Thief's Magic (Millennium's Rule, 1)

I’ve tried to make write this review with as few spoilers as possible but there are a few.This story is told from Tyen (male) and Rielle’s (female) stories viewpoints, the first few chapter are Tyen's, then Rielle's story is told in the next several chapters. I enjoyed the way the book was laid out I liked getting to know about the people and world around them from their views. What I did not like was when it came time to switch to the other character the chapter always seemed to stop at a cliffhanger! It was very rare that this didn’t happen. Switch between characters but not in places that you leave the reader yelling out loud and wanting to throw the kindle down because of where the previous character left off. If you must use this format then do the book in parts telling each viewpoint in once section before switching to the second character. There were times that I wanted to skip ahead to find out what happened, but I knew that if I did it once that I’d do it again and I also probably would not have quit reading that section until the end and then I’d be back in the same situation. If I had read reviews beforehand I may have been tempted to read all of each story and then read the other one.They are completely different in nearly every way. Rielle is sheltered and well-off while Tyen is poor. He wants to learn magic and hopes to teach there on day. Rielle attends a temple school, she’s intelligent, devout, and a talented painter; she is also supposed to be searching for a husband from among the other wealthy families. Magic is forbidden to all but the priests and Angels and those caught practicing magic are sent to prison; she sees nothing wrong this system. The world’s magic is rapidly depleting and the person who discovers a way to renew the supply of magic they will become rich and famous.Rielle is one of the rare individuals who can see stain, a sign that she can work In a misguided attempt to help the priests find the person who is corrupting people by teaching them to use magic, she's puts herself in a position where she is forced to learn magic at the corrupter's hands to heal herself. She is given forgiveness by an Angel at the temple; her penance is to atone by replacing the magic she used. She’s forced to leave the town she grew up in and find a place to create magic by painting. During her escape she encounters one of the tainted, and this sets her upon a dangerous course.On an archeological dig with the school Tyen finds a unique artifact and after examination he discovers that it is a sentient book with centuries of knowledge; it can read the minds of those who hold or touch it and answers any question truthfully. After questioning her he learns she used to be a living woman named Vella who was a maker of magical books until she was changed by one of the most famous and greatest sorcerer's in history. He wants to learn more before he hands her over to The Academy but as he inquires into her story he soon realizes the horror behind Vella's tale he wants to find a way to change her back. Since she has been a book for so long she has lost her emotions and some may find her character to be lackluster but I love her and know that her character will developed more in future books. Vella is an extremely valuable and dangerous find, she has all the information that she has gathered from every person that has ever touched he. . She has the potential to be a powerful aide or weapon to the world and she may be the way for the world to find out how to bring magic back into the world. When The Academy learns of Vella they want to destroy her; when he hides the book from his teachers he is branded a thief and is forced to flee with Vella.I was disappointed that the book never went what they thought of the societies of their worlds but this may be addressed in later books. If they ever meet maybe they will compare them as a way of understanding. I think I would be great if they met, fell in love and discovered a way to create magic together and that either before magic is restored or after they are able to reverse the spell that Vella is under.While I enjoyed this book and will continue with the series I still found that it was not up the authors usual standards or the previous series she has written.4.25.5/5 STARS: **I want to thank the author and/or publisher for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are mine.**

‘Thief’s Magic’ by Trudi Canavan is the first in the Millennium’s Rule series. I’m not entirely sure, but it seems that this series is set in the same world as her previous series, The Black Magician trilogy and Traitor Spy – though perhaps in a world that has has become more developed.We see a world that is currently in an industrial revolution that is powered by magic – there are machines, but they need a skilled man of magic to power them. Tyen is currently studying at the academy, worried that this is the life that awaits him – he would much prefer to be an adventurer, or, failing that, teach history at the academy. It is on an adventure with Professor Kilraker of archaeology that Tyen discovers a seemingly disappointing book. It’s not even jewel-encrusted or gold-embellished, and is even empty when he first opens it… that is until, words start appearing on the page.The words tell him that the book is in fact made from human skin, hair, bones and tendons, and contains the spirit and thoughts of a woman called Vella, who was transformed into a book by one of history’s most powerful and feared sorcerers of their history. As long as the book is touching human skin, Vella is awake and aware, and able to absorb all knowledge from the person. She is already a wealth of knowledge, though sadly lacking the last few hundred years while she was trapped in the tomb Tyen discovered her in.From there, Tyen’s life is turned upside down. He must give all discoveries to the Academy, but thinking of giving up Vella is a hard thing to come to terms with. When the Academy discover her existence, they think her evil for the secrets she could so easily gather, and then pass on without hindrance. Then when she goes missing from the vault she’s kept in, Tyen’s set up to take the fall… and with his future at stake, soon there’s only a few options left open to him…Throughout the novel, it switches between that of two characters – Tyen, as described above, and then also Rielle, a girl situated elsewhere (they never meet in the novel) who, as a female, leads a life of rules and guidance, whether it be from her family or the priests that rule the land. Coming from a family of artisans she’s considered little more than worthless from the rich girls her age she must mingle with, but as her family are wealthy, she is held above the truly dirty, and is pushed from all sides to do the right thing at all times in order to keep her family’s name in good standing. That is, at least, until she meets a very good looking man, who is unfortunately, also an artist.Combine the above with the fact she has a talent for magic, even though to use magic itself is considered to be stealing from the Angels, and we have an unfortunate life for Rielle. It truly doesn’t seem like a good land to be a woman, especially one that can use magic, and see the taint it leaves behind.Overall this is a rollicking start to a new series by Canavan, who writes books that are hard to put down and easy to read in one sitting. One minor quibble I have is for a plot point in Rielle’s life, that seems to happen too suddenly without the build-up required. By the time the effects of the plot point are in motion, I found it hard to believe it was actually happening, as it seemed to have come on too easily as though nothing dramatic was really happening. It seemed like a little more writing was needed in between, that may have been cut to get Rielle from one stage in her life onto the next within a few pages.Other than that, the characters were interesting and very enjoyable, and it’ll be interesting to see how they meet eventually. Really, there were two stories in this book as Rielle and Tyen don’t intersect at all.The next book in the series is slated to be called Angel of Storms to be released in 2015. Then there shall be Successor’s Son in 2016.

I adore Trudi Canavan’s writing. Ever since I opened The Magician’s Guild (a long time ago) I’ve devoured every novel that she has deigned to gift to the world. I love how she creates these amazing worlds, magic systems and characters who come to life within the narrative and make you feel at home. It’s always a comfort coming to a Trudi Canavan novel so to read Millennium's Rule series in lockdown was just what I needed.I read Thief’s Magic back in 2014 when it was first released and I followed up with Angel of Storms in 2015 when that was released too. Successor’s Promise wasn’t released until 2017 - I bought it before going on holiday so I could read it in style but when I found out that it wasn’t a trilogy but a quadrilogy … I decided to wait until I had an idea of when the fourth book would be released before I would read it. Bring on 2020 and the release date of May 20th gave me a push but I needed to re-read the first two books (oh no! ha!).The Millennium’s Rule series is ambitious to say the least! The series is set in a multiverse, there are thousands and thousands of worlds and each world has its own rules, systems, fashions, language etc etc etc yeah I know - mind blown. Thief’s Magic is the first novel of the series and is told from the perspectives of two protagonists - Tyen and Rielle who hail from two very different worlds and who don’t know each other … both can use magic although only one is trained and they are both, obviously destined to have an amazing story to tell.Tyen finds himself in a difficult situation when he discovers a book that used to be a woman - details are in the book (lol) but you can use your imagination. Vella holds thousands of years of history in her ‘memory’ and Tyen is duty bound to hand over his discovery to the School of Magic that he attends. So when he doesn’t do that, he is branded a thief and leaves in search of a way to give Vella her body back.Rielle lives in a world where magic is forbidden so when she discovers at a young age that she can sense it (and therefore use it) she hides her ability from everyone. Her world believes using magic is stealing from the Angels and as magic leaves a void where it was used, hiding it from the priests who serve the Angels is difficult and comes at a cost.The development of the characters and the worldbuilding in Thief’s Magic is phenomenal. While the novel builds a lot of aspects up and acts as an introduction to the series it also tells a powerful tale on it’s own. Every detail has been thought of and just when I think I know what to expect, another curveball comes my way. Out of the two characters I much prefer Tyen, probably because he reminds me of myself. He is a sensitive character who finds himself in difficult situations, struggling to choose a side. His relationship with Vella is complicated, ranging from student, teacher, friend and protector which is interesting to pick apart.Through the narrative you really get a strong feeling of who the characters are and how they will respond in certain situations. Both Tyen and Rielle find themselves facing challenges which push them out of their comfort zones and force them to adapt and grow throughout. I loved seeing them both evolve and by the final chapter I couldn’t wait to see how their story would continue.To any fantasy fans who haven’t given Trudi Canavan a go I would recommend you start!

SPOILER FREEHaving purchased the third book of this series recently, I thought it was about time to read the first one, Thief’s Magic. The second best part about reading this book was that when I first bought it, about 4 years ago, I must have put £25 inside it – no idea why – but it was a nice surprise!The best part, however, was obviously the book itself.To anyone who knows me, It is no secret that Trudi Canavan‘s fantasy is what made me fall in love with the genre.Her books are so accessible, relatable, and have a wonderful way of mirroring some of the issues cultures and societies around the modern world suffer from.Thief’s Magic is no exception to what I have come to expect from Trudi Canavan’s work.Rielle is a wonderful characterShe is so invested in her faith and struggles desperately not to disappoint her family or the Angels she worships – even though it is not her fault.You could see her inner conflict and it was great to be inside her head. I did not see her character change very much in this first book, which is shame, but I am hoping she has more of a development in the second book.Tyen’s character, in comparison, has a decent character arcYes, it is rather subtle and not much is done with it, but again, I am hoping to see more development in the future.The book as a whole feels less like the first book and more like the first few chapters of a story. I burnt through the book because of how easy it is to be lost in Canavan’s writing, but that did not hide that little of significance really happened. It felt like 500-odd pages of an infodump.The worldbuilding is fantastic but the book seems to focus on that, rather than the stories themselves.Overall, I enjoyed the book and I’m not upset that not much happened because it didn’t take long to read. If the book had been longer and more dense I would have struggled to see where it was going.

Disappointed. After reading the Magicians Guild series and loving every page, I saw this and ordered, expecting the same standard. However, I am not 3/4 of the way through the first book and its a case of reading something at night time, rather than grabbing the book at every opportunity as with The Magicians Guild. Very slow, plot boring, actually can hardly beileive its from the same author. Dont think I'll be following up on the rest of the series.

Thief’s Magic is the first book in Trudi Canavan’s series, The Millennium’s Rule. Im a big Canavan fan especially after reading her Black Magician series, which is brilliant by the way! However, I am not entirely sure how I feel about this book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, and the magic system and characters etc are all very interesting and well written, but I just didn’t love this book.The plot is told from two different character perspectives: Tyen and Rielle. Tyan lives in a world where magic has been used to help advance civilization by building and powering machines. He is a student at the Academy, studying archaeology and sorcery. We first meet him on an expedition, where he finds a book hidden in a tomb. The book first appears to be blank, but as words start to appear, the book tells him that it once used to a woman, Vella, who was turned into a book by a powerful sorcerer. Vella can link to the mind of whoever is holding her, communicate and store knowledge from that person, making her a very powerful and useful tool. Tyen is torn between his desire to keep Vella for himself or having to hand her over to the Academy and he soon ends up in a mess, and after being framed for theft, he has no option but to flee the Academy. His world gives off a kind of industrial/steampunk vibe which I really liked.Rielle’s world is very different and is almost the complete opposite of Tyen’s world. Her people believe that magic belongs to the Angels, and to use and practice magic is to steal from them. But Rielle is hiding a dangerous secret, she can see Stain, the after effect of magic use. After a series of bad events, she is faced with huge choices that will change her life and challenge everything she has been taught to believe.Tyen and Rielle’s stories are completely separate throughout this book and the two characters never cross paths, and although themes like theft, magical repression and sexism are woven into both worlds, they are more obvious in Rielle’s storyline. She lives in a very strict culture where women are considered less than men. She is constantly being told to be quiet, to be modest and to find herself a good husband. After refusing to let her self be treated like “carefully preserved stock”, she decides to say screw societies standards and do what she wants, which was a very powerful and brave thing to do. I prefer Rielle’s story much more that Tyen’s, and I feel like there was much more happening in her parts of the book whereas Tyen’s were slightly repetitive.Despite my mixed feelings about this book, l will definitely be picking up the sequel, as I’m really interested to see what the characters do next, and I definitely have more questions that need to be answered.

I have read and enjoyed some of trudi canavans earlier novels but was quickly bored with is to the point of putting it down! The story seems to start off well enough with some promising character development, an interesting story line and lone hero in the making but then it seems to totally drop that particular thread and jump to an apparently separate story about a young girl which to be perfectly honest seems to be extremely dull vague and tediously focused on her journey into an independent adult relationship with her boyfriend from the wrong side of town and how her parents don't understand her in this male dominated world where woman should know their place, a bit preachy and very boring and I now can not find the interest to continue reading. This killed the book for me as this section lost all the momentun in the story