Review: The Magicians' Guild

The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I really, REALLY want to give this book three and a half stars.
Started this one as an ebook checked out from the library because it was available and I was experimenting with reading on my phone. When it looked like it had potential, I requested a paper copy from the library, which I just zipped through in about a day and a half.
Probably if it reminds me of half a dozen of my favorite authors' works at different points, it's a book I like, right? It was engaging and amusing and entertaining. I liked the world and look forward to reading more in it. At the same time, because I kept getting these echoes of other authors, it didn't quite feel original. And I have to say, while renaming common objects to emphasize that it's a fantasy world is a tool that works, it feels like a weaker prop than giving us the rules and substantial differences. So a spider is a faren, so what? What I'm interested in is how the Magician's Guild works and the laws of magic. Or if a faren has some features that set it apart from a spider in unexpected ways, then I'm interested, but if it's just a spider by a different name? Feels more contrived than convincing.
I am glad that the foundation was well laid for more intrigue, but the main plot of this book wrapped up tidily. It was a nice balance between series of books which are hardly related and those which are more continuations of each other than separate stories.
Which books did it call to mind? I was reminded of [a:Tamora Pierce|8596|Tamora Pierce|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209044273p2/8596.jpg]'s Circle of Magic books very strongly, a bit of [a:Philip Pullman|3618|Philip Pullman|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1196023994p2/3618.jpg]'s Sally Lockhart books (mostly the parts to do with running and hiding in the slums of London), [a:Kate Constable|273399|Kate Constable|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1243719545p2/273399.jpg]'s Chanters of Tremaris trilogy, a bit of [a:Maria V. Snyder|445303|Maria V. Snyder|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1224476079p2/445303.jpg], with a touch of [a:Scott Lynch|73149|Scott Lynch|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1332432746p2/73149.jpg], and oh, hell, just a whiff of [a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351307341p2/108424.jpg]. You'd think with so many flavors I love, this book would have grabbed me more strongly. I'm not saying I didn't like it, just that it wasn't in the league with some of those (especially Scott Lynch and Pat Rothfuss), so I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't absolutely stellar. Not a diet version of those books I love, but a slightly-reduced-fat version. I do look forward to reading more by this author. Certainly on a level with Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic books, which I have had as a go-to fun fantasy since I first read them... so long ago that I can't remember when.
You may note that I left [a:J K Rowling|6566055|J K Rowling|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg] off the list of feel-alikes. Despite having an unexpected power in an unlikely youngster as the focal point of the story, this book was entirely different from the Harry Potter series. Not as much world-building, despite taking place in a different reality. The magic is much less important to the story, and isn't explored as much as at Hogwarts. Maybe we'll get to more of that in future books. I think that the author's writing will develop some polish and she clearly has some excellent ideas.



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