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lordseregil's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dominish_books's review against another edition
3.0
If I were to sum up Den of Thieves in one word, I'd probably choose “frustrating”. This was a story that I was interested in, with characters who were at least half likeable, but at the same time it somehow just didn't grip me. When I wanted to settle down and read, I'd find a distraction after a couple of pages and let that take me, where normally I'd expect for the book to take precedence. It’s like there was a hook, but no barb on the end, so my interest would get tickled but ultimately fall off the end.
I think part of this may have been the writing. For large portions of the book I would be thinking “this is a YA novel” – it just seemed to be written for a younger audience until the occasional bit of strong language here and there. This aside though, frustrating is definitely the word. I did mostly enjoy this book, but just couldn't get in to it deeply enough to really enjoy it. It’s one of those novels that I finished and didn't actually dislike, but yet I have no real desire to pick up the next book in the series.
I think part of this may have been the writing. For large portions of the book I would be thinking “this is a YA novel” – it just seemed to be written for a younger audience until the occasional bit of strong language here and there. This aside though, frustrating is definitely the word. I did mostly enjoy this book, but just couldn't get in to it deeply enough to really enjoy it. It’s one of those novels that I finished and didn't actually dislike, but yet I have no real desire to pick up the next book in the series.
gquintana's review
4.0
This is a strong start to this fantasy series. Chandler has created a wonderful main character with some dry humor, and his description are lovely. He really paints a picture for you. His monsters are very creepy and the plot had me glued to the book to find out what happened next. Definitely one of my favorites!
ravencrantz's review
4.0
Finally! A good read to offset all the terrible books I've come across lately!
Malden is a thief and is given the task of stealing something very important from the Burgrave of the Free City of Ness. The job will pay him just enough to settle a debt with Cutbill, the leader of the underground thieves guild. In this world of demons and sorcerers, Malden is just an ordinary thief trying to survive another day.
I actually really enjoyed this. I love the world building. We are only given insight into the City of Ness, but even then it's wonderful. It reminds me a lot of Terry Pratchett's Ankh Morpork, only less satirical. It goes into reason about why you give children small beer and not water or milk (water is highly polluted and milk is expensive), forges and tanneries smell like no tomorrow, the poor are poor the rich are rich, children pickpocket to survive. It's pretty realistic for a fantasy novel.
I really like Malden, which is such a wonderful change from my recent reads. He's been dealt a terrible life, as the son of a whore no one will respect him or give him a chance at honest work which is why he resorted to thieving. Even so, he's not exactly pessimistic about life. He just has a good grasp on reality. And still he's able to crack jokes. He's good at what he does and he knows it, but he's not overconfident. He knows being overconfident will lead him to the gallows, so he keeps a level head.
Sir Croy is another matter. He comes from money and has never had to struggle as Malden has. Croy is all about honor. He is a knight banished from the city who comes back for love and refuses to stop until his love is free and they can be together happily ever after. He refuses to believe that the beggars and thieves have no choice, that they can rise up and earn an honest living if they just try. He has no idea what it means to go through hardships in life. He's mister perfect knight in shining armor. And I really don't like him. He's a great character, don't get me wrong, but I just don't like his character. I don't like people who look down on the poor and think well gee you shouldn't have been poor then. I kept rooting for his death, but sadly it never came.
Bikker is probably my favorite. He trained Croy, but has denounced his knighly hood and has turned to the dark side, so to speak. He no longer cares about honor and is all about who can pay him more. Croy isn't pleased, and that's putting it lightly. I really like Bikker because he's Croy, but without the whole mindset of everything can be fixed if only you tried harder. Bikker knows the world is a mess, he knows people need to kill to survive. He's such a great character and I wish he got more page time.
Cythera was a great character until the end when they dropped the big plot twist. It wasn't really her fault, but that part is actually what's keeping this from a five star rating.I like the idea of her tattoos and the curse. I like that she can hold her own and she's all about protecting her mother. It's just dropping that plot twist so casually, I mean she had plenty of other times to say it and it felt like it came out of nowhere. The author did set it up, so I'll give him that, but still it felt out of place and brought my opinion of the book down.
Hazoth is a great villain, but that's about it. He's super overpowered, but he's lived for 800 years so that's understandable. Other than that there's really not much to say on him?
Looking back, so much happened, but at the same thing not much at all. Yet, I never felt bored. It was full of wonderful descriptions of the city and the way it worked. There are so many twists and turns and you just have to sit and hope Malden finally catches a break. I actually cared what happened to the characters (minus Croy) and once I got started it was hard to put down. I honestly can't wait to pick up the second book.
Malden is a thief and is given the task of stealing something very important from the Burgrave of the Free City of Ness. The job will pay him just enough to settle a debt with Cutbill, the leader of the underground thieves guild. In this world of demons and sorcerers, Malden is just an ordinary thief trying to survive another day.
I actually really enjoyed this. I love the world building. We are only given insight into the City of Ness, but even then it's wonderful. It reminds me a lot of Terry Pratchett's Ankh Morpork, only less satirical. It goes into reason about why you give children small beer and not water or milk (water is highly polluted and milk is expensive), forges and tanneries smell like no tomorrow, the poor are poor the rich are rich, children pickpocket to survive. It's pretty realistic for a fantasy novel.
I really like Malden, which is such a wonderful change from my recent reads. He's been dealt a terrible life, as the son of a whore no one will respect him or give him a chance at honest work which is why he resorted to thieving. Even so, he's not exactly pessimistic about life. He just has a good grasp on reality. And still he's able to crack jokes. He's good at what he does and he knows it, but he's not overconfident. He knows being overconfident will lead him to the gallows, so he keeps a level head.
Sir Croy is another matter. He comes from money and has never had to struggle as Malden has. Croy is all about honor. He is a knight banished from the city who comes back for love and refuses to stop until his love is free and they can be together happily ever after. He refuses to believe that the beggars and thieves have no choice, that they can rise up and earn an honest living if they just try. He has no idea what it means to go through hardships in life. He's mister perfect knight in shining armor. And I really don't like him. He's a great character, don't get me wrong, but I just don't like his character. I don't like people who look down on the poor and think well gee you shouldn't have been poor then. I kept rooting for his death, but sadly it never came.
Bikker is probably my favorite. He trained Croy, but has denounced his knighly hood and has turned to the dark side, so to speak. He no longer cares about honor and is all about who can pay him more. Croy isn't pleased, and that's putting it lightly. I really like Bikker because he's Croy, but without the whole mindset of everything can be fixed if only you tried harder. Bikker knows the world is a mess, he knows people need to kill to survive. He's such a great character and I wish he got more page time.
Cythera was a great character until the end when they dropped the big plot twist. It wasn't really her fault, but that part is actually what's keeping this from a five star rating.I like the idea of her tattoos and the curse. I like that she can hold her own and she's all about protecting her mother. It's just dropping that plot twist so casually, I mean she had plenty of other times to say it and it felt like it came out of nowhere. The author did set it up, so I'll give him that, but still it felt out of place and brought my opinion of the book down.
Hazoth is a great villain, but that's about it. He's super overpowered, but he's lived for 800 years so that's understandable. Other than that there's really not much to say on him?
Looking back, so much happened, but at the same thing not much at all. Yet, I never felt bored. It was full of wonderful descriptions of the city and the way it worked. There are so many twists and turns and you just have to sit and hope Malden finally catches a break. I actually cared what happened to the characters (minus Croy) and once I got started it was hard to put down. I honestly can't wait to pick up the second book.
bxchrx's review
2.0
The writing wasn't bad at all and there wasn't anything really wrong with the plot, I got about 50 pages in and I was just like : "I can't be bothered" so I left it, I might go back to it one day, but the book just didn't grab me.
scottydee's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
cupiscent's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a strange experience. There were many things about the world and writing that I really liked, but many aspects that I really didn't like, and overall I'm not really sure I enjoyed it. I thought more than once about setting it aside, but didn't. I'm somewhat glad I finished it, but I have absolutely no desire to go on to the next book in the series.
The good: a gleefully dirty (and realistic) world, with all the little details of how life circa (say) Elizabethan England actually worked. Those details - such as a new pair of candles with the wicks still joined - delighted me, because I'm weird like that. There was also much about the magic system, and the implications for wider plot (the series-long prophecy-including level of fantasy plot, you know what I mean) that looked really fascinating.
The bad: but it never delved into that stuff, because we spent the entire book running around after the MacGuffin. Right about the point halfway through where I was hoping that it would lose its single focus and blossom into delicious complexity... it didn't, it just did a couple of switchbacks and powered on. It never developed the sort of big-scope multi-faceted stuff that I really love about fantasy, and I found it rather frustrating.
Plus, one of the main characters was that breed of irritating noble that needs to be very carefully handled. Benton Fraser manages it in Due South. The Middleman manages it. For a while, Sir Croy teetered on the brink of managing it, but by the time we got into the final third of the book, I was just plain bored with him and didn't really care.
The romantic storyline(s) were interestingly and complexly handled, though.
As a closing point, I will note that it came as no surprise at all to learn that the author usually writes horror. His gleeful and lurid details of demons and horrible illusions occasionally teetered towards the purple, which isn't really my cup of tea. But in general, his writing was enjoyable, and that's probably why I actually finished the thing.
Left me with such an urge to re-read Locke Lamora, though.
The good: a gleefully dirty (and realistic) world, with all the little details of how life circa (say) Elizabethan England actually worked. Those details - such as a new pair of candles with the wicks still joined - delighted me, because I'm weird like that. There was also much about the magic system, and the implications for wider plot (the series-long prophecy-including level of fantasy plot, you know what I mean) that looked really fascinating.
The bad: but it never delved into that stuff, because we spent the entire book running around after the MacGuffin. Right about the point halfway through where I was hoping that it would lose its single focus and blossom into delicious complexity... it didn't, it just did a couple of switchbacks and powered on. It never developed the sort of big-scope multi-faceted stuff that I really love about fantasy, and I found it rather frustrating.
Plus, one of the main characters was that breed of irritating noble that needs to be very carefully handled. Benton Fraser manages it in Due South. The Middleman manages it. For a while, Sir Croy teetered on the brink of managing it, but by the time we got into the final third of the book, I was just plain bored with him and didn't really care.
The romantic storyline(s) were interestingly and complexly handled, though.
As a closing point, I will note that it came as no surprise at all to learn that the author usually writes horror. His gleeful and lurid details of demons and horrible illusions occasionally teetered towards the purple, which isn't really my cup of tea. But in general, his writing was enjoyable, and that's probably why I actually finished the thing.
Left me with such an urge to re-read Locke Lamora, though.
brandt's review
3.0
Honestly the book is 2.5 stars overall. There are some interesting aspects but the book itself is not very memorable. I usually reread a book that I own at least 2 - 3 times but I haven't even touched it since I finished it. Still, it is an okay light read if you have a couple of hours to kill.
jkh107's review
3.0
I used to read a lot of this sort of epic fantasy as a teenager. It's still as fun as I remember, but as an adult I recognize the cliches...I thought the worldbuilding was well done and the plot kept me engaged to the end. The badly done early modern English in spots on the other hand...shudder. So yeah--it wasn't a great book but it was great fun to read, which is a kind of success in itself.
dashausfrau's review
3.0
This is my favorite kind of literary junk food. A fantasy world with fantasy rules and a medieval city. The cast in my head consists of Aaron Paul, Anne Hathaway, and Chris Hemsworth.