The Magic Thief: Lost (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Antonio Javier Caparo (Illustrator)
Key Phrases: locus magicalicus, locus stone, lockpick wires, Lady Rowan, Captain Kerrn, Dawn Palace (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this thrilling sequel to The Magic Thief, Conn, "a gutterboy from the streets of Twilight," continues to seek solutions and instead finds trouble. Still the unconventional apprentice of Nevery Flinglas, Magister of Wellmet, Conn, having lost his "locus magicalicus" (the stone that allows him to commune with the magic), is forced to improvise when his hometown is threatened by the sorcerer-king Aspeling. To further complicate matters, Conn gets exiled from Wellmet for using pyrotechnics, the Dutchess's daughter is in danger and Conn's "embero" spell turns him into bird instead of a cat. Conn has a heart of gold, but struggles with his past reputation as a thief, and his reluctance to work with a partner holds him back ("I wasn't sure, exactly, what diplomacy was"). Like its predecessor, this story is interspersed with letters and journal entries, as well as skillful etchings, giving readers an intimacy with the characters. Eloquent and suspenseful, this follow-up doesn't disappoint. Ages 10-up.
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From Booklist

Book Two in the Magic Thief series begins where the last one left off. Young Conn, once a pickpocket, now a wizard’s apprentice, is helping his master, Nevery, with the strange goings-on in Wellmet, including an unexplained weakening of the city’s magic. New readers may feel disoriented, but happily the illustrated book has excellent back matter featuring people and places, which will help them get up to speed. In this story, some of the action shifts to the desert city Desh, where shadowmen who may be responsible for terrorizing Wellmet reside. Compact yet exciting fare for younger fantasy fans. Grades 4-7. --Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061375896
• ISBN-13: 978-0061375897
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,652 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely book, August 11, 2009

By	Jessie Stickgold-sarah (Somerville, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is so pretty. It's little, it's cozy in my hands, it's shiny, it fits in my little black bag. Comfortable. Comfortable inside too. As in the first Magic Thief book, the language is intensely readable, with an ear for sound that comes out even reading silently, and a smooth juxtaposition of words that makes for a condensed physicality. Swept-stepped, wobble-flapped, keen-gleam glance. It's so pleasurable.

I like a sequel that lets me come back to characters I'm fond of, and this did. I had forgotten how quiet Conn is, how little he talks; and I had forgotten that he's sad. This book is officially middle grade, not YA, which means it doesn't have that harsh edge to it. But it's got some sadness, too. It's a kind of sadness I understand better now that I have a three-year-old, who works through her own sadness in such an explicit way: I DON'T LIKE THIS! IT SUCKS! I DON'T WANT TO DO THE SAD THING! Conn is sad in this book, in a really open and straightforward way. It's a lovely thing to see.

Plus, of course, things blow up. Things blow up a lot. So that's awesome.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Magic Thief has the makings of a new children's fantasy classic, October 5, 2009

By	Kidsreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

The first book in The Magic Thief fantasy trilogy ended with apprentice magician Connwaer losing his splendid locus magicalicus (or "magic stone") during his battle to rescue the living magic that protects the city of Wellmet. This second installment in the series picks up where its predecessor left off, with Conn desperately seeking a new locus magicalicus to communicate with Wellmet's magic. Unfortunately, no one believes Conn when he insists that the magic is a living being, and magical incantations are merely words spoken in the being's own language.

Meanwhile, Wellmet is under attack by a band of mysterious and deadly Shadowmen whose very touch brings instant paralysis and death. Who has sent them? What do they seek? Conn thinks Wellmet's magic may know the answers to these questions, but he needs a magicalicus to facilitate a conversation between himself and the magical being of the city.

When his attempts to find a magicalicus prove to be unsuccessful, Conn hits upon a new and perilous way to communicate with the city's magic: pyrotechnics. However, the use of pyrotechnics within the city walls is strictly forbidden. Indeed, that was exactly what had gotten Conn's master, the great wizard Nevery, temporarily banished from Wellmet more than 20 years before. Not only that, but a permanently gaping hole was left in the middle of Nevery's island home, Heartsease.

After an acquaintance's life is tragically claimed by the Shadowmen, Conn becomes increasingly desperate to learn who or what lies behind these deadly creatures. But Conn's frenzy to communicate with the magic drives him to ever more reckless measures, putting in peril the lives of those he loves most and eventually causing him to be banished from Wellmet to the exotic and dangerous desert land of Desh. In this thrill-a-minute ride of a book, we learn how the ever-capable Conn manages to discover the secret of the Shadowmen and outmaneuver those who would bring destruction to Wellmet. But will he ever be able to come home again?

The continual ratcheting up of tension throughout LOST (whenever you think that young Conn is in the worst trouble of his life, he quickly lands in more!) makes the mood more serious here than in the first installment. Conn himself is much more tense and subdued, showing less of the impishness that characterized him in THE MAGIC THIEF. The overall tone --- featuring the death of a character and the near-death of another important one --- is fairly somber for a children's book. However, the novel should be fine for the intended group (ages 10 and up). Although tinged with sadness and tension, there is nothing gory or gruesome here.

While the story itself is wonderful, the DVD-like extra features with which the book is jam-packed really make it a worthwhile purchase. LOST features stunning, pitch-perfect illustrations and cover art by Antonio Javier Caparo, inserts of letters from various characters, character guides to orient newcomers to the series, and even some recipes. There is something cozy and inviting to the feel of the book, and what is inside the covers lives up to any expectations one may have about it.

English professor and Tolkien expert Sarah Prineas has now given us two excellent adventures for kids and adults alike, grounded in the children's fantasy tradition and peppered with interesting characters and heart-stopping action. Her use of language is inventive and interesting without being distracting.

Although the storyline features the adventures of a young orphan wizard, the story calls to mind Oliver Twist more than it does Harry Potter. In any case, I find the trilogy to be just as entertaining as J. K. Rowling's series, and perhaps more tightly plotted. The Magic Thief has the makings of a new children's fantasy classic.

--- Reviewed by Usha Reynolds

4.0 out of 5 stars Can't wait for the next one..., September 9, 2009

By	Jamison Fischer (Pullman, WA) - See all my reviews

We read this one and the original as a family. Love it. Can't wait for the next one.