The Magicians' Guild (Black Magician Trilogy, #1)

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The Magicians' Guild (The Black Magician Trilogy #1)

3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 · rating details · 17,132 ratings · 842 reviews

"We should expect this young woman to be more powerful than our average novice, possibly even more powerful than the average magician."

This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work—until one enra...more

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Published (first published October 24th 2001)

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Jan 05, 2013 Chelsea rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, wizards-and-mages, reviewed

"It's hollow, it goes on forever. My god... It's full of tropes!"

I mean, seriously. I'm not saying this book was complete Harry Potter rip off, but come on. It's got an orphan with mysterious powers, jealous bad guys who are disproportionately threatened by a child, a kindly old man, a wizard school with color coordinating robes and folks who don't take kindly to muggles, err, poor people. And yet there was no stew, no tunics, and no prophecy. I'm sure there will be a prophecy later. After all,...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Romaine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Telling the story of Sonea a girl trying to live in a world of division where the magicians rule. Not only is she a girl but she is a commoner who could never be part of such a precious world. Well, things change and in an instant Sonea life changes through no fault of her own but all by accident.. The adventure begins when she discovers that she too possess the same precious power, that is ten times the strength of an ordinary magician.. Not only does this shock her but it also shocks the magic...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Inge rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: friendship-never-eeeends, magic, main-character-is-cool, villain-rocks-my-socks, young-adult, fantasy

This book was divided into two parts and felt like two different stories to me. Part one would be 'The chase' and part two would be 'The actual story'. Thus I will review both parts seperately.

Part One: 2 stars

Sonea lives in the slums. She and her family have been put out of their homes by the magicians, and now they're back on the streets. This 'event' happens every year and is called the Purge. An angry mob gathers around the magicians, who are protected by a magical shield. No matter how many...more This book was divided into two parts and felt like two different stories to me. Part one would be 'The chase' and part two would be 'The actual story'. Thus I will review both parts seperately.

Part One: 2 stars

Sonea lives in the slums. She and her family have been put out of their homes by the magicians, and now they're back on the streets. This 'event' happens every year and is called the Purge. An angry mob gathers around the magicians, who are protected by a magical shield. No matter how many stones the dwellers throw, the magicians won't feel a thing. Enter Sonea. She is really angry and throws a stone with all her might. It goes through the protective shield and hits a magician right in the temple. That is the end of Sonea's life as she knows it, for she just discovered she has magical powers. And the magicians noticed it too. Thus begins the chase.

While the magicians look for the slum girl to convince her to join the Magicians' Guild, Sonea is convinced that they want to kill her for attacking a magician. With a little help from her best friend Cery and his Thief associates, she manages to avoid the magicians for a long time. But now that her magical powers have been activated, it is hard to keep them under control - they could end up killing her.

This could have easily been written into 50 pages instead of 250. The back story is absolutely necessary to get a picture of what the world is like, in the slums as well as in the Magicians' Guild, but it carried on for too long. A story has to progress. But all is forgiven when the second part begins.

Part Two: 4 stars

Sonea has been captured and is living in the Magicians' Guild. Lord Rothen, the magician who noticed Sonea's magical abilities first, tries to earn her trust and eventually teaches her how to control her powers. It's obvious that Lord Rothen will be Sonea's guardian once she starts attending classes in the Guild. But Lord Fergun, the magician Sonea hit with the stone, wants to claim guardianship as well - for a whole different reason. Lord Fergun will go very far to get what he wants. And it turns out that Akkarin, the High Lord (basically he's the übermagician) has a secret agenda as well.

This is definitely the more interesting part of the book. Here we get to know more about magic itself and how it works. Sonea gradually adapts to living in the Guild and becomes quite fond of Lord Rothen. We also learn more about Lord Rothen's former novice and good friend, Lord Dannyl. Surrounded by a whole Guild of old, serious magicians, Lord Dannyl stands out with his curiosity for gossip and gay rumours.

An exciting tale filled with magic and mystery, and definitely worth your time.(less)

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Oct 09, 2010 Ranting Dragon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: guests

This review was written by Manon for RantingDragon.com

The redundant beginning

Sonea is a dwell that lives in the slums. Everyone in the slums hates the Magicians that live safely, luxuriously and arrogantly up in their Magician’s Guild. Only those of the Houses can become Magicians, and those in the slums are regarded as rats of the city, without any magical potential.

Until Sonea and her gang start throwing rocks to the heads of the Magicians that have gathered for the annual Purge (the Purge bei...more This review was written by Manon for RantingDragon.com

The redundant beginning

Sonea is a dwell that lives in the slums. Everyone in the slums hates the Magicians that live safely, luxuriously and arrogantly up in their Magician’s Guild. Only those of the Houses can become Magicians, and those in the slums are regarded as rats of the city, without any magical potential.

Until Sonea and her gang start throwing rocks to the heads of the Magicians that have gathered for the annual Purge (the Purge being the event where Magicians throw out the poor inhabitants of the slums out of their houses to live on the streets). The stone that Sonea throws at one of the Magicians’ heads, actually breaks through their magical barrier, uncovering Sonea’s magical potential.This will ensue a lot of trouble for Sonea, her friends and family.

Sonea is forced to go into hiding as she does not want to join the Guild. For about 300 pages, nearly 50 percent of the book, we follow her running from the Magicians. Then, finally, after her magical potential becomes so strong and she can no longer control her magic and she nearly destroys the city of Imardin, she is caught and brought to the Guild. She is assigned a benign mentor, Lord Rothen, one of the few Magicians actually interested in helping her instead of working her out of the Guild. According to most Magician’s, Sonea should be kicked out as soon as possible, because slum dwellers do not belong in the Guild.

Negative vibes

In her early time in the Guild, Sonea is manipulated, angered, scared, freaked out, confused, lost and sad. She is insanely hard-headed, almost to the point where it’s annoying. Her being so distrustful of the Guild is not helped by the fact that she saw one of the higher-ups of the Guild coming back from a secret assassination, before she was caught by the Guild. Sonea thinks every one of the Magicians are self-centered, manipulative bastards and in fact, most of them are.

What seemed silly was that from both sides, both the developed, educated Magicians and the lowly slum dwellers are full of generalizations. One slum dweller steals? All of them steal. One Magician accidentally kills a boy? They all are senseless murderers. The generalizations became a little too evident and in my opinion, too easy.

There are not a whole lot of positive vibes in these books, whereas it’s mostly about Sonea’s very negative, insecure feelings. That 50 percent of the book is about the hiding from and being chased by the Magician’s Guild to only end up there was really very redundant – I felt fooled when she was caught by the Guild. What is the point of elaborating so much about her running from the Guild, while it could have been done with in only a few chapters?

Why should you read this book

I’m not a person who stops reading a series or Trilogy. When I’ve started a story, I like to finish it. In this case, I’m glad I did continue to read, because the following two books in the Trilogy, “The Novice” and “The High Lord” were both very enjoyable reads. If this were a standalone, I would not have recommended it to anyone, because it was simply a boring story with a lot of redundancy.

If you want to read an enjoyable trilogy with a meager first novel, go read this trilogy. I promise, the second and third books are a lot better than this one!(less)

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Jun 11, 2010 Summer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, magic, witches-wizards-warlocks

The Magicians' Guild is about young Sonea, a young girl who lives in the slums area of her world. The people in these slums are periodically thrown out of their town every winter in a ritual known as the Purge. Sonea and her family were trying to build a better life for themselves, and seemed to be succeeding until they were thrown out of their homes. At the beginning of the book Sonea is forced to go back to the slums to see if her old home is still available. Unfortunately she get's caught up...more

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Oct 13, 2008 Weni rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Saya membeli buku ini karena melihat buku The Novice di rak buku baru Gramedia Karawaci. The Novice adalah buku kedua dari trilogi The Black Magicians. Untuk baca buku kedua, saya perlu baca buku pertamanya dulu (ato enggak ya hehe), The Magicians' Guild.

Buku Persekutuan Penyihir ini bercerita tentang... persekutuan penyihir :D Tokohnya adalah Sonea, gadis miskin yang berhasil menembus perisai pertahanan para penyihir saat terjadi pembersihan kota Imardin (pembersihan kota = pengusiran para peng...more Saya membeli buku ini karena melihat buku The Novice di rak buku baru Gramedia Karawaci. The Novice adalah buku kedua dari trilogi The Black Magicians. Untuk baca buku kedua, saya perlu baca buku pertamanya dulu (ato enggak ya hehe), The Magicians' Guild.

Buku Persekutuan Penyihir ini bercerita tentang... persekutuan penyihir :D Tokohnya adalah Sonea, gadis miskin yang berhasil menembus perisai pertahanan para penyihir saat terjadi pembersihan kota Imardin (pembersihan kota = pengusiran para pengemis, gelandangan, penjahat dari kota), bahkan melukai seorang penyihir. Sonea terkejut menyadari dirinya melakukan sihir. Begitu pula para penyihir. Mereka tidak menyangka ada orang di luar Wisma-wisma yang memiliki kekuatan sihir. Persekutuan penyihir pun mengejar Sonea karena jika tidak segera ditemukan, efek sihir Sonea akan membahayakan seluruh kota.

Buku ini terdiri dari 2 bagian. Bagian pertama menceritakan pembersihan kota dan pengejaran Sonea oleh persekutuan penyihir. Sonea tidak sendiri, dia dibantu oleh teman2 gelandangannya (terutama oleh Harrin dan Cery). Meski Persekutuan telah mengirimkan surat yang menjelaskan bahwa mereka bermaksud baik yaitu akan mengajarkan pengendalian sihir kepada Sonea, Sonea dan teman2nya tidak percaya. Sonea terus bersembunyi dengan berpindah2, termasuk meminta perlindungan kepada Kaum Pencuri.
Efek sihir Sonea memang berbahaya karena dia tidak bisa mengendalikannya. Persekutuan pun akhirnya bisa menangkap Sonea setelah mendeteksi keberadaan Sonea melalui sihir yang dilakukan Sonea ketika mencoba berlatih.

Bagian kedua menceritakan Sonea setelah berada di dalam Persekutuan dan dibimbing oleh Lord Rothen sang penyihir yang pertama kali melihat Sonea melakukan sihir ketika pembersihan kota. Sonea tentu saja tidak serta merta mempercayai Rothen karena pada dasarnya ia membenci penyihir. Namun kesabaran Rothen membuat Sonea luluh dan mulai percaya bahwa tidak semua penyihir jahat. Sonea pun belajar mengendalikan sihirnya, belajar berkomunikasi mental (komunikasi dengan pikiran), membaca pikiran (kayak legilimency dan occlumency di Harry Potter hehe) dan mengenali keahlian2 sihir (di dalam Persekutuan ada Universitas) berikut warna pakaiannya :D Jubah coklat menandakan siswa Universitas, jubah hijau berarti Penyembuh, jubah merah adalah Ksatria, jubah ungu berarti ahli Alkimia. Masing2 keahlian memiliki ketua (kayak dekan fakultas ato ketua jurusan). Ketua Penyembuh (dekan fakultas kedokteran hehe) adalah Lady Vinara, ketua Ksatria (penyihir petarung) adalah Lord Balkan dan ketua Alkimia adalah Lord Sarrin.

Sonea juga berkenalan dengan para penyihir lain seperti Lord Dannyl, sahabat Rothen, Lord Lorlen sang Ketua Harian, termasuk Lord Fergun yang ingin membalas dendam kepada Sonea dengan caranya sendiri. Sonea masih menyimpan rasa takut akan apa yang pernah dilihatnya pada malam ketika dia dan Cery menyelinap ke dalam Persekutuan. Seorang penyihir pembunuh tinggal di dalam Persekutuan.

Pada akhirnya Sonea harus memilih, tetap tinggal di Persekutuan dan belajar sihir atau kembali ke pemukiman kumuh setelah kekuatan sihirnya diblok.
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Feb 28, 2013 Darrell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is hard to believe that this is Ms. Canavan's first book. The story centers around Sonea who discovers that she has magical talent at the most inappropriate time. The powerful magician's guild is there to witness her discovery and then pursues her as she escapes into the slums that surround the city. The guild law doesn't allow for any magician's to thrive outside of the guild. Sonea is helped by the thieves but is finally discovered and taken to the guild. The guild offers her the choice of...more

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Oct 17, 2008 Jen3n rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I was going to put this up on my "currently reading" shelf, but it didn't take me long enough to finish it. Or, perhaps, I read more than I check this website.

Either way, this book I just finished half an hour ago is a cute little start to what seems to be a simple and inoffensive fantasy trilogy set in a stock-and-trade fantasy setting with basic characters and a plot you would expect. THAT being said, it was interesting enough to make me go look for the second and third books. Or, rather, I WI...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Laura Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-copy

An interesting read. I was waiting for some big dramatic pinnicle that would have pushed it to 5 stars, but I didn't feel it. However, I believe this is just a starter novel to make way for more interesting happenings in the next two. I mean, one has to introduce the situation and Canavan has done that with lots of depth. The characters were well thought of; I particularly loved the banter between Rothen and Dannyl. The world of Kyralia has been very carefully thought out and I loved reading abo...more

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Feb 20, 2008 Allan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy

As a first novel it's not bad and, while it's enjoyable enough, that fact shows throughout.

The story lacks any real depth, character development is minimal, the plot is extremely predictable and the dialogue very stilted. I get the impression that Ms. Canavan has done a bit of Dungeons and Dragons playing as it comes close to such an adventure - all surface, single-layer action and no deep storyline. There is a little hint of a darker story in there but we don't get to see much of it here - perh...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Alice Bridgwater added it · review of another edition

I am moderately satisfied with the series, though not with the first book. What I think about each of the three books: 1) "The Magician's Guild": almost half of the book is spent relating the tentatives of Sonea, supported by a friend and the Thieves, to conceal herself from the Guild magicians: I think it is a waste of time and energy, because every reader undestands since a few pages that she's going to be captured and instructed from the Guild (it is impossible not to undestand it: the story...more I am moderately satisfied with the series, though not with the first book. What I think about each of the three books: 1) "The Magician's Guild": almost half of the book is spent relating the tentatives of Sonea, supported by a friend and the Thieves, to conceal herself from the Guild magicians: I think it is a waste of time and energy, because every reader undestands since a few pages that she's going to be captured and instructed from the Guild (it is impossible not to undestand it: the story is related also from some "good" magicians point of view an it would be of no use describing and introducing us with these magicians if they weren't going to be important characters in the rest of the book). Some thirty pages or so would have been enough to introduce us with the slums and the Thieves and a couple of characters coming through the whole series. Instead, one is just tempted to skip useless pages in order to go to the key events. 2) "The Novice": quite interesting the developing of Sonea's magical capabilities, satisfying the plot about her acceptance into the Guild. First flaw: unfortunately it is not concluded in itself, and it is absolutely necessary to read the third book. Second flaw: the events taking place in here, however pleasant and enjoyable, aren't necessary to the following book, they are quite stand-alone. 3) "The High Lord": since now, the most appealing of the three books, a nice, well-paced plot (even if the Guild acts as a pretty stupid organism, blind fearful and dull-minded). As a conclusion: I would give 1 star to the first book, and three stars to the other two. The average would be less than two stars and a half, but I'm willing to give it three stars as a global evaluation because the story has quite a grip on the reader and, despite the series is far from perfect and the characters are sometimes a bit commonplace, one finds himself pleasurably driven forward. But please, someone must explain me a couple of things: <SPOILER> . . . . . . . . 1) why Akkarin during the final combat doesn't want to use the magic stored into the arched vault (I don't remember the name of the building)?? they were gathering magical energy form everyone and everything, why not that? that would have made the difference and everything would have ended differently. it seems to me very very stupid, when the destiny of your land depends on you, that you don't take advantage of every possibility, since the vault could eventually be restored in a second time. 2) the Sachakan woman: why doesn't she take part in the fight, but, more important, what was she? what was she doing there? yes, she was keeping an eye on the situatuion, but for whom did she act? in the end the author doesn't explain her role at all </SPOILER>(less)

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Oct 25, 2011 El Templo de las Mil Puertas added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 18-eltemplo, reportero-recomienda

"De vez en cuando hay novelas que pasan susurrando por nuestro lado y no nos damos cuenta de que están ahí. Ese fue el caso de la trilogía Las Crónicas del Mago Negro (El Gremio de los Magos, La Aprendiz y El Gran Lord), de la autora australiana Trudi Canavan. En 2006 El Gremio de los Magos hizo un tímido amago en las librerías bajo el título de La cofradía, pero no sería hasta este mismo año que alcanzaría el reconocimiento que se merecía por parte de los lectores. Situémonos primero. Estamos e...more

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Mar 15, 2009 Abi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I very much enjoyed this book and the other two in the trilogy - the characterisation was simple but not dull, and Sonea is an interesting and appealing character.

Only two points irritated me: firstly, there is very little sense of place. The Guild and the slums are quite well drawn, but of the rest of Kyralia we are given very little idea. Nor do we get much idea of life outside the Guild or the slums in general - it seems a very closed world.

The second irritation for me was that there were inc...more

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May 02, 2013 Maurinejt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book really took me back to old-school Mercedes Lackey. It features a determined orphan girl with special powers who must find her place and in the process changes everything. The college where much of the action takes place organizes students' area of study by color coding, Healers wear green and Mages perform the Truth spell. No mysterious spirit horses though, and the mechanics of the magic are more Name of the Wind than Arrows of the Queen. It has a bit more grit where required. Luckily...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Arminion rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Magician's guild is a light fantasy novel with a simple plot. The book reads fast, but not because it's engaging but because Canavan uses relatively simple words, without spending too much time describing people and places. If I have to describe this book by just one word, I would call it "setup".
The first part of the book is just one big chase scene. Sonea is running away from the magicians, whom she thinks they are evil and want to kill her. Instead, magicians are the "good guys" and want to...more Magician's guild is a light fantasy novel with a simple plot. The book reads fast, but not because it's engaging but because Canavan uses relatively simple words, without spending too much time describing people and places. If I have to describe this book by just one word, I would call it "setup".
The first part of the book is just one big chase scene. Sonea is running away from the magicians, whom she thinks they are evil and want to kill her. Instead, magicians are the "good guys" and want to help her. This entire chase part is interesting at first, but quickly becomes annoying. At the end I just wanted the magicians to catch her already, to finish this whole charade. The chase would be much more interesting if it was shorter, OR, if the magicians really wanted Sonea dead. As it is, we are just watching two people running around a tree trying to catch each other.
The second part of the book is a little bit more interesting. Sonea is now in the Magician's guild and is learning to control her powers, gaining some new friends (and enemies) along the way.
I couldn't give this book more than 3 stars, and here are some of the reasons:
1) As i said earlier, the entire chase scene becomes pointless rather quickly and takes too much time.
2) Nothing of relevance happens in this book, the entire plot could be summarized in two sentences.
3) One of the main characters, Cery, receives a task of killing a man. Since he never done it before, he is scared and reluctant to do it. But in the end, he does it anyway. Despite being a pretty big deal for him of taking another man's life, we never hear of it again, which makes the entire experience fell flat and it doesn't change his character in the slightest.
4) I don't know who to blame here - Canavan or the editor, but I noticed she is constantly using the same words over and over, especially in part 2. Just count how many times someone "frowns" or "makes a dismissive gesture with his hand". It's extremely annoying.
5) Sonea lives in the slums, the poor part of the city and she is supposed to be uneducated, having crude language. But I never noticed any difference from her talk or the talk of the educated magicians.
6) The book is stereotypical. We have our Mage guild and our Thieves guild. I was just waiting for a Warrior guild to complete the cycle. And we also have a young, naive hero with great powers who is there to save the day.
7) Despite Sonea learning Magic, she doesn't seem really impressed to have this powers, or anyone else for that matter. Everybody is like, oh you have magic, cool, let's move on.

Despite this flaws, I will continue reading the trilogy, just to see how it wraps up. All in all, Magician's guild is a light, simple and nice fantasy novel. There is no violence or rape scenes, so I would recommend this book to everyone.(less)

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Apr 07, 2013 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un fantasy ben scritto, che trasporta il lettore nell'universo di Kyralia, dove viene presto a conoscenza degli intrighi della Corporazione, composta da maghi che ricordano un po' le nostre classi politiche, amanti del lusso, del buon vino e della corruzione. Mancano forse i “festini”, ma d'altronde è una trilogia per ragazzi...
La protagonista è Sonea, una dwell, ovvero un'abitante dei bassifondi, che scopre di avere anch'essa dei poteri e si trova catapultata in quel mondo elitario che ha semp...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Lettergieter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, bibboek, epic-fantasy, fantasy

De roman leest soepeltjes, het verhaal blijft in beweging en de personages komen voldoende tot leven. Het verhaal blijft wel sterk hangen binnen de pasvorm van het genre, weinig verrassend, maar degelijk.

Het magiërsgilde, het eerste deel van 'De Zwarte Magiërs', speelt zich af in een kleine wereld: de stad Imardin. Deze stad bestaat uit een door hoge muren omgeven kern, waar de koning zetelt en de Huizen, de welgestelde adel, hun woningen hebben. Daarbuiten de burgerij en daar weer buiten sloppe...more De roman leest soepeltjes, het verhaal blijft in beweging en de personages komen voldoende tot leven. Het verhaal blijft wel sterk hangen binnen de pasvorm van het genre, weinig verrassend, maar degelijk.

Het magiërsgilde, het eerste deel van 'De Zwarte Magiërs', speelt zich af in een kleine wereld: de stad Imardin. Deze stad bestaat uit een door hoge muren omgeven kern, waar de koning zetelt en de Huizen, de welgestelde adel, hun woningen hebben. Daarbuiten de burgerij en daar weer buiten sloppenwijken, variërend in mate van bouwvalligheid. Er zijn volop kroegen en de Dieven vormen er een grote macht. Dat is het wel zo'n beetje, want de stad blijft ook in de loop van het verhaal wat kleurloos.

In de middelste cirkel is ook het magiërsgilde gehuisvest. Ze wonen daar bij elkaar en leiden jonge nieuwe magiërs op. Die novicen zijn afkomstig uit de Huizen. De mensen buiten de muren, de Sloppers, kennen de magiërs slechts als een bedreigende macht. Alleen op de dag van De Zuivering komen ze buiten de muren om, in opdracht van de koning, alle zwervers en ander ongewenst volk weg te drijven van de stad.

Met zo'n Zuivering begint het verhaal. Het jonge meisje Sonea, dochter van een verdwenen vader en jong gestorven moeder, groeit op bij haar tante. Die heeft geprobeerd een eerzaam bestaan op te bouwen. Tevergeefs, want ook zij worden verdreven. In de drukte komt zij weer in aanraking met haar oude vrienden, een jeugdbende die de magiërs uitdaagt en met stenen bekogelt. Ook Sonea gooit een steen en daarbij ontlaadt zij al haar woede over de onrechtvaardigheid van haar lot. In tegenstelling tot de stenen van haar vrienden doorbreekt haar steen het magische pantser van de magiërs. Zij beschikt over magische krachten! De rest van het verhaal beschrijft de jacht van de magiërs op Sonea, want wanneer zij niet geschoold wordt, vormt zij een gevaar voor zichzelf en voor haar omgeving. Sonea gelooft echter niet in de goede bedoelingen van de magiërs en blijft met de hulp van de Dieven lang uit hun handen. Uiteindelijk wordt zij toch gevonden en voor het eerst sinds zeer lange tijd zou een Slopper lid van het gilde kunnen worden. Tenminste als de magiërs haar vertrouwen kunnen winnen. En dat is niet makkelijk, want bij haar vlucht is zij achter een geheim van de oppermagiër gekomen.

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Feb 22, 2013 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I wanted to love this book and, as it is, I rather enjoyed it. It was just good enough to make me read the next two. I recommend it, if only because the next two are actually quite good.

The main complaint I have about this book is that it had the potential for more. It feels as though this is just the first book of a trilogy. Its sole purpose is to precede the other two books. The pacing is fine at first -- in the very first chapter, Sonea performs the bit of magic which sends the Guild looking...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Ésa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually started reading this book 2 years ago and never got round to finishing it until this holiday. Whilst I was very impressed with the author's writing skills and it kept the booking flowing beautifully from the moment Sonea was noticed to the hide and chase, I found the book dragged on in the middle for far too long. Hence I was unable to bring myself to read yet more hide and chase for another 40 pages before we got anywhere....until two years later, aka now, when I finally finished it....more

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Jan 09, 2013 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This book was entertaining enough for someone looking for a typical fantasy book to scratch an itch on a rainy day, but I just didn't find it that interesting. Some of the problem is that the writing style is middle-of-the-road. The bigger problems are 1) the setting and characters are nothing new, and 2) the story was so slow that it got boring.

With regards to the first first point, the main character is the fantasy stock girl who is supposedly plain and average who ends up having incredible m...more This book was entertaining enough for someone looking for a typical fantasy book to scratch an itch on a rainy day, but I just didn't find it that interesting. Some of the problem is that the writing style is middle-of-the-road. The bigger problems are 1) the setting and characters are nothing new, and 2) the story was so slow that it got boring.

With regards to the first first point, the main character is the fantasy stock girl who is supposedly plain and average who ends up having incredible magic talent and having a bunch of men take interest in her, either to act as surrogate fathers/uncles/brothers, or love interests. The magic system itself is a generic, and not actually described in much detail, although I don't suppose that it would have to be since magicians in the setting do "normal" things that anyone who has read fantasy novel (other than Harry Potter) would expect. The setting is another old-world academic/boarding school setting, which is a trope that I normally find entertaining, but in this case, it just...wasn't, which brings me to the second point.

The story, what there was of it, was slow. There were over 200 pages of the Sonea, the main character, being chased, which, although it sounds like would be action-packed, just got boring. I found myself waiting until Sonea would get captured so that I could enjoy the typical magic boarding school part, but when I finally got to that part, I was disappointed because I didn't experience any interest, much less wonder, in the magic that Sonea was learning. Plus, most of the story ends up being about how everyone gangs up against Sonea, and I just started to get irritated with the fact that none of the 100+ magicians noticed or did anything about the harassment.

Other random thoughts:
-Maybe it's more "realistic," but I found it annoying that it was mentioned several times that women magicians usually choose the healing arts and that there are no strong female warrior magicians. Perhaps it should be refreshing that Sonea didn't just turn out to be another awesome, if unrealistic, magical martial mistress.

-I did like how, although heavy-handed, Trudi Canavan tries to present the complexities involved in a society with well-defined social classes. Although it was frustrating that most of the other magicians' were one-dimensionally prejudiced, or at least mistrustful, against Sonea because she was the "slum girl," I liked the fact that Canavan at least tried to explore not only the dislocation Sonea felt in becoming an upper-class magician that she had always been taught to hate, but also the confusion and guilt that she felt for being able to live a life free of fear, hunger, etc that her family and friends in the slums would continue to live.

-I felt that the book ended abruptly, like the trilogy was meant to read as one large book, and could've been streamlined into a better, more interesting, tighter story if the author and/or publishing house hadn't been concerned as much about publishing in the fantasy staple unit of a trilogy.(less)

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Jan 05, 2013 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction-fantasy

This is a review of the overall series, and I'm struggling a bit with what to write without making this a spoiler review, but here are a few thoughts:

- I enjoyed the series, but I'm putting it firmly in the "good not great" category (hence the 3 star rating). As so often happens with YA fiction, it just doesn't have the full depth or the originality that would move it up a notch or two, which is unfortunate since there are definitely books out there which prove YA fiction need not be shallow or...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am 18 and have been absent from the world of books from when the last page of harry potter was turned. During my christmas shopping i saw this book and read the blurb, which was no better than any other blurb i have read. However i felt myself drawn to this book enough to purchase it, believing i would get bored after the first 10 pages, and thank god i did. This book has reinspired me to read as after i finished it i found myself practicly flying through town to buy the next one.I have finish...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Bookworms rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don’t remember how I found the book and thought to read it. I’ve been looking again for an audiobook. The story sounded interesting and so I soon put the first CD in. The beginning reminded me a bit of the earlier book was “The Tribute of Panem”. Again, a world in which we have a big difference between poor and rich and again as a main character a girl from the poor people. The book is well written and easy to read, anyway the story is “light food” and a good book. The idea of a girl who has m...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Svenja rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-sterne

Man merkt, dass "Die Rebellin" der Anfang einer spannenden Trilogie ist. In dem ersten Teil wird viel erklärt und beschrieben. Das finde ich nicht schlimm und hat auch nie gestört. Trotzdem war es manchmal einfach zu viel "Input".

Ich wusste ziemlich lange nicht, was ich von der Gilde der Magier halten soll. Sind die jetzt wirklich so furchtbar, oder etwa doch nicht? Trudi Canavan hat das wirklich gut geschrieben, in dem man so ganz langsam Einblicke in die Magiergilde erhält. Und das auch aus de...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Bücherplanet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Irmadin wird alles von der Magier-Gilde regiert, in die nur Kinder aus hochrangigen Familien als Novizen aufgenommen werden. Die meisten Menschen sind jedoch arm und allein gelassen mit ihren Problemen. Sonea gehört zu einer Gruppe jugendlicher Rebellen.

Als die Magier die jährliche Säuberung vornehmen, in der alle armen Leute aus der Stadt in die Vororte vertrieben werden, begehrt sie auf und offenbart dabei starke magische Kräfte. Von nun an jagen die Magier der Gilde sie. Doch wie lange sch...more In Irmadin wird alles von der Magier-Gilde regiert, in die nur Kinder aus hochrangigen Familien als Novizen aufgenommen werden. Die meisten Menschen sind jedoch arm und allein gelassen mit ihren Problemen. Sonea gehört zu einer Gruppe jugendlicher Rebellen.

Als die Magier die jährliche Säuberung vornehmen, in der alle armen Leute aus der Stadt in die Vororte vertrieben werden, begehrt sie auf und offenbart dabei starke magische Kräfte. Von nun an jagen die Magier der Gilde sie. Doch wie lange schafft sie es, sich vor den Mächtigen zu verstecken?

Die Rebellin ist der Auftakt zur Trilogie 'Die Gilde der schwarzen Magier' von Trudi Canavan. Mittlerweile (Stand Januar 2012) gibt es neben der Trilogie auch ein Prequel ('Magie') und eine Sequel-Trilogie (Sonea), von der bisher die ersten beiden Bände erschienen sind, Band 3 soll noch dieses Jahr erscheinen.

Dieser erste Band ist eher als Einleitung zu betrachten. Manchmal ist es etwas in die Länge gezogen ' der Leser ahnt schnell, worauf es hinausläuft, die Verfolgungsjagd geht trotzdem weiter. Trotzdem ist es spannend und sehr gut zu lesen.

Einzig die Übersetzung ist manchmal etwas unglücklich ' so fiel mir beim Lesen zum Beispiel auf, dass ständig irgendjemand (z.B. hochrangige Magier) kichern. Das passt an vielen Stellen schlicht und ergreifend einfach nicht. Im Original ist es 'chuckle', was sich beispielsweise besser mit 'in sich hinein lachen' übersetzen lässt. Es gibt noch andere, ähnliche Beispiele, aber das ist mir besonders aufgefallen. Auch wirken manche Sätze etwas holprig. Das Schlimmste ist jedoch die Übersetzung des Titels der Trilogie: Aus 'Black Magicians Trilogy' (Schwarzmagier-Trilogie) wurde 'Die Gilde der schwarzen Magier' gemacht ' und es GIBT in dem Buch keine Gilde mit schwarzen Magiern, sondern nur die Magier-Gilde, in der keine schwarze Magie praktiziert werden darf, auch wenn schwarze Magier eine entscheidende Rolle in den Büchern spielen.

Aber dennoch ist es ein tolles Buch im Bereich der All-Age-Fantasy. Trudi Canavan hat eine tolle Welt geschaffen, die den Leser in seinen Bann zieht und auch einige überraschende Wendungen bereit hält.

Mareike von MexxBooks(less)

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Sep 16, 2012 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was recommended to me by a friend who was completely obsessed with the series. I am friends with people who don't kid about their obessions. No joke, she went on about this book for 4 hours. Straight.

I figured "I had better start reading this book before she starts threatening me or something," so I picked up a copy at the library.

Now I understand why she was so obsessed.

The beginning I found cliche, and I really wanted to put the book down. Don't. It is definitely worth it. I got suck...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Matthew rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: epic-fantasy

From the first description of the world, I was captivated. The world in this book felt real and fantastic. This is what I read fantasy books for. To find lush worlds to escape to. This is the first fantasy story to captivate my imagination in quite a while.

However, despite being a good length book and dealing with some relatively mature topics, the book often read as if it were directed at children. The plot was very standard fare - young poor child with a good heart is found to be special and t...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Marty82 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fantasy non particolarmente originale, “La corporazione dei maghi” è il primo libro di una trilogia che narra le avventure di Sonea, novella Harry Potter proiettata dall’oggi al domani nel magico mondo della Corporazione dei Maghi di Kyralia.
Peccato che della magia e del fascino che sono caratteristiche dominanti nei libri della Rowling, questa prima avventura della nostra maghetta in erba abbia in realtà ben poco.
La trama è a mio avviso troppo incentrata sulle peripezie e i continui nascondit...more

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Apr 11, 2012 Lara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Aufmachung

Ich geh jetzt gar nicht groß auf das Cover ein, es passt, ist schlicht, meiner Meinung nach nicht umwerfend, aber okay, und das war's von meiner Seite.
Allerdings brauche ich ganz ganz dringend (!!) jemanden, der mir erklärt, warum das jetzt bitte Die Gilde der SCHWARZEN Magier heißt?! Ich will jetzt nichts vorwegnehmen, aber SCHWARZE MAGIE IST IN DER GILDE VERBOTEN!!! Ich hasse solche Titel -.- Noch schlimmer als falsche Kurzbeschreibungen. Für mich gibt es absolut keinen Grund, diese...more

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Mar 11, 2012 Lunática Pirate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Aunque la contraportada dice todo me tomo la libertad de hacer un pequeño resumen del libro.
Sonea es una chica humilde que odia a los magos pues ellos son los encargados de echar a la gente de la ciudad a las barriadas, una parte de la ciudad que está en pobreza absoluta. Durante la Purga Sonea se reencuentra con viejos amigos y se ve arrastrada a alzarse contra los magos, al principio es una observadora más hasta que la mueca de desprecio de uno de los magos sobrepasa su paciencia y lanza una p...more Aunque la contraportada dice todo me tomo la libertad de hacer un pequeño resumen del libro.
Sonea es una chica humilde que odia a los magos pues ellos son los encargados de echar a la gente de la ciudad a las barriadas, una parte de la ciudad que está en pobreza absoluta. Durante la Purga Sonea se reencuentra con viejos amigos y se ve arrastrada a alzarse contra los magos, al principio es una observadora más hasta que la mueca de desprecio de uno de los magos sobrepasa su paciencia y lanza una piedra, nadie espera que surta efecto pues los magos mantienen un escudo protector para estos casos pero la piedra lanzada por Sonea pasa la barrera e impacta en el mago de mirada despectiva, todos se asombran ya que no se esperaba un mago fuera de las Casas, familias adineradas pertenecientes a la Ciudad Interior, y menos de las barriadas, en el momento los magos empiezan la búsqueda del mago y Sonea empieza su huída ayudada por Cery y los Ladrones. Luego de varios días jugando al corre que te alcanzo, Sonea es atrapada por el Gremio justo cuando sus poderes empiezan a descontrolarse, luego de ayudarla a calmar sus poderes es llevada al Gremio, un lugar lujoso donde viven los magos y aprendices, para enseñarle Control en sus poderes y convencerla de que se quede y sea una Maga. En fin, dentro del Gremio se dará cuenta de que un mago está usando magia negra para robar poder y ella, como posible víctima a ser asesinada, jugará un papel importante.
No les cuento más porque entonces les contaría el libro y quiero que se lo lean para que me digan que tal.
Cuando empecé a leérmelo lo encontré aburrido, Sonea va de aquí para allá y los magos ni por enterados, lo dejé durante un día entero y aproveché para leerme “Épica Patética” y leer un poco de “Ghostgirl, Loca por amor” pero necesitaba saber que sucedía con Sonea así que lo retomé y he quedado encantada, me lo he acabado lo más pronto que he podido.
Canavan nos muestra un nuevo mundo, lejos del mundo de Harry Potter, lleno de gente pobre y escaso de magos, aquí ser mago es un privilegio que con los años se le ha dejado a las personas pertenecientes a familias adineradas así que cuando Sonea descubre su magia es todo un acontecimiento. La narrativa de Canavan es fluida y descriptiva a mi parecer, no me a aburrido pero tampoco me ha atrapado del todo.
Los personajes que más me gustaron fueron Dannyl, un brujo especializado en la alquimia y que asumió por tarea descubrir la manera de poner las imágenes mentales en papel, es divertido, me ha fascinado su manera de tratar con las personas y los problemas además de que no es un mago convencional; y Rothen, una viejo mago alquimista que está en contra de la Purga y disfruta de enseñar a los aprendices, me ha gustado el personaje, su actitud hacia Sonea es como la de un padre, me conmueve.(less)

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Club 42: Trudi Canavan	2	4	Feb 25, 2013 11:36am
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About Trudi Canavan

Trudi Canavan was born in Kew, Melbourne and grew up in Ferntree Gully, a suburb at the foothills of the Dandenongs.

In 1999 she won the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story with “Whispers of the Mist Children”. In the same year she was granted a writers residency at Varuna Writers’ Centre in Katoomba, New South Wales.

In November 2001, The Magicians’ Guild was first published in Australia. T...more

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Books by Trudi Canavan

The High Lord (The Black Magician Trilogy, #3)

The Novice (The Black Magician Trilogy, #2)

The Magician's Apprentice (The Black Magician Trilogy, #0.5)

Priestess of the White (Age of the Five, #1)

The Ambassador's Mission (Traitor Spy Trilogy, #1)

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“It is said, in Imardin, that the wind has a soul, and that it wails through the narrow streets because it is grieved by what it finds there.” — 82 people liked it

“How am I going to make friends with these people if all I can think of is how easy it would be to rob them?” — 42 people liked it

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