The Legend of Eli Monpress [Paperback]

Rachel Aaron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2012

Eli Monpress is talented. He's charming. And he's a thief.

But not just any thief. He's the greatest thief of the age - and he's also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he's going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he'll need to steal some big things. But he'll start small for now. He'll just steal something that no one will miss - at least for a while.

Like a king.

The Legend of Eli Monpress includes the novels: The Spirit Thief, The Sprit Rebellion, and The Spirit Eater.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A romp of a lighthearted fantasy starring an absolutely darling rogue."
(Publishers Weekly )

"Wry humor, engaging characters and full-tilt action." (Gail Z. Martin )

"Witty, smart, snappy, sassy, fast, furious and let's not forget fun... Rachel Aaron isn't so much knocking at the door as kicking it down." (Tom Holt )

"The Spirit Thief is a delightfully giddy romp of a novel." (Karen Miller )

About the Author

Rachel Aaron was born in Atlanta, GA. After a lovely, geeky childhood full of books and public television, and then an adolescence spent feeling awkward about it, she went to the University of Georgia to pursue English Literature with an eye towards getting her PhD. Upper division coursework cured her of this delusion, and she graduated in 2004 with a BA and a job, which was enough to make her mother happy. She currently lives in a 70s house-of-the-future in Athens, GA with her loving husband, young son, overgrown library, and small, brown dog. Find out more about the author at www.rachelaaron.net.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1040 pages
• Publisher: Orbit; 1 Combined edition (February 24, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316193577
• ISBN-13: 978-0316193573
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hello, my name is Rachel Aaron, and I write the Legend of Eli Monpress series for Orbit Books! I was born and raised in Atlanta, but I currently live a lovely, nerdy, bookish life in Athens, GA with my two-year-old son, loving husband, and small, fat dog. I write full time, all the time, but when my husband can drag me away from my own books, I love reading fantasy (urban and traditional), Romance (paranormal and Regency), and Science Fiction (all kinds). I also enjoy video games, anime, manga, hanging out at conventions, and very overdone, epic things.

Besides my own books, the internet knows me best for writing very fast. The best way to get to know me is probably to read my blog or follow me on Twitter or Facebook. You can find links to all of these, as well as free samples of all my work, at www.rachelaaron.net!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Its Kelsier of Mistborn, in a world with the emotion of Harry Potter, with magic similar to Codex Alera February 8, 2012

By Dustin B

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Spirit Thief (The Legend of Eli Monpress) is the first book in the collection, it starts off with a rather amusing conversation between a man and a prison cell door. Normally this would not only be amusing, but a rather one sided conversation expect for the quickly explained fact that he this man is a wizard. There are many kinds of wizards as you know, being the vague term that it is. Some summon demons, others ride trains and go to school to learn to fling wands about without doing collateral damage.

Well this man is the type of wizard who can talk to things and really anything for that matter. Swords, fire, bricks, trees, winds, birds, and as mentioned, doors. So being a wizard really only means that your options for company are much larger than a normal person. Well that and you can bargain with or force things to do your bidding. So when you can sweet talk a door into letting you out, they become much less effective as obstacles.

We quickly discover that this man's name is Eli Monpress and that he's a wanted thief and proud of it. What he steals next is a little out of the ordinary for him and is in fact the king of whose dungeon he had been spending the morning in.

This is where the second main character comes in. A young lady named Miranda from the Spirit Court, a magical law enforcement / environmental protection organization. She's come to capture Eli and ensure he doesn't steal some magical relic. To be honest, she's rather annoying at first but I think that's the point. The embodiment of all that is good and right with a short tempter. The hero that will rant to the villains on their evilness in the middle of combat. But its clearly apart of her character growth as you continue. So she arrives to find the king gone and begins the hunt for Eli and his odd crew.

It is soon revealed that nor Eli or Miranda are the antagonists but more like different sides to the same coin, constantly flipping in hopes to end up on top. Ransoms are demanded, traps set and a mercenary with homicidal sword hired, all while the true villain pulls the strings from the sidelines.

The main problem with Spirit Thief is that, as far as world and plot, you barely get your feet wet. Its more a prequel to the other books than the first and beyond character interest, doesn't give you much reason to keep going but you'll understand the world rather well by end. That's why this 3 book edition works so well, because you already have the other two.

So you'll find that in book #2 and #3 the plot thickens to a fate of the world story and by the end each character, even the ones you'd label as henchmen #2 in book one are now perhaps more important than their leaders in a way.

The plot is a bit thin in places but you really read this series for lovable characters, adventure and classic sense of magic. You're given information just enough to keep you happy but never as much as you like keeping you constantly hungry for more.

I must mention that the audiobook versions (Spirit Thief, Spirit Rebellion and Spirit Eater) are also great fun and well narrated.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THREE great books for the price of ONE! February 10, 2012

By LibrarianGamer

Format:Paperback

This is an omnibus! It contains Spirit Thief, Spirit Rebellion, and Spirit Eater. Now I can have three awesome books in one compact version with really neat cover art.

Buy this book if you love to read fun fantasy! The story is wonderful but I find the characters the thing that keeps me reading. What will our master thief steal next? Is the swordsman going to knock more people down? What kind of awesome power will the demonseed reveal next? Will the crazy spiritualist following the trio actually succeed in stopping Eli and his team? It's great how Aaron builds up each character and each relationship.

I can tell you that the writing is considerably better than some of the "fantasy" out on the market right now. I've purchased all of the individual novels at least twice. I've let friends borrow the books and they were so banged up that I needed new copies. Can't wait for the next book in the series!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Buy of Great Series February 9, 2012

By Books31

Format:Paperback

The is one of the best series I've read in years. I've reviewed the other three books so first I'll say this is an amazing series that everyone should read. Here are my reviews of the first three books in the series (what you get in this wonderful omnibus.)

The Spirit Thief

Magic, mystery, and a little bit of good old thievery. All in all Rachel Aaron's first book in her The Legend of Eli Monpress series is a truly fantastic book.

I'm a little embarrassed to say I didn't initially recognize this book as the fantastic piece of literature it is. In fact I probably would have missed it, if not for the fact that Orbit produced it.

What I mean by this is that since starting this blog I've learned a lot more about the publishing industry, such as, who produces the best urban fantasy/ fantasy/science fiction, who releases books at a speed that can keep a reader happy, and who is the most consistent with the level of production they put out. And from all of this I have to say Orbit is one fine imprint. They release great books in time periods to keep readers happy, they are one of the most consistent imprints in the level of high quality material that they publish, and they're constantly trying to make things cheaper and more affordable for the reader. But anyway enough about how fantastic Orbit is, the real crux of the matter is that I would have passed by this fantastic book without even knowing it, and that would have been the real crime.

The Spirit Thief is fun, well written, and full of well developed characters. Aaron does a fantastic job creating a story around this first chapter of the Eli Monpress series. She introduces just enough mystery to reel the reader into the next book, while maintaining an engaging action packed plot that will keep you up late into the night.

Not only is the plot well developed and intricate enough to entice readers to the next in the series, but the characters are all interesting and robust. None of the characters are bland or black and white, and even the minor characters are given enough great dialog to keep the story moving and entertaining. My personal favorite characters thus far in the series are Josef and Gin who are both strong, slightly sarcastic, interesting characters, who like almost all the characters in this series are filled with just a little bit of suspense and mystery about their back stories.

The Spirit Rebellion

It's often hard to keep the same level of action and mystery in the second book of a series. This has to do with the author having to create a new situation to capture the reader's attention while at the same time stringing the reader along in the central mystery to the series arc without giving away to much. It's hard and it's complicated, but if you can get it just right it can put the series just in the right spot to really take off.

In The Spirit Rebellion, Rachel Aaron does a terrific job of introducing readers to an exciting new situation that brings back all your favorite characters. Miranda gets put into a pickle when political action starts playing against her and she soon finds herself tossed out of the organization she's given her life to protect. Nico is forced to confront the realities of her situation as a demonseed. Josef must face his connection with the Heart of War. And Eli walks into a blatant trap he may not be able to get out of this time.

Like The Spirit Thief, Aaron does a great job maintaining both fun dialog and complex characters, but what I found most interesting about The Spirit Rebellion was the back story and cliffhanger like ending that Aaron introduces in this sensational sequel. Readers really get to see a new side to Eli, as we get a glimpse into his past, but most intriguing is the relationship with Benehime, who plays a fascinating yet small character in this book. It's obvious to readers she is going to play a much bigger role in books to come, but it's very exciting to watch her story and relationship with Eli unfold.

Of course, while I wont say what the cliffhanger like ending entails, I will say that it sets up an engaging plot for the next book in the series, The Spirit Eater, that I'm pretty sure I wont be able to put down.

All in all The Spirit Rebellion is a great book. The characters are witty and robust, the plot is intricate and just starting to bloom, and the book as a whole contains action, suspense, and magic in just the right proportions to allow the book to move at an exhilarating pace. Making The Spirit Rebellion a fantastic second book in the Legend of Eli Monpress series.

The Spirit Eater

I've been watching White Collar lately and I have to say Eli Monpress is exactly like Neal Caffrey from the show. He is charismatic, driven, and the best thief in the world. And these are just a few of the reasons why the Legend of Eli Monpress series is now one of my favorite series out there.

The Spirit Eater opens with Nico's past as the Daughter of the Demon Mountain a few years before, and then quickly turns to the present with Nico focused on fighting back against the demon inside of her as it's suddenly grown more powerful in the last few months.

Of course like The Spirit Rebellion, The Spirit Eater seems to focus on pieces of the characters pasts as it revolves around the present. In this case it happens to revolve around Nico's past. Readers learn more about demons in this book and Eli's mysterious powers, but most interesting is that readers will get a taste of the greater mystery of the book, the overarching plot point that will become the motivation for books to come.

All in all, like the rest of the Legend of Eli Monpress series The Spirit Eater is not a book to be missed. The characters are fun and well written, the plot is exciting and full of surprises and action, and the mystery only gets deeper and darker as readers are sucked into the deeper questions surrounding the series. While some of the issues such as some of the new characters introduced seem a little less developed, the older more reliable characters more than make up for the flaws. All in all a great book and I personally can't wait for the next book, The Spirit War, to come out.