The Black Magician Trilogy- Trudi Canavan

I have loved this series for a number of years now, and love re-reading the final instalment- The High Lord- which happens to be my favourite. This is what I would describe as 'a good fantasy/magicy' book, not the mildness of Harry Potter (my opinion please don't eat me) but also not your full on dragons elves and cloaks/wands combo often found in fantasy books. It has a lovely balance between an accessible story with fantasy intertwined.

That being said, this series is a little too long. What I mean by that is not that three books in a series is too much, on the contrary, but that the whole series could have been written in two if not one book instead of the three. Some sections are a little boring and do drag the pace of the story a little and don't really bring that much to the development of the story, however this is not something you would notice until you had finished the series. I have been known to skip whole chapters that, really, do nothing for the story, and I'm assured by other reviews that I'm not alone in thinking this. The same goes for some characters, in my opinion, some are just unnecessary for the story. 

I must admit though, this is one of my favourite series, especially as I am a sucker for a strong character. I adore the character Akkarin, the high lord, (hence my love for the final book in the trilogy) and I think his development as a character is really interesting- the more you learn about him the more you like him. However, their is a definite shift in the character in the final book that, dare I say it, is odd and vastly changes the perceptions of the character which some readers may find annoying and unnatural. I personally don't mind but just a heads up. 

On the whole I do love this series, and I do reach for it do reread when it takes my fancy. I would say don't rush to get the whole series in one go, get your hands on the first book 'the Magicians Guild' and see how you go- if you don't enjoy it you most likely won't enjoy the rest of the series but keep in mind that the series does get better the further you get into it. 

Side Note: I adore the covers on my copies, I just think they are really well designed