Sarah Prineas

It’s not TOO long before the fourth Magic Thief book comes out, and I figured it’d be a good idea to give a summary of each one, so you’re ready to read it on September 16th!

If I forget anything, put it in the comments, okay?

In The Magic Thief, Conn is a gutterboy, who stupidly intrepidly picks the pocket of a wizard named Nevery and becomes the wizard’s servant apprentice. Conn simultaneously has to stay hidden from the Underlord, Crowe, find his own locus magicalicus stone so he can become a wizard, eat lots of biscuits, and figure out what is happening to the magic of the city of Wellmet. He finds his stone, a beautiful jewel, but loses it when he uses it to blow up the wickedly cool completely evil Device that Crowe has been using to steal the magic of the city.

Character note: Nevery is a grumpy, gray-bearded old wizard who does not want an apprentice.

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In The Magic Thief: Lost, Conn is a wizard without a locus stone, so he has this really stupid genius plan to communicate with the magic using pyrotechnics–blowing stuff up. At the same time, there are ominous signs in Wellmet that some sort of evil magic is approaching the city, originating from the desert city of Desh. Conn’s best friend, Rowan, is sent as an envoy to Desh. By mistake, Conn blows up the home that he shares with Nevery and Benet, and for using pyrotechnics (which are illegal, duh), he is exiled from the city–sent away, never to return! While in Desh, Conn and Rowan discover that the Sorcerer-King has been preparing to invade Wellmet with a predator magic called Arhionvar. The city of Wellmet is in terrible danger! Conn rushes back to the city and is immediately arrested for returning from exile.

Character note: Benet is Nevery’s servant, a tough guy bodyguard who knits and bakes delicious biscuits. In the explosion that destroys Heartsease, Benet is seriously injured.

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In The Magic Thief: Found, Conn has escaped from prison, and he and Nevery are working on a plan to fight the predator magic. Conn still needs a locus stone to be a true wizard, and to fight Arhionvar, so he does a finding spell that leads him out of Wellmet, to a far-away mountain, where he encounters a huge dragon. He also encounters a tiny adorable fierce dragon called Pip, who immediately eats Conn’s newly discovered locus stone. Returning to Wellmet, ready to fight, Conn is arrested (again!) and almost hanged as punishment, but then the predator magic Arhionvar arrives and the city is thrown into chaos. Conn figures out that the magics of the cities where people live were once dragons. He is faced with a choice: he can banish the Arhionvar magic/dragon and save Wellmet–but he knows that Arhionvar is only a predator because it is alone and wants its own city. In the end, Conn figures out a way to let the old Wellmet magic share the city with Arhionvar, though he almost loses himself in the process. And so the city is saved, and Conn is pretty much the most powerful wizard ever.

(artwork/collage by Antonio Javier Caparo)

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And then there’s The Magic Thief: Home, which is a stand-alone story. Conn’s greatest enemy has returned to Wellmet! Conn and Pip have to figure out his nefarious plan while trying not to be the ducal magister, the most powerful wizard in the city. It’s about friendship tested, power and responsibility, and the true meaning of biscuits home.