The Magician's Apprentice
core novel 2009 The Black Magician Trilogy and the Kyralia World
Record
| First published | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.99 (21,894 ratings, collected 2026-08-27) |
| Page count | 593 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780316037884 |
| Internal chronology | 0 |
Synopsis
Set several hundred years before the events of the Black Magician trilogy, this prequel novel centers on Tessia, the daughter of a village healer, who discovers that she possesses a rare, natural-born magical talent rather than the trained skill most magicians rely on. Her discovery leads her to become an apprentice to a master magician, training alongside a fellow apprentice as she learns to control and understand her newfound abilities. The narrative unfolds across multiple points of view, including Tessia's own, her mentor's, and that of her fellow apprentice, gradually widening to include figures within an approaching invading force. As war draws steadily nearer to her once-peaceful village, Tessia and those around her must confront how the coming conflict will reshape their community and the magical traditions established generations before the founding of the Magicians' Guild seen in the original trilogy.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Black Magician Trilogy and the Kyralia World
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Trudi Canavan
Notes
- A standalone prequel set roughly 20 years before The Black Magician Trilogy.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within The Black Magician Trilogy and the Kyralia World (standalone work): position 4 of 7: previous The High Lord (2003) · next The Ambassador's Mission (2010)
- Internal chronology, within The Black Magician Trilogy and the Kyralia World: position 1 of 7: next The Magicians' Guild (2001)
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Trudi Canavan's official author site
- https://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Trudi-Canavan/The-Magicians-Apprentice.html
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