The Magician's Apprentice

The Magician's Apprentice, Trudi Canavan, Orbit Books, 2009

First of a trilogy, this fantasy novel is about two enemies moving toward war, with a young apprentice stuck in the middle.

Tessia is a healer's apprentice in the land of Kyralia. It is a place where the only "career" for women is to become a wife and mother, so becoming a healer, on her own, is not an option. One day, in a moment of stress, Tessia shows an amazing natural talent for magic. She becomes a magician's apprentice under Lord Dakon. She joins Jayan, an older male apprentice, with whom she has a difficult relationship. Before Tessia can get used to her new life, war comes to Kyralia.

Three centuries previously, Kyralia gained its independence from the land of Sachaka. A group of rogue Sachakan magicians vows to do something about that. When they attack a Kyralian village, they suck all the magic out of the residents, then brutally kill everyone, including Tessia's parents. Takado, the leader of the Sachakan magicians, is banking on the Sachakan emperor being forced into approving the invasion, now that it is already in process. When the two armies meet, there are major pitched battles, using magic only. Slowly but surely, the war starts to go Kyralia's way. When the Sachakans are pushed back to the border, do the Kyralians stay there? On the other hand, do the Kyralians continue to the Sachakan capital, to wipe out Sachaka once and for all? If they don't, they know that, one day, Sachaka will attack Kyralia, and finish it, once and for all.

This is a big book, but it's a really good one. It's a tale full of loyalty, conflict and finding your place in the world when your world has been turned upside down. It is well worth the reader's time.