In a city that runs on a dwindling supply of magic, a young boy is drawn into a life of wizardry and adventure. Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery's pocket and touched the wizard's locus magicalicus, a stone used to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Nevery finds that interesting, and he takes Conn as his apprentice on the provision that the boy find a locus stone of his own. But Conn has little time to search for his stone between wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who—or what—is stealing the city of Wellmet's magic.
The Magic Thief
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 3–6—Conn, a pickpocket on the streets of Twilight, one day picks the pocket of a powerful wizard and steals his locus magicalicus, the center of his power. It should kill Conn, but it doesn't. Nevery, the wizard, has just returned after a 22-year exile, to try to save the town from the leaching of its magic, upon which so much, including its economy, depends. Curious about the boy, Nevery takes him on as an assistant and then an apprentice. Although it is the wizard's job to stem the tide of the disappearing magic, he seems unable to do so. Conn believes he knows the answer, but his enemies are closing in. Prineas has created an appealing cast of characters, which she carefully reveals through their actions. The story is told primarily by Conn, and is interspersed with cryptic journal entries by Nevery, which offer a tantalizing counterpoint to the protagonist's viewpoint. Their voices are consistent and well handled. Exciting without being frantic, the narrative wastes no time getting to the heart of the story. This novel would work well as a read-aloud, as it has a conversational rhythm that moves the plot along. The book is long, but the large print and appealing drawings will encourage younger readers. Fantasy and adventure lovers alike will groan when they get to the tantalizingly mischievous ending, and are likely to hound you until the sequel arrives.—Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Young Conn opens the first volume of this new trilogy, noting “A thief is a lot like a wizard.” Conn is a thief but, through desire and inevitability, becomes a wizard by book’s end. This evolution begins when Conn picks the pocket of the wizard Nevery, who is startled that the nicked magical stone didn’t kill the boy. Nevery takes on Conn as a servant, but the boy’s inquisitiveness and talents move him to apprentice status. Nevery has recently returned to Willmet to save the city-state, which is faltering as its magic seeps away. As Conn becomes more enmeshed in his new life, he navigates through the intricate dealings of both the wizarding world and the political machinations of the Underlord. The events are not as lively as in some middle-grade fantasies—though Conn’s turn as a cat is delightful, and his search for his own stone is very well played. What works wonderfully well here is the boy’s irresistible voice, which is supplemented by the writings of Nevery in his journal, its creased and stained pages appearing as apart of the design. Readers will particularly enjoy the way Conn often knows just a little more than his master, and they’ll look forward to seeing how much more he learns as the series progresses. Grades 4-6. --Ilene Cooper
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By TeensReadToo
Format:Hardcover
Conn was just hoping for a few coins to buy food when he picked the pocket of the wizard who passed his alleyway. What he gets is an adventure far bigger than he could have imagined. The wizard, Nevery, takes an interest in Conn, and takes him in as a servant and then an apprentice. With regular meals, blankets to sleep under, and enough magical objects and lessons to keep Conn's eager mind occupied, the once-homeless boy couldn't be happier.
Unfortunately for Conn, nothing is as simple as it seems. Before he can truly become an apprentice, he must find his locus magicalicus (the stone which will focus his magical power) in a most unlikely place, convince Nevery that one of his fellow wizards is consorting with the city's cruel Underlord, and figure out why the city's magic is fading away--and how to save it--before the city dies from the lack of it. It's a terribly large task for a boy who has only just started learning his letters, but Conn is nothing if not resourceful.
THE MAGIC THIEF will pull readers in so completely that they'll have trouble setting the book aside. The details of the Victorian-esque world are so vividly drawn that readers will feel the chill of the icy winds and taste the buttery goodness of Conn's favorite biscuits. What makes the book particularly special is Conn himself. His voice is lively, with exactly the sort of street-smart practicality and frankness you'd expect from a boy who has spent most of his life on the streets. Despite his criminal background, Conn is good-hearted, and simply longs for a place where he can make something of himself.
Readers will sympathize with his struggle to prove himself to Nevery and the city's authorities, and appreciate his clear-headed thinking amid all the secrecy and scheming of the adults around him. The novel's conclusion is quite satisfying, while leaving lots open for the second book in the trilogy, which many will be clamoring to get as soon as they have finished this one. An all-round enjoyable read that easily stands out from the many fantasy novels on the shelves.
Reviewed by: Lynn Crow
Unfortunately for Conn, nothing is as simple as it seems. Before he can truly become an apprentice, he must find his locus magicalicus (the stone which will focus his magical power) in a most unlikely place, convince Nevery that one of his fellow wizards is consorting with the city's cruel Underlord, and figure out why the city's magic is fading away--and how to save it--before the city dies from the lack of it. It's a terribly large task for a boy who has only just started learning his letters, but Conn is nothing if not resourceful.
THE MAGIC THIEF will pull readers in so completely that they'll have trouble setting the book aside. The details of the Victorian-esque world are so vividly drawn that readers will feel the chill of the icy winds and taste the buttery goodness of Conn's favorite biscuits. What makes the book particularly special is Conn himself. His voice is lively, with exactly the sort of street-smart practicality and frankness you'd expect from a boy who has spent most of his life on the streets. Despite his criminal background, Conn is good-hearted, and simply longs for a place where he can make something of himself.
Readers will sympathize with his struggle to prove himself to Nevery and the city's authorities, and appreciate his clear-headed thinking amid all the secrecy and scheming of the adults around him. The novel's conclusion is quite satisfying, while leaving lots open for the second book in the trilogy, which many will be clamoring to get as soon as they have finished this one. An all-round enjoyable read that easily stands out from the many fantasy novels on the shelves.
Reviewed by: Lynn Crow
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
THE MAGIC THIEF by Sarah Prineas is one of the most elegantly written and touching juvenile fantasy novels I've had the pleasure of reading to my ten year old in some time. The story centers around a young thief named Conn who pickpockets a locus magicalicus (a powerful stone that allows a wizard to unleash great magic) from an old wizard. The fact that Conn isn't struck dead at once interests the wizard enough to take him on as a servant. Conn says apprentice, but that's hardly the job he receives.
The old wizard is as disreputable in his own way as Conn is. Twenty years ago, Nevery was accused of attempting to kill the Duchess of Wellmet where Conn lives. Nevery was run out of town just ahead of the soldiers that would have doubtlessly hung him.
Now, twenty years later, Nevery is drawn back to the city because the magic that powers the place is mysteriously drying up. Nevery uses that predicament to leverage his own return and gets the Duchess to grant him amnesty for his past wrongs, even though he didn't try to kill her.
I love the way Prineas has Wellmet sectioned off into Twilight, Dusk House, Dawn Palace, and the other regions. Illustrator Antonio Javier Caparo's maps and drawings really established the tone well and led my son and me into a wonderful imaginary journey throughout the city. The place just feels real.
The relationship between the characters, though predictable because they are steeped in tradition, are even more wonderful because the reader knows what to expect. Prineas expertly moves those relationships along, teasing the reader with them. I kept wanting Nevery to acknowledge Conn as his apprentice for so long, then - when Conn was in such dire straits - I'd forgotten about it and Prineas delivered that so expertly that I knew it was coming and was so concerned about other things that I'd temporarily forgotten.
That relationship, that push/pull of wills and the need to understand each other, drives this book and I'm sure will drive the other two in this trilogy. The addition of Benet as the hired muscle and his - eventual - doting uncle role with Conn is amazingly portrayed as well.
I have to admit that the first few pages seemed to dawdle a bit, but this is a relatively big world to explore, and there's some history - particularly between the major players - that has to be revealed slowly. Prineas makes the whole thing play well, and it isn't long before she has everything up and running.
Along with all the mystery and intrigue, as well as the duplicitous and suspicious nature of the characters, the author also throws in one-liners that and humor that is to die for. One of the best scenes in the book was when Conn was captured by the duchess's guards, thrown into a prison cell, then lets himself out with his Lockpicking skills. Only to give himself away when he gladly hails Nevery, whom he hadn't expected to see at all.
When Prineas locks onto the final scenes of the book, about the last sixty pages so be prepared to keep reading for a bit, there's just no way to tear yourself free. My son and I were nailed to the pages, pushing way past our bedtimes as we finished up the last one hundred and forty pages in a reading marathon that had us hanging on by our fingernails.
THE MAGIC THIEF ends well, resolving several questions, but it raises several others that will keep my son and I anxiously awaiting the next installment. This is definitely a book to pick up for the kids to read over the summer, and you may find yourself chasing Conn and Nevery through Strangle Street and avoiding the Underlord's minions yourself!
The old wizard is as disreputable in his own way as Conn is. Twenty years ago, Nevery was accused of attempting to kill the Duchess of Wellmet where Conn lives. Nevery was run out of town just ahead of the soldiers that would have doubtlessly hung him.
Now, twenty years later, Nevery is drawn back to the city because the magic that powers the place is mysteriously drying up. Nevery uses that predicament to leverage his own return and gets the Duchess to grant him amnesty for his past wrongs, even though he didn't try to kill her.
I love the way Prineas has Wellmet sectioned off into Twilight, Dusk House, Dawn Palace, and the other regions. Illustrator Antonio Javier Caparo's maps and drawings really established the tone well and led my son and me into a wonderful imaginary journey throughout the city. The place just feels real.
The relationship between the characters, though predictable because they are steeped in tradition, are even more wonderful because the reader knows what to expect. Prineas expertly moves those relationships along, teasing the reader with them. I kept wanting Nevery to acknowledge Conn as his apprentice for so long, then - when Conn was in such dire straits - I'd forgotten about it and Prineas delivered that so expertly that I knew it was coming and was so concerned about other things that I'd temporarily forgotten.
That relationship, that push/pull of wills and the need to understand each other, drives this book and I'm sure will drive the other two in this trilogy. The addition of Benet as the hired muscle and his - eventual - doting uncle role with Conn is amazingly portrayed as well.
I have to admit that the first few pages seemed to dawdle a bit, but this is a relatively big world to explore, and there's some history - particularly between the major players - that has to be revealed slowly. Prineas makes the whole thing play well, and it isn't long before she has everything up and running.
Along with all the mystery and intrigue, as well as the duplicitous and suspicious nature of the characters, the author also throws in one-liners that and humor that is to die for. One of the best scenes in the book was when Conn was captured by the duchess's guards, thrown into a prison cell, then lets himself out with his Lockpicking skills. Only to give himself away when he gladly hails Nevery, whom he hadn't expected to see at all.
When Prineas locks onto the final scenes of the book, about the last sixty pages so be prepared to keep reading for a bit, there's just no way to tear yourself free. My son and I were nailed to the pages, pushing way past our bedtimes as we finished up the last one hundred and forty pages in a reading marathon that had us hanging on by our fingernails.
THE MAGIC THIEF ends well, resolving several questions, but it raises several others that will keep my son and I anxiously awaiting the next installment. This is definitely a book to pick up for the kids to read over the summer, and you may find yourself chasing Conn and Nevery through Strangle Street and avoiding the Underlord's minions yourself!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In the aftermath of Harry Potter, numerous authors took up the mantle of writing stories of magic and wizardry. And Sarah Prineas offers up her debut novel, THE MAGIC THIEF, as just such an entry into the world of fantasy juvenile fiction.
Conn stumbles across a mysterious figure entering the Twilight side of the city of Wellmet, and the gutter boy picks his pockets and finds a strange stone. When Conn survives an attack from the stone, the mysterious man, Nevery Flinglas, takes the boy in. And thus begins their adventures, as Nevery tries to discover why the magic is draining out of the city and Conn just tries to figure out the mysteries surrounding his own life. Then they both discover the truth: if the magic disappears completely, all of Wellmet will be destroyed. And Conn may be the key to saving them all...
The premise seems promising, and there is mystery and magic enough to keep things interesting, but THE MAGIC THIEF just never quite caught me the way I thought it would. Things begin incredibly slowly, and for about a hundred pages, we follow the barely-speaking Conn around as he describes strange islands and the biscuits he has for breakfast every morning. The plot does pick up about halfway through, but by that time it's fairly obvious what is really going on. And the major plot twist comes at a strange moment, and almost doesn't feel true to the rest of the story.
But not all is lost. The setting, which is highly reminiscent of A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS or one of Tom Becker's DARKSIDE novels, shines in a gothic, turn-of-the-century way. And some of the characters are highly entertaining as well. However, I couldn't help but be reminded of Harry Potter on quite a few occasions, from the school where students learn magic to the snotty kid, Keeston, who is pretty much Draco Malfoy wearing different colored robes. But the setting itself is enough to switch up the rest of the Potter feel.
Prineas has included some fun extras as well. After most chapters, a journal entry or letter from Nevery slides in, complete with secret messages to decipher using a key in the back of the book. There's also a map, character and location profiles, and even recipes for those biscuits that are mentioned non-stop throughout THE MAGIC THIEF.
Setting aside the plodding pace that will surely lose some readers along the way, THE MAGIC THIEF, does get some things right. And fans looking for a different sort of wizard and magic tale might just enjoy this one.
Conn stumbles across a mysterious figure entering the Twilight side of the city of Wellmet, and the gutter boy picks his pockets and finds a strange stone. When Conn survives an attack from the stone, the mysterious man, Nevery Flinglas, takes the boy in. And thus begins their adventures, as Nevery tries to discover why the magic is draining out of the city and Conn just tries to figure out the mysteries surrounding his own life. Then they both discover the truth: if the magic disappears completely, all of Wellmet will be destroyed. And Conn may be the key to saving them all...
The premise seems promising, and there is mystery and magic enough to keep things interesting, but THE MAGIC THIEF just never quite caught me the way I thought it would. Things begin incredibly slowly, and for about a hundred pages, we follow the barely-speaking Conn around as he describes strange islands and the biscuits he has for breakfast every morning. The plot does pick up about halfway through, but by that time it's fairly obvious what is really going on. And the major plot twist comes at a strange moment, and almost doesn't feel true to the rest of the story.
But not all is lost. The setting, which is highly reminiscent of A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS or one of Tom Becker's DARKSIDE novels, shines in a gothic, turn-of-the-century way. And some of the characters are highly entertaining as well. However, I couldn't help but be reminded of Harry Potter on quite a few occasions, from the school where students learn magic to the snotty kid, Keeston, who is pretty much Draco Malfoy wearing different colored robes. But the setting itself is enough to switch up the rest of the Potter feel.
Prineas has included some fun extras as well. After most chapters, a journal entry or letter from Nevery slides in, complete with secret messages to decipher using a key in the back of the book. There's also a map, character and location profiles, and even recipes for those biscuits that are mentioned non-stop throughout THE MAGIC THIEF.
Setting aside the plodding pace that will surely lose some readers along the way, THE MAGIC THIEF, does get some things right. And fans looking for a different sort of wizard and magic tale might just enjoy this one.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read with my First Grader
My first-grade, six-year-old daughter got to meet Sarah Prineas this year. She thought she was going to the library reading program party, but we had the wrong date. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Mom2sassypants
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Fun
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fun and entertaining read. I look forward to the second book in the series.
Published 23 days ago by M. Fish
2.0 out of 5 stars
Son not gripped by this
I bought this for my 9 year old, who is an avid reader of all things fantasy and magic. Usually, he can't put such a book down, but he abandoned this one halfway through. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Midwest Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is where it all starts.
This is one of a series of 3 books with fantasy that keeps your interest and piques your amateur detective mode.
Published 3 months ago by DVD fanatic
5.0 out of 5 stars
a fantasy for young and old alike
Like L.M. Boston's Green Knowe series, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles and J.K. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Miss Ivonne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing!
At first, I despised this book so much. But instead of giving up then, I keep reading. After reading about 40% of this book, I started to realize how good it was and finally... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A.Moore
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good read for magic fans
Really enjoyed the first book. Looking forward to the other two.
Characters are well developed and the the story line moves well. Read more
Characters are well developed and the the story line moves well. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Quil
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book
This is a great series for any pre-teen/teen that likes this type of book. So far, there are three books in this series. According to my son...they don't disappoint!
Published 3 months ago by babynick
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review
It was a great book series that kept you hanging on the edge of your seat.
It's a book you'll read again and again. It is an amazing book that keeps you coming back for more.
It's a book you'll read again and again. It is an amazing book that keeps you coming back for more.
Published 4 months ago by Russell
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Magic Thief
I loved this book. It was a good sci-fi mystery. The chacters were well developed in preperation for the next 2 books in the series. Lots of magic and intrigue.
Published 4 months ago by Pen Name
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