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    The Magic Thief
    The Magic Thief
    The Magic Thief
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Magic Thief

    Written by Sarah Prineas

    Narrated by Greg Steinbruner

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Discover the fantasy and wonder of The Magic Thief, the first book in Sarah Prineas’s acclaimed middle grade fantasy series! Diana Wynne Jones, author of Howl's Moving Castle, said: ""I couldn't put it down. Wonderful, exciting stuff.""

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 25, 2010
    ISBN9780062009432
    Author

    Sarah Prineas

    Sarah Prineas lives in the midst of the corn in rural Iowa, where she wrangles dogs, cats, chickens, and goats, goes on lots of hikes, and finds time to write. She is also the author of Ash & Bramble, a retelling of Cinderella. She is married to a physics professor and has two kids. You can visit Sarah online at www.sarah-prineas.com.

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    Reviews for The Magic Thief

    4/5

    333 ratings26 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I loved the narration, it was great to listen to a book with no swearing or romantic storyline. I also enjoyed the fact that it was one book instead of trying to stretch the story into three books.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book! Fast paced, funny, creative and playful with tropes. A nice romp in a magical realm!
    • 4/5
      The premise of this story–a city that runs on magic–is fascinating, and I loved the descriptions of the city itself. The book itself had the feeling of the first book in a trilogy, but the characters were so great (a wizard, the thief who steals his locus-stone, the muscle who knits and bakes biscuits) that I think I’ll have to keep reading. [Feb. 2010]
    • 3/5
      Book and Cookie Club selection, but a worthwhile read, and a Skype conversation with the author made it even more so. This fanciful tale of magic set in a fictional time and place (but reminiscent of Dickens' London) rode the wave of Harry Potter popularity for fans who wanted read-alikes. Not disappointing, but maybe for a bit younger crowd. Young Conn, a gutter boy, steals a magic object from a wizard and finds himself enmeshed in his own awakening magical skills with the backdrop of a power struggle in his society to control the magic. Very original, memorable characters to care about -- it's a series but not sure I will pursue it.
    • 4/5
      {First of 4 : The Magic Thief series. Children's, fantasy}I borrowed this from my children's school library and apparently I also borrowed it three years ago as an e-book from the local library (when I noted that the e-format diminishes the impact of the pencil drawings). Conn is a gutterboy thief who lives in the Twilight district of the city of Wellmet. One day he gets caught by the mage, Nevery, when he picks his pocket and steals his locus magicalicus - a wizard's magic stone, specific to him, which focuses power. Intrigued by the fact that Conn is unharmed, Nevery takes him home to be his apprentice, despite the fact that he isn't interested in maintaining a household and doesn’t really want an apprentice. Then they realise that Conn has magic and needs to be taught - but he hasn’t yet found his own locus magicalicus. Nevery has returned to Wellmet, from which he was exiled twenty years before, drawn by the fact that the magic of the city has been inexplicably dwindling. He keeps busy investigating the cause of the reduction in magic and doesn't really have time for the boy. Conn feels deep in his bones that he is destined to be a wizard and help Nevery save the magic but he feels Nevery is on the wrong track - so he does some investigating of his own.The chapters are punctuated by Nevery's diary notes; I'm not sure how much they advance the story, though they do show Nevery's point of view too - but they do have notes in an unknown script that I didn't manage to decode.Light, solidly written, engaging, good use of language. I like Prineas's clever hyphenated alliterative and assonant vocabulary : 'Nevery swept-stepped from the room' or 'he gave me his keen-gleam glance' or 'musty-dusty'.I'd like to continue reading this series of brave, earnest Conn, his grumpy master Nevery and their friends.4 stars
    • 5/5
      This book is a small miracle, in a way. Despite the fact that almost every aspect of the plot, the settings, and most principal characters can be found in essentially unchanged form in other, earlier books, this novel manages to transcend what could seem like a pedestrian rehash to become a charming, worthy addition to the canon. And it's emphatically not a pleasant but mediocre generic fantasy novel--it's much, much better than that.

      Most of the credit goes to the author's making the protagonist so very likable. I'm reminded of Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief who also managed to charm me completely. There's a passage where truth serum forces our hero to babble the truth, and it's a delight.

      I imagine it must be more difficult to write a beautifully-crafted, engaging, surprising book from materials that are so well-trodden, so kudos given where kudos are due.

      I see others have compared this to the Harry Potter series, or to The Lightning Thief, but the tone seems very dissimilar to me. I thought it more akin to the works of Diana Wynne Jones (not quite as good, nothing ever is--a little more straightforward than she would have written) or to the Flora Segunda.

      (Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
    • 4/5
      Wizards, a gutterboy, a Duchess and her daughter are just a few characters in this magical fantasy tale.One dark night, Connware picked a pocket and found he had stolen a wizard's locus magicalicus. Stealing a locus magicalicus can cause death to a non-wizard. By some strange twist Nevery, the wizard, seemed to know that Conn had the stone. Through some dramatic casting of a spell by Nevery, Conn was saved...and the wizard took back his stone. The strange thing was there wasn't much damage to Conn.Nevery takes on Conn as an apprentice, but actually treats him more as a servant. Nevery tasks Conn with finding his own locus magicalicus and later sends Conn to the Academicos...the school for future wizards and rich kids. Here Conn is to learn all that is necessary to become a wizard. It seems that Nevery sees something in Conn and the possibility of his having magical power.The tale takes place in Wellmet; a place that is made of up three areas. The River where the Academicos, the Wizards' Houses, Magisters' Hall and other important buildings are located on islands in the river. The Twilight where Dusk House, the factories and warehouses are. A dark and dangerous area where Conn is from. Poverty and violence is the norm. The Sunrise contains the Dawn Palace and Pettivox's House.Nevery has just arrived back to Wellmet. He had been banished from town for 20 years, but had recently received a letter requesting him to return. It seems that Wellmet is losing magic and no one knows how or where it is going. The letter writer knows that Nevery is one of the strongest and most knowledgeable wizards and should be able to solve the mystery. The thing is that it is to be done on the QT.The story is written with segments being entries by Nevery into his journal. His comments and observations add to the story. There are also illustrations in the book to add to the feel of it taking place in a later time.I enjoyed the book and the characters. The descriptions and details help set the scenes. The action and events can cause you to hold your breath at time and laugh at other times. This is the first of a series, so I will be keeping an eye out for further books.
    • 1/5
      First person narratives will always bug me, but when they are as droll and stereotypical as whatever this one was called, they make me feel apprehensive about even picking one up again. It's a formulaic children's fantasy book about nothing much, but it should keep kids with little imagination and five tablets happy whilst they all charge.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely adored this middle grade fantasy by Prineas. I also loved Prineas's Winterling series which is why I originally picked this book up. This book was even better than the Winterling books, it was so magical and just so much fun to read.I listened to The Magic Thief on Audiobook and it was very very well done. The narrator sounded exactly like I imagined Conn would sound. The narrator did all the other character voices really well too. I would highly recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks. I really think the absolutely wonderful narration was part of the reason I loved this book so much.Conn is a master lockpick and thief whose main concerns are dodging the ruler of Twilight, Crow, and just trying to survive day to day. That is until he picks the wrong pocket, the pocket of an old wizard named Nevery. Conn accidentally stole Nevery’s magicalicus (a magic stone that should kill anyone who touches it outside of the wizard it belongs to). However the magicalicus didn’t kill Conn and Nevery decides to investigate this further and take Conn on as his apprentice. Nevery is in Wellmet to figure out why the amount of magic in the town is declining. The story starts at a fast pace and never slows down. It's very entertaining, well written and well paced.A big part of what makes this novel wonderful is the plucky protagonist Conn who is just such an optimist. Even when faced with hard situations he just picks himself up and soldiers through. I loved his candid way of thinking and talking and the way he just assumes that most people are good people (despite his background). I also loved the magic throughout and the mystery behind why magic was leaving the city. There are also a lot of interesting steampunk devices throughout and there is a lot of magic combined with science kind of explanations that I enjoyed.This was just a super fun read that just made me feel at happy while I was reading it. Nothing super horrible happens, but there's a good mystery, lots of fun, and lots of quirky characters (who at first seem gruff) but end up really caring about each other.Overall I just loved this book to pieces and will definitely be reading the next in the series! I highly recommend this novel to fantasy readers of all ages. It is one I will definitely be reading with my seven year old son. The story isn’t super complicated but the magic system and mystery are interesting enough that I think that the story would hold the interest of adult readers as well.
    • 5/5
      Halfway through the book I went online and ordered the 2nd and 3rd book in the series AND the only other book by the same author that was available on my bookstore's website. I had such fun reading this! The narrator's strong voice, his go-getter attitude, his ideas about his apprenticeship contrasted with the wizard's grumpy, deadpan-snarky journal entries ("boy eats pantry bare") and the unique twists on what seem to be stock characters at first glance (they aren't, really! Loved them all) - seriously, I was grinning broadly during all of this, chuckling happily and laughing out loud.

      The plot is gripping and exciting, if a little predictable: I had a broad idea of what was going on about a third into the book, but thanks to the absolutely entertaining narration and the overall loveableness of the characters and their interactions it didn't lessen the enjoyment one bit, and of course there were twists I didn't see coming, too. I also got a little worried about some of the characters by the end and was genuinely touched by some bits - ah, really, it was just a fantastic read. I gobbled the whole thing up in two sittings (could have been one, but I had to work. Boo boo!).

      As I'm obviously already in love with the characters, their relationships, their world, and the book's idea of magic, I'm VERY much looking forward to the next two books, I can't imagine being disappointed. If you have any love for YA fantasy and Diana Wynne Jones, whose blurb made me read the book (I'm not that easily swayed! I just love DWJ's books), go and give this a try. I can't imagine anyone else being disappointed, either.

      Edit to add: There was quite a bit of seemingly fancy-pants alliteration on the first couple of pages, and I thought "ugh." I got over that quickly, though. Maybe the author did, too, I'm not sure. Anyway, just read on, the style will grow on you.
    • 4/5
      This was an interesting story. I remember reading this and thinking, "Yeah, this is plausible fantasy and entertaining without being solid action adventure." It was a pretty good story. I managed to pick it up and be done in a few days without taking any major breaks, which for me is always a good sign.
    • 3/5
      While this was hard for me to read and I gave up halfway through, I'm definitely not its target reader. I do think that many boys who like magic and who have become comfortable with chapter books and are ready for a long book (this is 400 pages, though the pages are small) will enjoy this and feel proud to be able to read it. It's about a young ruffian who is picked up by a powerful magician to be his servant, but when the boy shows signs of having special abilities, he becomes more than a servant -- a magician's assistant. First in a series.
    • 5/5
      Conn is a thief and he wants to be the apprentice not the servant to Nevery after he successfully pickpockets his locus magicalicus (magic stone). Nevery reluctantly agrees and Conn begins his tasks, school and finding his own magic stone. Great characters, setting and plot; I read it in one sitting even though I knew that this was only the first in a trilogy. Easy read - great for fourth and fifth grade fantasy fans.
    • 4/5
      MSBA Nominee 20092-2010

      Quite good. I listened to it on audiobook, but I hear that the physical book has acrostics in it that give out clues to the story. I'd be interested in getting my hands on a copy to check it out.
    • 5/5
      Summary:This is a story of a young child that is a born and raised as a thief. The setting is somewhat in a older times style and era. This little boy, Conn, happens upon thieving an unusual rock from an unsuspecting wizard. This goes through the boy's journey from thief to apprentice wizard. It involves excitement, suspense, and a thrilling adventure, even an adult would enjoy.Personal Reaction:From the very beginning, this story draws you in and will not let go, even the ending makes you beg for more. Has simple but fluent material and words, but some words may be a little difficult for a young child. For non-readers like myself, I had a real hard time putting this book down. Extension Ideas:This could be a useful book to bring into the class to introduce fantasy style books without all of the dragons, and sword fighting, and grueling violence. This also shows how an orphan can go from being an uneducated individual to a remarkable individual, if you push yourself. A very good example of self motivation.
    • 3/5
      I found the first person voice cutesey and off-putting. It brought me up short with every sentence and kept me from getting into the plot.
    • 5/5
      I thought this was a great book about magic and never giving up. I reccomend this book to kids who like magical, anventurous, and cliff hanging books. I can't wait to read the next one!
    • 5/5
      This is a great fast read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I normally do not like fantasy. You go on a quest with Conn to try and find his magic stone. When most other people think that he will fail, he rises up and even takes on the super villain.
    • 4/5
      An entertaining read about a boy who tries to steal from a magician and then finds himself first a servant and later an apprentice. He also finds himself pivotal to helping save his city.It's a fun read, I really enjoyed the characters and the scenes with Benet knitting tickled my funny bone
    • 5/5
      The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas is a fantastical romp through an imagined world. The city of Wellmet is home to a duchess, wizards, thieves…and magic. However, the magic levels have dipped so low that the city is in danger of dying. In order to rescue Wellmet a wizard named Nevery, who was banished from the city by the duchess twenty years ago, returns. It is upon this return that young Conn, a pick-pocket and lock-pick, steals Nevery’s oculus magicalicus (a wizard’s stone that focuses the use of magic). Conn should have died as soon as he touched the stone, but he didn’t, so Nevery takes him on as a servant. But Conn is not someone who is happy with the status quo, and the clever boy soon convinces Nevery to take him on as an apprentice. The only problem is that he needs to find his on oculus magicalicus within thirty days, and if he doesn’t he will have to choose between servitude to Nevery or going back to his thieving ways on the streets. What follows is a series of adventures and misadventures that are all woven into the mystery of what is happening to the magic of Wellmet as Conn becomes increasingly sure that he is somehow meant to save the magic.The Magic Thief offers a surprisingly fresh storyline in a book rife with magic and wizards. It is told primarily from Conn’s point of view, with a journal entry from Nevery between each of Conn’s chapters. This allows for the reader to know what is going on in both of their minds, and adds interest to the story since they are often thinking opposite thoughts. Conn’s chapters appear as normal text with a small illustration of what or who the focus of the chapter will be on at the beginning. The illustrations are black and white, and the characters that are drawn match their descriptions in the book. Nevery’s journal entries appear on darker pages and are in a script type-setting with the date at the top of the page, making the reader feel as if they truly are reading a journal entry. Each narrator has a strong voice, particularly Conn, who has a lilting way of telling a story and who’s catch-phrase is “sure as sure.” With strong supporting characters who can stand on their own, The Magic Thief weaves an enchanting spell that is sure to captivate readers. This fantasy adventure is best suited for grades 5 – 7. 
    • 4/5
      This book was a short quick read, and filled with action to keep you turning page after page. What I really liked is the really neat illustrations that comes with each chapter. Also in between chapters, is pages that looks like it's from Nevery's journal in his writing and in his point of view which adds a little bit more to the plot to round it out evenly. This was also nice to read and it was a nice addition to the book. What I also enjoyed were the names of the places and setting of the book: City of Wellmet, and within the city there are districts like: The Twilight (bad area!) or The Sunrise (rich area), Heartsease (where Conn and Nevery live). Places like these make the setting more magical and fantastical, but I like it as it adds more feeling to the setting. What's also a neat little add on to the book is at the end you'll find two recipes for biscuits. You'll find in the novel, the significance of them and how they're a very common object in the novel. There is also a glossary and a few extras at the back of the book which is also a nice add on. Conn sort of reminds me of Oliver Twist a little, he's a thief and a street orphan who managed to survive for all this time before he met Nevery. He's very brave and reckless and his curiosity and stubbornness does get the best out of him, but since the book is in his point of view his thoughts were very amusing and sometimes funny to read, especially when he meets with the Duchess and with the incident with the truth serum and the guards (a funny moment in the book). He's a great character, and an exciting one who's not afraid of going out there in the city all by himself which always creates some form of trouble or excitement. However, I wish there was more to Nevery. Hopefully in the next book there will be a little more background information about him. It's certainly not necessary but it's always nice to read about it to give the character a more "rounded" out feel and not be so two dimensional. Another character I am curious about is Benet. I'd like to know more about him as well. It seems at times that background information might be helpful or perhaps would have helped in making the plot and its' characters have more depth but then again, it's not necessary and perhaps it will all be explained in the next books to come.Overall a great page turner with plenty of action, comedy, and fantasy. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Think of Oliver Twist in a fantastical setting. I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series it's certainly well worth it!
    • 4/5
      Conn picks a wizard's pocket and steals his magical focus. It should kill him; when he survives, the wizard is intrigued and makes Conn his servant. But Conn thinks he's an apprentice and concentrates on learning magic. Meanwhile, the magic levels in town are decreasing to dangerously low levels. Natural variation or evil plot?This is fairly generic fantasy, but there are some nice touches and good characterizations.
    • 4/5
      Making a living on the Twilight side of Wellmet, Connwaer (Conn) was commonly referred to as a gutter boy with quick hands as a pick pocket and a lock pick. Picking the pocket of the wizard Nevery Flinglas should have left him dead, but instead it left Nevery interested in why his locus magicalicus (wizards magical stone) had not hurt the street boy. Knowing the magic of Wellmet was declining, Nevery was asked to find the cause and help to solve the problem. Taking Conn on as an apprentice probably wouldn’t help, but since Conn showed some connection to magic, it shouldn’t hurt.****4 Book 1.…. Fun and fast to read. Deceptively large in size (411 pages), odd size and large print, makes it easy to read. Written from Conn’s point of view with a few letters/journal entries from Nevery. Fun wizardry stuff and great descriptions of the people and places. This is a great book for that middle age, not quite old enough for Harry Potter but ready for longer, more detailed story. Really enjoyed the addition of the Runic alphabet and the occasional cryptic message that Conn left for Nevery on his journal notes. Really looking forward to Book 2 (this is suppose to be a trilogy) to see what Conn‘s next great adventure in Wellmet will be.
    • 5/5
      I really just ate this book up. Not only did it have a great plot, fantastic characters and a lot of magic, but it also had frequent journal entries that had little coded messages at the bottom. I had a lot of fun deciphering the codes with the key at the back of the book. This is definitely an easy read - geared towards middle school students. I found it much enjoyable and there is supposedly more to come as this is "Book One".
    • 2/5
      This stubby book, somewhat short and thick and with a jacket that makes it look like an ancient, leather-and-metal-bound tome, outwardly resembles many other recent fantasies – Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap books, for example. And sure enough, there are many familiar elements. An orphan street kid named Conn discovers (after attempting to steal wizard Nevery’s locus magicalus) that he has some latent magical ability and becomes Nevery’s servant/apprentice. Meanwhile, magic is ebbing at a frightening and mysterious rate in their city of Wellmet, and Nevery and Conn have different ideas about what might be causing it – not to mention what the very nature of magic might be.

      Surprise! Prineas has taken a somewhat shopworn formula and made it fresh and vibrant. Conn is tenacious and spunky, as befits a kid who has grown up on the street, and he is also both likable and “true.” I believed in and rooted for him all the way. Nevery is gruff and too focused on his work to pay much attention to Conn, so although he is a decent sort, there is never any annoying sentimentality. Benet, the hired Tough Guy who doubles as Cook, mostly just growls – but he must possess a soft spot somewhere in his grizzled old heart, for he knits Conn a sweater and fixes the broken window in his dismal attic room.

      One interesting feature is Conn’s growing certainty that magic is a living sentient being rather than a resource or force (as Nevery and his fellow wizards believe). We don’t learn why Conn is so adamant about this or what the ramifications are, so perhaps this will be explored in a sequel.

      Kids ages 9 to 12 will likely enjoy this better-than-average fantasy.
    • 3/5
      It took a while for me to really begin to enjoy this book. The writing style is rather choppy; instead of using dialogue for much of what Conn, the main character and narrator, has to say, it's as if he's talking to the reader, and he doesn't always speak in complete sentences. I also found myself comparing the story and the style to Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series, which is far superior to this novel. But once Conn finds his locus magicalicus, a stone every wizard needs in order to do magic, the story picks up and comes into its own. It's obviously set up to be a series, but I haven't decided yet if I'll continue reading them as they come out. It is fairly entertaining, though, and I would recommend it to children, but only after suggesting the Septimus Heap books!