by Trudi Canavan
First published in Great Britain in 2014
Firstly, where is the year going?? I can't believe how quickly the months have flown by since I last posted and that I now have several books to blog about!
This book was on my 'to-read' list since I found out about it. Having read several of Canavan's books now, I know I like her style and themes so I was fairly sure I'd like 'Thief's Magic'. My plan was to wait until the paperback was released but then I was given the hardback by a friend so dived straight in.
It's the first in the new Millenium's Rule series and for me the first books are massively important in making me get into the story and thus the series. 'Thief's Magic' introduces us to two main characters who live totally different lives. Tyen is a student at the Academy, which caters for people with magical talents. Whilst on an archaeological study trip Tyen discovers a rare magical book. The book is called Vella and 'speaks' to Tyen by making words appear on her pages. Vella tells Tyen she used to be a human until an evil sorcerer turned her into a book. He decides to secretly keep her, knowing that the Academy would lock her away in their storage centre if he showed her to them. As Vella teaches Tyen more about her previous life and her life since becoming a book, he starts to believe in the ideas that people create magic and that there are lands that can be reached through magic - ideas that are hotly debated in the magic community.
Rielle is a young woman who lives in a land ruled by priests and faith. She believes that to use magic is to steal is from the Angels, the highest power, but she knows she has a talent for it. If a person chooses to learn how to use magic they are known as a 'tainted', and will have their soul ripped apart by the Angels when they die, so Rielle keeps her talent a secret. After Izare, a painter, helps her after she is attacked by a 'tainted', she begins a relationship with him tears her apart from her family. Rielle decides to seek magical help to prevent herself from becoming pregnant, but in doing so inadvertently makes herself infertile. To reverse this she accidentally uses magic, and the fear of being discovered is suddenly very real.
Rielle is in a very different land - hers is one ruled by religion and class. Rielle's story is quite traditional, with the relationship between the upper and lower classes causing conflict, and her family life will feel familiar to most readers. I found her a bit annoying at times because she has obviously been brought up well and expects her life to be a certain way, but this means she is very dependent on others and not very 'street smart'. It is to Canavan's credit that just as I was starting to feel like all Rielle was doing was mooning around with Izare, the action suddenly kicked in. Thinking back on it this is actually very clever of Canavan, as I was feeling safe in Rielle's story, as she was in her life, until it was turned upside down.
The story alternates between Rielle and Tyen, which some readers may like more than others. Personally I liked this technique, as it meant I was constantly going along with both of them, however it did feel at times that I was reading two separate books.
Whilst reading I was waiting for Tyen and Rielle to meet, as I had decided that was the way the story was heading, and I had to keep reminding myself that this is only the first book in the series. It'll definitely be one that I continue to read when the next books are released.
The book as a whole is really easy to get stuck into and I read it in a couple of sittings (sleep and work were the only things getting in the way). The characters are well-rounded and easy to relate to, just as I have found with the other books by Canavan that I have read so far. I would have liked a map included (I do love a good map) so I could follow where the characters were a bit easier, but I appreciate that the different lands might have made this difficult. The descriptions are vivid and it is easy to get lost in one land and then another.
I'm excited for book two ('Angel of Storms', eeep) to see how and where we meet up with Tyen and Rielle - it's released on the 12th so not long to wait now!
