Magician is a fantasy novel by American writer Raymond E. Feist. It is the first book of the Riftwar Saga and of the wider Riftwar Cycle. Magician was originally published in 1982. The book is set in a Dungeons & Dragons–style fantasy world called Midkemia, originally invented by Feist and his friends during college. The story follows the early life of friends Pug and Tomas as their world is overtaken by war against alien invaders who appear via portals.
Contents
Background
Magician is Feist's first published novel, written in the years after he graduated from University of California, San Diego. At university he was a fan of role-playing games and regularly played with his friends. The name and broad idea for Midkemia came from a group of friends who invented the world and some of the core mechanics, such as the magic system. Prior to starting work on Magician, Feist had written some short and "light-hearted" stories about the world they had created.
Feist graduated in 1977 and began work in the healthcare industry. At this time, he had the idea for a novel involving a boy magician and began to write. At some point, Feist lost his job; however, his friends bankrolled the effort to complete Magician. The book was finished by 1979 and published in 1982 by Doubleday books. '
Magician was separated into two volumes for the United States market and published as: Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master. It was republished in 1992 in a 10th Anniversary edition entitled "The Author's Preferred Edition" containing scenes that had been cut from the original. Feist wanted to re-issue the low circulation original hardcover and his publisher, Lou Aronica, said "he would only do it with new material" so Feist restored some scenes he felt were important while expanding or rewriting other material.