Never mix fire with magic
Conn may only be a wizard's apprentice, but even he knows it's dangerous to play with fire . . . especially arou... read full description
reviews
Dec 27, 2008
R.j.
rated it: 
I loved this book LIKE PIE. Which is pretty much how I felt about the first book in the series as well, but it was just so delicious to read more about Conn and Nevery and Rowan and others I'd come to love from Book 1 -- plus some new characters (or newly developed ones, like Argent) who are interesting in their own right.
The pace of the story clips along as briskly as ever (and there's plenty going on), but never too fast that there's no time to develop the characters. Conn goes th More...
The pace of the story clips along as briskly as ever (and there's plenty going on), but never too fast that there's no time to develop the characters. Conn goes th More...
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Jan 07, 2011
Tiffany
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 09, 2010
Truly
rated it:
Damrodel........................
Odesseldesh...................
Ellarhion........................
Varliarden......................
Liesh............................
Conn menangkap penggalan kata diantara asap ledakan.
Sihir telah berbicara!
Makin lama cerita dalam buku ini kian menarik. Bayangkan saja, seorang penyihir tanpa memiliki media apapun untuk melakukan sihir Tiada tongkat, apalagi locus magicalicus. Namun begitulah nasib Conn. Sedang locus More...
Odesseldesh...................
Ellarhion........................
Varliarden......................
Liesh............................
Conn menangkap penggalan kata diantara asap ledakan.
Sihir telah berbicara!
Makin lama cerita dalam buku ini kian menarik. Bayangkan saja, seorang penyihir tanpa memiliki media apapun untuk melakukan sihir Tiada tongkat, apalagi locus magicalicus. Namun begitulah nasib Conn. Sedang locus More...
Sep 16, 2010
Maureen
rated it: 
by Sarah Prineas
Opening line--"A wizard is a lot like a pyrotechnist."
After the events of The Magic Thief, Conn continues to search for his locus magicalus, while Nevery does battle with the academicos. But Wellmet itself is threatened by the mysterious Shadows, and Conn faces some hard choices.
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this one. I never felt a real connection to any of the events that were occurring. Despite all of the More...
Opening line--"A wizard is a lot like a pyrotechnist."
After the events of The Magic Thief, Conn continues to search for his locus magicalus, while Nevery does battle with the academicos. But Wellmet itself is threatened by the mysterious Shadows, and Conn faces some hard choices.
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this one. I never felt a real connection to any of the events that were occurring. Despite all of the More...
Jul 14, 2010
Ellen
rated it:
In which we find, Conn, bereft of his locus magicalicus, trying to talk to Wellmet's magic by blowing things up.
I think I called Conn the Steve Jobs of magicians in my review of book 1. Maybe I should have gone for Thomas Edison, who I believe also blew things up. Edison lost the hearing in one of his ears and Conn blows up his master's house and gives Bennett, Nevery's bodyguard, a skull fracture.
We've probably all known people like Conn; people who are so convinced tha More...
I think I called Conn the Steve Jobs of magicians in my review of book 1. Maybe I should have gone for Thomas Edison, who I believe also blew things up. Edison lost the hearing in one of his ears and Conn blows up his master's house and gives Bennett, Nevery's bodyguard, a skull fracture.
We've probably all known people like Conn; people who are so convinced tha More...
Sep 20, 2009
Debbie
rated it:
The magic had been returned to Wellmet, but the wizard Nevery Flinglas discovered that it was still low. While Connawaer (gutter boy turned wizard‘s apprentice) spent his time searching for a new locus magicalicus (wizards magical stone), both the Sunrise and the Twilight side of Wellmet were being terrorized by the dark cloaked ‘Shadowmen’ who were turning anybody found out in the dark to stone. During Conn’s attempts to speak to the magic, he was led to believe that he should travel to Desh to
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Aug 22, 2009
Phillip
rated it:
Having picked this book up on the spur of the moment, (with four other new juvenile fantasies at the 'Just Out' shelf at the library) I was a little surprised upon arriving at home to learn that this is Book 2 of a series. On the whole, though, the book stands up rather well on it's own as an isolated read. References to events from book one were crafted well enough to make me feel like I knew something of how this cast of characters came together.
The only tihng tht seemed to suffe More...
The only tihng tht seemed to suffe More...
Aug 09, 2009
Jennifer
rated it: 
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com
Ever since wizard apprentice and former thief Conn destroyed his locus magicalicus saving the city of Wellmet's magic, he's been banned from lessons and shunned by all the wizards except his master, Nevery.
No one believes his theory that the magic is a living being. As shadowy beings stalk Wellmet and attack its residents, Conn becomes desperate to communicate with the magic again. But his experiments with pyrotechnics cause a dis More...
Ever since wizard apprentice and former thief Conn destroyed his locus magicalicus saving the city of Wellmet's magic, he's been banned from lessons and shunned by all the wizards except his master, Nevery.
No one believes his theory that the magic is a living being. As shadowy beings stalk Wellmet and attack its residents, Conn becomes desperate to communicate with the magic again. But his experiments with pyrotechnics cause a dis More...
Jun 07, 2009
Eva
rated it:
I loved the fresh voice and intriguing premise of The Magic Thief, so I eagerly dove into book 2.
Conn has discovered that explosions allow the magic of his city Wellmet to talk to him, and since his locus magicalicus stone was destroyed at the end of book 1, this is very important to him. Unfortunately, Conn accidentally blows up his master Nevery’s house, at which point he is exiled from the city. This is horrifying to Conn but just as well, as Conn is quite certain that the mag More...
Conn has discovered that explosions allow the magic of his city Wellmet to talk to him, and since his locus magicalicus stone was destroyed at the end of book 1, this is very important to him. Unfortunately, Conn accidentally blows up his master Nevery’s house, at which point he is exiled from the city. This is horrifying to Conn but just as well, as Conn is quite certain that the mag More...
May 13, 2009
Kleiner
rated it:
Conn is a wizard's apprentice in a world where cities run on living magic. His city's magic calls on him to stop the evil magic of a far away city. This is the second book in the Magic Thief trilogy. While Lost is not a stand-alone novel, Prineas includes sufficient references to the events in the first book to keep the reader from being lost.
Prineas creatively uses various elements to add layers to the simple story. Rather than merely making up words, Prineas plays with real-word ro More...
Prineas creatively uses various elements to add layers to the simple story. Rather than merely making up words, Prineas plays with real-word ro More...
Sep 01, 2011
Clarabel
rated it:
Pas facile, au début, de se replacer dans le contexte (ma lecture du tome 1 remonte à deux ans déjà !), mais heureusement nous avons affaire à un univers facile et simple d'accès, dans lequel on retrouve vite ses marques et où on s'y sent parfaitement à l'aise. Très vite je me suis également rappelée pourquoi j'avais aimé cette série, non seulement parce que cela me console d'avoir perdu un certain Harry, mais aussi parce que l'intrigue est palpitante, le milieu de la magie apparaît sombre et my
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Jul 08, 2009
Beverly
rated it:
Fans of magical fantasy will enjoy Sarah Prineas’ The Magic Thief Series. In the first book we meet Conn (short for Connwaer), an orphaned street thief, who should have died when he stole his future master’s locus magicalus (a stone that wizards use to do spells.) In the first book Conn must rescue the city of Wellmet’s magic, which he does. However, all is not well and the magic is still in danger in book two: Lost. In book two we learn a little more about the magic itself. It is actually
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Aug 03, 2010
John
rated it:
Ages 10 and up.
The second in the series, Conn the Magic Thief, continues his education and his attempts to solve the mystery of what's happening to the magic in the city. Unfortunately, the magic stone that allowed him to manipulate magic was destroyed in the first book and he now can only cast spells by harnessing explosions. This does not make him popular with anyone.
The setting for the book changes somewhat as he visits another city on a diplomatic mission of sorts, altho More...
The second in the series, Conn the Magic Thief, continues his education and his attempts to solve the mystery of what's happening to the magic in the city. Unfortunately, the magic stone that allowed him to manipulate magic was destroyed in the first book and he now can only cast spells by harnessing explosions. This does not make him popular with anyone.
The setting for the book changes somewhat as he visits another city on a diplomatic mission of sorts, altho More...
Oct 14, 2011
Blake
rated it:
The middle book in a trilogy is already at a disadvantage. The newness of the characters and the world has begun to wear off and you know that the big dramatic ending that you're hoping for is being reserved for the final book. The first book in this series had a rather dramatic ending and if the author hadn't decided to write any further books, it had a very satisfactory conclusion. I enjoyed it so much I was glad the author had written more books and I quickly got a hold of this one and sta
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Mar 06, 2011
M.
rated it:
Book 2 in the Magic Thief series. Conn's hometown of Wellmet continues to be attacked by strange forces, this time shadow figures who turn their prey into stone. Nevery, Conn's wizard master, can't get Conn reinstated as a formal apprentice and Conn has to figure out other ways to contact the magic in Wellmet. Lots of adventures, many shared with Ro, the daughter of the Duchess of Wellmet, a few new characters, and a cliff-hanger ending. I'm definitely wondering where Book 3 will pick up.
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Aug 23, 2009
Julie
rated it:
I liked this second book in the series better than the first: whereas the first seemed filled with exposition, this time Prineas is able to slip in information from the first book while moving forward quickly. The relationship between the characters is growing, too.
Conn has moved up in the world: no longer a gutterboy, he is the unofficial apprentice of the wizard Nevery. Unofficial because his locus magicalicus, his magic-focusing stone, was destroyed when he stopped an evil wiz More...
Conn has moved up in the world: no longer a gutterboy, he is the unofficial apprentice of the wizard Nevery. Unofficial because his locus magicalicus, his magic-focusing stone, was destroyed when he stopped an evil wiz More...
Mar 28, 2010
Charlyn
rated it:
In this, the second book in the Magic Thief series, while the city of Wellmet's magic is still a a low level, the town is assailed by Shadows who turn people to stone. Conn tries to search for answers until he causes an explosion that destroys Nevery's home and severely injures Benet. This causes Conn to be exiled from the town of Wellmet. Out on his own, he joins Rowan and company who have been sent to neighboring magical city Desh to ascertain if it is the source of the plague of Shadows.
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Jul 05, 2009
Sandy
rated it:
This was a quality sequel that built very well off of relationships and themes that had been in the first book (The Magic Thief: Stolen). I have somewhat mixed feelings about Conn's taciturn nature - he just doesn't like to talk about his feelings and opinions with others which is sometimes frustrating to the reader, but given some of the circumstances who can really blame him? This quibble aside, this was a very enjoyable book for those who enjoyed the first book in this series, and the endin
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Oct 24, 2009
Phoebe
rated it:
Picking up where Stolen left off, this installment finds Conn trying to communicate with the magic again using pyrotechnics instead of a locus stone, since his was destroyed. The magic is troubled, and there are deadly Shadows turning people to stone all over the city. Conn thinks he can figure out what's happening. But as usual Conn gets himself into trouble, and ends up being exiled from the city for inadvertently blowing up Nevery's house. Prineas leaves the ending wide open for the next bo
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Sep 24, 2009
Sandy
rated it:
I think Prineas should have changed the name a bit more for the title, but I liked this a lot - perhaps even more than the first book in the trilogy. Conn (the magic thief/wizard apprentice) grows a bit, gets in trouble, and travels to an exotic city. It's simpler than the Harry Potter stories, but has a lot of the same appeal for kids, I think, and would be suitable for kids that are younger than 10. I like the letters (and secret runic messages) in both this and the previous book. I would have
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Jul 05, 2009
Ryan
rated it:
Very consistent with the first - and I liked it as well. There is a potterish component - young boy against the world, befriended by wise older person, discovers talents and gifts, saves world/city/universe/friends. But beyond that theme, it isn't a copy of Harry Potter.
I like that the magic is part of the world, but the book isn't all about the cool magic gadgets. In fact, there is a rather big controversy about what exactly the magic is and the young hero, Conn, is at the center. More...
I like that the magic is part of the world, but the book isn't all about the cool magic gadgets. In fact, there is a rather big controversy about what exactly the magic is and the young hero, Conn, is at the center. More...
Feb 12, 2010
Steph
rated it:
This is a book my 10 year old was reading, so I read a little as well and just got it again so I could read it to (it's the second in a series, so read the first one first). It's a good story with magic and a young boys' journey from being a pick pocket to being an apprentice to a wizard, but he's also always getting into trouble. I like it because even though you wish the magic would make everything better, you learn, with him, to deal with the mistakes and consequences of choices. There's n
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Jun 03, 2010
Jean
rated it:
I finally had time to read #2 in the Magic Thief series and now I'm frustrated! I HAVE to find time to read #3 soon. I really want to know what happens to Conn and Rowan and Nevery. And find out if Conn is finally accepted for his knowledge of magic.
In #2 Conn tries to communicate with the magic through pyrotechnics with disastrous results. He travels to another city with Rowan as part of a diplomatic entourage and there he is challenged to confront the dark magic and the dark wizard More...
In #2 Conn tries to communicate with the magic through pyrotechnics with disastrous results. He travels to another city with Rowan as part of a diplomatic entourage and there he is challenged to confront the dark magic and the dark wizard More...
Jun 05, 2010
Miss Clark
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jun 21, 2009
A highly enjoyable continuation of the events of the first book, expanding the cast of characters, the scope of the world, and the complexity of the plot.
Some of my favorite bits:
Conn and his understated personality. He keeps so much inside, but there's just enough insight that I felt for him greatly, particularly at a certain point midway through when some very bad things happen, and at the end. There was one paragraph at the end that just got me in the heart, because More...
Some of my favorite bits:
Conn and his understated personality. He keeps so much inside, but there's just enough insight that I felt for him greatly, particularly at a certain point midway through when some very bad things happen, and at the end. There was one paragraph at the end that just got me in the heart, because More...
Oct 25, 2010
Philip
rated it:
These books, as you'll note from my reviews, are sort of losing steam. It's the characters she's created that make them intriguing reads, as the stories themselves tend to get a bit convoluted. My son still doesn't really know what happened in Book 3, and I'm not sure I can help him.
But my son and I once sent. Ms. Prineas a note, and she sent a very nice note back. Anytime an author responds to a fan, I'm gonna say go buy all their books - so go buy all these books.
But my son and I once sent. Ms. Prineas a note, and she sent a very nice note back. Anytime an author responds to a fan, I'm gonna say go buy all their books - so go buy all these books.
Oct 26, 2011
Nicholas
rated it:
Even Conn knows that it’s dangerous to play with explosives, and when it gets him kicked out of town he must travel to the city of Desh to save Wellmet’s magic from the mysterious shadows lurking in Wellmet with or without his locus stone. What happens next? Read this book to find out.
I really liked how the author explained references to the first book, making it possible to enjoy Lost without reading the first book in the series. I would recommend this book to any one who likes boo More...
I really liked how the author explained references to the first book, making it possible to enjoy Lost without reading the first book in the series. I would recommend this book to any one who likes boo More...
Jul 28, 2011
Todistettavasti kirjan voi lukea ilman, että muistaa ykkösosasta juuri mitään. Hyvä, sillä aina ykkösosa ei ole vinkkauksissa paikalla.
Pidin kirjasta kovasti, sen helppolukuisuudesta, väljyydestä, sopivista luvuista ja toiminnasta. Ja siitä, että on pakko lukea loppuun saakka, jota selviää, mitä selviää. Siis kunnon vinkkauskamaa, mutta ei sovi fantasia-inhokeille. No, onko niitä enää, kun minäkin luen fantasiaa.
Ty
Pidin kirjasta kovasti, sen helppolukuisuudesta, väljyydestä, sopivista luvuista ja toiminnasta. Ja siitä, että on pakko lukea loppuun saakka, jota selviää, mitä selviää. Siis kunnon vinkkauskamaa, mutta ei sovi fantasia-inhokeille. No, onko niitä enää, kun minäkin luen fantasiaa.
Ty
Aug 25, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
This series wavers between a three and a four stars for me (I always have a hard time when I wait too long to write the review. Sometimes things fade into memory). I was pleasantly surprised with the engaging plot and characters. The books were fun and quick to read. The story arc is well conceived and the end installment is a satisfying conclusion to the ideas introduced in Books 1 and 2.
Library note: Fans of the Septimus Heap series will like this
Library note: Fans of the Septimus Heap series will like this
Jan 31, 2009
Katie
rated it:
Connwaer is back in trouble, and I have to say that I'm not too sorry about it! When the city of Wellmet experiences some very sinister visitors, Conn does his best to get to the bottom of it and protect his city, but being a magician without a Locus Magicalicus makes his investigations that much trickier. The second installment in the series has the same humor and great characters that made book one so awesome. My only complaint? I wanted some more hints about Connwaer's past. Guess I'll h
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