Trudi Canavan

I'd been aware of this fantasy series for a few years and picked this up from the local library. When I flicked through the book in the library the first paragraph captivated me and made me decide to read it:

"It is said, in Imardin, that the wind has a soul, and that it wails through the narrow city streets because it is grieved by what it finds there. On the day of the Purge it whistled amongst the swaying masts in the Marina, rushed through the Western Gates and screamed between the

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buildings. Then, as if appalled by the ragged souls it met there, it quietened to a whimper."

The story focuses on a slum girl called Sonea who accidentally discovers she has magical powers. In Imardin it is forbidden for an untrained magician to be loose in the city so the Magicians' Guild must track her down and either train her as a magician or block her powers so she cannot use them. However, the Magicians' Guild is traditionally made up of members from the ruling classes of Imardin and there are many who do not want to see a slum dweller become part of the Guild.

Trudi Canavan, in her first novel, has managed to create an intriguing fantasy world complete with intrigue, rival guilds and an exciting plot hook at the end of the novel to anticipate the rest of the trilogy. I particularly liked the characters she has created; some fantasy authors seem to write characters so annoying that they set my teeth on edge but the characters in The Magicians' Guild were wonderful. One reviewer wrote that they wanted one character (Rothen) to be real so that they could meet him and I completely agree.

I gave this book four stars and immediately went back to my library to grab the next in the series. show less

Recensione completa qui: http://thereadingpal.blogspot.it/2017/01/recensione-59-la-regina-dei-maghi.html

Esisteva, a Imardin, l'erronea convinzione che le presse da
stampa fossero state inventate dai maghi. Lo spettacolare
frastuono e i movimenti convulsi prodotti dai macchinari avrebbero
potuto facilmente trasmettere a una persona poco esperta
la convinzione che lì stesse avendo luogo un qualche tipo di
alchimia. Invece non c'era nessun bisogno di scomodare la
magia; bastava che qualcuno si show more occupasse di far girare le ruote
e azionare le leve.


Sono arrivata alla conclusione di questa saga, con non poca tristezza. Mi sono affezionata a Sonea, e, anche se meno, a Lorkin. Ho adorato Dannyl e Anyi, mi sono affezionata ad Achati e mi sono ricreduta su Tayend, che in quest'ultimo libro ha recuperato. E' davvero difficile separarsi da loro. In particolare Sonea, Cery e Dannyl, che mi hanno accompagnato per ben sei libri.
In questo ultimo libro ci troviamo su più fronti. Se da una parte Cery si sta ancora nascondendo da Skellin e vuole ancora catturarlo con l'aiuto della Corporazione, dall'altra Lorkin è imprigionato ad Arvice cerca di tenere nascosti i segreti delle Traditrici. Ed in mezzo troviamo Sonea, che cerca di raggiungere il figlio assieme a Regin, sperando di creare un'alleanza tra la Corporazione dei Maghi (e Terre Alleate) e le Traditrici.
Le Traditrici sono più forti, ora, e vogliono sferrare un attacco. Tutto dipenderà da una loro vittoria o da una loro perdita.
Lorkin è combattuto tra lo scegliere sua madre o Tyvara, Sonea combatte i possibili sentimenti per Regin, c'è qualcosa tra Lillia e Anyi... mentre la relazione tra Achati e Dannyl sembra essersi incrinata, a favore di una rinata amicizia con Tayend.
Trudi Canavan ha la capacità di farci affezionare ai suoi personaggi in modo incredibile, tanto più che a me risultava più importante la sicurezza di Dannyl e degli altri, rispetto ad una possibile cattura di Skellin o ad una vittoria delle Traditrici contro il re di Sachaka. Avvenimenti che mi incuriosivano comunque, grazie anche ai libri precedenti. E' un'ottima scrittrice e mi spiace che (a quanto ne sappia io) i suoi altri romanzi non sono stati tradotti in italiano.
Le ultime centinaia di pagine mi hanno lasciato una grande tristezza: alcuni personaggi ci lasciano definitivamente, e le mie speranze di vederli felici vengono infrante. Devo dire però che, a discapito della mia tristezza, sono felice di come questa saga si sia conclusa, e me ne ricorderò come una delle migliori che io abbia letto, non importa quante altre saghe leggerò d'ora in avanti... show less

First of all I must say that although I only rate this novel three and a half stars, I enjoyed this book a lot and I am about to start the second installment of the series today.
"The Magicians' Guild" starts with a very poignant scene that draws you in immediately. After that, the world of Kyralia is established within a few chapters: The rich and poor citizens, the thieves who live in an underground system of tunnels, and the magicians, who are supposedly there for the safety of the city show more but are hated by the poor. Sonea, the protagonist, is one of those poor townspeople and her family has just been evicted from their home. She fiercely hates the magicians, so it is a shock when she discovers that she can perform magic, too - and it is an even bigger shock to the magician's guild because no one of lower rank is expected or desired to be a magician and it would upend the social design of Kyralia if it became known that there are common people who are capable of working magic... Thus, Sonea has to flee.
What I liked about this book is the style that is flowing and easy to read. It is also a book with many shades of grey and not a strict good/bad characterization, which I always appreciate. Sonea is a great character and the world building is plausible and thorough, including the sociological aspects that really stand out.
Unfortunately, though, I found the first two thirds of the novel dragging a lot sometimes. I just wanted the story to proceed and Sonea's situation to change. There were also too many characters in the beginning, and it was a bit confusing. I would have wished for a more distinctive description of characteristics in the beginning.
However, I loved the last third of the novel and there are all the positive points I mentioned before, so I will definitely continue the series. In addition, this book ends with a really exciting revelation, so I cannot wait to see what happens next and to learn how Sonea develops and, hopefully, grows more confident. show less

I was very excited when I first heard about Trudi Canavan’s Thief’s Magic, and doubly more so when I discovered it was going to be an introduction to a brand new universe we’ve never seen before. I’m not completely unfamiliar with the author’s work, having read The Magician’s Guild, book one of her Black Magician trilogy, but knowing that she has two series and a couple more novellas based in that world of Kyralia which I haven’t even yet come close to finishing, I was glad to show more have a fresh start in Millennium’s Rule.

Magic and magic users seem to feature strongly in Canavan’s books, and that’s no exception here. At the beginning of this novel we meet Tyen, a young archaeology student (though calling what he and his professor and fellow students do “Archaelogy” might be a bit of stretch…they’re more like tomb robbers) who discovers a sentient book while excavating an ancient tomb. The book can read the minds of anyone who makes physical contact, communicating through text appearing on the pages. Calling herself Vella, the book claims to have once been a sorcerer-woman, until she was transformed into her current form by one of the greatest sorcerers of history. She has been gathering and storing information through the ages ever since. Sensing bad things to come if Vella were to ever fall into the wrong hands, Tyen decides to keep her to himself for now, but as we all know, a secret this big is always bound to come out sooner or later.

Meanwhile in another world, a dyer’s daughter named Rielle harbors a secret of her own. From a young age, she has had the ability to sense magic – and hence the potential to use it. However, Rielle’s society could not be any more different from Tyen’s, where magic is used freely (and some might say TOO freely) to power their fantastical machines. Instead, the priests of Rielle’s world teach that to use magic is the equivalent to stealing from the Angels themselves. Anyone caught committing this crime is published severely then cast out from the city to live out the rest of their lives in a prison. Rielle is therefore all too happy to just keep her head down, hoping to also to do what her family wants of her and find a prospective husband. But then she meets and falls in love with a local artist named Izare, which is patently NOT what her parents had in mind. Oh, hello, Forbidden Love.

What do these two plot lines have to do with each other? Very little, actually. Reading Thief’s Magic felt essentially like reading two-books-in-one. The novel’s structure can be a little jarring if you’re not expecting it. We first start with Part I which follows Tyen’s story, and several chapters after that Part II begins with Rielle’s. The novel continues like this, alternating back and forth between their narratives. Actually getting the hang of this perspective-jumping isn’t all that difficult, but Canavan likes to tease, and she seems to have this knack for choosing the most suspenseful moments to make the switch between characters. Often, I would find myself pulled away into Rielle’s story just as I was getting completely drawn into Tyen’s, or vice versa. This format was both simultaneously addicting and frustrating, though I have to admit I kind of liked it.

When it comes down to it, I’m just completely hooked by these two characters and their respective worlds. Both Tyen and Rielle are written very well, even though occasionally their naiveté would grate on my nerves. However, their decisions – misguided as they are sometimes – always led to interesting things happening. I’m fascinated by the differences in their cultures and how each of them view magic. I love that their own personal conflicts take them on completely disparate adventures, so that the individual challenges they face differ profoundly as well. I’m especially intrigued by Rielle and her struggles in a society where unauthorized use of magic is treated as the greatest sin, where women like her have very little choice and practically no future when they are discovered to possess magical abilities.

I don’t know if Tyen and Rielle’s paths will ever cross, though something tells me that they will – but that particularly story is not for this book to tell. At this point, I feel I’ve been given enough information to formulate a tenuous theory on how the two characters’ worlds are linked, but for the most part we don’t get too many answers on that front. I really enjoyed following both story lines, but if you’re the kind of reader who prefers self-contained story arcs or at least some closure at the end of a novel, you won’t really find it here. It’s a factor to think about, though I already know I will be picking up the next book in spite of it. Thief’s Magic may have all the hallmarks of a “Book One”, but Canavan has crafted a very fine beginning (technically, TWO very fine beginnings) and I want to find out what happens to both Tyen and Rielle. show less