The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
Oct. 12th, 2010 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
NEVER STEAL FROM A WIZARD!
Connwaer is a thief of the Twilight. On the run from the city’s Underlord, he steals a banished wizard’s locus stone. Touching the locus magicalicus should kill him, but miraculously he survives.
Intrigued, the wizard Nevery takes Conn on as his apprentice and the boy becomes embroiled in his master’s plan to save the city from the death of magic. But Conn is hiding his own dark secret ...
On a cold, wet night in Wellmet, Conn is hungry and on the run from the Underlord (who controls part of the city) when he sees an old man walking by. Picking his pocket, Conn finds that he’s stolen a locus magicalicus – a stone that wizard’s use to focus their magic. It should instantly kill Conn but doesn’t and its owner, Nevery, is intrigued enough to take on Conn as his apprentice.
Nevery’s investigating why the magic in the city is disappearing and he’s not going to let the fact that he’s been banished by its duchess and the other wizards stop him. Conn however has new problems of his own. He’s begun studying at the Magisters Hall where he has 30 days to find his own locus magicalicus or he’ll be kicked out, but Nevery’s too busy to help him find it.
If Conn wants to continue leading a life of magic, then he’ll have to rely on his skills as a thief and trust his friends Benet (Nevery’s bodyguard, who likes cooking and knitting in his spare time) and Rowan (a fellow magic student) to achieve it.
Sarah Prineas’s debut novel, the first in a series, is a delightful adventure packed with magic and populated with entertaining characters. Conn is wonderfully self-reliant – pragmatic and curious he’s a born survivor who’s been given the chance of an alternative future. Although his dark secret is a little too easy to guess, his determined search for his locus magicalicus has you rooting for him.
Nevery is very much the traditional grumpy wizard. His journal entries, with their casual attitude to his new apprentice and musings as to when he will kick him out give the story much of its humour. The only bum note in the story comes towards the end when Nevery, who up till then has had the measure of the other wizards in the city, believes something told to him by his arch enemy without questioning it.
The book comes packed with extras – biographies of the main characters, a guide to the places in Wellmet, the runes used by the wizards and a biscuit recipe. Mention should also be made of the wonderful illustrations by Antonio Javier Caparo which helps to bring it to life.
All in all it’s a fun read and I will be checking out the next in this series.
The Verdict:
A fun, fast-paced read with a great central character who’s self-reliance and determination has you rooting for him, this is a great introduction to the people and places of Wellmet and I will be reading more of this series to find out what happens to Conn next.
Thanks to Quercus for the free copy of this book.
Connwaer is a thief of the Twilight. On the run from the city’s Underlord, he steals a banished wizard’s locus stone. Touching the locus magicalicus should kill him, but miraculously he survives.
Intrigued, the wizard Nevery takes Conn on as his apprentice and the boy becomes embroiled in his master’s plan to save the city from the death of magic. But Conn is hiding his own dark secret ...
On a cold, wet night in Wellmet, Conn is hungry and on the run from the Underlord (who controls part of the city) when he sees an old man walking by. Picking his pocket, Conn finds that he’s stolen a locus magicalicus – a stone that wizard’s use to focus their magic. It should instantly kill Conn but doesn’t and its owner, Nevery, is intrigued enough to take on Conn as his apprentice.
Nevery’s investigating why the magic in the city is disappearing and he’s not going to let the fact that he’s been banished by its duchess and the other wizards stop him. Conn however has new problems of his own. He’s begun studying at the Magisters Hall where he has 30 days to find his own locus magicalicus or he’ll be kicked out, but Nevery’s too busy to help him find it.
If Conn wants to continue leading a life of magic, then he’ll have to rely on his skills as a thief and trust his friends Benet (Nevery’s bodyguard, who likes cooking and knitting in his spare time) and Rowan (a fellow magic student) to achieve it.
Sarah Prineas’s debut novel, the first in a series, is a delightful adventure packed with magic and populated with entertaining characters. Conn is wonderfully self-reliant – pragmatic and curious he’s a born survivor who’s been given the chance of an alternative future. Although his dark secret is a little too easy to guess, his determined search for his locus magicalicus has you rooting for him.
Nevery is very much the traditional grumpy wizard. His journal entries, with their casual attitude to his new apprentice and musings as to when he will kick him out give the story much of its humour. The only bum note in the story comes towards the end when Nevery, who up till then has had the measure of the other wizards in the city, believes something told to him by his arch enemy without questioning it.
The book comes packed with extras – biographies of the main characters, a guide to the places in Wellmet, the runes used by the wizards and a biscuit recipe. Mention should also be made of the wonderful illustrations by Antonio Javier Caparo which helps to bring it to life.
All in all it’s a fun read and I will be checking out the next in this series.
The Verdict:
A fun, fast-paced read with a great central character who’s self-reliance and determination has you rooting for him, this is a great introduction to the people and places of Wellmet and I will be reading more of this series to find out what happens to Conn next.
Thanks to Quercus for the free copy of this book.
