Thief's Magic - Trudi Canavan

In a world where an industrial revolution is powered by magic, Tyen, a student of archaeology, discovers a sentient book in an ancient tomb. Vella was once a young sorcerer-maker, until she was transformed into a useful tool by one of the greatest sorcerers of history. Since then she has been gathering information, including a vital clue to the disaster Tyen’s world faces.

Elsewhere, in a land ruled by the priests since a terrible war depleted all but a little magic, Rielle the dyer’s daughter has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels. Yet she knows from her ability to sense the stain it leaves behind that she has a talent for it, and that there are people willing to teach her how to use it, should she ever need to risks the Angels’ wrath.

Further away, a people called the Travelers live their entire lives on the move, trading goods from one world to another. They know that each world has its own store of magic, reducing or increasing a sorcerer’s abilities, so that if one entered a weak world they may be unable to leave it again. Each family maintains a safe trading route passed down through countless generations and modified whenever local strife makes visiting dangerous. But this is not the only knowledge the Travelers store within their stories and songs, collected over millennia spent roaming the universe. They know a great change is due, and that change brings both loss and opportunity. 

My thoughts:

It was different, but then fantasy mixed with industrialism always is. Flying cars + magic, makes it different. 

The book has 2 POVS, 2 worlds. First there is Tyen, a student of magic and sometimes archaeologist (well grave robber). Here they use magic for a lot as technology has made it into the world, but it does not work by its own means, but by magic. Tyen was somewhat grey at times, he was a follower, but he finds his way. And grows a bit of backbone.

The other world was actually more interesting. Here priests rule and if you use magic you are brought somewhere else and probably killed. In This world we have Rielle, whose family is trying to better their status. I must confess that she was grey at times too. She was a follower, but like Tyen she finds her own way too. With quite a bang, for her at least.

That world grew even more interesting at the end when I learned some hidden truths. While Tyen's world was a bit too modern, not in a bad way, but they were all yes magic, but haha, oh silly magic, we use you. They did not think of their actions.

I guess these two will eventually meet, as there are more than one dimension or whatever and it's possible to travel between. If you have lots of magic that is, and knows how too. Other than that I do not really know what will happen.

Conclusion:

At the end, well it was good, still it also felt like it lacked something, but it was good enough and I'd read more.

Cover

Meh

Hardcover, 553 pages
Published May 13th 2014 by Orbit
Millennium’s Rule #1
Fantasy
Library