The Thief's Gamble

The writing was superb, and the characters were well differentiated and well developed, but despite all that I didn't grow to care about any of them. The storyline didn't grab me, the characters didn't interest me, and I was forced to admit defeat 100 pages in.

Don't get me wrong I think thefirst 80% of this book was excellent. However, I felt that it suffered from an ending that petered out somewhat. It is a story of two different factions attempting to get their hands on some ancient and powerful magic, what the magic is or does is somewhat shady throughout and never really adequately expained (this is a trilogy so maybe this is something we'll find out later). The story is told through the eyes of Livak, a female burglar, who had inevertently got hold of one of thes ncient magical artifacts, bringing her to the attention of the archmage's agents. A forgotten race from a far off land is also alerted, and the novel ends with a battle between the two races for supremacy, leaving the novel open show more for sequels. Well written mostly but offered more I felt. show less

This is fantasy: it's a story which has swords, magic and adventurers. More unusually, this is a story with a woman as a protagonist: a woman who does exist below the belt as well. Livak fits into the class of 'rogue', being a professional gambler and sleight of hand expert - lockpicking and stealth are part of her repertoire of tricks.

The plot involves Livak meeting wizards, discovering artifacts linking to a new kind of magic, a colleague being kidnapped, tracking down the colleague in dangerous circumstances, being tortured discovering the colleague has died, and that Livak has some innate ability that chimes with this new magic.

Dramatic irony is employed - it is clear to the reader that this new magic is in fact old magic - that show more Livak's birth is fundamental to the understanding of this magic - there is a racial link between her father and the peoples who use this strange magic.

A nice change from women being nurturing and sexless - Livak is not overly sentimental and not motherly, she has wit and she is clearly attractive. She is monogamous, although serially so, and requires no equivalent of matrimony. We are sympathetic towards her, even though she possesses many qualities given to the 'bad woman' of fantasy - respectability is not something she worries about.

Glad I re-read this one show less

Curious novel filled with very intriguing adventure. However, the lack of any sort of character development rubbed me the wrong way. It felt as if the reader was thrown into the middle of an already developed story. Sadly, even throughout the book, I still didn't feel emotionally invested in the majority of the characters and when certain ones would perish it did not mean enough to me to possess an effect. The Thief's Gamble was a very original sci-fy story, but there was not enough substance to hold a lasting effect; let alone desire to continue in the series.

Not a bad book. Its nice to see mature characters content with their lot and still capable of adapting. No fantasy creatures either, both hero(s) and villains are very human. No coming of age quests, no cliche characters and no over the top dramatics that can become boring in many a tale. Just a plain good read.

Before I read Katherine Kerr's books, I easily considered this series my favorite. These books are full of high adventure and romance and all sorts of fun as the main characters, Ryshad and Livak, work together to uncover the mysteries behind a lost ocean colony and murderous sorcerers from beyond the edges of the known sea.

Not quite enough depth to be amazing, but a very entertaining fantasy adventure from start to finish.