The Paper Magician

The Paper Magician by is a delightful story.  Ceony Twill has gone to the Tagis Praff School to learn magic.  In this world people only do magic with man-made products (plastic, metal, glass, mirrors, and paper).  Ceony graduates at the top of her class and looks forward to picking the field she wishes to specialize in.  However, she is thrown a twist.  Since there are so few folders (paper magicians) left, Ceony has been assigned to become a folder. She will apprentice with Folder Magician Emery Thane.   Ceony is very disappointed and her attitude when she meets Magician Emery Thane reflects it.  Ceony knows that once she bonds to paper, she is bonded to it forever (and she is dreading it). 

Emery Thane, however, is not your usual magician or teacher.  Ceony is soon enjoying her studies and learns to love paper.  Ceony learns quickly and has a photographic memory (which is a big help since there are many different “folds” that she most learn and memorize).  Things are going well until one day an Excisioner (a practitioner of dark, blood magic) enter the house and takes Emery’s heart.  Ceony quickly calls for help and makes a paper heart to keep Emery alive.  Ceony then takes off after the Excisioner (who turns out to be Emery’s ex-wife) to get Emery’s heart back.  Ceony finds the Excisioner and gets trapped in Emery’s heart.  Ceony must go through all four chambers of heart to get out of the trap.  In Emery’s heart are good and bad memories.  Ceony travels through his heart, avoiding the Excisioner, watching Emery’s memories.  Ceony escapes from his heart with the Excisioner hot on her trail.  I do not want to give away the ending, but it is enjoyable and leads to more questions than answers (which leads us into the next book The Glass Magician). 

I was not sure that I would like this book or not, but ended up loving it.  I enjoyed this author’s different take on magic.  I am looking forward to reading The Glass Magician.  Happy Reading!

Kris