Customer Reviews

Storm Thief

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For the most part I really enjoyed this novel. This book could be for young adults, or adults, the writing being very advanced and above the level of most teen books. I didn't give it five stars for a few reasons. I thought the story too short. I felt it needed just a little more development in a few areas and with a few characters making the book a bit lengthier, and another reason is that I would have liked to have seen more done with the Probability Storm events. The world of Orokos is a post apocalypse place of rubble and deterioration, a world of chaos caused by strange atmosphere events called Probablity Storms. If a storm hits, you can be physically changed or your surroundings drastically altered. You may be a human being before the storm, and an animal after. The color of your eyes might change, the world could be frozen in ice, or like Rail, our male lead character, your breath could be taken away leaving you to wear a black mask respirator. This creative aspect of the story is mentioned as a fact of life in the land of Orokos but it only happens once in the book. I would have liked to have experienced a few more storms to have truly felt what it could do to these people and their world. There are strong characters in this book, both good guys and bad guys alike, including a very interesting golem, but all are likable and engaging. The lead characters Rail and Moa are professional thieves on the run, fleeing with an artifact of scientific technology from the past that can open doors and allow them to enter barriers allowing them to snatch items of value. Hunted down by a variety of people, their adventures are fast paced and exciting as they desperately try to find the key to the way out of Orokos and to search for a land beyond where they might find peace and hope to start a new and better world. Definetely two thumbs up for creativity!

Ryan Scott
Storm Thief
Chris Wooding
310 pages

Rich, poor, powerful, weak, truthful, and the thieves, those are the six types of people that live in the city of Orokos. Also, it is known as the city of chaos. It is known as the city of chaos for a very good reason. Reason being is because every so often, there is a storm. You are probably thinking, "Well what's so terrible about a storm?" Well, this is no ordinary storm. This is a storm that when it comes, it acts like a normal storm. But when it leaves, it changes things. No one knows who or what it is going to change. Or what is going to change on or in that person or thing. Sometimes, it may be nothing. But sometimes, you may not live. Or you will have fewer limbs than you did before the storm. Things like that are why they named it, The Storm Thief, and also why it is called the city of chaos.
For many, this is the only city that they know of in existence! Actually, this is the only city that every one in Orokos knows exists. This is because Orokos resides on an island. But know one dares to try to leave the island to see what may be in the horizon! Why is this? Simply because legend has it that years ago, there was a group of people who tried to leave. But once they got to a certain point outside of the city, boats appeared and blew them up! Now, no one even thinks of that being an option. No one, except for Rail and Moa.
Rail is a teenage thief who works for the Thief Lord. He was once affected by the Storm Thief when it hit Orokos. His encounter with the storm left him unable to breath on his own. So now he has to ware a respirator to live. Moa hasn't yet been affected by the storm, but she has also endured her share of struggle! For her, she has had to live a life of shame as the daughter of dead rebels, as an outcast, and now, as a criminal because she is now Rail's help at thieving!
The two of them go through a lot of hardships and adventures together. But of all of them, my favorite is when they steal this ring that allows them to walk through anything! Of course, this is a thieves dream because now they can get in anywhere. But instead they use it to try and escape Orokos.
Now, I know that a lot of you out there would just like to read a book and get on to the next book. But as everyone knows, all books have a theme. In Storm Thief, the theme that I got from it was trust. I say this because since most of the people in Orokos are thieves, they are going to have to trust people. Also, trust play into this book a lot.
So all in all, I really liked this book. Why? Because it has a lot of action and suspense in it. Also, it has what I really like in books which is multiple story views. That way, you are getting the story from more than one person and you are able to image every angle of the scene of the story. That is what I really like the most about Storm Thief. And that's also the end of my review. Now go read it!
[...]

Chris Wooding's STORM THIEF tells of thieves living in a city affected by probability storms which change reality wherever they hit. Rail and Moa's lives have long been affected by these storms; but when they uncover a strange artifact it seems they will wield power themselves - if they can unlock its secret. Intrigue and science fiction blend well in this outstanding story.

Rail and Moa are thieves in the only city of Orokos (and by only I mean only - there is nothing else). While on a mission they discover a piece of ancient technology and they don't turn it in to their patron. This is all the start of a very grand adventure as Rail and Moa run from the secret police, monsters knows as Revenants, and the thugs sent by their thieve's patron.

Along the way the meet a very interesting "person". A golem named Vago that has quite an interesting past,of only he could remember what it was. Together the three flee across the city looking for a new and better life.

This was a fantastic story. The characters are fantastic and come to life on the pages. Their relationship is unique and wonderful to read about. They are all bound together by a fate that is greater than any one of them.

5/5

I'm not going to lie. When I picked up this book I thought it was going to be terrible. The only reason I even got it was for the fact that my parents were going away for the weekend and leaving me home alone without a car. This book was the only thing that was going to save from a coma of boredom. I reluctantly read it and could not put it down. I've never been a fan of Chris Wooding, but after reading this book I may give his other books a second chance.

STORM THIEF is set in a dystopian future world, where the inhabitants encounter powerful relics from a more advanced past (known as "fade science") and are plagued by unpredictable probability storms. The storms are strange phenomena where literally anything can be changed forever. They can rearrange cities or make people wink out of existence. The main character, a street urchin called Rail, has to wear a respirator because one storm randomly robbed him of the ability to breathe properly.

The drama of the book comes when Rail and his female companion, Moa, are hired by crimelord Anya-Jacana to steal a powerful piece of "fade science". They go on the run with it and learn how to use its power, but in doing so attract the attention of the secret police. Villains in the novel include the very memorable mozgas, who are out of sync with time - moving super-fast one second and in slow motion the next - plus Anya-Jacana's favourite henchman, Finch.

This is a great, really imaginative book. It does have some flaws however. Wooding is a very good writer, but sometimes, instead of taking a step back and describing something so you can really *picture* it, I feel like (in his weakest moments) he just bombards you with impressive-sounding similes that don't add up to a coherant picture. There's something quite chaotic about his descriptions from time to time, and it's occasionally hard (especially when he's trying to be impressive and dramatic) to resolve them into a vivid mental image.

Also, there's a twist at the end that disappointed me. It didn't seem like something that would have actually happened, even within the fiction of the book. More like an author's attempt to convey a message about life and his values than a plausible plot device.

But there are some fantastic ideas and characters in this book, and I was touched by the relationship between Rail and Moa (not to mention the poor gooseberry of a golem, Vago). I tore through it in a matter of days and heartily recommend it, even if it isn't perfect.

i bought this book called the storm thief 2 days ago and i could not put it down. it keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last. i could not stop reading it until it was done. if you love sci fi fantasy this is definately a book for you. it made me want to find other books by chris wooding who i think is an excellent writer and he should make this book into a movie. it was totally awesome!!!

The Storm Thief festers in a gritty and interesting world populated by colorful characters. "Probability" storms roll around time and time again to screw with the isolated city of Orokos, messing with landscapes, districts and people. You might wake up as a cat one day or, as in the case with our protagonist, Rail, unable to breathe without a gas mask. Sometimes the storm brews up monsters. Quite literally, anything is possible in the city because of these storms, but it's more terrifying than enchanting. And no one is allowed to leave. The city itself will not allow it.

The story should be rich, but the writing drives me a little crazy. Wooding proves in random bouts of creative surges that he's able to craft delicate description, but for a reason I fail to comprehend he chooses to do more telling than showing with the characterization. You learn that Rail doesn't like his face touched not because of his reaction to physical contact but because another character has an inner monologue about it. We skip scenes where the characters are sneaking around or interacting together, foiling perfect development and tension opportunities. The two mains are thieves! Being tracked by assassins! While they sleuth through a magical black market! With a fugitive monster! There should be tension all over the place! Instead we get what is essentially:

"And then they went on an adventure and it was cool. Okay, next chapter."

The pacing is just too fast. This book should have been at least a hundred pages more. I certainly don't regret buying or reading it, but I wanted so badly for expansion that I ended up spending a fair amount of time glaring at the pages and thinking up my own scenarios for those rushed scenes.

I enjoyed the story and the world, really, but I wish it had more meat to it.

The book was a very good story, good plot and i absolutely loved it. I started reading it back in high school and finally found it again. I would recomend the book to all my friends.

The Storm Thief by Chris Wooding is about Orokos, a city of complete chaos. Probability storms strike everything in their path. They can pass through rock, metal, and any other substance as if it was nothing. These storms change everything they touch. Sometimes they are life altering changes, like you wake up and your lungs can no longer function, or you were right handed when you went to sleep and wake up left handed. Whole buildings get moved to new locations, and nothing is left as it was.

After Rail and Moa steal an artifact from the dark crevices of Orokos and right out from under the Mozgas' nose, they commit a much more unpardonable sin. They don't give it to Anya-Jacana, their "Mother" of the thieves den. The artifact is much more than either of them could have realized especially since it was from the Functional Age, when there was more knowledge and technology that seemed to have disappeared during the Fade. Rail and Moa are quickly on the run, running from more than just the other murders Anya-Jacana sent after them, they are also running from the police. Fighting through Revenants, police members, and other things that are much worse, Rail and Moa fight to break through their poorly constructed government to escape out into the ocean.

I really enjoyed this book as a young adult novel. It had dynamic characters and an incredibly unique plot. I often had a hard time putting this book down because I was always worried about what was going to happen next! Rail's care and protection for Moa throughout the entire book really reminded me of how I always try to protect those I love from being hurt. I really loved this book and will reread it in the future!!