New Moon By Stephenie Meyer

The second book of the Twilight series starts out rather slow. We are introduced to new characters and settings for Bella (the main character) to interact. Stephine does a good job building the plot. I wish she would make the main character a little less depressed but it adds to the romance I guess. The last few chapters were page turners. I really enjoyed the book and plan to read the next one soon. I give the book 4 out of 5 stars

The High Lord by Trudi Canavan

In the third and final book of The Black Magician Trilogy, the main character learns what is the meaning of black magicians and how the magician's guild came to hate them. Again as in the prior books, it was too slow for the main character to learn whether or not she can trust the High Lord. The fact that if three people know of a secret in real life means a lot more people would have known what was going on after a few weeks pass. The premise that the head administrator does nothing about the secret for weeks is just too unbelievable. This plus other character motivation flaws kept the story from really shining. If the author had spent a bit more time with the power structure and motivation behind character events, it could have been much better. Too many barely touched upon descriptions tried to fill the back story such as the assassins from the foreign land. Very loose barely believable descriptions of why the king of that land didn't clean up the assassin mess. Indeed, the author even sends another magician/assassin from that land to interact with the thief's guild but it really goes nowhere. It was likely added to give the thief boss/boyfriend someone else to be romantically interested in so the main character could pursue others. It was just a bit forced. While the trilogy kept my interest and was a fun read, it just was not very memorable due to the logic flaws. It has been two months since I read the books and I still feel a bit dissatisfied. If you are looking for an unforgettable story, this is not it. I give this book and the trilogy three out of five stars.

The Novice by Trudi Canavan

In the second novel of The Black Magician Trilogy, a very timid hero attempts to enter the magician's guild. Intrigue abounds as a class bully and bigot of the lower class harass the main character. The motivation for the girl to be so afraid of gaining her powers is not very believable. I stuggled through that part of the book since it was not real for someone like her (a fighter who threw a rock at a magician in the prior book) to be so afraid of learning how to use her powers when if she doesn't, she will explode and die. In my opinion, it was too slow for her to realize her powers and the strength of her powers to overcome the class bully. The interaction of the classmates would have been much different in a magical environment where misuse can cause tragedy. I give this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

The first novel in "The Black Magician Trilogy" by Trudi Canavan. The characters are well developed and the scene meticulously drawn. Did it hold my interest? Yes. Was it well written? Yes but it seemed to be standard fantasy stock material with not alot of new twists. I give it three out of 5 stars.
Book Cover