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The Magic Thief  By  cover art

The Magic Thief

By: Sarah Prineas
Narrated by: Greg Steinbruner
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Publisher's summary

In a city that runs on a dwindling supply of magic, a young boy is drawn into a life of wizardry and adventure. Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery's pocket and touched the wizard's locus magicalicus, a stone used to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Nevery finds that interesting, and he takes Conn as his apprentice on the provision that the boy find a locus stone of his own. But Conn has little time to search for his stone between wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who - or what - is stealing the city of Wellmet's magic.

Listen to the sequel, The Magic Thief: Lost.
©2008 Sarah Prineas (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about The Magic Thief

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Spectacular middle grade fantasy!

I absolutely adored this middle grade fantasy by Prineas. I also loved Prineas's Winterling series which is why I originally picked this book up. This book was even better than the Winterling books, it was so magical and just so much fun to read.

I listened to The Magic Thief on Audiobook and it was very very well done. The narrator sounded exactly like I imagined Conn would sound. The narrator did all the other character voices really well too. I would highly recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks. I really think the absolutely wonderful narration was part of the reason I loved this book so much.

Conn is a master lockpick and thief whose main concerns are dodging the ruler of Twilight, Crow, and just trying to survive day to day. That is until he picks the wrong pocket, the pocket of an old wizard named Nevery. Conn accidentally stole Nevery’s magicalicus (a magic stone that should kill anyone who touches it outside of the wizard it belongs to). However the magicalicus didn’t kill Conn and Nevery decides to investigate this further and take Conn on as his apprentice. Nevery is in Wellmet to figure out why the amount of magic in the town is declining.

The story starts at a fast pace and never slows down. It's very entertaining, well written and well paced.

A big part of what makes this novel wonderful is the plucky protagonist Conn who is just such an optimist. Even when faced with hard situations he just picks himself up and soldiers through. I loved his candid way of thinking and talking and the way he just assumes that most people are good people (despite his background).

I also loved the magic throughout and the mystery behind why magic was leaving the city. There are also a lot of interesting steampunk devices throughout and there is a lot of magic combined with science kind of explanations that I enjoyed.

This was just a super fun read that just made me feel at happy while I was reading it. Nothing super horrible happens, but there's a good mystery, lots of fun, and lots of quirky characters (who at first seem gruff) but end up really caring about each other.

Overall I just loved this book to pieces and will definitely be reading the next in the series! I highly recommend this novel to fantasy readers of all ages. It is one I will definitely be reading with my seven year old son. The story isn’t super complicated but the magic system and mystery are interesting enough that I think that the story would hold the interest of adult readers as well.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars

the reader pauses way to long

he turns what probably is a good book into what sounds like sentence fragments. couldn't listen to more than 5 minutes

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6 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Awful

Any additional comments?

Both the writing and the performance are lacking in this book. After three hours my kids didn't want to hear anymore. If there is a story in there, its well hidden. The performance sounds like a librivox recording, well meaning but uninteresting.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic Book for Children Who Like Magical Stuff

Would you listen to The Magic Thief again? Why?

Yes! It was very nice - we liked the flow of the story

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Magic Thief?

I liked when he tried to steal his locus malicalicus.

Which character – as performed by Greg Steinbruner – was your favorite?

Rowan, the girl and also the main character.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! But mom made us do a bit every night

Any additional comments?

It's a great story for children from 6 - 10 (we're 8 years old)

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Huh, what the heck is going on.

I tried, I really did. I listen to this as long as I could. A little over an hour. It just didn't grab me. Oh heck, it was mindless drivel. I saw no point to this story, I saw no story at all.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

a fun story for kids

The narrator's dialect didn't fit the young main character's background in my opinion but it was still an entertaining story for a younger audience. Good for grade 3 or 4 students I think.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fun

This is a fun story of magic and mystery. Talls of magic thievery and hero's. A fun change of pace from my usual listening.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fun story

Was a fun story and kept my attention. Am going to read the next book to see how f story continues.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I love this series

My mom had me listen to the audio while I read along with the book. At first it was slow and I had a hard time staying focused, Mom forced me to continue reading every day and I'm glad she did. By the time I got to about the middle of the book, it really got good and I was excited to read. I've never read a full series before, but now I'm will be starting book 3 tomorrow. I'm so excited. This is my favorite series so far.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating for Young and Older

Narration was terrific, kept us captivated. Story was engaging for both myself and my 12 year old son. It was a pleasure to enjoy together as a family.

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