Two-Bit Heroes

I was excited when I finally got to read the sequel to The Gate of Ivory.

Theodora grew up on Pyrene, went to university on Athena and then, after a trip to Ivory, found herself stranded there. In Two-Bit Heroes, she's back on Ivory again, but this time by choice. It's a choice she's not entirely certain about - staying on Ivory means not having the career as a folklore scholar she had planned. However she also recognises that she's been changed by some of her experiences; she doesn't fit in perfectly anywhere and any choice she makes is going to involve some compromises.

In Two-Bit Heroes, Theodora and Ran are kidnapped by outlaws. After Theodora tells the leader of the outlaws the story of Robin Hood, the outlaws' plans take an show more unexpected turn, and Theodora and Ran become much more enmeshed in the outlaws' exploits than they expect. This is a lot of fun. It's also interesting because the outlaws only know Theodora as "Tymon" - her nickname that means "barbarian" - yet Theodora fits in with them much more easily than Ran does.

This is my favourite of the trilogy. show less

Excellent mix of fantasy and romance. The second book in the series about Ivory, its culture and magic, this book continues with Ran and Theo. However, it also adds some very interesting additional characters in an outlaw band. The insights into people's actions, expectations, and psychology is fascinating. The society is well described and comes to life and there is enough action and suspense to make the book hard to put down once you've started.

Some of the story was engaging enough to earn 3 stars but one long, drawn-out sequence was rather boring when Theo and Ran were held captive after originally roaming around the countryside to discover what Ran's family's politics were really up to. In the end, the final resolution was a bit flat. I enjoyed the characterization of the bandit leader, though!

Truly a fun read. this fantasy novel has it all--world building, outlaws, romance (and of an almost unheard of variety of romance in fiction--happily married romance.) Suspense, humor...you name it. It's not exceptionally deep but who cares?

Left out almost everything I liked about the first book. :-(

Das erste Buch der Reihe war SF/Fantasy, dies hier ist ein Abenteuerroman, auch gut aber der erste war besser.