Thief's Magic: Book 1 of Millennium's Rule
by Trudi Canavan
In a world where an industrial revolution is powered by magic, Tyen,
a student of archaeology, unearths a sentient book called Vella. Once a
young sorcerer-bookbinder, Vella was transformed into a useful tool by
one of the greatest sorcerers of history. Since then she has been
collecting information, including a vital clue to the disaster Tyen's
world faces.
Elsewhere, in a land ruled by the priests,
Rielle the dyer's daughter has been taught that to use magic is to steal
from the Angels. Yet she knows she has a talent for it, and that there
is a corrupter in the city willing to teach her how to use it - should
she dare to risk the Angels' wrath.
But not everything is as Tyen and Rielle have been raised to believe. Not the nature of magic, nor the laws of their lands.
Not even the people they trust.
I am a massive fan of Trudi Canavan's work, and couldn't wait to get stuck into her new series. The book is set in a whole new fantasy world with magic and magic users throughout. However, when I realised this book was split into parts, I wasn't sure I was going to like it as much as some of the other's Trudi Canavan has written. I'd loved the intro to Tyen and his story, and was disappointed to be moving on to someone else. But it only took a few pages for me to fall in love Rielle and her story. I even felt disappointed to be leaving her and returning to Tyen when the point arose, but once more I was hooked and that cycle of emotions kept repeating all the way to the end.
The stories of Tyen and Rielle are completely different from each other, but I love how their cultures and stories contrast. Neither faces the same decisions nor problems. Tyen is an academic in a land where magic is freely available and used by those who know how. Trying to prove he can become something more than just a machine operator, he discovers a magical book in a tomb and makes the decision to keep it to himself with the aim of proving it's worth to the academy and educating it in the process. When his plan backfires he is forced to run, his chances of ever graduating or working at the university gone.
Whereas Rielle is in a land where only the Priests who are chosen by the Angels can use magic. Anyone else caught is branded a Tainted and outcast from the city. Knowing she has the ability to sense magic and could, if she chose to, learn to use magic Rielle has kept her power secret from everyone. We experience her first love and the torment she puts herself through as she is torn between love and family. But it is not long until the young girl is tricked into a situation she can't get out of without using magic and displeasing the Angels. Faced with an even more difficult decision as to who to keep happy, Rielle takes an option but it soon turns out for the worst.
As both set off on their adventures, it is possible to imagine a way in which the two characters could meet but I suspect there is a lot more twists and turns to come before we ever get to that point, if we ever do. If you prefer reading books that only follow one story throughout, then maybe this isn't for you, but if you're open to different stories with a subtle link throughout, I'm sure you'll love this.
I personally cannot wait for the next book to see how the two stories pan out. This is an excellent beginning to what I'm sure is going to be another excellent trilogy by a wonderful author.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sarah x
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