A Sorcerer’s Apprentice (From Thief to King #1) by Michael Williams
Publication: Warner Books (November 1, 1990), Paperback, 288 pages / ISBN 0445210540
Genre: Fantasy, Teen/YA
Rating: 
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First sentence: In the topmost room of Kestrel Tower the woman murmured over the candles, her elegant, hawklike features uncommonly still.
In one sentence: Starts off badly, but soon picks up and develops into a wonderful fantasy novel.
A Sorcerer’s Apprentice is one of those books with a horrible first page with a really good story stuck behind it. I read that first page about five times before I managed to move forward in the book, and that was only because I was stuck on an airplane for three hours. Luckily, and most happily, by the time I got to the second chapter I was really enjoying myself, and by the time I got to the end I was so engrossed in the world that I was surprised when it ended.
Summary from back cover:
Captured by wizard Mage Terrance while attempting to rob a house, young street urchin Brenn must choose between hideous punishment and a chance to become the wizard’s apprentice, in a battle of destinies that has raged for generations.
One of the most interesting things about A Sorcerer’s Apprentice is how it takes the traditional fantasy genre things and slightly twists them. For instance, Terrance (the sorcerer in question), is old and wise and everything, but he’s also goofy and teasing and doesn’t even really like to use magic. He reminds me of Merlin from The Sword in the Stone movie, except with less magic. Brenn is more typical, but he’s still a little different because he has practically no experience with human emotions and is quite unaware of how people are feeling. So while certain elements seem familiar, it nevertheless was also a little bit new to me, too.
I didn’t particularly like any of the characters in A Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but I did empathize with them. Likewise, I wasn’t particularly scared of Ravenna, the baddie, but I did want her to lose and/or get her heart back or something. I think perhaps I was more wary of her than anything– she’s one of those manipulators who can get people to do nearly everything they want, and normally those kind of people don’t have any sort of conscience at all. I think that’s more scary than someone who can kill you in your sleep (for example).
My biggest problem with A Sorcerer’s Apprentice was its propensity towards the overdramatic and weird repetition of words in the same sentence. I remember one went something like “the sad bells drooped sadly.” Uh, what? And Ravenna, the evil sorceress, who unfortunately also starts off the book, is a) in possession of a truly boring and lackluster name, and b) super melodramatic. (She kinda reminds me of those theater kids who’d run around quoting Shakespeare all the time in high school. Draping themselves over cafeteria tables, weeping, etc. You know.) It wasn’t the best way to start off a book, with a melodramatic sorceress named after a bird, and that’s partly why it took me so long to get through the prologue. She pops back up again throughout the book, and every single time she does something ridiculous and over the top.
But then I realized: wait. Maybe A Sorcerer’s Apprentice is subtly making fun of Ravenna? Because I totally think it is, now. Every time Ravenna does something grand and majestic it’s followed by something that says she’s doing it on purpose to be dramatic and awe-inspiring. She’s totally a theater kid!
And also the weird word-doubling stopped after the first few pages, and once the story was taken over by Brenn it was much more interesting and fun to read.
If you can get through the first few pages, A Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a fun, exciting book with decent enough characters, an intriguing plot, and some twists on the cliches of the fantasy genre. If you can pick up a copy somewhere, please do!
Which book surprised you lately? Read any books that started off badly but ended surprisingly well?
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