The Magician's Apprentice by Trudi Canavan

Book Description:
Taking place hundreds of years before the events of The Magicians' Guild, The Magician's Apprentice is the new novel set in the world of Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy.In the remote village of Mandryn, Tessia serves as assistant to her father, the village Healer. Her mother would rather she found a husband. But her life is about to take a very unexpected turn.When the advances of a visiting Sachakan mage get violent, Tessia unconsciously taps unknown reserves of magic to defend herself. Lord Dakon, the local magician, takes Tessia under his wing as an apprentice.The hours are long and the work arduous, but soon an exciting new world opens up to her. There are fine clothes and servants and - to Tessia's delight - regular trips to the great city of Imardin.However, Tessia is about to discover that her magical gifts bring with them a great deal of responsibility. For a storm is approaching that threatens to tear her world apart.
My thoughts:
I very much enjoyed this book. As a stand alone book, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much as I did, but it answered many questions I had after reading the Black Magician's Trilogy. The main character Tessia is a very intriguing young lady. She taps into her magic when threatened and is a 'natural' so MUST be taught about magic and how to control it. This causes tension between her and another apprentice when his Master takes on her training.

It is a typical story of a social climb by amazing events. Tessia had been her father's, the village healer, assistant, which wasn't the lowest class but it was much lower than a magician. She has to figure out how to navigate the new social status she is given and learn how to function in a world she has only imagined setting foot in. She goes from being on speaking terms with the servants to being served by them and it is a very unsettling transformation for her.

In the midst of this transformation, a war is brewing between her home land and the former rulers, the Sachakan's, so her teacher is preoccupied and she enters a war zone with little training hoping to help her country keep its Independence. I would rank it a 3/5, borrow from a friend or buy used unless you are a Canavan fan then it is worth the money to answer the questions lingering from the Trilogy.