ivyschwarz's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly came very close to not finishing this book. The first half was mostly travel, and while that usually doesn’t bother me, it was just very tedious to get through as really nothing of interest was going on. I didn’t care about the characters much at this point, though I could see the groundwork the author was creating for the second half of the book with our characters. The second half of this book totally redeemed it for me. Though there were some things that happened that I expected, it was fun to read how events played out, and there were still some surprises along the way. A solid start to a series overall.
judehelens's review against another edition
4.5
it’s hard for me to say anything that isn’t a spoiler. it’s fantastic & you should read it. a little like the kind of pepper that doesn’t hit until it’s on the back of your tongue.
saluki's review against another edition
3.0
"I can steal anything."
Quite!
In this traditional quest fantasy we find extraordinary thief Gen imprisoned with only the option of stealing for the king to secure his release. Gen is a great character being witty, observant and humorous but he often complains especially about bathing, hunger or tiredness. He is an enigma and it is clear from the beginning he is an unreliable narrator with secrets.
There is a lot of description in this book... as it is seen through Gen's perspective it does layer questions on the reader regarding his own background but I would have preferred more dialogue. The nested stories inform a little about Gen as much as they do about mythology but I can imagine some readers skimming those parts.
Although the plot is predictable and I'd anticipated the ending it was fun to get there. I'll be reading the rest of the series.
Quite!
In this traditional quest fantasy we find extraordinary thief Gen imprisoned with only the option of stealing for the king to secure his release. Gen is a great character being witty, observant and humorous but he often complains especially about bathing, hunger or tiredness. He is an enigma and it is clear from the beginning he is an unreliable narrator with secrets.
There is a lot of description in this book... as it is seen through Gen's perspective it does layer questions on the reader regarding his own background but I would have preferred more dialogue. The nested stories inform a little about Gen as much as they do about mythology but I can imagine some readers skimming those parts.
Although the plot is predictable and I'd anticipated the ending
Spoiler
it is the first in The Queen's Thief series... so self explanatory reallyiphigeniad's review against another edition
Bunch of dudes being rude to each other, and the heist plot wasn't enough to keep me invested. I get it's a big cornerstone of fantasy, just not for me.
mandarox222's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
tine1789's review against another edition
4.0
Traag in de eerste helft, maar wel een goed verteld en verrassend verhaal. Ik ben heel erg benieuwd naar het vervolg!
lostinwater's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
dannycakez8808's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great mixture of historical fiction, fantasy and a tad bit of mythology. The main character Gen is a famous thief who finds himself imprisoned after stealing from the king himself. His only way out is to aid the king by stealing something of great value for him from a neighboring kingdom. Gen is witty, clever and funny. You see him build friendships and enemies with the group of travelers that are accompanying him on his journey. This is book 1/5 and I loved the series so far!
tiffyofthemonts's review against another edition
2.0
Quick thoughts...
I'm going to pretend that as far as The Queen's Thief series is concerned, reading The Thief is sort of like paying your dues to get to the next book, which is supposedly better and more compelling and yadda yadda.
Because reading this book was rough.
I'm not sure how much description I can stomach. I don't need to know where all the doors in a room are, relative to one another. I don't care that this trail is parallel to that trail but under this tree which is across from that bush. There is so much description of spatial positioning. It's so tedious! I was constantly rereading pages and pages at a time because I kept drifting off.
Nothing really happened in the first 200-something pages, right? Or did I miss something maybe? The magus and Pol and Sophos and Ambiades and Gen were all just walking and camping and making fun of each other and being buddies and then being mean to each other again?
The ending was interesting and clever, and I enjoyed reading all 15 pages of that. I wish the rest of the book hadn't been so obsessed with keeping the reader in the dark about Gen's motivations, background, etc. because after a while it was hard for me to care about anything that was happening in the story.
I'm not particularly keen on continuing the series because I felt the plot development and writing style were SO lacking... But I know the rest of the series has gotten rave reviews. So what's a girl to do?
I'm going to pretend that as far as The Queen's Thief series is concerned, reading The Thief is sort of like paying your dues to get to the next book, which is supposedly better and more compelling and yadda yadda.
Because reading this book was rough.
I'm not sure how much description I can stomach. I don't need to know where all the doors in a room are, relative to one another. I don't care that this trail is parallel to that trail but under this tree which is across from that bush. There is so much description of spatial positioning. It's so tedious! I was constantly rereading pages and pages at a time because I kept drifting off.
Nothing really happened in the first 200-something pages, right? Or did I miss something maybe? The magus and Pol and Sophos and Ambiades and Gen were all just walking and camping and making fun of each other and being buddies and then being mean to each other again?
The ending was interesting and clever, and I enjoyed reading all 15 pages of that. I wish the rest of the book hadn't been so obsessed with keeping the reader in the dark about Gen's motivations, background, etc. because after a while it was hard for me to care about anything that was happening in the story.
I'm not particularly keen on continuing the series because I felt the plot development and writing style were SO lacking... But I know the rest of the series has gotten rave reviews. So what's a girl to do?
fullyfoley's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars but I am rounding up. Yes, the book is a little slow, half the book is just getting to a destination, but it really helped develop the characters. Mythology has always been interesting and enjoyable to me so the addition of it definitely tipped the scales for me.