Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a young boy named Thomas. Thomas was known for his mischievous nature and love for adventure. One day, while exploring the forest near his village, he stumbled upon an old, dusty book hidden under a pile of leaves. Intrigued, Thomas opened the book and discovered that it was a book of magic spells. As he flipped through the pages, his eyes caught a spell called "The Magic Rheif". The spell promised the ability to steal anything from anyone without getting caught.
This is book number 2 in the Magic Thief series.
Conn himself is mostly what classical D D would call a chaotic good character, willing to break all the rules to save the city though for all his willingness to steal and pick locks, he is unfailingly honest. The city of Wellmet is its own character, divided by a river into the well-off Sunrise, crowned by the Dawn Palace where the Duchess lives and the shady Twilight, run by the Underlord and full of narrow alleys and smoky factories.
The spell promised the ability to steal anything from anyone without getting caught. Excited by the prospect of this magical power, Thomas decided to give it a try. He recited the spell out loud and pointed his finger towards a nearby apple tree.
The magic rheif
This is a series that hadn’t really been on my radar until last year, when I Winterling, also by Prineas. This spring, Charlotte wrote a Waiting on Wednesday post about how, while she liked Fer and Rook just fine, she was really anxiously waiting to find out what would happen to Conn. I thought that if Charlotte – and lots of other people – liked the Magic Thief better than the Winterling books that I had considered quite solid, I’d best get on reading them.
Here’s a series that got slowly pushed to the top of my list by the sheer amount of fellow blogger love for it. I tried to speed through the first three books (as much as it’s possible to speed through audiobooks) so that I could read the fourth one in sequence, as it’s nominated for the Cybils and I’d have to read it anyway. I’ll do the best I can to talk about these books without too many spoilers.
The Magic Thief. Book 1. by Sarah Prineas. Narrated by Greg Steinbrunner. Recorded Books, 2008
Connwaer is a pickpocket and lockpick living on the foggy, cobbled streets of Wellmet. One cold evening he picks a wizard’s pocket, and ends up not with coins, but with the wizard’s locus magicalicus, the stone tuned just to him that lets him do magic. Just touching this would kill most people – but as Conn doesn’t die, the wizard, Nevery Flinglas, decides to keep him around. Conn is determined to be Nevery’s apprentice, but the Council of Wizards will only accept him if he can find his own locus magicalicus. The magic in Wellmet is fading, and that means Nevery is too busy to help Conn – even though Conn thinks he has an idea what’s happening. But will anyone believe a former gutter boy?
Besides Nevery, the supporting cast includes Bennet, Nevery’s tough bodyguard and housekeeper, who spends his time knitting when not baking biscuits or running Nevery’s errands; the red-haired, nonmagical wizard school student Rowan, assigned to tutor Conn in reading; and another wizard’s snooty young apprentice. The characters ought to feel like stock characters, but Prineas brings them all to life vividly and convincingly. The city of Wellmet is its own character, divided by a river into the well-off Sunrise, crowned by the Dawn Palace where the Duchess lives and the shady Twilight, run by the Underlord and full of narrow alleys and smoky factories. Conn himself is mostly what classical D&D would call a chaotic good character, willing to break all the rules to save the city – though for all his willingness to steal and pick locks, he is unfailingly honest.
By the end of book one – spoiler! – Conn has saved the city, but is left unable to use magic and the wizards are unconvinced that Conn’s solution worked for the reasons Conn believed it did.
The Magic Thief Book 2: Lost. by Sarah Prineas. Narrated by Greg Steinbrunner. Recorded Books, 2009
Still unable to do magic the accepted way, Conn resorts to forbidden pyrotechnics to try to contact the magic of Wellmet. He’s driven to break the rules by arrival of evil Shadows, who arrive in the darkness and turn people to stone. When explosions that should have been small get out of control, Conn is banished from Wellmet. He manages to join up with Rowan, who’s being sent as an official envoy to the nearby desert city of Desh, the probable source of the Shadows. There they meet the Jagus, the young sorcerer king of Desh, surrounded by his creepy white cats. Once again, Conn’s ability to feel magic and his gutter boy skills combine to make him the only person who can solve the problems – even if he will need rescuing along the way.
The Magic Thief Book 3: Found. by Sarah Prineas. Narrated by Greg Steinbrunner. Recorded Books, 2010.
Conn is still officially banished, but hiding in Wellmet anyway – the magic needs him! He and Nevery can feel that the Dread Magic is on its way to Wellmet. Conn is desperate to find a locus magicalicus stone so that he can communicate with Wellmet’s magic and find out what’s going on. Once again, though, the spell involves pyrotechnics, and they get badly out of hand. Conn’s locus stone isn’t anywhere near Wellmet – and the punishment for returning is death. This story includes dragons, and an ending that must have been a nasty shock for people who didn’t know when or if book four would be available.
The Magic Thief Book 4: Home. by Sarah Prineas. Narrated by Greg Steinbrunner. Recorded Books, 2014.
Now Rowan is officially Duchess of Wellmet and Ember the new Underlord. Rowan thinks that Conn is just the person to complete the trio, and names him as Ducal Magister. But nothing feels less like home to former gutter boy Conn than the white and gold apartments in the Dawn Palace with its wardrobe filled with silk robes. Rowan challenges him to tell her who he thinks he is if not the Ducal Magister – a stumper of a question, to be sure. But before they can finish the conversation, Rowan’s new secretary interrupts to call them away to the next official meeting. The meeting makes it even clearer to Conn that he’s in the wrong place – locus stones have been going missing, and the other magisters are convince that Conn must be responsible for them – made worse when his dragon, Pip, shows up carrying one. Wellmet has two magics now – Conn’s doing – and since they’re not playing nicely together, the magisters are less than grateful for Conn’s saving the city last time around. Conn determines to go underground to find out who is behind the thefts. Sure and certain, Conn will get himself into bad trouble before he gets things cleared up again, and there will be magic, explosions, and lots of racing through alleyways followed by minions intent on beating the fluff out of him along the way.
All the books are mostly told by Conn, with short bits in Nevery’s clipped writing for his journal and, later on, somewhat more formal writings from Rowan’s diary, as well as letters between various major characters. Steinbrunner does a fantastic job reading them all in a variety of British accents – Conn’s voice is maybe a bit posher than one might expect from a gutter boy, but his enthusiasm and youth shines through, contrasted nicely with Nevery’s growly voice and Rowan’s definitely polished tones. But Conn’s own distinctive turns of phrase are also delightful – Nevery’s “clean glean looks”, the way Conn “blinks the brights from his eyes” after the frequent explosions. With a roguish main character determined to do right even when everyone else believes the worst of him and does their best to stop him, plus original magic, excellent villains, a small dragon, and lots of pyrotechnics, this is a book with heart and kid appeal in spades. I was utterly charmed.
Diana Wynne Jones, author of Howl's Moving Castle, praised this middle grade fantasy series filled with magic and wonder, saying of the first book: "I couldn't put it down. Wonderful, exciting stuff."
To his amazement, one apple from the tree disappeared before his eyes and appeared in his hand. Eager to test the spell further, Thomas ventured into the village market. He discreetly used the magic rheif spell to acquire various items like sweets, toys, and even money. Thomas started to believe that he had found a way to fulfill his every desire without any consequences. Days turned into weeks, and Thomas became more arrogant with his newfound power. He started using the magic rheif spell to steal from his fellow villagers, taking valuable possessions and causing chaos. News of the mysterious thefts spread throughout the village, and people became suspicious of each other. However, little did Thomas know that there were consequences to his actions. The magic rheif spell had its own dark magic, which slowly started to take a toll on Thomas. He began experiencing unbearable guilt and paranoia. Sleepless nights filled with nightmares haunted him, and the once cheerful boy became a shell of his former self. As the villagers grew restless and desperate to catch the thief, they sought the help of a wise old sorcerer who had heard of Thomas' magic powers. The sorcerer recognized the magic rheif spell and knew the only way to break it was through remorse and redemption. The wise sorcerer summoned Thomas and guided him towards understanding the consequences of his actions. Realizing the harm he had caused, Thomas begged for forgiveness and promised to restore everything that he had stolen. With the help of the villagers, he returned every stolen item and apologized for the havoc he had created. As Thomas mended his ways and made amends, the dark magic of the spell began to fade away. The guilt and paranoia slowly dissipated, and he started to regain his cheerfulness. Thomas learned a valuable lesson in the consequences of his actions and the importance of empathy and integrity. From that day forward, Thomas chose to use his adventurous nature and mischievous spirit in a positive way. He became known as a helpful and compassionate member of the village, teaching others the importance of honesty and responsibility. And as for the magic rheif spell, Thomas made sure it was permanently destroyed so that no one could be tempted by its powers again..
Reviews for "Tapping into the Mystical Energies of the Magic Rheif"
1. Christina - 1 star - I found "The Magic Reheif" to be incredibly boring and poorly written. The plot was disjointed and seemed to go nowhere, and the characters lacked depth and development. The writing itself was awkward and clunky, with numerous grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Overall, I was highly disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to anyone.
2. Mark - 2 stars - While "The Magic Reheif" had an interesting concept, the execution fell flat for me. The pacing was extremely slow, and the story seemed to drag on with unnecessary details and irrelevant side plots. Additionally, the dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the characters. Overall, I found this book to be a letdown and not worth the time invested.
3. Sarah - 1 star - "The Magic Reheif" was a complete waste of time in my opinion. The storyline was confusing and convoluted, making it difficult to follow and understand what was happening. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked any depth or relatability. I struggled to finish this book and was left feeling disappointed and unsatisfied. I would not recommend it to anyone looking for an engaging and well-written fantasy read.
4. James - 2 stars - I had high hopes for "The Magic Reheif," but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The plot was predictable and lacked originality, and the writing style was bland and lacked creativity. The characters were forgettable, and their actions often felt forced and unbelievable. Overall, I found this book to be a mediocre read and was left underwhelmed by the end.