Thief's Magic: Book 1 of Millennium's Rule (Millennium's Rule, #1)

by Trudi Canavan

Discover this powerful and thrilling adventure from international No.1 bestselling author Trudi Canavan.

SOMETIMES MAGIC LIES WITHIN . . .

When the young student Tyen unearths an ancient book, it opens the door to a realm of mystery and danger. For it contains a clue to a disaster threatening the world.

Elsewhere, in a land ruled by priests, Rielle has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels. Yet she has a talent for it, and desperate times may force her to risk the Angels' wrath.

But not everything is as Tyen and Rielle have been raised to believe. Not the nature of magic - and not even the people they trust.

Escape to a new world.
Discover the magic of Trudi Canavan.

• ISBN10: 0356501108
• ISBN13: 9780356501109
• Publish Date: 15 May 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Withdrawn
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 560
• Language: English

Reviews

[Metaphorosis Reviews]

3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

Tyen is a student at the Academy, the only place in the Leratian Empire where magic can be properly investigated. Rielle is the daughter of a scorned but influential family of dyers, in a land where only priests are permitted to use magic. Both run afoul of the authorities, and must try to understand how to apply their magical abilities in difficult circumstances.

I quite liked Trudi Canavan's first (Black Magicians) series, though I know some found it overly romantic. Her second trilogy (Age of Five) was less compelling, and I skipped the third (Traitor Spy) completely.

In this latest offering, the first in the Millennium's Rule trilogy, Canavan treads familiar ground. Very familiar; in fact the first book has a very formulaic feel to it. Young people, oppression, misunderstanding, romance. The writing is generally quite good, but there are very few surprises in this novel. It's been slightly updated to include a nod to steampunk, and slightly more sex, but otherwise, it's ground we (and Ms. Canavan) have trodden before. Even the societal pressures (girls must marry, raise children, not speak; creative types are poor but happy) are from some decades back.

The book is further weakened by a particularly limp magic system. Not everyone can (or should) be Brandon Sanderson, with a painstakingly (sometimes painfully) logical mechanism for magic. But, aside from an interesting innovation on depletion and creation of magic (inconsistently applied), Canavan doesn't even do much hand-waving. It's the kind of magic where you just exert your will and things happen. That can be fine as well, but when magic is easy, there must be limitations or consequences. Here, there are social barriers, but few magical rules. There's a strong feeling that the rules are at the convenience of the author, rather than having any kind of internal logic. Some of the non-magic elements were equally non-credible or inconsistent. It makes for disappointing and unfulfilling reading.

These limitations are a shame, because otherwise, Canavan is generally a good writer (leaving aside some awkward infodumps). The characters are (within their tired settings) interesting, and the story ends with plenty of things that call for exploration. If Canavan had taken the time to try for something a little fresher, the story could have been very good. As it is, it's a decent but not compelling entry in the generic fantasy ranks; one that suggests Canavan either hasn't grown as an author, or isn't really trying.

[Rinn]

I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

Yet again, I have found a book that I really wish I had picked up earlier.

Thief’s Magic had been sat on my Kindle for a while, one of my many Netgalley requests from when I was still really getting to grips with the whole system (i.e. not thinking through what I could read and when…). Unlike some of these requests, it was one that I knew I’d get around to – the question was just when.

A story that features archaeology? Check. A setting that includes a magical school/university? Check. Those are pretty much the two main factors that drew me to this one, and although the archaeology element is very minor, it was a good way to set up the story and introduce the reader to Tyen and Vella. Thief’s Magic is, at its current place in the series, more like two separate stories that do not really meet, but sooner or later you know they will. Although the two points of view did not combine as I hoped, they showed two very different worlds in which magic is seen and treated in two very different ways. In Tyen’s world, magic keeps things running – literally. It pretty much does the job of electricity in our own world. It is not seen as a negative thing. In contrast, Rielle’s world sees magic as something only Angels, and their priests, can use. If anyone else uses magic, they are seen as ‘stealing’ from the angels, and are punished.

However, in both worlds the use of magic has a similar result – a black cloud or void in the area where the magic was used, the size of the cloud depending on the strength of the magic. In Rielle’s world it is known as the ‘Stain’, reflecting the negative associations with magic, whereas in Tyen’s it is just referred to as ‘Soot’, a byproduct of industry. I personally enjoy magic systems where the use of magic demands a sacrifice of some kind, such as in The Name of the Wind. Whilst the magic in Thief’s Magic did not, I have a feeling that something will come into play later on in the series that reveals what the ‘Stain’ or ‘Soot’ actually is, and it won’t be a good thing.

Whilst at the beginning of the book I much preferred Tyen’s chapters, Rielle’s really started to pick up later on, and I was just as happy to read either point of view. Tyen’s world had a sort of fantasy-steampunk feel to it, whilst Rielle’s felt more like a ‘traditional’ fantasy world. From Tyen’s chapters especially I got a real sense of exploration and adventure, and overall found Thief’s Magic to be an extremely fun read. It made me feel as though I hadn’t read a good old fashioned fantasy adventure novel in a while, and I was glad to amend that.

Strangely enough, it seems I actually picked the right time to read this – the second book in the series is due to be published next month. I will definitely be looking out for it!

[Silvara]

Check out my other reviews, discussions and link ups at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon.



I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.




This book takes turns telling Tyen and Rielle's stories from their point of views. The first handful of chapters are Tyen, then the next handful are Rielle, and so on. I liked getting to know about both characters and the people and world around them. However, when it came time to switch to the other character? It always seemed to 'end' the chapter on a cliffhanger! There were very few times this didn't happen. Switch between characters by all means, but not in places that you leave the reader yelling out loud (literally in a few instances!) because of where the previous character left off.

I'm not sure who I liked better between Tyen and Rielle. They are so completely different in nearly every way that I can think of. Tyen is poor, and attends the magic academy to learn magic and one day hopes to teach at the school. He's also adventurous and skilled at making mechanical things.

Rielle is sheltered and well-off. She attends a temple school where she is supposed to be searching for a husband from the other wealthy families. Magic is forbidden to all but the priests. She's smart and a clever painter, and quite devout. She sees nothing wrong with magic being in the hands of only the priests.

It never states it, but just from how society works for each of them, I would guess they are from two different worlds. Literally. It would be interesting if they ever met each other. Both Tyen and Rielle don't always make the best decisions. Most of their decisions are made due to the circumstances making them for them. Which leads to interesting situations. The few times they do actually take their fate into their own hands, it doesn't end well. Leading to more interesting situations as well as plot twists.

I loved Vella. Why I'm not exactly sure. As a sentient book who has self-admittedly lost a lot of her emotions due to being turned into a book, she didn't have as much personality as the other characters. And yet at the same time she did. I like the way it was explained that she came to be, and how her book-self works. I'm hoping Tyen's quest succeeds.

I also really enjoyed reading about Beetle. As well as the people Rielle came into contact with. The different magic systems were well thought out, and made sense for each world. There was world building, but not as much as I would have liked. You really only learn about one city in Rielle's world, and that one isn't very well fleshed-out. In Tyen's you learn about more cities, but it's still mostly bits and pieces. As this is a first book in a series, perhaps there will be more world building to come.

I can hardly wait to pick up book 2, and I would highly suggest you try this book if you haven't read it yet.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

[tweetybugshouse]

4 stars

Listen to book via audible.

I really enjoy this author work i read her Black Magician trilogy when i was in highschool and really enjoyed it. This is a whole new series in a whole new world and i really like how their where two seperate stories going on in this story. I was hoping that the two would merge at some point in the story but that never happens. Which i think was the author intention all along she wanted you get to hooked by these two characters, draw you in and leave you so you want to see where it all goes. Great start to the new series.