Kim doesn't hesitate when a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into the travelling magician's wagon in search of a silver bowl. Kim isn'...
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Mar 01, 2009
Cassie
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Kim has played the part of a thieving boy for most of her life, hiding her gender being the safer alternative to revealing herself as a girl in the dark underbelly of Regency London. But she knows this career path will soon come to an end, as at seventeen she is quickly outgrowing her disguise. When a job leads her into Mairelon the magician’s wagon, she finds real magic and an opportunity to become someone new.
Following Mairelon as he flees from the city, she quickly finds herself l More...
Following Mairelon as he flees from the city, she quickly finds herself l More...
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May 23, 2009
Amy
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I saw that someone on my Goodreads list had put this book up and I thought, "Hey, I think I have that on my shelf somewhere." Sure enough, it was there. I don't know where I got it, I've had it for years and never read it. It was either something I inherited from my mom's collection of books when she was downsizing or it was a gift from my aunt who is a librarian and has given me many cool books over the years.
Anyway, one night Seth and I were looking for something to read al More...
Anyway, one night Seth and I were looking for something to read al More...
May 21, 2011
Karen
rated it:
Almost 17 (at least as near as she can tell), Kim has spent all of her life on the streets of London, living disguised as a boy and struggling just to survive. An orphan with no other means to support herself, Kim once belonged to a family of thieves but an unfortunate run-in with the law has left her more alone than ever, her taste for 'the cracking lay' utterly destroyed. Now she gets by as best she can, so she doesn't hesitate to take a commission to break into a street magician's wagon just
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Jul 01, 2010
Donna
rated it: 
When Kim is caught snooping in the wagon of a traveling illusionist, she's shocked that her target reacts by offering her a job. Helping Mairelon on stage sounds like the perfect way of getting out of town for a bit, but it soon becomes clear that the man she's joined up with is no ordinary performer.
This one got off to a promising start with Kim's introduction to Mairelon and her encounters on the streets of a fantasy-world London. It's a little coincidence-heavy and I feel like I'v More...
This one got off to a promising start with Kim's introduction to Mairelon and her encounters on the streets of a fantasy-world London. It's a little coincidence-heavy and I feel like I'v More...
Sep 22, 2011
Pikachu
rated it:
Kim is a petty thief in an AU version of Regency London, barely scraping by because she has to take special precautions to make sure nobody knows she's a girl. All of this changes when she gets caught up in the elaborate intrigue surrounding Mairelon the magician, who is searching for a magical, invaluable set of silver called the "Saltash set" that, when put together, is capable of creating a focus that can be used to create a truth/mind-control spell.
The characters are all More...
The characters are all More...
Mar 02, 2011
Corinne
rated it:
Before I finished this book today, I wanted to give it just 2 stars, because it certainly lacks some kind of tension,a detailed descriped world & history of the same and just seems to drag on and on - even though it's a short book. However, then the final climax arrived I really had to laugh a lot, because it's exactly like in a play on stage: all the characters came together and there was swooning of the maid in distress, lovers, spies, thieves, pistols, twists & surprises, a French gentlewoman
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Jul 29, 2010
Hippopottoman
rated it:
Less Regency than I was lead to believe, which was okay, since I didn't know what Regency was before I started reading the book. It's not quite a standard "magician takes in an orphan as apprentice" - Kim's sex and background provide a little bit of a twist there, and an interesting one at that. Ultimately, though, I found myself wanting to be through it. The main part of the story was both boring and confusing - the mystery of the silver bowl wasn't that interesting, and there were wa
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Jun 11, 2010
This was all right. IMO, Renée d'Auber stole the show. (Or at least, she certainly tried.) Hopefully she will get more screen/page time in The Magician's Ward. But in general I think Sorcery and Cecelia and The Grand Tour: were superior.
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Jul 26, 2008
Bandita
rated it:
Alright...more like 3.5-3.8. -shrug- I liked the ending - the last chapter. And it was decidedly entertaining...but...I don't know. I didn't like that Kim still believed that Marielon would't want her around at the end of the book. That bothered me a bit. Among other things that I just...didn't like.
But it was a good book.
But it was a good book.
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Dec 01, 2011
AnEyeSpy
rated it:
"Mairelon the Magician" (1), by Patricia Wrede (already 5* for Dragon series), is a warm witty clever wizard masquerading as a caravan amateur, who plays sculptor Pygmalion to train 17ish boyish pauper Kim. To clear the toff's name, they seek a set of enspelled silver dishes and original London thieves from five years ago. I got a tad annoyed, tangled in names and relationships, shifty and silly shenanigans, lost track who said who did what where. How could interfering Lady Granleigh d
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Sep 03, 2010
L (Sniffly Kitty)
rated it: 
I loved the Dragon series by Wrede, and I was hoping the same kind of wit and charm those books had would be brought to this novel. Unfortunately, this is a somewhat forgettable book (as a few days after reading it I can no longer recall much detail.
The main character Kim dresses as a boy and does various odd jobs to earn money. It was somewhat amusing to follow this character albeit only in a somewhat superficial manner. Mairelon, the other "main" character seemed a bit pe More...
The main character Kim dresses as a boy and does various odd jobs to earn money. It was somewhat amusing to follow this character albeit only in a somewhat superficial manner. Mairelon, the other "main" character seemed a bit pe More...
Jul 24, 2011
Suzanne
rated it:
I wish I had a ton of good things to say about Mairelon the Magician, but I don't. In fact, I did something with this book that I have NEVER done with a book before--I gave up on it in the middle of the climax.
*If you aren't interested in scathing reviews, stop here!*
I had just slogged through a cliched 'gather all the usual suspects into one room' scene that was loooooong, boring, and confusing, with a good dozen characters (many of them called by more than one name) ru More...
*If you aren't interested in scathing reviews, stop here!*
I had just slogged through a cliched 'gather all the usual suspects into one room' scene that was loooooong, boring, and confusing, with a good dozen characters (many of them called by more than one name) ru More...
Oct 23, 2010
♥Xeni♥
rated it: 
I read this book on a lark, hoping to finish all I can by this child-hood favorite author. And then I was happily surprised to see some of my favorite plot elements mixed together: street thieves, London in the olden days (no specific dates given, but before industry), street magicians, real occult magic, a gypsy wagon and then a mystery tossed in for fun.
I do wish that there had been more of Kim's former life as a street thief included here, as well as more illusion magic but the r More...
I do wish that there had been more of Kim's former life as a street thief included here, as well as more illusion magic but the r More...
Nov 29, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
Kim is living a hand to mouth existence in the slums of London, so when a Lord offers to pay her five pounds if she will break into a wizard’s wagon and see if he has a particular silver bowl, she agrees. While looking into a chest, a spell knocks her out and the next thing she knows the wizard and his assistant are questioning her. She comes clean and the wizard ends up taking her along when he leaves London. Little does Kim realize what she will be getting into, a missing magic set, wizards,
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Apr 08, 2011
Keilani
rated it:
This was a very enjoyable book. If you enjoy Regency England (Jane Austen time period but a lot lighter reading) and you enjoy magic, what's better than to put them together. The magic in this book isn't big or showy like Harry Potter type magic books, its more like a naturally occurring ability that can be learned or improved, just as some people can run fast or some people are math geniuses. There's some missing magical objects, a disguised magician, and a fun adventure. A delightful read.
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Oct 22, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
I loved this book, a mix of historical fiction and magic and takes place in London in the 1800's. Kim, a thief disguised as a boy, is caught by Mairelon, a street magician, while she is searching through his wagon. Instead of turning her in, he takes her in as his assistant, and she finds that he is much more than a street magician, and is involved in some dangerous things. As she helps him, she also begins to dicover much more about herself.
I really enjoyed this book, and have al More...
I really enjoyed this book, and have al More...
May 05, 2011
Monica!
rated it:
Mairelon starts out strongly, but sort of fizzles towards the end. I felt a bit like I was losing my mind during the Lengthy Grand Reveal, when every single character in the entire book converged on a tiny hunting lodge and proceeded to try and talk one another to death for fifty pages.
But! It's a nice set-up for the sequel, and I find that if I think of it more as the first part of a single book (as it is in the recently-released A Matter of Magic) I'm much less irritated by the p More...
But! It's a nice set-up for the sequel, and I find that if I think of it more as the first part of a single book (as it is in the recently-released A Matter of Magic) I'm much less irritated by the p More...
May 28, 2011
Ori
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 21, 2011
Dee
rated it:
Grade: B
The story follows a young 15+ orphan who gets by on the streets of pre-mechanical revolution England. I pegged the timeline at around the Regency era. Kim is surviving (just barely) on filching stuff from people, and disguising herself as a ruffian-esque boy. She gets caught in a travelling magician's caravan on a job, and he offers to teach her the trade. This begins the better part of the story, with Kim and Mairelon tracing the trail of a magical platter in order to clear his nam More...
The story follows a young 15+ orphan who gets by on the streets of pre-mechanical revolution England. I pegged the timeline at around the Regency era. Kim is surviving (just barely) on filching stuff from people, and disguising herself as a ruffian-esque boy. She gets caught in a travelling magician's caravan on a job, and he offers to teach her the trade. This begins the better part of the story, with Kim and Mairelon tracing the trail of a magical platter in order to clear his nam More...
May 01, 2010
Nan
rated it:
A young orphan named Kim is hired by a gent to break into a traveling magician's wagon, not to steal anything, but only to confirm that Mairelon the magician has a silver bowl in his possession. Since she's not being asked to steal it, Kim agrees to the task for the price of five pounds. She knows something is wrong from the get-go. This gent should not have known to hire her; she has no idea who recommended her to this man. And five pounds is way to much money . . . Even though the job mak
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Dec 10, 2010
Kate
rated it:
This was an excellent blend of aristocracy, family feuds ans schemes, with a sash of magic thrown in to the mix, making everyone more jumpy. I found it thoroughly enjoying and not boring in the least as the content of the story is bolstered through the rather quick pace of the plot. The sequence of events is well-timed and the ending not at all predictable.
Overall an excellent book to peruse with a cup of tea in one hand and biscuit in the other. I'll definitely look into this author m
Overall an excellent book to peruse with a cup of tea in one hand and biscuit in the other. I'll definitely look into this author m
Aug 10, 2010
Abby
rated it:
This was an interesting book, though not what I expected. There were many scenes which I felt had too many uneeded characters, who added humor to the story, but at times seemed only to confuse the reader.
However, on the whole I liked it and am anticipating the sequel to have fewer flaws. I have read a bunch of Wrede's books and am surprised each time because, though I pretty much like them all, they are all so different you wouldn't realize they were by the same author.
However, on the whole I liked it and am anticipating the sequel to have fewer flaws. I have read a bunch of Wrede's books and am surprised each time because, though I pretty much like them all, they are all so different you wouldn't realize they were by the same author.
Dec 30, 2011
Yvonne
rated it:
Kim is a 17 year old orphan who lives on the streets of Regency London. She gets offered five pounds to steal into a travelling magician's wagon to see if he has a certain silver bowl. But Kim quickly finds out that he isn't a stage magician, Mairelon can do actual magic. She ends up becoming his apprentice and finds out how convoluted life can get.
It's a nice light read with interesting characters and plot. The end is just so funny and well worth the wait.
It's a nice light read with interesting characters and plot. The end is just so funny and well worth the wait.
Feb 28, 2011
Racheal
rated it:
SUCH a delight! I can't wait to read all of her other books, especially The Enchanted Chocolate pot which several people (Hi, Jessica! :) have highly recommended. Wrede is similar to Georgette Heyer (though much less Jane Austen and much more YA in flavor) in that she writes perfectly plotted 18th century intrigue that just feels effortless and generally makes me want to giggle, clap my hands like a silly little girl, and go, "Ooh, goodie, goodie, goodie!"
Sep 16, 2011
Matia
rated it:
After enjoying the Kate and Cecy books, I thought I would read some more Patricia C. Wrede. I am reviewing Mairelon the Magician and Magician's Ward together here. They take place in a magical Regency England like the above. They are even better reading than "The Chocolate Pot" for having a quicker pace and more action, in my opinion, and less of the social and period fluff. A satisfying romantic ending to the second book. Recommended for young people.
Jan 06, 2012
Mikka
rated it:
It was a cornucopia of names I couldn't remember and couldn't care to.
Of course I am interested in the development of Kim and Mairelon, but I couldn't care less about the durned Salthash Set.
And the author - I didn't feel she endeavored to make me care about its importance either.
I finished it.. just because I'm OCD about finishing books I've started. But that really was most of the reason.
I was sadly disappointed...
Of course I am interested in the development of Kim and Mairelon, but I couldn't care less about the durned Salthash Set.
And the author - I didn't feel she endeavored to make me care about its importance either.
I finished it.. just because I'm OCD about finishing books I've started. But that really was most of the reason.
I was sadly disappointed...
Apr 28, 2011
Sbuchler
rated it:
Genre: Fantasy in a Regency setting
If you like regency romances and fantasy novels it’s a not-to-be missed novel! I’ve re-read is numerous times. This is a light-hearted romp of a story – Kim, the heroine, is a street rat (a la Fagin’s gang in Oliver!) who is paid by an upper class “toff” to break into a street magician/performer’s traveling wagon to look for a magic silver bowl. She does, but what she finds is nothing like what she’d expected – who would’ve thought that a real magici More...
If you like regency romances and fantasy novels it’s a not-to-be missed novel! I’ve re-read is numerous times. This is a light-hearted romp of a story – Kim, the heroine, is a street rat (a la Fagin’s gang in Oliver!) who is paid by an upper class “toff” to break into a street magician/performer’s traveling wagon to look for a magic silver bowl. She does, but what she finds is nothing like what she’d expected – who would’ve thought that a real magici More...
Jun 09, 2010
Amy Beth
rated it:
I don't know why as a girl I didn't read other books by Patricia C. Wrede after loving the Dealing with Dragons series. I looked her up lately, and she has written a whole slew of books. This book is just fun. After reading so many books lately with a romance at the center, it was refreshing to read one a little more innocent, where it is more about adventure. Romance is implied as possible in the sequel, however.
Dec 14, 2011
David
rated it:
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. After the good reviews I thought I might go into it expecting a little much, but it delivered.
The protagonist was sympathetic and developed well during the story. The antagonists were quite dislikable, in a likable sort of way for an antagonist. That may sound strange, but I've read way too many books where the bad guys were just bad and that was all. There was some development here, and I appreciated it.
Not exactly what I wa More...
The protagonist was sympathetic and developed well during the story. The antagonists were quite dislikable, in a likable sort of way for an antagonist. That may sound strange, but I've read way too many books where the bad guys were just bad and that was all. There was some development here, and I appreciated it.
Not exactly what I wa More...
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Nov 06, 2010
Julia
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This book is combines a rollicking adventure with magic and the mystery of where is a stolen set of silver located. Kim is a street urchin/thief masquerading as a young boy. She is caught trying to sneak into Maireleon's carriage, and she becomes his apprentice in both stage magic and real magic. Set against the background of regency England, this book is fun and appealing to young and old readers.
