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corpsewitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
willowwraithpress's review against another edition
5.0
To Steal the Sun by S.M. Carter is a heist story written specifically for me. The heist team consists of a famed thief, a religious sect assassin, a legendary smuggler with a sarcastic apprentice, and an old dude with mysterious designs. Also magical brutes, warring nations, crown jewel-like magic, and bark-like peoples. Seriously, this book was meant for me and it didn't disappoint.
Taking place in a South Asian-inspired land, the Ivory King gathers this rag-tag group of villains with insanely traumatic pasts to steal an opposing nation's magical runes. These runes are ore-like fragments fallen from the heavens and have magical properties like healing, body & weaponry enhancements. The Ivory King wants the other nation's runes for his own gain, but some in his retinue have other plans. The group assembled consists of Kahli (the assassin), Raik (the smuggler), Amara (the thief), and Kirin (the apprentice). Accompanying them is the Old Walker (the Ivory King's advisor) and Sir Roshan (a rune knight). And this group of misfits are entertaining as all get out, plus wildly deep, each having their own wellspring of trauma.
Of the group, Kahli is my favorite character. She's part of this religious sect of assassins called the Kithkarnin, and her backstory is the most tackled in this book. She is deeply flawed but ambitious, aspiring to become the Third of her sect by agreeing to this heist, even after a pious fall from grace years earlier. She's also drastically scarred, both physically and mentally from said fall. She's a very tragic character because of her strict training under the Kithkarnin masters and she's the one with the most growth by the end of the story. I just loved seeing her arc from start to finish.
Raik is the planner and he is very intriguing, some might call him mysterious because he has a dark past that plays into growing tension of these nations. I don't want to get too deep because this borders on spoiler territory, but his role as the smuggler in charge of the planning the heist has a much larger overall connection than he initially shows us. But because of his past knowledge of runes and violence, he has tried to install some rules to live by that he constantly comes up against, mostly met with failure. His relationship with his apprentice, Kirin, is also pretty endearing and funny.
Amara is the Nightspirit Thief, a famed purveyor of goods and the central character of the Ivory King's plan. She was the wildcard of the group because her impulse to steal was a great counter to her aristocratic upbringing, while she also battles with this instinctive beast inside her (called the nightspirit, which I won't lie was sorta left unclear as to what it actually is, but I'm assuming that will be expanded upon in later stories in the Jeweled Lands series). Her inner rage from a number of sources unveiled throughout the story was excellent character growth, and seeing her untangle herself from these emotions was awesome to see. I also really liked her growing emotional attachment to Kahli.
The Old Walker and Sir Roshan were great foils for this group, but to go deeper would be spoilery.
The heist, itself, wasn't terribly elaborate, or even all that important to the plot in the scheme of things, but highly enjoyable all the same as it unfolded. To be true, this story was less heist focused than initially thought, and more character driven. But I loved everything about this story. There was this planning session and it reminded me of Ocean's Eleven, so I was fully engrossed. The world was very fun and unique. The bark-like beasties of Masztik, colloquially called Sticks, was pretty neat and also brutal. But the runes stole the show for me. I liked how in weapons or armor, there is a concept called a 'Turn' which is essentially an 'On/Off switch' but each side of the rune has opposing properties. For example, this rod that the Old Walker gives to Amara can either make her extremely light so she can jump fifty feet or extremely heavy so she cannot be moved. It was very Mistborn but also original. I did like how both Kahli and Raik had very different thoughts regarding the use of runes and how their backstories played into that thought.
This story is very well-paced and well-written. It has a slow build before the team is assembled but there is no boring parts as we see each of the main 3 POVs (Kahli, Raik, and Amara) do what they do best: kill, steal, and scheme. There is lots of action and plenty of growth by most of the characters.
To Steal the Sun was built upon a well-worn heist story but flourished due to excellent characters and engaging arcs. It may not have broken any new ground but that's exactly why this story was great. I had a lot of fun and even though I know there will be further stories in the Jeweled Lands, I feel this story was a perfect standalone. But I'll definitely be reading whatever comes next for these three characters.
Taking place in a South Asian-inspired land, the Ivory King gathers this rag-tag group of villains with insanely traumatic pasts to steal an opposing nation's magical runes. These runes are ore-like fragments fallen from the heavens and have magical properties like healing, body & weaponry enhancements. The Ivory King wants the other nation's runes for his own gain, but some in his retinue have other plans. The group assembled consists of Kahli (the assassin), Raik (the smuggler), Amara (the thief), and Kirin (the apprentice). Accompanying them is the Old Walker (the Ivory King's advisor) and Sir Roshan (a rune knight). And this group of misfits are entertaining as all get out, plus wildly deep, each having their own wellspring of trauma.
Of the group, Kahli is my favorite character. She's part of this religious sect of assassins called the Kithkarnin, and her backstory is the most tackled in this book. She is deeply flawed but ambitious, aspiring to become the Third of her sect by agreeing to this heist, even after a pious fall from grace years earlier. She's also drastically scarred, both physically and mentally from said fall. She's a very tragic character because of her strict training under the Kithkarnin masters and she's the one with the most growth by the end of the story. I just loved seeing her arc from start to finish.
Raik is the planner and he is very intriguing, some might call him mysterious because he has a dark past that plays into growing tension of these nations. I don't want to get too deep because this borders on spoiler territory, but his role as the smuggler in charge of the planning the heist has a much larger overall connection than he initially shows us. But because of his past knowledge of runes and violence, he has tried to install some rules to live by that he constantly comes up against, mostly met with failure. His relationship with his apprentice, Kirin, is also pretty endearing and funny.
Amara is the Nightspirit Thief, a famed purveyor of goods and the central character of the Ivory King's plan. She was the wildcard of the group because her impulse to steal was a great counter to her aristocratic upbringing, while she also battles with this instinctive beast inside her (called the nightspirit, which I won't lie was sorta left unclear as to what it actually is, but I'm assuming that will be expanded upon in later stories in the Jeweled Lands series). Her inner rage from a number of sources unveiled throughout the story was excellent character growth, and seeing her untangle herself from these emotions was awesome to see. I also really liked her growing emotional attachment to Kahli.
The Old Walker and Sir Roshan were great foils for this group, but to go deeper would be spoilery.
The heist, itself, wasn't terribly elaborate, or even all that important to the plot in the scheme of things, but highly enjoyable all the same as it unfolded. To be true, this story was less heist focused than initially thought, and more character driven. But I loved everything about this story. There was this planning session and it reminded me of Ocean's Eleven, so I was fully engrossed. The world was very fun and unique. The bark-like beasties of Masztik, colloquially called Sticks, was pretty neat and also brutal. But the runes stole the show for me. I liked how in weapons or armor, there is a concept called a 'Turn' which is essentially an 'On/Off switch' but each side of the rune has opposing properties. For example, this rod that the Old Walker gives to Amara can either make her extremely light so she can jump fifty feet or extremely heavy so she cannot be moved. It was very Mistborn but also original. I did like how both Kahli and Raik had very different thoughts regarding the use of runes and how their backstories played into that thought.
This story is very well-paced and well-written. It has a slow build before the team is assembled but there is no boring parts as we see each of the main 3 POVs (Kahli, Raik, and Amara) do what they do best: kill, steal, and scheme. There is lots of action and plenty of growth by most of the characters.
To Steal the Sun was built upon a well-worn heist story but flourished due to excellent characters and engaging arcs. It may not have broken any new ground but that's exactly why this story was great. I had a lot of fun and even though I know there will be further stories in the Jeweled Lands, I feel this story was a perfect standalone. But I'll definitely be reading whatever comes next for these three characters.
peculiarjoreads's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
allyens's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
narratricenessa's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
zoeelizabethk's review against another edition
soft DNF for now until I'm in the mood
maria_ionela's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I am glad that the SPFBO 9 contest brought this Fantasy Adventure to my atention.
I read an eARC and listened to the audiobook while folowing the text.
Ulka Simone Mohanty is a brilliant narator. Her voice acting enhanced my reading experience and helped me get immersed into this beautiful South Indian inspired world.
The characters were so interesting and I appreciated the speach impediment representation.
I read an eARC and listened to the audiobook while folowing the text.
Ulka Simone Mohanty is a brilliant narator. Her voice acting enhanced my reading experience and helped me get immersed into this beautiful South Indian inspired world.
The characters were so interesting and I appreciated the speach impediment representation.
singerji's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
rahul_pati's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Disclaimer: I received the e-book from the author as part a giveaway on r/fantasy subreddit.
What's this about:
A proper fantasy heist story about a group of thieves/assassins who are forced by an evil king to steal magical artifacts. There are 3 POV characters - Kahli, a trained assassin, determined to redeem herself and rise among the ranks of her cult; Amara, a trained thief whose compulsive thieving habit has got her into this mess & Raik, the leader of the group, the brains of this operation who hides a mysterious past. We experience the story through the eyes of these 3 characters while learning more about them along the way.
What worked for me:
1) The world building is refreshing and new. It's inspired from Indian culture - names of characters and places, clothes and food. The Canadian author has Indian parentage and has used the Indian influences quite well to give the world an distinct flavor.
2) This is a proper heist story with all the ingredients one expects from it. A group leader with a plan and several back up plans - Check. A group of rogues, each having their own skill set to add to the heist - Check. Bickering and back stabbing within the group - Check. An evil overlord, a tight deadline with deadly consequences on failure - Check. Infiltration, disguise, maps, plans, daredevilry and action - Check. Reminded me of movies like Ocean's series and especially The Italian Job.
3) Action packed climax with explosive showdown between each POV character and their respective opponents. Carter brilliantly weaves the plot threads to set up these direct conflicts and delivers a satisfying payoff.
What didn't:
1) Out of the 3 main characters, only Kahli was fleshed out properly and had a character arc/growth. Amara's character arc was fine, though felt somewhat lacking. Raik's character arc didn't feel much depth to it and I never really cared about him.
2) The use of the 3 POVs felt unnecessary at times, since they spend the majority of the novel together. Kahli's POV chapters have flashbacks which served to flesh out her character. Amara and Raik's chapters didn't really give much depth to their characters and felt mostly used for plot reasons.
3)There was a huge reveal about Raik later in the story which muddled his already underdeveloped characterization. He being the leader and mastermind, I was expecting some charisma/flair/charm from his character, but he felt very bland. Post that reveal, his personality felt even more confusing since we don't have the full insight into his past.
4) Amara has a secret power within herself which she's trying to master and contain. She's always afraid to use that power to it's full potential until the very end (the results of which were spectacular). I'd have liked some more detail behind that power in this world. It's not explained and I had to suspend my disbelief further to accept it.
Final words:
I felt the story a little slow to start off and didn't really connect with any of the characters in the first half. The second half made it up and even exceeded expectations for me, turned it from meh to wow. Overall a solid first entry into this world which really delivers. I hope there are more entries to come and will definitely pick up the next one. Highly recommend this for fans of heist stories and dark, gritty fantasy in a non-European setting. Rated 4/5 on Goodreads and Storygraph.
What's this about:
A proper fantasy heist story about a group of thieves/assassins who are forced by an evil king to steal magical artifacts. There are 3 POV characters - Kahli, a trained assassin, determined to redeem herself and rise among the ranks of her cult; Amara, a trained thief whose compulsive thieving habit has got her into this mess & Raik, the leader of the group, the brains of this operation who hides a mysterious past. We experience the story through the eyes of these 3 characters while learning more about them along the way.
What worked for me:
1) The world building is refreshing and new. It's inspired from Indian culture - names of characters and places, clothes and food. The Canadian author has Indian parentage and has used the Indian influences quite well to give the world an distinct flavor.
2) This is a proper heist story with all the ingredients one expects from it. A group leader with a plan and several back up plans - Check. A group of rogues, each having their own skill set to add to the heist - Check. Bickering and back stabbing within the group - Check. An evil overlord, a tight deadline with deadly consequences on failure - Check. Infiltration, disguise, maps, plans, daredevilry and action - Check. Reminded me of movies like Ocean's series and especially The Italian Job.
3) Action packed climax with explosive showdown between each POV character and their respective opponents. Carter brilliantly weaves the plot threads to set up these direct conflicts and delivers a satisfying payoff.
What didn't:
1) Out of the 3 main characters, only Kahli was fleshed out properly and had a character arc/growth. Amara's character arc was fine, though felt somewhat lacking. Raik's character arc didn't feel much depth to it and I never really cared about him.
2) The use of the 3 POVs felt unnecessary at times, since they spend the majority of the novel together. Kahli's POV chapters have flashbacks which served to flesh out her character. Amara and Raik's chapters didn't really give much depth to their characters and felt mostly used for plot reasons.
3)
4)
Final words:
I felt the story a little slow to start off and didn't really connect with any of the characters in the first half. The second half made it up and even exceeded expectations for me, turned it from meh to wow. Overall a solid first entry into this world which really delivers. I hope there are more entries to come and will definitely pick up the next one. Highly recommend this for fans of heist stories and dark, gritty fantasy in a non-European setting. Rated 4/5 on Goodreads and Storygraph.
wolfmantula's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
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For more reviews, go to: www.wolfmantula.com/book-reviews
I really wanted to love this novel, and it breaks my heart that I didn’t, and even more so, that I’m leaving a bad review for it because I hate writing them and almost decided to not write one at all and just leave it be. But because I am a book blogger and I backed the Kickstarter campaign that came with a nice hardcover edition, a coin and a set of Rackna dice (pictured below), purchased the ebook and audiobook, I felt obligated to put my honest feelings out there so that people know I’m not just trying to leave only good reviews. Another reason this hurts to do is that the author just seems like a genuinely nice person from the few interactions I had with him, and his video updates during the Kickstarter campaign.
With that said, this is Mr. Carter’s South Asian inspired debut novel, and maybe some of the criticisms I mention later can be worked on in later novels. The cover art is something that instantly had me hooked, it’s so well done and helps transport you into the world. To Steal the Sun is a character driven, epic fantasy heist novel with multiple POV’s. The POV’s help with charter building as it used flashbacks at the beginning to tell the stories of the very flawed characters of Kahli, Amara and Raik as they make their way to their destination for the heist. I decided to buy the ebook and audio so that I could Whispersync this rather than just read it. I thought that the narrator, Ulka Simone Mohanty, did a tremendous job of her varying voices for each character as well as getting into the emotions of each of them as well. I liked that it also had a tinge of humor in it as well, it was nice to break some of it up with a few giggle worthy lines.
“The most powerful force in the world is knowing what people want to believe and convincing them they’re right.”
What I didn’t like about this starts off with the comparison that the author gave. “Ocean’s 11 meets Game of Thrones & Six of Crows meets Rage of Dragons with a healthy dose of Indian spice.” It has some court intrigue, and that’s about all I can say that To Steal the Sun resembles GoT and RoD. Seeing a comp with those two I expected to see dragons, there was none. The Ocean’s 11 and Six of Crows comp makes some sense as they are heist novels/movie/show. The reason I say “some sense” is that Ocean’s 11 is more plot driven and Six of Crows is a bit more of a mix of plot/character, and TSTS is far more of a character driven novel that also has a heist in it. For those reasons I think the comps are a bit misleading.
I also had an issue with the dialogue between the characters, as it felt unnatural and very weak most of the time which made it hard for me to connect with any of the characters or care about their motivations. There were a lot of dramatic interruptions, not sure if that’s the correct terminology, but it’s where the character is speaking and is interrupted or stops for dramatic effect. Ex: “I can’t get any —-. Khali didn’t let her finish.” This happened at least 5 times to my recollection. Once or twice is fine, but in my opinion, that’s too many times. The world building was very limited, and took a backseat to the character building/development the same way that the heist plot did to the characters, and it mainly relies on basic descriptions for the reader to fill in the gaps of what South Asian culture would look like. There was also something I’ve never experienced before, I don’t know if it’s bad, odd or just something different, the author decided to add sound effects for arrows flying “thsssst” and scissors being used “snip-snip.”
I wish all the best to Mr. Carter and the people at RAID press in their future novels.