Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic… forever.
Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined – animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.
An Excisioner – a practitioner of dark, flesh magic – invades the cottage and rips Thane’s heart from his chest. To save her teacher’s life, Ceony must face the evil magician and embark on an unbelievable adventure that will take her into the chambers of Thane’s still-beating heart – and reveal the very soul of the man.
From the imaginative mind of debut author Charlie N. Holmberg, The Paper Magician is an extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight listeners of all ages.
Extraordinary Scene Painting and Lush Minutiae If you are a fan of Susanna Clarke’s epic novel of an early 19th Century alternate magic-filled England, JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL, then Charlie N. Holmberg’s work set in alternate magic-filled England, 1902, will fit right in.There is one necessary forewarning, however. For those who well remember Robert Jordan’s rather infamous lovingly detailed scenes, from clothing to tea sets, that became prevalent mid-way through the WHEEL OF TIME series, Holmberg does follow suit with…
OK for tweens, tolerable for adults Several friends on the Amazon book forum like to discuss what we’re reading and recommend books we think others would like. When one mentioned that he reads to his 11 year old daughter every night (what a great family tradition!), I added children’s books to my “watch for” list. So when I saw a kindle first book promoted as “extraordinary adventure both dark and whimsical that will delight readers of all ages”, I was excited to think I might have found something new to recommend. Especially…
A Bewitching Surprise When magician-in-training Ceony Twill is chosen as apprentice to the paper magician, Emery Thane, she is decidedly disgruntled. Not only was Ceony the first in her class at Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, she possesses a photographic memory and more confidence than any nineteen-year-old should. Clearly her talents deserve more than an assignment to the dated and dull art of paper folding magic. Nevertheless, Ceony accepts her fate and resigns herself to an adventureless…