HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

The Occasional Diamond Thief by J A…
Loading...

The Occasional Diamond Thief (edition 2015)

by J A McLachlan (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
4429568,745 (3.88)None
On his deathbed, Kia's father discloses a secret to her alone: a magnificent and unique diamond he has been hiding for years. Fearing he stole it, she too keeps it secret. She learns it comes from the distant colonized planet of Malem, where her father caught the illness that eventually killed him. Now she is even more convinced he stole it, as it is illegal for any off-worlder to possess a Malemese diamond. When 16-yr-old Kia is training to be a translator, she is co-opted by a series of events into travelling as a translator to Malem. Using her skill in languages and another skill she picked up after her father's death, the skill of picking locks - she unravels the secret of the mysterious gem and learns what she must do to set things right: return the diamond to its original owner. But how will she find out who that is when no one can know that she, an off-worlder, has a Malemese diamond? And how can she bear to part with this last link to her father? Kia is quirky, with an ironic sense of humour and a loner. Her sidekick, Agatha, is hopeless in languages and naive to the point of idiocy in Kia's opinion, but possesses the wisdom and compassion Kia needs.… (more)
Member:merigreenleaf
Title:The Occasional Diamond Thief
Authors:J A McLachlan (Author)
Info:EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing (2015), 250 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:sci fi, science fiction, young adult, early reviewer, ARC

Work Information

The Occasional Diamond Thief by J. A. McLachlan

None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

Showing 1-5 of 29 (next | show all)
This was one of those books that, once I started it, I found it difficult to put down. The main character is intriguing as she finds her path between right and wrong, driven by the events of her past, her relationship with her family, and the secret behind it all. Along with that, though, it's a great science fiction adventure tale told across fully believable worlds and civilizations. A great read for YA or adult lovers of character-driven science fiction. ( )
  sdramsey | Dec 14, 2020 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
n/a ( )
  kirathelibrarian | Mar 20, 2019 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This book is easy to read and a really excellent way to spend a couple of days. As a bonus, one of the things I appreciated most about it was its treatment of linguists and translators, which is difficult to do unless you do your research well. The author's representation of interpreting and translating is surprisingly accurate. The setting is also well built and intriguing.

The only negative is that the characters are sometimes flat and inconsistent; however, the positives of the book make this easy to ignore. I'm not sure I would read another installment dealing with these characters, but I would read something else taking place in this world. ( )
  raistlinsshadow | Mar 21, 2016 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I had a hard getting into this at first because of the present tense. However, once the story and the action picked up, it was a great YA sci-fi read of political intrigue. The end seemed like it might be open for sequels, and I sure hope that is the case. ( )
  bookwyrmm | Jan 13, 2016 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This is not a book I would typically read, but I'm glad that I did. I enjoyed the two strong female characters and the relationship between the two. The writing created very vivid and fascinating worlds that were easy to fall into. ( )
  rpultz | Nov 5, 2015 |
Showing 1-5 of 29 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

On his deathbed, Kia's father discloses a secret to her alone: a magnificent and unique diamond he has been hiding for years. Fearing he stole it, she too keeps it secret. She learns it comes from the distant colonized planet of Malem, where her father caught the illness that eventually killed him. Now she is even more convinced he stole it, as it is illegal for any off-worlder to possess a Malemese diamond. When 16-yr-old Kia is training to be a translator, she is co-opted by a series of events into travelling as a translator to Malem. Using her skill in languages and another skill she picked up after her father's death, the skill of picking locks - she unravels the secret of the mysterious gem and learns what she must do to set things right: return the diamond to its original owner. But how will she find out who that is when no one can know that she, an off-worlder, has a Malemese diamond? And how can she bear to part with this last link to her father? Kia is quirky, with an ironic sense of humour and a loner. Her sidekick, Agatha, is hopeless in languages and naive to the point of idiocy in Kia's opinion, but possesses the wisdom and compassion Kia needs.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

LibraryThing Early Reviewers Alum

J. A. McLachlan's book The Occasional Diamond Thief was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.88)
0.5
1
1.5
2 1
2.5
3 6
3.5 4
4 10
4.5 1
5 6

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 202,660,302 books! | Top bar: Always visible