Conn teaches him that he has worthwhile skills and must allow himself to make mistakes and take risks. Instead he is shamed and browbeaten by his master creating a person that puts others down so that he can feel good about himself.

He is never praised nor encouraged in a steady progression of mastering wizardry skills. Verent's views hide his insecurities about his lack of skills as a wizard. This is a nice study of character development as the author shows how to birth a one-dimensional character into a complex, three-dimensional one (sounds like an alien). Verent doesn't know what to think of Conn and makes comparisons to the current wizard he's apprenticed to in the city of Danivelle. But Conn isn't offended and he includes Verent in his experiments teaching him how to turn a mistake into a positive experience. Verent's elitist attitude is a turn off as the snobbish Verent wants nothing to do with the poorly dressed Conn and his low-class accent. He fools many by his appearance and when Verent, apprentice to a wizard that is seeking Conn's help on a magical problem, meets Conn he is ready to turn around and head home. Yeehaw! The absent-minded risk-taker is hard-working and more observant than it would appear. Not only is Conn back, which I didn't expect since the trilogy wrapped up nicely, but he's still blowing things up. At least I don't blow things up cooking like Conn does with his experiments. It makes me want to pick up book 4 and it is a good review for my remiss brain that remembers details about as well as I cook. I kind of like these little short books in between novels.

The magic thief by sarah prineas