Mark of the Thief

December 1, 2014
In vivid first-person narrative, Nielsen (the Ascendance Trilogy) sketches a slave’s-eye view of the Roman Empire. Five years of hard labor in the mines haven’t quelled Nic’s will to survive. Neither naïve nor a fool, his main weakness is lack of experience. Thus his story is as much about his education in the deviousness of human behavior as it is about Nic’s magical fate. Dropped down a mine shaft to search for a possible buried trove, Nic emerges with a griffin, a scar, and a golden bulla, a magical amulet that once belonged to Julius Caesar. Freedom is within reach, but Nic won’t abandon his younger sister. Instead, he and the griffin are turned over to Rome, where Nic becomes a pawn of schemers struggling to control the city—or destroy it. Set during the reign of Tacitus, the story is true to the political and social culture of the time without committing too closely to its political history. This maximizes Nielsen’s scope for creating page-turning twists while evoking a milieu that retains its appeal for history buffs. Ages 10–14. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

January 1, 2015
Grades 5-8 Following the successful The False Prince (2012) and its sequels, Nielsen launches a new series, set this time in ancient Rome and featuring another orphan boy with a family mystery. Nic is a slave working in the mines until he is sent down into Julius Caesar's sealed cavern of treasures to retrieve a magical relic, the bulla. There he finds the bulla but tangles with a protective griffin that is guarding the treasures. So the adventure begins, and in ensuing chapters, Nic is either on the run from or being held captive by those who want both the bulla and Nic's untapped magic in order to fight for control of Rome. The dialogue, character development, and plotting are not as sure in this outing as in Nielsen's previous series titles, but the humor remains solid, and the finale includes a memorable showdown. There are two more magical relics to unearth in the coming sequels, while the future of Rome and family relations are decided. Fans of Jaron, Percy, Harry, and Eugenides may be excited by this offering. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Nielsen's Ascendance trilogy spent considerable time on the New York Times best-seller list, so the start of a new series is big news for her many fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)