Waterstones The Smoke Thieves
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Price: £7.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: ** The first book in the new fantasy series from the author of Half Bad** This is the perfect story for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Laini Taylor. -------------A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief. Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Five nations destined for conflict. In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father, while her true love, Ambrose, faces the executioner's block. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell. As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our five heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize?****** If you couldn't get enough of The Children of Blood and Bone or The Red Queen, then you need to dive into the world of Brigant. Waterstones The Smoke Thieves - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9780141375397
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9780141375397
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Author: Paul Tapner
Rating: 5
Review: A fantasy novel. Not billed as being the start of a series. But it is, and you swiftly realise as you get close to the end that it's not going to wrap up in the pages given, and end with lots up in the air. So be aware of that from the advance. It runs for four hundred and ninety four pages. There are lots of unnumbered chapters, which shift between viewpoint characters. But do tell you who it is in each. There's a map of the setting at the start. And a cast of characters by the country they come from in the setting at the end. It does contain some violence and a few bits of strong language. There are five viewpoint characters: Tash, a young girl who works as part of a pair of demon hunters. She's bait for the demons because she can run fast. They collect demon smoke. Which is illegal but in demand. There's a Princess called Catherine. A girl subject to the whims of her very nasty brother, their father, and the latter's spymaster. She's due to enter into an arranged marriage with someone she's never met. But she has a developing attraction with: Ambrose. A loyal guardsman of hers. And he soon finds himself in a lot of trouble. There's also downtrodden servant March, part of a minority group from a remote area. Who wants revenge for what has happened to his people. And Edyon. A young man who, although he hasn't realised it yet, stands at a crossroads in his life with a choice of destinies. All of them are of course going to have their lives changed forever in the face of powerplays and conflict. But what is the secret of the smoke? Why do we read books? Because we want a good read. And this is a good read. Which is why I really enjoyed it. It isn't a book that spends so much time scene setting that it takes a while to get going. It moves right from the off. This because it focuses on one character a chapter. It doesn't overload you with detail. And the characterisation is really good. You like Tash from the off thanks to the detail of her love for footwear. It's a good bit of characterisation and it makes her come to life instantly, and thus the first chapter really grabs you. Although Catherine and Ambrose could be stereotypical and cliched, they are three dimensional and sympathetic from the off as well. And thus their story really carries you along. Although they do remain background characters, Catherine's maids do grab your attention in the same way as well. March and Edyon didn't interest me quite so much from the off, but bear with those two as their stories do get come and come together very nicely. In fact everything does in due course. Little plot details early on do become very important, as a bigger picture steadily emerges. So you can once things become clear see how clever the writing has been. Any writing that can make you care for characters and get an emotional reaction from things that happen to them is doing a good job. And this does. As mentioned, it does end with things to be resolved. So it's good to find that the next book in the series is on the way. I look forward to it. Because I enjoyed this one so much. Well worth five stars.
Author: Jess Watkins (A Book Addict's Bookshelves)
Rating: 3
Review: *I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Penguin Random House UK Children's and NetGalley* 3.5 stars Boot-obsessed Tash lures demons to their deaths and sells their smoke for a living. Catherine is a princess and daughter of the king of Brigant, a ruthless man who has no love for her. Catherine has feelings for Ambrose, her guard, but cannot act on them as she is soon to marry the prince of Pitoria. The match is one Catherine's father has arranged, and she has no choice but to do as the king wishes. Ambrose is loyal to Catherine. He will protect her at all costs but must keep his feelings for the princess secret lest someone finds out - in which case, Ambrose might just lose his life. March is a servant to the prince of Calidor, a man March detests for allowing March's people to be slaughtered. March will do anything to get revenge. Edyon is a thief whose bad habit might just get him into trouble one day. Can Catherine be happy in her marriage and new home? Will March get his revenge? Can Edyon trust the foreigner with the strange eyes? But, most importantly, will Tash buy those boots? The Smoke Thieves was an interesting read with some intriguing ideas - in particular, that of demon smoke. The novel is told from five different perspectives - Catherine, Ambrose, Tash, March, and Edyon. I found Catherine, Ambrose and Tash's chapters the most interesting. I wasn't as keen on March and Edyon. I really liked Tash and Gravell's relationship. I was worried that I might find five perspectives to be too many, but I didn't have any trouble switching between them. The romance wasn't a huge part of the book, which I appreciated as it might have taken away from the story. The plot was interesting, but the action scenes didn't grip me as much as they should have. I liked the writing style, which was easy to follow. This did feel a tad too long at over five hundred pages, but it only dragged once or twice. I'm definitely intrigued to see what happens in the next book. Overall this was an enjoyable read and a good start to the series.
