The Paper Magician

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Ceony Twill has graduated at the top of her class in only one year at the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined. Students learn the basics behind the magic of manipulating manmade materials. Despite her success, and her desire to learn metal magic, she has been assigned to be a paper magician. And once she's bonded to the material, there's no turning back. 

She arrives at her apprenticeship with Magician Emery Thane in a thoroughly bad mood, but is soon charmed by her teacher, if not by her work. When an Excisioner--a user of dark magic--attacks Thane and leaves him dying, it's up to Ceony to save him and herself in an unexpected adventure.

This is the kind of fantasy that I like, where everything is happening in the real world, there's just magic in it too. This story took place in the early 1900s, but I enjoyed that it sort of existed in its own unique time and place. It didn't feel like a "historical fiction" by any means. I also really like how the magic was done. It was all pretty simple and had more to do with technique than with power.

The book definitely took me by surprise when it came to Ceony's battle to save Thane. It's hard to explain without spoiling it, but it was an idea that impressed me. I love when I'm reading a book and I think, "How did the author even come up with this?" While I had a little trouble with Ceony's bad attitude at first, I found that I liked both main characters quite a lot in the end. And the antagonist is nothing to sneeze at either.

It is a relatively short book. but it is full of substance. It didn't take me too long to read, but only because I wasn't willing to put it down very often. It is the first in a series and I look forward to reading the next two books!

The Paper Magician can be found in our Adult Fiction section.