The Paper Magician

"Charlie is a vibrant writer with an excellent voice and great world building. I thoroughly enjoyed the Paper Magician." --Brandon Sanderson, author of Mistborn and The Way of Kings

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 readers of all ages.

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Published Sep 1, 2014

224 pages

Average rating: 6.6

43 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

margardenlady
Dec 27, 2023
8/10 stars
Magic has so many representations ~in this novel, set loosely at the turn of the 20th century, apprentices 'bond' to a medium in which their magic will be focused. We follow the trajectory of one such apprentice as she is placed to learn paper magic. And learn she does, plus so much more! The characters here are as quirky as you'd expect in a story about magic, and they are also nicely developed as fully complete persons. The story seems like it might be a bit pedestrian, but our heroine unwittingly sends herself on a mission that is at once science fiction and high adventure, with some psychological twists included. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
melbeesue
Oct 16, 2023
8/10 stars
I found myself quickly engrossed in this YA fictional world. I still love paper, and so I enjoyed the whimsy of imagining magical abilities focused on such a mundane medium that we take for granted every day. I will admit that I had difficulty with some of the plot in the middle...but I kept reading. The author redeemed the story for me in the end.

**SPOILER ALERT**
I have a vivid imagination, but when Lira places Ceony inside Emery Thane's heart (which is outside of his body at the time), I struggled to follow along. It was just over the top, I guess. But I soon realized that the author was using it to allow Ceony to know more of Emery's story and recognize the depth of her feelings for her mentor. Unique story to be sure!!

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