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 adventure, I didn't feel particularly sad or horrified, or anything. Now, this might be a function of my age. I'm a fair bit older than the intended audience. However, I did feel like the characters themselves were kind of bursting at the seams, metaphorically speaking. I kept expecting them to do something unexpected which would astound me and show their growth. But they never quite did.

It was still nice to catch up the the characters, who I continue to enjoy. And there are certainly a lot of twists and turns. I think part of the problem is with me, because I kept comparing them and the story with a certain other Thief who I know and love. But Gen's story isn't Conn's, and Gen's audience isn't Conn's either. So, while the comparison is natural (for reasons I can't divulge because they're spoilers), I don't think it's a fair one.

Book source: public library
Book information: Harper Collins, 2009