Thief's Magic (Millennium's Rule Trilogy)

Tyen, a sorcerer-archaeologist student at the Academy in Leretia discovers a mysterious book on a archaeology dig. He knows he should turn it in but first he wants to study it – only this isn’t any ordinary book. Vella was once a live woman, transformed by a famous sorcerer long ago into a book that records any information it receives from its holder whether spoken or thought and must answer any question they ask – assuming, of course, that someone else has given Vella the information sought.

Rielle lives in Fyre, a world where magic is forbidden to everyone but priests, all of whom are men. For anyone else, using it is considered stealing from the angels and, if caught, are first humiliated publicly and then disappear. All of her life, she has had to hide the fact that she can see Stain or ‘the taint that magic left behind’. But the temptation to use it may be too strong for her to ignore especially when she falls in love with an artist, a man her parents disapprove of.

Both of these people will discover that everything they thought they knew about their lands, magic, and the people they thought they could trust may be a lie; both will find themselves on the wrong side of their societal rules and will be forced to leave their homes, the only lands they have ever known, on the threat of death. The book is divided between the two stories, going back and forth as their lives follow similar but separate paths.

Thief’s Magic by author Trudi Canavan is the first book in the Milennium’s Rule trilogy and the first book I have read by this author. Canavan has created two interesting worlds, one secular, one religious, both deeply flawed. Of the two main protagonists, I must confess I much preferred Tyen: he is resourceful, intelligent, curious, and capable of making independent choices. Rielle, on the other hand, is less interesting at least for much of the novel: most of her decisions are based on what others want for her and she is constantly worrying about these decisions, many of which she should worry about because many of them seem somewhat arbitrary and just a means to move her story along. In simple terms, I guess, Tyen acts while Rielle reacts. Still, if they are not equally engaging, they are equally likeable and I look forward to seeing how their disparate stories work out and, I’m guessing, merge.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. It is well-written and kept my interest throughout. As in most series, this first book ends on a cliffhanger and I will definitely be reading book two.

Thief's Magic is an enthralling epic fantasy that leaves the reader eagerly anticipating the next installment of the series.

Trudi Canavan has created a fascinating world, where magic is an environmental resource used by mages to power technology of all kinds. When magic is depleted, soot (stain) remains.

The novel alternates between two narratives, that of Tyen, an archaeologist/mage in training and Rielle, the dyer's daughter taught that magic is the sole province of priests. Their worlds are very different.

On a dig, Tyen finds a unique artifact, a magical book with centuries of knowledge, who can read the minds of those who touch her and answers any question truthfully. Her knowledge may offer the solution to the rapidly depleting supply of magic. Vella is a dangerous prize, and rather than treasuring her, the Academy seeks her destruction and Tyen's. Branded a thief, Tyen flees the Academy with Vella.

On Rielle's world, magic was once in large supply, but it's depletion has made her country a desert. Only the priests are allowed to work magic, and those others who practice magic are sent away to a distant prison. Rielle is one of the rare individuals who can see stain, a sign that she can work magic. By chance, Rielle encounters one of the tainted, and in her escape sets upon a dangerous course.

I was fascinated by the differences between Tyen's and Rielle's experiences. I was particularly interested in Vella, who is a unique character in her own right, and a powerful force in the novel.

Thief's Magic is an incredible novel that will please even the most jaded fantasy lover. It is a superb epic fantasy, and I for one am looking forward to the next novel in Canavan's Millenium Rule series.

5/5

I received a copy of Thief's Magic from the publisher and netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

Thief’s Magic is a blend between magic and steampunk. I love the concept of the world in which magic is used to run Victorian Age machinery. The problem is they are using so much magic that it is in danger of running out. When Tyen unearths a living book, Vella, on an archeological/treasure hunting expedition he starts a series of events which lead to him fleeing with the book.

In a completely separate storyline except for the magic Rielle is attracted to a most unsuitable artist. To complicate matters, she has a forbidden talent for magic.

I wanted to like this book, and I do actually like the two separate stories, but they are, for too much of the book completely separate stories. The book is a first in a series and so there is a lot of groundwork to be laid, but jumping back and forth between unconnected storylines got wearisome. I also didn’t like the assumption that birth control immediately makes a woman sexually open and active.

I would recommend Thief’s Magic for people who don’t mind long parallel stories as an introduction to a series.

I really do appreciate it when an author takes the time to build the story upon solid foundations. In Thief's Magic, Trudi Canavan does it again.
An avid fantasy writer, Canavan's thought and attention to detail during her worldbuilding process shines through, for we're presented with another entertaining tale about magic, but built on a system governed by rules subtly different to those found in her other books.
And its a great read too.
Told from the perspective of two different people on alternate worlds, we join their lives as they each take a journey along very different paths...One willingly, the other against her wishes. What happens? Ah, you'll need to find that out, but you'll be glad you did.
I look forward to seeing how their story will evolve.

~Reviewed by SUZANNE & posted at Under the Covers Book Blog

Tyen lives in a world powered by magic, from the machines that print books to airships and is a student of the Empire’s Academy studying sorcery and archaeology. Tyen is like any other student, until he make a remarkable discovery whilst on a dig. A magic book. Vella. Vella was a woman who, long ago was made in to a book, she stores all the knowledge of the person who touches her and she may have the answer to the troubles that are currently plaguing Tyen’s world. In another land ruled by priests, Rielle is a dyers daughter and has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels, resulting in your soul being damned. But circumstances force Rielle to use the magic and steal from the Angels and now she must face her ultimate fate.

Fantasy in the first genre I ever started reading and I love to dip back into the genre every now and immerse myself in new worlds full of magic and mayhem. Thief’s Magic definitely hit the spot, it was full of adventure, magic and interesting new worlds and I now can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

For those who enjoy their fantasy full of swords and men hitting each other with pointy objects, which I admit I do, then this probably isn’t the book for you, it was slow to build, with the beginning of the book concentrating on world building of not just one world, but two. Tyen and Rielle, our main characters, are both from different worlds and it was fascinating to see two different perspectives on the same thing; magic. Tyen’s world in more analytical and science oriented, everything had to be backed up with evidence where as Rielle’s world had more of a creationist viewpoint. I enjoyed reading from both of their POVs and Canavan has a knack for switching view’s at the right point,leaving you wanting to know what will happen next, but excited to switch to see the other character.

What I enjoyed most about this book was Vella, the woman-turned-book and even if I didn’t like other aspects of this book, which I did, I would continue reading to see what is going to happen to her. Although she is a book, she is just as much of character as Tyen and Rielle and I look forward to seeing if Tyen succeeds in turning her back into a woman.

I have really enjoyed this book, although it was slow to start, it soon picked up the pace and became more exciting and adventure oriented. I look forward to the next book and can’t wait to see if Rielle and Tyen will ever meet and what happens if they do.

*ARC provided by publisher

I think the thief stole the magic from this book! I've tried five or six times to read it and I just can't do it. There is something about the style of writing that I could not get in to. It's not polished for one and the writing felt forced and awkward. There are also two stories and two worlds going on but neither of the worlds are explained in any detail. The world building is literally just glossed over so you never get a true understanding or feeling for anything. I finally just gave up on it. It's unfortunately not for me. 

*I received this review copy from NetGalley & Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

 

 

  

As with all writers, there are some stories which grab you instantly and there are those which smoulder quietly until the real fun starts. This appears to be a smoulderer. Being introduced to two different characters from differing POV gives the feeling that these two are going to meet somewhere. Their backgrounds are from totally different areas but we are not given a hint if they are in the same time. This is surely a prelude to more to come. I have found with all of Trudi's books that they start in a similar manner, building up the characters to whammy you with a fantastic tale which you are sad to leave when finished.

Tyen is crouched in an ancient tomb when he comes across someone who will change his life forever. This someone is Vella. She isn’t exactly a person, but rather a book that was a young woman many millennia ago. She holds the secrets of fantastic sorcerers who have become little more than legends in Tyen’s time, and he has no clue what to do with her. He is a student at the Academy, studying archaeology and magic. He knows that his professors would love to see this book and use the knowledge it contains, but is afraid that they won’t understand it. He fears Vella will be locked up in the archives or destroyed from expressing ideas considered heresy in their current age of industry. When his worst fears are proven correct, he decides he must do whatever it takes to protect her and the knowledge she contains.

Trudi Canavan’s Thief’s Magic alternates POV between Tyen and Fielle, who lives in a world were magic is only used by the Priests. To practice magic is to steal from the Angels, and it’s a major crime. She can see the Stain, a dark mark that shows the area where magic has been drained from the air, but must keep this skill a secret, as it’s a sign that a person can use magic and will send her into exile.

Fielle has begrudgingly accepted that she will never be able to use her latent skill and is trying to focus on being a good daughter. She comes from a family of fabric dyers, and even though they have significant wealth, they don’t have great social standing. An advantageous match could give them the respect they desire, but Fielle cannot help but fall in love with a talented, struggling artist. While she is concerned about her personal life, there is a corrupter making their way around the city putting them all in danger. This person is teaching people magic and creating issues for the Priests.

In Thief’s Magic, Trudi Canavan crafts worlds were magic is a non-renewable resource like oil or coal. Whenever someone uses magic, it leaves behind a stain, which is later filled in by more magic. The authorities of these worlds deal with this issue differently.

Tyen’s world is in the midst of an industrial and scientific revolution. Inventions are powered by magic, which is drained rapidly from the air. Authorities have responded by conquering other lands and stealing their magic, but it is still only a matter of time before it’s all gone. There are rumors that magic can be replenished, but these are dismissed as backwards conjecture.

In Fielle’s land, magic is more plentiful – but only because no one is allowed to use it. Readers are led to believe a war long ago drained almost all the magic from the land, so now only the Priests are permitted to steal it from the Angels.

Canavan does an amazing job creating the worlds these characters live in. The magic system in the novel is fascinating and unique. There’s no way to hide that magic has been used and at times the characters’ “reach” is not long enough to access it.

While the worlds are interesting, the pacing is a little slow. The first part of the book doesn’t have a lot of action, particularly Fielle’s half of the story. Tyen’s journey was more interesting throughout. The stakes felt much higher, and Vella is such an enchanting character. Her presence really elevates his story and their interactions are some of the best moments in the novel. As Fielle meets different people, her story improves greatly.

Another issue I had early on is that Tyen and Fielle are just so… good. They have a really hard time questioning, much less rebelling against, authority. To the reader, the Academy and Priests come across as corrupt and despicable the second we see them, so it’s hard to suspend disbelief that they would blindly believe in these systems. When their eyes finally do open, it’s such a relief. I could stop thinking about how naive they were, and start taking them seriously.

Quick Version: Thief’s Magic is a beautifully written novel about what happens when magic is not in infinite supply and corrupt governments and churches control the use of the resource. Tyen and Fielle both notice this injustice — even though it takes them a while — and try to find ways to improve the situation. Tyen’s companion, Vella, is the most fascinating character and this book only scratches the surface of the secrets she contains. Even though it was slow to start, Thief’s Magic was a very engaging and entertaining read. I’m really looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.

If you like the Fantasy genre AND the Romance genre, you're going to like this book. If romance isn't your thing, you may still like this book, but I strongly urge you to skip a large chunk of it: all 86 pages of part 2. If that sounds like you, dear reader, go read Part 1, then come back here and read the "SPOILERS" section below. After skipping part 2, you can move on to reading Part 3.

The concepts of magic in this book are interesting, fun, and well developed. Tyen is a protagonist I care about. His story is one where magic plays a key role. Then the story switched to Rielle, a shallow young women who falls for the handsome artist beneath her station.

I read the first several chapters of 50 Shades of Grey, giving up before the ... intimate scenes ... because the female protagonist thought of little else than how good looking and interesting the male was. It was repetitive and the story and character development moved at a snail's pace. I almost gave up on this book for the exact same reason, but I pushed through it. Was the intent to capture female readers using a very cliche romantic theme? If so that would sadden me because this female protagonist is shallow, and if she has any virtues, I cannot find them. I care not at all about Rielle's plight, though toward the end I was at least interested in her fate.

Magic plays little role in Part 2, used only to set the background, and probably because the author felt it clever, as a device to retain romantic tension. Don't get me wrong, I like romance themes in my fantasy stories. But believe me when I say Part 2 is purely a romance story, with subtle magic themes; magic could have been left entirely out of it and the story would not change even 5%.

By the time we visit Rielle again in Part 4, her story continues it's romance theme. Thankfully after a few chapters it starts to return to the Fantasy genre, so the book is a good read from Part 3 on. It is worth noting, though, that the romance turned out to play almost no role in the arc of the story! What a waste of time! I wonder if the author elaborated in Part 2 to meet word counts...

SPOILERS!!! DO NOT READ BELOW HERE IF YOU PLAN TO READ PART 2.

Part 2 is a romance story, nothing more. Middle-class young woman Rielle, looking to land a middle-class husband, instead falls for a handsome lower-class artist, Izare. Marrying down in class is both socially taboo and very much against the will of her parents. Surprised? Under the guise of hoping to get painting lessons from Izare, she sneaks around to spend time with him. But being the innocent, religious good girl she resists her own urges and his passive advances. Through 10 chapters the romantic tension grows, culminating in Rielle running away from her parents, who were angry at the discovery of her associating with a lowly artist, and finally sleeping with Izare.

"But what about the fantasy and magical themes?" you ask. The land of Fyre is ruled by a priestly class who worship Angels who use magic. The priests are allowed to use the Angels' magic because they sanctify themselves, but nobody else is. In fact if you use magic (regardless of whether it is for good or evil) you are labeled "tainted" and you are either executed, jailed, or outcast (it's not clear which) by the priests. Using magic leaves behind a "Stain", which is the same thing as "Soot" from Part 1. That's how the priests know you used magic. Rielle, having some magical ability, can sense the Stain, but she hides that fact in public lest she be labeled tainted. She uses magic only once, privately with the help of a tainted, to prevent conception prior to her "meeting" with Izare. The magic use gives her feelings of both guilt and freedom. There are hints that art and magic are somehow related, a theme that was mentioned in Part 1.

If you have read these last two paragraphs, you know literally everything worth knowing from Part 2. In fact, I spent nearly as many words describing the magic of this place in one paragraph as the author did in 10 chapters. You can confidently move on to Part 3. You're welcome!

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the arc of Thief's Magic by Trudi Canavan! This story is told in alternating points of view - Tyen's and Rielle's.

Tyen is at an archeological site when he discovers a living book - a person (Vella) transformed into a book by a powerful sorcerer. He took her knowledge and flesh and literally made her into a book and used her skin for the cover and pages, hair for the binding and tendons for the glue. At this point I was very interested in the book! When it abruptly stopped and changed to Rielle's story, I was a little thrown. I wasn't sure why the transition took place.

Rielle's story is completely different from Tyen's. Rielle is middle class but she and her family believe that it will be difficult for her to find a husband. She falls in love with an artist but is afraid to use magic to prevent pregnancy. Magic is forbidden in her world.

I rate Thief's Magic three stars because it's difficult to see a correlation between Tyen's and Rielle's stories and because of the abrupt change from one story to the next. Maybe reading the rest of the series would help tie the two worlds together better?

A highly enjoyable read, I read this, cover to cover, in a few days because I really wanted to know what Trudi Canavan had come with this time. I have already read and enjoyed her other trilogies so I knew what to expect in terms of quality of writing.

This is a fantasy novel principally about two characters, Tyen and Rielle, apparently from two different worlds and their interaction with magic, one in a world where magic is respected and used by nearly everyone, one from a world in which magic is denied, hidden and used only by a select few. The books is divided into parts which alternatively deal with Tyen or Rielle but they never meet – perhaps this is to come in the other parts of the trilogy.

It is well-written and engaging and hopefully the subsequent parts of the trilogy will continue this trend. I have always been impressed with Trudi Canavan’s writing up until now and this confirms her ability to enthral the reader.

There are many imaginative aspects to the work as one would expect from a fantasy novel and the author does not disappoint.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys a well-constructed fantasy novel, such as those written by Robin Hobb or Karen Miller.

I really enjoyed the story. The world-building was great and it didn't have the feel of a typical fantasy novel. After reading the book the story was still around me. Also it wasn't filled with violence and gore, and at the end of every chapter before the next character would begin there was often a twist that would leave you hanging on. I totally recommend reading this book.

As with many of Trudi Canavan’s earlier books like The Black Magician trilogy and The Age of the Five trilogy, I really enjoyed reading her new novel Thief’s Magic, book one of Millennium’s Rule.

The story, or rather stories, for there are two of them, were gripping. The interweaving of the two is cleverly done, with the author taking her time to establish the characters and the context in the beginning, only to leave the reader with a cliff-hanger when she shifts to the other story. As the stories progress, shifting from one to another becomes more frequent, but never too hastily that the reader doesn’t have the time to plunge into the action. The familiar wish to continue with one of the stories to the detriment of the other did not occur here as both stories, one with a female main character, Rielle, and the other with a male one, Tyen, are well balanced and of equal interest.

I did find myself continually wondering when and how the two main characters would meet, seeing as they lived in quite different worlds, and was surprised, but not upset, that their two paths had not crossed by the end of this first book of the series. There was no shortage of possible clues that a meeting would eventually take place, but that meeting will be quite a narrative challenge. How will the author manage the shift from two very strong but unrelated perspectives to a situation where both meet and interact?

Sustaining the reader’s interest while switching between stories when those stories are apparently unconnected is a real achievement. Unconnected? Well they do handle a similar theme: the nature of magic and its role in society, in particular with relationship to women. As with her earlier books, a great deal of thinking must have gone into the workings of the societies in which her story takes place that makes it all the more credible and engrossing.

As a writer, one of the interesting aspects of Trudi Canavan’s work in this novel is the way she provides insight into characters by subtly revealing the reactions of one to another, like Tyen noticing a twitching muscle in the professor’s face that he takes to be an indication of envy; a perception to be seen in terms of Tyen’s changing view of his professor. With only a few words, like a finger of light probing the page, a whole vista opens up to the reader as deeper layers of the characters are made apparent through their interactions with each other. That depth brings the characters alive and contributes to our delight as we read on.

Review first published on Secret Paths.

I enjoyed thieves magic. The characters drew me in as I read. There were a couple of plot points that seemed to just be there to move the story along, but those were minor.

My only complaint really is that the book does not end as an ending. The book ends much like the end of a chapter with almost everything still unknown about what is really going on in the world. I will be waiting for the next book to come out.

I love this new book from Canavan. Even though it is not AS good as her other series, I still read it in two days and can't wait for the next! The plot is very intriguing and different from her other books!