Given the chance, I would choose to read the sequel in a book series right after the previous volume. Details are still fresh, so there’s less of a struggle to remember characters or events. And it’s such a relief when the previous installment ended on a cliffhanger, just like The Last Magician.
Betrayed by the Professor, Esta is sent back to 1902 to help past Nibsy with his plans to control magic. Shaking Logan off on the trip back in time, she sets out to save Harte Darrigan, only to find out that he faked his death. Esta and Hart task Jianyu to stop Logan from reaching Nibsy and retrieving one of the magical artifacts still left in New York. Viola returns to her family to enact her own plans of revenge. Jack Grew has fallen further from grace, but a magical windfall might just give him the power that he craves. Harte, changed by his encounter with the Ars Arcana Book, travel with Esta beyond the Brink to find the rest of the artifacts he scattered all over the world. But because of the book, there’s a dark power in Harte that craves Esta’s power.
I’ll say it upfront, I preferred The Last Magician over The Devil’s Thief. Both are about the same length, but the first volume made better use of the number of pages it had. There’s still a lot of action in The Devil’s Thief, but I felt that the challenges faced by the characters seemed repetitive… Harte and Esta’s constant push and pull with their attraction, the couple’s attempts to obtain one of the artifacts in St. Louis, Jianyu’s struggle to fulfill his tasks, and Jack Grew’s inner monologues about finally gaining the power he deserves. Despite the events taking them to different places or facing off against different people, it felt as if they were going through the same thing over and over again with little forward movement until the book’s latter parts. Had certain scenes and overlong conversations or inner monologues been emitted, I think we would still have ended up with the same book.
Viola was an extra source of frustration, because, considering her power and her strong personality, subjecting herself to her brother’s mercy was not the story arc I would have imagined for her. But then again, if you were a girl born in the 1920s and your gang leader was just murdered with a less than ideal replacement taking his place, I suppose options could be limited, though Viola could have done much better for herself.
We do get some answers regarding the mysteries of the Ars Arcana and the corresponding magical artifacts that go with it. Some and still not quite satisfying enough, but understandable since there’s still at least one book left in the series. There are parts that I enjoyed in the book, though. Viola and Ruby’s interactions were just filled with chemistry, and a welcome respite from Viola’s horrid life with her brother. Cela, who I thought would just be a passerby in the narrative was a character whose growth I enjoyed reading… and is it just me or does she and Jianyu make sense together?
The Devil’s Thief might have room for improvement, but it did showcase how expansive the world Lisa Maxwell built can be. I appreciated that she incorporated real life events in her storytelling, and touched on social and racial issues relevant to the time period. With Harte and Esta out in the bigger world, there’s a lot more potential to see how the mageus live in other parts of the country. If only she can keep it more concise so as not to lose the attention of the reader. We can only wait until The Serpent’s Curse to see how she fares.
Happy reading!
PEPS LIKES TO 