Customer Reviews

Thief-Taker's Apprentice

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

 

 

Just great! You will fall in love with, "The Thief-Taker's Apprentcie." I started reading, couldn't stop, didn't want to stop and was irritated when anyone talked to me because I wanted to finish this book now. The faster I could read the quicker I could purchase the next book. I am done, Oh no, the next book isn't out yet. Wish the author could write faster, the editor could fast track the next book faster and it was up on Amazon tomorrow. I will buy it with one click. E-mail me when the next book is ready for me to click on. I am still smiling. Great read.

My thoughts:

I don't know if I would have know this was YA if I hadn't read it somewhere, and because of that it works just as well for a young reader as for an adult reader.


The main character is a thief named Berren, he is somewhere between 12 and 15, an orphan and a tough young boy that has seen the city at its worst. I did like him, one have to, he steals to survive and he is smart enough to realize (after a while) that being an apprentice to a thief-taker could get him out of his old life. But he is also smart enough to see that his new life is pretty messed up too, he will surely have to kill someday. His new master Sy, is an enigma and I like those. Slowly we learn more about him and why he does the things he do. There are a few others we meet too but in this book the young Lissiana stands out the most. Young heroes always have crushes.


The book was bloody too, perhaps that is what made it better for me. That might sound wrong, but life was harsh and I like it to show in fantasy. People do die, and here they did, and nasty things happened, lives were in put in danger. But it is never too violent, too bloody, and the main characters never get too hurt. There is always hope.


I quite enjoyed this tale about Berren, and the best part for me was also the part that makes me wanna read book 2. In the beginning Sy says that Berren looks like someone, then someone else says it too, and of course I am dying to find out what that is all about. Just as I wanted to know who Sy really was.


Conclusion:

A good solid fantasy story for all ages. There is danger, adventure, that first crush and secrets, and those are always the best. It's not that long either so I read it fast. I do look forward to book 2 to find out more. Recommended.

The city of Deephaven is still recovering from a civil war that wracked it and the surrounding Empire several decades ago. The war left behind many orphans and unwanted children, some of whom have grown up with thievery the only option for survival. After unwisely making a thief-taker his mark, one of these boys, Berren finds his life transformed as he is recruited as the thief-taker's apprentice.

The Thief-Taker's Apprentice is the start of a new trilogy by Stephen Deas, author of the Memory of Flames Trilogy (The Adamantine Palace, The King of the Crags and the forthcoming The Order of Scales). It is set in the same world, apparently on a continent on the far side of the Taiytakei homelands, but a couple of mentions of the Taiytakei aside, there are no links between the two series (yet, anyway). It is also nominally a 'Young Adult' title, but Deas actually pulls few punches in the book to accommodate these younger readers. Particularly amusing (and actually effective) is the use of corrupted Cockney rhyming slang to get around restrictions on swearing, whilst the violence is not particularly sanitised (although not gratuitous, either).

The book is pretty traditional. Whilst Memory of Flames has the politics of the dragon realms and the use of dragons as horrendous weapons of war going for it, The Thief-Taker's Apprentice is much happier employing standard tropes. We have a young main character (albeit one whose morality is a bit greyer than the standard young boy cliche), an older mentor (a disgraced nobleman from a distant land), the romantic interest, the nemesis and so on. Those looking for something surprising and new might be disappointed here. However, Deas takes the standard material and infuses it with great pace and some impressive depth, given the modest page count. The city of Deephaven, with its myriad districts, street gangs, commercial interests, sense of traumatic history and politics (seen here only at a far remove), is depicted very well, whilst there's some good character moments, particularly with Syannis the conflicted thief-taker and some minor characters like Kasmin. Berren himself and romantic interest Lilissa are less surprising, but likable enough as antagonists.

Where the book falters is that it hints at some more interesting developments to come, but then ends just as the story gets going. Given the book's slight length, it feels like it could have been longer and pursued certain storylines further.

The Thief-Taker's Apprentice ( ***-and-a-half ) is a likable, enjoyable story but one that whets the appetite rather than fully satisfies. The sequel, The Warlock's Shadow, is due next year. The book is available now in the UK and on import in the USA.

The Thief-taker's Apprentice is the story of Berren, a dung-collector and petty thief who belongs to a gang run by the violent Hatchet. When he makes the mistake of trying to rob a thief-taker, he finds himself bought by and apprenticed to that very same thief-taker: Syannis, the best in the business and a man with a mysterious past. Will Berren make the most of this opportunity? Or will he be undone by the danger life with Syannis holds and his own mistakes?

It's a good premise and some real thought has gone into the setting. The port city of Deephaven has a detailed geography, and an appropriate amount of history and description to fill out what's a fairly typical mediaeval setting (though a map would have been very helpful). The overarching plot is nothing special - Syannis trying to track down some pirates for the city authorities - but gives plenty of opportunity for people and places to be introduced and Berren's new life to be explored. I could complain that there's too much set-up for not enough plot, but that wouldn't be a fair judgement of the first book in a series. The writing is competent, though occasionally choppy. Though there is a reasonable amount of violence in this book, there's no lingering over the gory details, and no sexual abuse. Bad language is creatively non-offensive.

Characterisation was where this book fell short for me. It wasn't strong enough to lift this book above the average and really make it shine. Syannis isn't particularly clever or charismatic, particularly in his dealings with Berren, when he really needs be to fulfil the role he's been given; Lilissa is a nonentity; and Berren himself is ill-defined and, sadly, not particularly likeable. Characters in this role usually have a hook that draws you in - a particular talent, strong curiosity, intelligence or unexpected compassion, for example - something that demonstrates potential for lifting themselves out of their initial unpleasant circumstances. But there's little to distinguish Berren from his fellow thieves, and greed as a motivating factor isn't very appealing. None of the characters took on a life of their own and felt real to me, their reasons for acting as they did often weren't clear, and so I found it hard to identify with them and care about them.

And yet there are moments when all the elements of this book come together and really work, and you see the genuine talent and potential lurking here.

I hope Deas keeps developing as a writer and that this series improves with him.

The Thief-Taker's Apprentice is a dark novel starring an ex-thief in a medieval style world that is frighteningly realistic. I'm going to say up front that if you aren't alright with the realities of public executions, bloody sword fights and back alley beatings, this isn't the book for you. If that sound's like it's up your alley, carry on.

In some ways, this book goes with a lot of the ordinary tropes; there's an orphan boy that's more than what he seems; the dour assassin(thief-taker in this case).But.. that's ok. Because I like those tropes.

Some people might find the fact that the main character spends most of the book learning the ropes and not being awesome, but I think that this made the book more interesting because we get to see, uhm, apprenticeship happening. In a lot of books you're an apprentice and then magic awesome comes out of you. In this book Berren's being an apprentice means we get to understand his impressions of this training, trade and new Master.

One problem though... this is a young-adult book? Really? I mean, no one puts any of their parts into the parts of anyone else, so I guess that's good but... I don't know. It seems pretty gory for a young adult book.

It's good, read it. It's the first in a series that's set in the same world as some of Stephen Deas' other books.

I'll keep it simple. This is an excellent fantasy book and well worth the money. I can't wait to read further installments.

I'm a rather fussy reader, and prefer to get into a book that has something constantly happening that gets you reading line after line.
The Thief Taker's Apprentice is one such book.

I've taken a few gambles in the past picking books off shelves from authors I've never heard of but was I glad I picked this one up!
From the get go Deas's writing style kept me glued to the book and reading chapter after chapter. He keeps the chapters short and to the point, which I like.
Each chapter unveils a meaningful part of the story well written in such a way to provide just enough detail to set the scene but not so much you get bogged down in the detail, the result is an intense bout of storytelling that leaves one wanting more.

A fine balance indeed and I look forward to reading one or two of his other books soon.

When I first heard that Stephen Deas was writing a YA fantasy, I was a little doubtful. This is the man that wrote The Adamantine Palace and The King of Crags, two books chock-full of political intrigue, ruthless characters and merciless dragons, and most definitely not YA.

But then I read The Thief-Taker's Apprentice and I was quite pleasantly surprised.

As far as epic YA goes, TTA isn't going to win any awards, but it's still a solid, enjoyable coming of age story set to a gritty, harsh fantasy city-scape that fans of Brent Weeks, John Sprunge and Joe Abercrombie will devour without hesitation.

The plot is a little slow, but the characters are great. The mysterious thief-taker with his hinted at past, his apprentice whose only desire is to learn to fight (and I mean, who of us hasn't been this kid?) and the deziniens of the city's seedy unbelly are all crafted beautifully with their own unique voices and quirks.

Overall, TTA is a fun fantasy YA and (I hope) the start of a great new series from one of my favourite authors.