Take a Thief [Paperback]

Mercedes Lackey (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin Group USA (October 1, 2002)
• ASIN: B001EE1Z9Q
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is the acclaimed author of over fifty novels and many works of short fiction. In her "spare" time she is also a professional lyricist and a licensed wild bird rehabilitator. Mercedes lives in Oklahoma with her husband and frequent collaborator, artist Larry Dixon, and their flock of parrots.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Focusing on the Spear Carriers, November 9, 2001

By 

James D. DeWitt "Alaska Fan" (Fairbanks, AK United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Take a Thief (Hardcover)

Mercedes Lackey has crafted an interesting series of books focused mostly on Valdemar, a country whose government is greatly helped by spirit horses called Companions. The Companions select and assist Heralds, who are the government's agents in the field and very nearly incorruptible. Since the first Valdemar trilogy, the "Arrows" books, the Herald Skif, a reformed thief, has popped up from time to time, sometimes in minor roles, sometimes in larger ones, as in the "Winds" trilogy.

In her last two Valedmar books, Lackey has abandoned the development of Valdemar and focused instead on specific characters. In "Brightly Burning" it was an historical character, mentioned only in passing in other novels. This time it's a somewhat larger character, although still just a "spear carrier," an important but not a central character.

Anne McCaffrey, whose Pern is in some ways similar to the Valdemar books, in "Masterharper of Pern," did something similar. She took a "spear carrier" who had appeared in many books and wrote his history. And she noted somewhere, perhaps in the introduction, how hard it is to bring off right. One the one hand, it's pleasant to wander through the fringes of earlier stories, recognizing bits and pieces; on the other hand, you absolutely know how it is all going to come out, and the possibilities for inconsistencies are very great.

Lackey does an okay job with the inconsistencies. Reviewers who note apparent problems with the naming of Companions Haven't Been Paying Attention... A few do creep in, but they are minor. And Lackey manages to sneak in a great deal of information about Alberich, the exile from Valdemar's enemy who became a Herald, and about what really happened when Queen Selenay was attacked by her husband.

But it's hard to walk through the very considerable amount Lackey has written about Valdemar and its history, develop any kind of plot suspense, and not baffle readers new to the series.

While it's nice to have a new Valdemar book, I'm looking forward to a return to the larger themes of the "Winds" and "Storm" series, as opposed to the less interesting, less imaginative character studies and personal histories in the "Owl" series, in "Brightly Burning" and now in "Take a Thief."

Overall this is a good yarn. It's nice to wander the fringes of earlier stories - the "Arrow" series in particular - and to see Alberich at his devious best. You can feel Ms. Lackey's wonderful powers of imagination at work, but can also see how they are bound by what she has written before. It doesn't seriously distract from the tale, but it's much less captivating than the "Arrows" and "Winds" series, and far below her peak in the "Magic" trilogy.

Recommended, but not recommended as Lackey's best.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From Tatters to Treasures, July 31, 2002

By 

Virginia Lore "rumtussle" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take a Thief (Hardcover)

Mercedes Lackey's Take a Thief is the tale of Skif, a young orphan reminiscent of Oliver Twist, making his way in the knock-and-tumble neighborhood between two of Haven's outermost walls. Skif is intelligent, good-hearted and creative enough to forage up three meals a day in a place where food is scarce and kindness almost unheard of. After a chain of events leave him homeless, Skif lands in the lair of Bazie, an Faginish ex-mercenary who trains thieves.

If you've never read a novel of Valdemar before, take heart: Take a Thief stands alone and serves as a good introduction to that land. Lackey is a wonderful writer with particular talent for setting a scene and drawing you into the life of a sympathetic character. Though Skif speaks in heavy dialect, Lackey writes his speech with a skillful hand so that the dialect is not disruptive.

The flaws in the story are few, but noticeable. Lackey draws her peripheral characters almost too well, so that one feels cheated when a character disappears from the scene and doesn't ever get another mention. The pacing of the book is perfect for the first 75% of the story, but then speeds up too much as it approaches the big climax. As a result the story wears a little bit thin towards the end as you begin to suspect that Lackey may be on a bit of a soapbox here.

Still don't let that deter you. Though this book may only deserve 3 or 3 and a half stars for technical merit, it is still a thoroughly enjoyable read.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fantasy, October 11, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take a Thief (Hardcover)

On Valdemar during the reign of Queen Selenay, his cold Uncle Londer Galko raises orphaned Skif as if the lad is a criminal. Though Skif laboriously works long hours at his uncle's Hollybush Tavern, his guardian sees the lad as a grudge earning his supper or dying.

Required to attend school due to the royal edict, Skif eats breakfast there and becomes efficient at hiding food to dine on later. His ability leads him to meet Deek, a pickpocket, and from that encounter, Bazie, an adult who cares what happens to his charges. Skif joins Bazie's family of young thieves and becomes one of the best at robbing from the wealthy as he could sneak in and out of a home like a ghost can walk through a wall. When Skif steals a horse left unattended, the "magical" steed abducts him instead. Now his adventures take a new spin especially when someone murders his beloved mentor and Skif must work with the Heralds and Alberich if he is to see justice is served.

For long time fans of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, TAKE A THIEF is quite a treat as Skif first appears in the mid 1980s Heralds of Valdemar trilogy. The story line is well written and fits quite nicely in the Valdemar Universe circa 1376 AF. Skif may be young, but is a survivor who given the opportunity heroically thrives. The support cast provides depth to the plot while insuring continuity to the main tales. Ms. Lackey's latest fantasy epic lacks nothing except many sub-genre fans will scramble for other books describing life during the reign of Queen Selenay.

Harriet Klausner