Thief's Magic

Leer este libro fue como tener que armar un puzzle y no saber que lo tenía que armar, hasta qué llega el final y lo veo todo armado frente a mi.

Fantastic Fantasy. I thought the focus was going to be on Tyen and then it all of sudden switched to another character and then back and forth between the two. A lot of storylines didn't finish and it's obviously setting up for the next book. Great read!

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.

It's been over 10 years since I first read this book and I didn't continue on with the series at the time, so definitely needed a reread to be able to carry on.

There's something so comforting about Trudi Canavan's writing, I've read all of her other books so just this series left to finish.

That said, reading this again I did have some slight issues - I found Rielle's storyline a bit slow and less exciting than Tyen's. This picked up towards the end and I'm looking forward to seeing how the two POVs come together in the next book.