

Love this book and have read it and/or listened to it three times already!

Very entertaining

Now that I'm used to the narration, really loved the experience. I've read the books and enjoyed the audio just as much

So good!!

I am loving this series and the narrator is great! Can’t wait to read the next one in the series!!!!!

Great trilogy

worth the time and money spent it keep me going on all three books. wish they had more.

Amazing

Where does The Novice rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Novice is a great book to listen to, Richard Aspel makes Trudi Canavan's book come to life, he shows emotion and speaks clearly

Could not stop listening

could never stop listening to the story. amazing performance with the voices, and an amazing story

An enjoyable trilogy. A decent performance.

This is an enjoyable trilogy. I got into it more than I thought I would. The author definitely allows you to build an emotional connection to the characters. It was a decent performance by the narrator. Not the best I've heard, but solid enough to not detract in any way from the story.

Usually agree

I usually agree with most of the reviewers of an audiobook before I end up buying it. Not so much this time. This story is just "ok".

1) It drags A LOT
2) The antagonists behavior and the protagonist's reaction to it don't really draw me into the story. I think part of the problem is that we don't really get a true sense of who the antagonist is. Something just feels a bit off about the way they interact with each other.
3) The "research" plot line could be eliminated completely. Every time the audio switched over to that story I wanted to rip my eyes out. Also what's with the doubts and questions surrounding homosexuality? It just didn't make any sense, nor did the heterosexuality either. There's no passion of either kind. The author should have just stuck to the magic and left sexuality out; it wasn't believable when it was brought into the story.
3 Stars because:
a) the "magic" part of the book held my interest...
b) the book got better once I hit the 2X speed on my ipod (the narrator is a SLOW reader too)

Could be a lot shorter!

While I'm still interested in the characters, there is too much repeation in all of the storylines in this second book. I understand that the characters are growing in their knowledge/skills, but they are doing it at such a slow pace that it feels like the book is happening in real time and that it's been months since I started. I've decided to get the third book for my Kindles because it is easier to skim the written word.