Stealing Magic [Paperback]

Tanya Huff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2005

Between the covers of this "double-faced flipover" book, you’ll find two complete collections of Tanya Huff’s comical short stories featuring Magdelene (the world's most powerful and laziest wizard) and Terazin (a top-notch thief). "Stealing Magic is charming, funny, and once again proves that Huff has no regard for the conventions and boundaries of genre... -- the genre is turned on its head, and to hilarious effect. The Magdelene stories in Stealing Magic are certainly some of the few ‘high fantasy’ short works that I have enjoyed recently." - Challenging Destiny Stealing Magic is both appealing and amusing, and belongs in everyone's fantasy collection.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tanya Huff is one of Canada’s best selling and most beloved speculative fiction authors. She is best known for her Blood novels, about a modern vampire’s crime-fighting alliance with a Toronto ex-cop: Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines, Blood Pact and Blood Debt. She has also written more than fourteen other novels, and her short stories have appeared in numerous fantasy magazines. She currently lives and writes in rural Ontario.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing; 1 edition (November 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894063341
• ISBN-13: 978-1894063340
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #754,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 separate groups of good stories, July 15, 2006

By 

Paul Lappen (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stealing Magic (Paperback)

This book consists of 2 separate sets of fantasy stories, with different back-to-back covers (reminiscent of the old Ace Doubles).

On one side are stories of Terazin, top-notch thief. To join the Thieves' Guild, one does not simply knock on the front door and ask for an application. It is necessary to break into the building and make it to the inner sanctum deep underground, avoiding the traps set up along the way. Terazin does so, and is given an initiation test. She must bring the braided hair of Swan, a famous female warrior who will not take kindly to getting a sudden haircut. Other stories feature Terazin finding herself in the middle when it comes to internal Thieves' Guild politics.

Going the other way are stories of Magdalene, the world's most powerful (and laziest) wizard. She is an apprentice to Adar, a castle wizard. She unknowingly dismantles his most powerful spells like they don't even exist. She gains Adar's powers, just before he is turned into a pile of gray ash, and decides to leave the castle. Traveling with H'sak, a demon trapped inside a mirror, she finds that the most bucolic villages have the most unique customs concerning wizards, like welcoming them with axes or chains and manacles. It doesn't help that Magdalene, a redhead with a very healthy libido, doesn't wear a pointy hat like normal wizards. She is summoned to various kings and wizards, and her attitude is like, "Yeah, yeah, let's get this over with."

I really enjoyed these stories. They're lighter, fast reading, and they show that Huff is a veteran fantasy author. The reader won't go wrong with this strong, well done group of stories.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars funny, fitty and an extremely plesant reading, November 23, 2006

By 

Akela "smiling wolf" (Russia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Stealing Magic (Paperback)

A very nice collection of stories. I admit I prefer Magdelene - somehow the idea of being idle, enjoying sun and dolce far niente all the while being THE most powerful wizard on earth, is very appealing. So very refreshing to have a perfectly lazy heroine who does not suffer from heart pangs, unhappy love, "save-the-world" complex and takes life, magic and men as something to be relaxed about.
The stories about Terazin are equally good but her nature is very different - there is quite a lot of the Rikki-Tiki-Tavi's "run and find out" attitude that sometimes leads her into difficulties.
I wish the publisher would make their mind about the name: many times the thief is called Terizan instead of Terazin. In fact it happens so often, that I was not sure about the correct form till the very end.
In whole, a very nice light book with lots of humor and very endearing heroines.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Short Stories, December 25, 2010

By 

LynnE216 (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stealing Magic (Paperback)

Although I think I've read all of Tanya Huff's novels (and obviously enjoyed them!), I'd seen very few of her short stories. This collection was marvelous, showing that Ms. Huff is every bit as much a master of short form writing as she is of novel-length. Her female main characters feel real even when they are, respectively, a Wizard and a Thief in the best classic fantasy style.

As noted by others, this is two separate collections of stories, written from the early 80's and the very start of Ms. Huff's professional career, through 2001. They demonstrate her deft humor and absolutely realistic-sounding conversations. Anyone who has previously read and enjoyed any of her fantasy novels will not be disappointed in this collection.