Paper Magician Books In Order

Publication Order of The Paper Magician Books

Paper Magician is a series of young adult fantasy novels written by Charlie N. Holmberg. The books tell the story of a young woman in 20th Century England with the power to control paper.

+The Story

‘The Paper Magician’ is the first novel in the Paper Magician series. The book creates the platform upon which the rest of the Paper Magician series eventually builds. Charlie N. Holmberg’s story is set in Victorian England in an alternate reality where magic is real.

England is teeming with magic. Different people specialize in the control of different materials from glass to plastic, rubber and even paper. Every magician can only have power over a particular material.

And once they are bonded to that particular area of magic, they do not have the capacity to change it. At that point, their only objective becomes to master their craft under a particular Master Magician, take their tests and become a Master Magician down the line.

Ceony Twill takes center stage as the protagonist of the story. A nineteen-year-old girl with great ambition, Ceony comes from a working-class family. The heroine has had to fight and work for everything she has ever acquired.

Ceony is fortunate enough to have magical powers. And like many other young gifted individuals, she has spent the last few years at the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined.

The fact that Ceony was on scholarship at Tagis meant that she always worked harder than everyone else, and her hard work is about to pay off. When she is first introduced in ‘The Paper Magician’, the first novel in the Paper Magician series, Ceony has graduated as the top student in her class.

Ceony’s goal is to become a smelter. Victorian England is at the forefront of the industrial revolution and those magicians that work metal tend to play significant roles in the goings-on of the nation.

Not only is Ceony drawn to the field because of the benefits it provides but she is also fascinated by the abilities she will be granted in the process. With all her plans for the future properly laid out, Ceony is less than amused when she learns that she will be bonded to paper.

Paper magic is the least glamorous of all the fields. What’s more, the industrial revolution and the rising significance of metal works have made paper magic all but irrelevant.

So the idea of becoming a folder does not appeal to Ceony. The paper magician series follows the exploits of the young lady as she comes to terms with her new profession.

Ceony’s adventure begins when she meets Emery Thane, the Master Magician with whom she is expected to apprentice. A notable portion of the first book is spent exploring Ceony’s growing appreciation of paper magician.

Despite her initial reluctance, once Ceony finally determines to give the folding profession her dedication, she discovers that paper magic is actually quite wonderful. Her breath is taken away by all the fantastical abilities that are suddenly granted to her, not to mention the many benefits they have for scouting, learning, and fighting.

Over time, Ceony develops an intense crush on Thane. The time she spends with him reveals to her that there are so many more layers to the eccentric magician than meets the eye.

However, Thane is almost thirty while Ceony’s barely out of her teens. She isn’t too sure how to bridge the teacher/pupil barrier between them or the age difference that she knows would cause people to frown upon their relationship.

Along the way, Ceony and Thane grow closer. They learn to depend on one another as enemies emerge out of the woodwork, some of whom are the result of Thane’s past mistakes while others are merely drawn to Ceony.

The heroine has a secret. Her magical powers are something old, something that hasn’t been seen in a long time, and that has so many people, both good and bad, fascinated by her.

She has to master her powers quickly so that she can keep herself and those she loves, in particular, Thane, safe.

The Paper Magician series has been praised for its imaginative magical system and alluringly fantastical steampunk concept. In that same vein, the author, Charlie N. Holmberg, has been criticized for failing to execute the historical aspects of her novels.

Not only is the Victorian London that Charlie creates lacking in detail, but her characters use dialogue that is so clearly contemporary and Americanized. Additionally, the majority of her books ignore the magical aspect of her story in favor of exploring Ceony’s romantic obsession with Thane.

+The Author

Charlie N. Holmberg is an American author born in 1988 in Utah. A student of Brigham Young University where she studied English, Charlie spent many years as a freelance technical editor.

The Paper Magician, the first novel in the Paper Magician series, was her first published novel. Charlie wrote eight novels before she finally elicited the attention of an agent. She knew early on that she wanted to write a story that featured origami and magic. But she imagined that the user of origami magic would be a secondary character in a larger story.

When she created Ceony, she thought it best to make her the primary protagonist.

+The Paper Magician

Ceony Twill left the Tagis Praff School for the Magically inclined certain that she would be bonded to metal. To her shock, she was told that she would become a folder, bonded to paper forever.

After coming to terms with the unexpected development, Ceony joins Emery Thane at a cottage. The eccentric master magician is to teach her the ways of folding. Once Ceony finally dedicates herself to the craft, she is surprised to discover that folding is actually a wonderful magical art.

Her joy is short-lived when a practitioner of black magic steals Thane’s heart.

+The Glass Magician

Everything is finally back to normal. Emery Thane has his heart back and Ceony Twill has resumed her lessons. But Ceony isn’t happy. She was promised romance but Thane has shown little romantic interest in her.

As Ceony tries to push past the teacher/pupil barrier keeping her seperate from Thane, she draws the ire of a vengeful magician.