Fans of magical fantasy will enjoy Sarah Prineas’ The Magic Thief Series. In the first book we meet Conn (short for Connwaer), an orphaned street thief, who should have died when he stole his future master’s locus magicalus (a stone that wizards use to do spells.) In the first book Conn must rescue the city of Wellmet’s magic, which he does. However, all is not well and the magic is still in danger in book two: Lost. In book two we learn a little more about the magic itself. It is actually a living thinking entity that has “chosen” Conn. The locus magicalus is not just a stone for casting spells, it the means by which the magic talks to the wizards. In book one, after finally finding his locus magicalus, Conn loses it when it is destroyed in the battle to save the city. In book two, we learn Conn can talk with the magic through pyrotechnics – a practice frowned upon by the city’s magisters and one that eventually gets Conn exiled from Wellmet.
Fans of Harry Potter and Magyk will enjoy this series. I am anxiously awaiting book three to find out just wa the magic has in store for Conn.
