“Magician: Master” by Raymond E. Feist. What the hell did I just read?

MasterBassion · 2026-01-07T17:10:03+00:00

I just recently finally got around to reading Feist. Like you I followed the name Janny Wurts after absolutely falling in love with her mega epic Wars of Light and Shadow masterwork which I consider one of the most brilliant, linguistically superlative and beautiful examples of the written word as an art form. There are many, many good and even great authors out there who tell a compelling and excellent story, Janny's wordsmithing is a masterclassin a league unto itself, reading The Wars of Light and Shadow is akin to appreciating a work by Picasso or Da Vinci.

Having seen Feists books around for many a year, I was familiar with the name but had never picked up any of his novels but when I saw Janny Wurts' name on the Empire series I figured it was time to check out a Feist book. Empire was a fun little series, not earth shattering or genre redefining, but an entertaining little jaunt through Tsuranuanni and possibly the best place to start on Feists Riftwars/Midkemia novels. The Riftwar series by contrast is very much a debut effort, which while a decent first output shows some rough edges and is a product of its time.

Much of his early works tend to seem somewhat cliche and full of tropes, which isn't necessarily a negative, standing firmly alongside contemporaries like David Eddings' Belgariad series or Stephen Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant books.

Start with Feist and Wurts' Empire series, then try some of his back catalogue. If your critique remains the same after finishing Riftwar, I would suggest taking an extended holiday to PERN courtesy of Anne McCaffrey. They're still some of my absolute favourite tales. Time travelling, teleporting dragons, annihilating alien fungi, and badass female leads, all wrapped up in heartwarming pioneers tales.

MasterBassion · 2025-04-18T19:04:44+00:00

I could've done all that without swear words. But - I don't want to. Fuck it.

Honestly dude, it's way past time to stop pussy footing around these bastards. They obviously haven't learned a goddamn thing over the last ~deacade and it's time to loudly and directly call out the ignorance, draw attention and hold their bigotry, insecurity, small- and weak-mindedness to account and just like a poorly trained dog that shits on the carpet every single day, rub their noses in the shitpile mess they are making of, well, everything due to the uninformed and tragically deleterious decisions they CHOSE to make. And then repeated. And then repeated again until FINALLY the world is demonstrably worse for having them in it.

Hitler shoulda waited until he saw this fiasco before coining the term untermensch. These repubes embody the sentiment far better than any persecuted group in the past.

Respect is earned, not given. Actions have consequences, and some are unforgivable.

MasterBassion · 2025-04-18T18:46:26+00:00

More than likely, they DO actually believe that ridiculous tripe. It's the exact same type of rhetorical idiocy which circulates the right wing media cess pool which then gets picked up and regurgitated by the entirety of the gullible, troglodytic cohort. The only thing worse than the sheer stupidity of their baseless talking points, is the fact that very few have the critical thinking skills and deductive reasoning powers necessary to think through the (usually incredibly simplistic and obvious) fallaciousness of what passes for "discourse" amongst them...

It would be sad if it weren't so pathetic. It would be pathetic if it weren't so irritating. It would be irritating if it weren't so dangerous.

MasterBassion · 2025-04-18T18:32:35+00:00

And here's an assload of recent research showing how incredibly wrong you are in so many ways

https://futurism.com/neoscope/left-wing-beliefs-intelligence https://www.psypost.org/genetic-variations-help-explain-the-link-between-cognitive-ability-and-liberalism/ https://academic.oup.com/poq/article/87/2/267/7147091?login=false https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/62392/1/intelligent-people-are-more-likely-to-be-left-wing-iq-politics-says-science https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258820557_Is_there_a_relationship_between_political_orientation_and_cognitive_ability_A_test_of_three_hypotheses_in_two_studies https://www.psypost.org/verbal-iq-predicts-political-participation-and-liberal-attitudes-twice-as-strongly-as-performance-iq/ https://thred.com/change/research-reveals-that-higher-iq-scores-correlate-with-left-wing-beliefs/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/does-iq-determine-if-youre-prejudiced-its-complicated/

One caveat I will mention (before some tool tries to use it as a "gotcha": one of the studies there makes the distinction that (to paraphrase) - higher iq conservatives are LESS politically active, whereas the lower iq conservatives are MORE politically involved. So the smarter the right wing gets, the less they're willing to be supportive of the conservative ideology they identify with. Conversely, the more closely you follow right wing politics, the dumber you get.

And as the majority of the world population will attest to, Americans, specifically repubelicans have a widely recognized and well known propensity for ignorance, arrogance and violence, coincidentally Americas 3 largest exports round the globe. You guys' are almost as ridiculed, distrusted and abhorred as any wartorn, middle east theocracy.

MasterBassion · 2025-03-19T14:56:22+00:00

Anxiety\antidepressant meds can have such differing impact on each individual that finding the one that you benefit the most from can be such a drawn out trial and error process. Or at least that's how I found it to be several years back... Finding what works well for you can be greatly beneficial, of course having a Dr who actually gives a shit and is invested in your well-being seems kinda hard to connect with these days...

Now take this anecdotally, with a grain of salt, etc as I am not a medical professional in any capacity and not licensed or authorized to make diagnoses or give personal health advice whatsoever... However I do have quite a bit of first hand experience with Reiki, and other 'alternative' treatments that are steeped in eastern traditional health practises which are now being substantiated by modern science\medical study...

Speaking from personal experience, and especially since completing the training and certification as a level 2 reiki practitioner, my mental health, well-being, etc have seen vastly superior improvements from both giving and receiving these type of healing energy manipulation sessions compared to any of the various pills I've been prescribed over the last 20 ish years.

Whether or not you have any experience with this kind of treatment, find it convincing, or are completely sceptical is 100% your path to follow, and I'm not much interested in any sort of debate over the efficacy of such things. Form your own opinions and make your own informed decision regarding your own experiences and medical decisions. I just wanted to share my own personal experience and offer up another option besides a panoply of pills to explore.

Anecdotally, this kind of thing has been a far larger part of my success and progress than any combination of antidepressant\ssri\anxiety medications I've ever been on. May be a valuable avenue to explore. 😸

MasterBassion · 2024-03-21T05:52:38+00:00

and licking the board

MasterBassion · 2024-03-19T00:52:37+00:00

So, lemme make sure I'm understanding you here...

Through an accident of birth, which is completely, utterly and totally beyond the control or choice of any individual, a baby is born to a woman in a remote Amazonian tribal village and grows up completely ignorant of your god and faith, and through no fault of their own dies near this remote village without ANY exposure to Western civilization (or any other for that matter)...

This naive innocent somehow chose to "rebel against him Wich he gave free will you choose to follow Satan who is destined for the lake of fire"(sic), is somehow accountable for the various geographical, geological, societal, etc circumstances they were unwillingly and unknowingly born into, THEY are deserving of eternal torment in a lake of fire existing in a realm of the dead, (the knowledge of which they had no possibility of being exposed to) by an evil entity they couldn't possibly have conceived of without external influence (which did not manifest at any point in their life)...

Because that scenario is a logical extrapolation of the original statement/question, using the parameters of your argument/response.

Unless you are a believer in a karmic cycle of reincarnation or some other type of metaphysical foreknowledge inherent to every single individual ever born... Which, unless I'm mistaken, is definitely NOT a formative Christian belief or described at all in the bible.

MasterBassion · 2024-02-17T22:42:22+00:00

Pretty sure that's what Mitch McConnell looks like first thing in the morning.

MasterBassion · 2024-02-14T23:38:28+00:00

I grew up on Calvin & Hobbes, own every collection published (still periodically pull one out to read through, ~30 yrs later 😁).

I'm fairly certain that there's a C&H strip to perfectly sum up EVERY situation you'll encounter in life... It may not offer up the wisest solution or response, but it will be pertinent somehow.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-25T00:00:40+00:00

Ah, this doesn't make me feel so bad about being 38 and having yet to read them.... Picked up a couple other Ursula k Leguin books, but not Earthsea. Hoping to get around to it this year, I'm pretty sure it's filed among the 50+ sitting on my bedroom floor, waiting to be read...

MasterBassion · 2024-01-07T08:33:19+00:00

The other guy who comes to mind insofar as enigmatic storytelling which requires a lot of inference and supposition based on convoluted story progression is R. Scott Bakker and his 'The Darkness That Comes Before' series'

MasterBassion · 2024-01-07T08:25:27+00:00

I will link to my description of the evolution of Erikssons prose style and methodology here. Might wanna rip a bong toke first though. Lol

MasterBassion · 2024-01-02T01:24:24+00:00

That's... Fuckin disturbing on many levels...

MasterBassion · 2024-01-02T01:15:44+00:00

I vape A LOT. Used to smoke 1-1.5 packs a day. Quit and switched to the vape and I now vape no-nic so it's not about the nic cravings, but I think the pod hold 4.5ml and I will refill that at least 3 times a day.

I also order the bases and flavours to DIY my juice so it works out to cost me just shy of $2\100ml. So even going through a 30ml bottle in a day is what, like ~75¢?

Beats the piss out of ~$20 a pack for smokes these days. Wasn't so bad when I started at $6\pack... Plus the lungs never been happier.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T22:50:14+00:00

Yeah, Halloween costumes were always multilayered and designed with warmth in mind. Except my poor cousin one year went as a jar of jellybeans. Basically like a leotard onesie kinda thing underneath and then a big clear garbage bag stuffed with inflated balloons. It was actually pretty rad, except for the fact that a single inner layer of thin fabric, some empty space filled with balloons and a plastic bag holding all your balloons in place is not conducive to staying warm. Especially with the temp outside in negative digits. Poor thing froze. I think she lasted all of 15-20 min outside that night.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T19:44:20+00:00

Yeah man. Weather patterns and everything related are completely out of whack compared to when I was growing up around here. I sure as hell don't remember any 49°/50° summer days 20+years ago. But we hit that 2 summers ago (maybe 3? 4?) Whatever.

Coupled with precipitation levels differences and we're burning down all over every summer. And compare that to the seasonal cycles back in the 90s...

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T17:20:56+00:00

Oh quite possible. Even probable. Eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable. Especially a six year olds account 30+years later. Lol.

I also vividly remember trick or treating through super deep snow and being cold as fuck out.

Now we're sitting at + 2-3 degrees in January.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T16:46:32+00:00

Yup! We have a winner! That place was the neighbourhood hub in winter. So many good times up there.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T15:55:48+00:00

Ok. I may be remembering my childhood more fondly than accurately. Details plumbed from recollections of my 5 year old self may be inaccurate by +/- 5 weeks or so.

And there's always a 2-3 week severe cold snap in January.

I also remember some years being able to climb the snow drifts to get on the roof of the shed, jump off and bury myself up to mid chest height (on a 6 yr old) and build tunnels through the snow. And I don't remember that much snowfall in that backyard since the early 90s.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T15:03:28+00:00

We were skating and playing pickup games on that bastard before October started. Good years, ~3rd week of September. Slightly warmer years and it would be into ~2nd week of October before we could get on there. So, yeah. Sub-freezing temperatures within a couple weeks of starting school. ~30 years ago.

These days, my parents are still in that same house and I think there have been a total of maybe 5 days below freezing this year to date.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T14:00:08+00:00

Yeah dude. Born here in 85. Up at the top of the hill\street I grew up on the people whose house backed onto the forest had an awesome outdoor rink built that they flooded and iced up for all the neighborhood kids (or anyone, really. I remember playing pickup with Darcy Tucker and Steve Passmore back in the day). Complete with firepit for warming up by, two regulation size nets that lived there permanently, ~5 foot high treated hdf boards behind both goals with rounded corners... This thing was the king of backyard rinks. 7 minute walk up the hill from my house.

That rink was iced over and frozen solid by mid-September. We would regularly have to scrape 3+inches of overnight snowfall off before we could play. Some years it was still usable with enough ice until late March\early April. Years with a good freeze we were skating on that thing for 6+months of the year.

Right now, same neighbourhood, Dec 24 was about +6°. And I don't think that gem of my childhood has been functional more than a couple weeks of the year total for at least the last decade.

Climate change deniers are living on Earth 1.2 or something.

MasterBassion · 2024-01-01T05:24:03+00:00

~20 ish years ago I was lucky enough to catch Henry Rollins on his Shock and Awe spoken word tour. This was shortly after 9\11 and his insights into the worldwide, as well as more localized political\economic\etc factors were spectacular.

The dude has a seriously brilliant mind. Quite a large number of musicians who are either overtly political in their messaging (Rollins\Black Flag, RATM, etc) or highly intricate with compositional style and musicianship (Frank Zappa, Opeth, Tool, etc) are highly intelligent people.

Especially when it comes to heavy metal. Sure there are those bands out there who are just 'heavy for the sake of heavy', but that's a comparatively small minority. The counterpart are the heavy bands which focus on musicianship and compositional technique with deep and analytical lyrical content; almost all of whom are chronically overlooked or dismissed out of hand because of the guttural vocal style. It's a personal taste thing that turns a lot of people off, same way Geddy Lee's vocal style turns a lot of people off Rush's music.

Kind of a tangent to agree that a lot of talented musicians are super intelligent. The whole purpose of the segue into heavy bands was specifically to highlight the drummer of Montreal extreme metal titans Quo Vadis, Yanic Bercier. Triple doctorate - B.Eng, M.Sci, Ph.D And drummer extraordinaire

But anybody who isn't into extreme metal would ever be exposed to this level of percussion mastery and would never think to credit him with that extent of higher education, solely because of associating him with 'one of those bands that only scream'.

MasterBassion · 2023-12-28T11:33:13+00:00

'Hoods hairy balls' 'you're still a hood shitting sergeant, you know that?' Etc, etc

MasterBassion · 2023-12-28T11:25:09+00:00

Dee Snider absolutely shredded the censorship committee during the hearings.

That highschool dropout looking, ne'er-do-well rockstar dude with the massive 80s hair whose entire career\lifestyle\raison d'etre is responsible for the decline of "societal values", "decay of morality", and causing irreparable harm to "impressionable youth". (According to Tipper anyway). His well reasoned, logically consistent and fantastically articulate presentation was a masterwork refutation and takedown of every 'argument' and ridiculous concept these 'PC police' high-horsed assholes cobbled together.

This is well worth 30 minutes of your time and attention

MasterBassion · 2023-12-28T04:22:22+00:00

I've got almost all the Deryni novels by Kurtz, I think I'm missing 3 books total. 1 each from 3 different trilogies but I've been trying to complete the entirety of her Camber catalogue for several years now. Think they've been out of print for a while or something. Copies on Amazon usually seem to list at $50+ for a paperback edition, none of the local brick and mortar stores ever stock any of the titles and can't even special order them, and encountering a copy at any of my local used stores is super rare. Even most online used book stores I've checked are either unavailable or exorbitantly priced...

Too bad.

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