Customer Reviews

Thieves & Kings Volume 3 (The Blue Book)

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Hi. I'm Mark Oakley, and I both wrote and illustrated this book, as well as volumes two, three and four also listed here. (There is a fifth book on its way for 2004!)

Amazon incorrectly lists these books as being, 'Out of Print.' They are not.

I just don't sell to Amazon anymore due to the poor economics of the affair. After they take their 50% retailer's cut, and after I pay for shipping the books to Amazon, my publishing company winds up either barely breaking even, or more often than not, actually losing money on each sale. If Amazon were to order in proper quantity, say 30 at a time, and thereby justify their retailer's volume discount, then it would all work nicely because shipping in volume is much less expensive than sending copies one at a time as sales click through! Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't work this way. During the three years I was selling through Amazon, a lot of T&K books were purchases by Amazon customers. I figured, "Oh, well it's only a handful of sales every week or two. It's worth it for the advertising value." Well, after a while, those sales added up to hundreds of dollars worth, and I got tired of watching Amazon profit from my work while I ran in circles.

Small press is a wonderful thing, but unfortunately, in my case it doesn't work well with the Amazon business model.

So if you want to purchase copies of this or any of the Thieves & Kings books, please swing by my company website at. . .

www.iboxpublishing.com

The books are popular and they are ALWAYS in print.

Cheers!

Mark continues the story of Rubel and Heath, maintaining the quality of artwork and writing with which he has unfolded his story over the last two volumes. More secrets and mysteries are revealed in this volume, and, as Mark says in a letter at the back of the book, this book finally sets the stage for the "second act" of a three-part epic (so, nine collections total, if all goes as planned?).

If you haven't read this series yet, you're doing yourself a great disservice. "Thieves and Kings" is an imaginative, complex and yet unintimidating story, featuring deep, sympathetic characters (which hide behind fairly simplistic faces) and detailed, fantastic artwork reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki. Mark remembers what it was like to be a kid, and it shows through his characters and their experiences. This series is a great read for fantasy fans of all ages.

Mark Oakley's Thieves & Kings is one of the best, freshest, original fantasy stories to come along in a long long time. Part graphic novel and part illustrated narrative; Oakley has created an incredible new world/mythology that is enjoyable, creative, innovative and almost revolutionary - all without demanding the reader to stretch their beliefs and imagination to uncomfortable or awkward limits. It is truly an enjoyable epic-feeling story with wonderful characters.
This is not a story that tries to imitate Tolkien, or that is derived from trite fantasy genres like D&D. Though some of the words/concepts may seem familiar, their importance and function are not what you would find in the standard tripe that litters the fiction landscape. For example: one of the main characters, the Thief, is not a thief. He is a creature of magic (though very real), a person of honor, loyalty, integrity, and innocence. And perhaps it would be more accurate to think of him as THE Thief. He really is too complicated to explain here, but he is a wonderful character.
Anyway, I can't recommend this story enough to you. BUY IT! YOU'LL LIKE IT! Mark Oakley has stepped outside of clichéd stereotypes, and tired old story telling tools, to tell a tale in a wonderful new world, using an exciting new mythology that is at once fresh & surprising and comfortable & easy to believe. He has crafted characters that are interesting and endearing, without being saccharin and sappy. The story is epic and nuanced, personable with the characters and grandiosely spanning ages. It's really REALLY GREAT!
If you're scared, just buy the 1st book. That's all it will take to get you hooked. If you're smart, you'll buy the first 2 or 3 books; that way when you finish the first book, and you realize that you must have all of them, you'll get to read a book or 2 more while you're waiting for the rest of them to arrive in the mail. See? It would pay to plan ahead. If you don't want to believe me, go and sell yourself on it by visiting his website and reading a little of it, peruse his art work, read other reviews!
Go to Mark Oakley's Thieves & Kings website! Look at more of his stuff there! Buy from him! STOP WASTING TIME READING THIS AND BUY THESE BOOKS!
No, I don't know Mark Oakley. I have never met him. I gain nothing from you buying his products, or anything else from IBox Publishing. So, that's all I have to say about that.
Thank you.

I first got turned onto Mark's work accidently at my local library. From the first page I was hooked. I'm not going into a long summation of the plot, or remark on any of the characters, others have done that. All I'm going to say is that I own all of Mark's books. I also visit Mark's website on an almost daily basis. There I stay up to date on Mark's latest adventures. This book, The Blue book,(Mark's books are colored after the seasons, mostly), is just GREAT! If you like a really good read, about characters you'll come to love, and care about-BUY THIS BOOK!! Then explore the rest of Mark's wonderful work!

Mark continues the story of Rubel and Heath, maintaining the quality of artwork and writing with which he has unfolded his story over the last two volumes. More secrets and mysteries are revealed in this volume, and, as Mark says in a letter at the back of the book, this book finally sets the stage for the "second act" of a three-part epic (so, nine collections total, if all goes as planned?).

If you haven't read this series yet, you're doing yourself a great disservice. "Thieves and Kings" is an imaginative, complex and yet unintimidating story, featuring deep, sympathetic characters (which hide behind fairly simplistic faces) and detailed, fantastic artwork reminiscent of Hayao Miyazaki. Mark remembers what it was like to be a kid, and it shows through his characters and their experiences. This series is a great read for fantasy fans of all ages.