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Legends of Dimmingwood #1
Magic of Thieves
In a province where magic is forbidden and its possessors are murdered by the cruel Praetor, young Ilan, born with the powerful gift of her ancestors, has only one hope for survival. Concealment. In the shadow of Dimmingwood, she finds temporary protection with a band of forest brigands led by the infamous outlaw Rideon the Red Hand.
But as Ilan matures, learns the skills of survival, and struggles to master the inherent magic of her dying race, danger is always close behind. When old enemies reappear and new friendships lead to betrayal, will her discovery of an enchanted bow prove to be Ilan’s final salvation or her ultimate downfall?
But as Ilan matures, learns the skills of survival, and struggles to master the inherent magic of her dying race, danger is always close behind. When old enemies reappear and new friendships lead to betrayal, will her discovery of an enchanted bow prove to be Ilan’s final salvation or her ultimate downfall?
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 28, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 444 reviews
November 16, 2015
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews
I’m a book lover. More importantly, I am a lover of stories. Stories that draw me into the life of a stranger, sweep me away from my ordinary concerns, and carry me into a fantastic world full of mystery, danger, magic, and warriors with swords are my favorites. ( What can I say other than I read what I think is cool.) And I’m always looking for my next fix; a new fantasy flavor that lets me experience another high. That is how I discovered this e-book on Amazon as a free download. The cover looked cool. The story description sounded intriguing. So I took a chance on this unknown self-published novel.
Well, I’m done now, and I have to admit the beginning of Magic of Thieves — where armed warriors are slaughtering civilians and a family desperately flees before them — sucked me in, making me want to see who all these people were, why the killings were occurring, and what was to become of the young child involved. It really was a masterful start to the narrative.
After such a promising beginning though, the story just sort of fizzles like a dud firecracker. Our rescued heroine settling in to her life with a band of forest outlaws, growing up the favorite child of the camp, and knowing that she has a shadowy past that she needs to escape her benefactors to find for herself. Her growth from innocent child to angsty teenage whiner really resembled that dud firecracker I mentioned earlier, because, like it, our heroines story hisses and smokes a little, but it never really explodes like it should. Let me explain what I think went wrong.
First, it takes a very masterful storyteller to pull off a good anti-heroes. Such characters balance between two worlds; they are a person whose actions scream “bad guy,” but whose motives or background explains away that vile conduct into something understandable. Old school anti-heroes like Elric of Melnibone and Thomas Covenant come to mind as prime examples, or even the darker Jorg Ancrath of The Broken Empire (though some might say Jorg never fully excuses his actions.) And this sort of protagonist is what the author was going for in Magic of Thieves, but she fails to find the perfect mixture of good/bad to make this female lead palpable. Instead our heroine becomes progressively sulkier and whinier; a hateful teenager who does nothing but insult her family/friends, blames everyone around her for every minor annoyance she experiences, and is more than willing to let them be harmed to further her ends. And unlike the anti-heroes above, there is no black sword, no leprosy, and no thorn scene to explain away why she is such a despicable piece of work. Nope, she is horribly self-centered, egotistical, and unlikeable just because she wants to be, it seems.
How exactly does one like that sort of person?
I couldn’t as the story progressed. Her questionable actions beginning to mount, and her snarky, angst ridden action continuing to grow. And before you know it, she was not an anti-hero in my mind but a villain in fair form who really needed to get over herself already.
Second, the story was pretty much a linear affair about our heroine growing up in the outlaw camp. Nothing much else seems to be happening except for her growing desire to escape the caring oversight of her benefactors. The only excitement in this rather dull existence is when she will get in a fight with a loved one or friend, break out in a whine-fest about how no one understands her, or decide to throw one of her loved ones into the teeth of destruction to save her golden ass from what is coming to her. By the end, it all read like a fantasy Twilight to me.
Lastly, the ending. Honestly, I love fantastical weapons like Sting, Frostmourne, Andúril, Stormbringer, or Roland Deschain’s six shooters. They add a special quality to their wielders. Set them apart in a place where magic is the norm. But they have to be special and attained in a memorable way. I mean, none of the weapons I mentioned above were found sitting around a barn or gained by accident. But in Magic of Thieves, our heroine stumbles upon a magic bow, which whispers into her mind how to kill people, and instantly she is a super-powered individual. It really ended this whole story on a poor note.
All in all, I did not enjoy this one very much. It didn’t speak to at all. But that may be because I left my angst ridden teenage self behind a few decades ago. Perhaps others might find this heroine more to their liking, empathizing with her feelings and angst fueled rants. As for me, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting Dimmingwood, even though there really are some mysteries hidden there that could be mined for an interesting story.
I’m a book lover. More importantly, I am a lover of stories. Stories that draw me into the life of a stranger, sweep me away from my ordinary concerns, and carry me into a fantastic world full of mystery, danger, magic, and warriors with swords are my favorites. ( What can I say other than I read what I think is cool.) And I’m always looking for my next fix; a new fantasy flavor that lets me experience another high. That is how I discovered this e-book on Amazon as a free download. The cover looked cool. The story description sounded intriguing. So I took a chance on this unknown self-published novel.
Well, I’m done now, and I have to admit the beginning of Magic of Thieves — where armed warriors are slaughtering civilians and a family desperately flees before them — sucked me in, making me want to see who all these people were, why the killings were occurring, and what was to become of the young child involved. It really was a masterful start to the narrative.
After such a promising beginning though, the story just sort of fizzles like a dud firecracker. Our rescued heroine settling in to her life with a band of forest outlaws, growing up the favorite child of the camp, and knowing that she has a shadowy past that she needs to escape her benefactors to find for herself. Her growth from innocent child to angsty teenage whiner really resembled that dud firecracker I mentioned earlier, because, like it, our heroines story hisses and smokes a little, but it never really explodes like it should. Let me explain what I think went wrong.
First, it takes a very masterful storyteller to pull off a good anti-heroes. Such characters balance between two worlds; they are a person whose actions scream “bad guy,” but whose motives or background explains away that vile conduct into something understandable. Old school anti-heroes like Elric of Melnibone and Thomas Covenant come to mind as prime examples, or even the darker Jorg Ancrath of The Broken Empire (though some might say Jorg never fully excuses his actions.) And this sort of protagonist is what the author was going for in Magic of Thieves, but she fails to find the perfect mixture of good/bad to make this female lead palpable. Instead our heroine becomes progressively sulkier and whinier; a hateful teenager who does nothing but insult her family/friends, blames everyone around her for every minor annoyance she experiences, and is more than willing to let them be harmed to further her ends. And unlike the anti-heroes above, there is no black sword, no leprosy, and no thorn scene to explain away why she is such a despicable piece of work. Nope, she is horribly self-centered, egotistical, and unlikeable just because she wants to be, it seems.
How exactly does one like that sort of person?
I couldn’t as the story progressed. Her questionable actions beginning to mount, and her snarky, angst ridden action continuing to grow. And before you know it, she was not an anti-hero in my mind but a villain in fair form who really needed to get over herself already.
Second, the story was pretty much a linear affair about our heroine growing up in the outlaw camp. Nothing much else seems to be happening except for her growing desire to escape the caring oversight of her benefactors. The only excitement in this rather dull existence is when she will get in a fight with a loved one or friend, break out in a whine-fest about how no one understands her, or decide to throw one of her loved ones into the teeth of destruction to save her golden ass from what is coming to her. By the end, it all read like a fantasy Twilight to me.
Lastly, the ending. Honestly, I love fantastical weapons like Sting, Frostmourne, Andúril, Stormbringer, or Roland Deschain’s six shooters. They add a special quality to their wielders. Set them apart in a place where magic is the norm. But they have to be special and attained in a memorable way. I mean, none of the weapons I mentioned above were found sitting around a barn or gained by accident. But in Magic of Thieves, our heroine stumbles upon a magic bow, which whispers into her mind how to kill people, and instantly she is a super-powered individual. It really ended this whole story on a poor note.
All in all, I did not enjoy this one very much. It didn’t speak to at all. But that may be because I left my angst ridden teenage self behind a few decades ago. Perhaps others might find this heroine more to their liking, empathizing with her feelings and angst fueled rants. As for me, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting Dimmingwood, even though there really are some mysteries hidden there that could be mined for an interesting story.
August 5, 2023
This feels like the first chapters of a good book.
What I mean by that is, there are a lot of things set up here for later but nothing actually happens in this book. This is all about introducing the characters and the world to the reader. Which is fine, especially in a series. But I would have liked to have seen some change to the status quo, something in terms of plot that could could have felt fulfilling, some character development, … something. After such a kick-ass opening scene, it just seems like a bit of a shame to have to wait until the final pages for the story to actually start.
I think the book accomplishes what it attempts to do: lure the readers in and give them a sneak peek of what this series entails. As a series, this looks very promising. The writing is good, the characters are intriguing and the action scenes are great. As a standalone book, it feels kind of light.
What I mean by that is, there are a lot of things set up here for later but nothing actually happens in this book. This is all about introducing the characters and the world to the reader. Which is fine, especially in a series. But I would have liked to have seen some change to the status quo, something in terms of plot that could could have felt fulfilling, some character development, … something. After such a kick-ass opening scene, it just seems like a bit of a shame to have to wait until the final pages for the story to actually start.
I think the book accomplishes what it attempts to do: lure the readers in and give them a sneak peek of what this series entails. As a series, this looks very promising. The writing is good, the characters are intriguing and the action scenes are great. As a standalone book, it feels kind of light.
February 8, 2018
While there are good things about “Magic of Thieves,” there are also reasons that prevent it from being as good as it could be.
The little girl magic-wielder taken in by a group of thieves is an unwieldy premise. Thieves who think nothing of killing another person take in a female child? It was hard to swallow, but I chose to suspend disbelief and continue to read.
Character development should have been a main focus, but lack of development was more apparent. Ilan is the only female of consequence in the book, and although having the tale told in first person allows us insight into Ilan’s thoughts, she is not that interesting. The outlaw chief, Rideon, could have been a fascinating character, but the opportunity was ignored, and some of his appearances came off stilted. Ilan’s savior, Brig, is not fleshed out, and thus the predominant person in Ilan’s life is not memorable.
This has a negative bearing on the plot. Much of the book plods along, and only picks up the pace near the end. By the last few pages, the book has reverted back to its old ways, and an ending that had the ability to be powerful falls flat.
The prose could have been tighter, and at times I felt I was reading a talented first draft. The descriptive passages range from very good to paragraphs of words that desperately need to be pruned. Permitting the wordiness to flourish causes the book to slow in many places, and although readers may feel the lack of energy, they may not understand why because the author definitely has a gift. C. Greenwood possesses great talent and can certainly string sentences together. However, when she allows them to bloat with unnecessary words, the entire book is affected.
Bottom line: Stronger editing could have improved the book by making it much shorter, which would have sped up the pace and generated excitement. Perhaps the next book could have been combined with this one, leading to a powerful ending. Increasing the action and pacing would have spotlighted the author’s gifts. When not overloading readers with too much description, she has a wonderful command of words. Three stars.
The little girl magic-wielder taken in by a group of thieves is an unwieldy premise. Thieves who think nothing of killing another person take in a female child? It was hard to swallow, but I chose to suspend disbelief and continue to read.
Character development should have been a main focus, but lack of development was more apparent. Ilan is the only female of consequence in the book, and although having the tale told in first person allows us insight into Ilan’s thoughts, she is not that interesting. The outlaw chief, Rideon, could have been a fascinating character, but the opportunity was ignored, and some of his appearances came off stilted. Ilan’s savior, Brig, is not fleshed out, and thus the predominant person in Ilan’s life is not memorable.
This has a negative bearing on the plot. Much of the book plods along, and only picks up the pace near the end. By the last few pages, the book has reverted back to its old ways, and an ending that had the ability to be powerful falls flat.
The prose could have been tighter, and at times I felt I was reading a talented first draft. The descriptive passages range from very good to paragraphs of words that desperately need to be pruned. Permitting the wordiness to flourish causes the book to slow in many places, and although readers may feel the lack of energy, they may not understand why because the author definitely has a gift. C. Greenwood possesses great talent and can certainly string sentences together. However, when she allows them to bloat with unnecessary words, the entire book is affected.
Bottom line: Stronger editing could have improved the book by making it much shorter, which would have sped up the pace and generated excitement. Perhaps the next book could have been combined with this one, leading to a powerful ending. Increasing the action and pacing would have spotlighted the author’s gifts. When not overloading readers with too much description, she has a wonderful command of words. Three stars.
February 25, 2013
This book started off with so much potential. It could have gone anywhere.
Ilan could have been someone readers could relate with but also respect because of her strength. She grew up in a hard life, and yet she was selfish, bitchy, and just overall stupid. She attacked at supposed threats and couldn't seem to be nice to the few people who showed her any sort of kindness. She was continually lashing out at these people and hurting them for no other reason than imagined hurts of her own. It drove me crazy to listen to her constantly complaining about the slights that were dealt. She even sold out one of her "friends" to die to rescue another "friend" that she had treated cruelly for years.
How can anyone relate to someone like that? I was waiting for her to grow up and maybe take responsibility for her actions, but she never did...instead she chose to cry and whine and bitch to everyone.
That being said, the rest of the story was alright. Nothing really happened, just a lot of Ilan being angry and training, it seemed to be setting up for something, but never got to any true action. I guess the second book will have the rest of the story, but I don't think I'll even attempt to read about Ilan's selfish little world.
Ilan could have been someone readers could relate with but also respect because of her strength. She grew up in a hard life, and yet she was selfish, bitchy, and just overall stupid. She attacked at supposed threats and couldn't seem to be nice to the few people who showed her any sort of kindness. She was continually lashing out at these people and hurting them for no other reason than imagined hurts of her own. It drove me crazy to listen to her constantly complaining about the slights that were dealt. She even sold out one of her "friends" to die to rescue another "friend" that she had treated cruelly for years.
How can anyone relate to someone like that? I was waiting for her to grow up and maybe take responsibility for her actions, but she never did...instead she chose to cry and whine and bitch to everyone.
That being said, the rest of the story was alright. Nothing really happened, just a lot of Ilan being angry and training, it seemed to be setting up for something, but never got to any true action. I guess the second book will have the rest of the story, but I don't think I'll even attempt to read about Ilan's selfish little world.
September 29, 2014
I wish I could give this book a negative 5. I hated it. I've read my share of fantasy, from excellent to mind-bogglingly awful. And while this one doesn't rank so high up on the list of "fantasy I'd rather burn and use as tinder", it certainly belongs there. It's a really, really badly written book, so bad that the author should be questioned on two things: the writing level and the level of the author's maturity.
The prose is choppy and juvenile. Considering that the narrator is a teenager, I suppose that's one technique. It's written in 1st person, which is an excellent POV to provide insights to the main character's mind, but unfortunately the author takes no advantage whatsoever of this, instead leaving us with "I did this, I did that, I sang knicknack on my drum" tune that we quickly get bored of. But what infuriated me - and will permanently inhibit me from reading book 2, 3, 4, 5, or any of the future releases - is just amazingly horrible the protagonist is. Okay, she's a teenager. But I was a teenager as well, and never - I repeat, never - had I been this awful to anyone, this spiteful, and this wishy-washy, whilst believing myself to be the epitome of "epic toughness", as modern-day boys would call it. She really embodies Hamlet's "frailty, thy name is woman".
Point number 1. The boy she grows up with is really a kind-hearted boy; refuses violence, refuses to lie, teaches her how to read. She constantly mocks and belittles him, thinking that would make her tougher. Do note that not once does she feel she is inferior to any of the bandits for anything, so this belittling isn't to make up for some inferiority complex, it's just meanness. She calls him a coward, calls him names, tells him just how inept he is and then proceeds to order him about. Now, my question is, if he really is inept, why let him do anything? He's bound to fail the task anyway. Which leaves the conclusion - she really is just mocking him for the sake of it. But that doesn't preclude her from checking out his abs. And in the end, she betrays him to the enemy, and goes, "well, he's dumb anyway". Is the author someone like her to be able to write her like this? Because I felt irritated just reading about her, so I'd be raging if I had to WRITE about her.
Point number 2. Her father-figure is a kind man. A man with mistakes, but nevertheless kind. At one point she hits his weak point - his almost fatally weak point - and she feels the trust is gone. So what does she do? Belittle him at every chance. Mock him at any given opportunity, despite his continued kindness. She then cries over all the mocking she's done when he's dead, yells at the aforementioned boy when he points out that her father-figure was a brigand, and that those who killed him was just doing the job (as he was killed by the law enforcers). Right. The enforcers are bad guys for killing someone who has robbed innocent travellers of all their livelihoods and killed them as well.
Point number 3. Throughout 80% of the book, the protagonist fawns over the bandit leader. The bandit leader is quite possibly yours truly generic stock bandit leader character - no morals, abusive and aggressive, and probably a sociopath - and she constantly looks to him, so much so that one of the bandits casually comments that she licks his boots. So when this much-admired bandit leader forbids anyone to go chasing after the law enforcers who raided and killed his men - he knew they were dead anyway, and the camp was in danger - what does she do? GO CHASE AFTER THEM. Oh, and then she packs up and leaves the camp, never mind that the camp has fed her and clothed her all these years. She apparently hasn't thought anything about leaving the boy behind to face the fallout.
She is selfishness and thoughtlessness and cruelty and idiocy personified. I'm amazed anyone would WANT to read about her after this. She can't even bootlick properly. I would have ripped the book apart in my fury, but alas it was on Kindle. I've been plenty angry at characters before but this one takes the cake. Seriously, I have never hoped for the main character to die some gruesome, miserable death in the middle of the book... until this one. I was hoping she'd fall in the ditch and break her neck. I hate this girl that much. That's saying something. I even wanted Richard Rahl to find happiness.
I'm generally not a violent person, but I want to bash the main character's head repeatedly over the head with this excuse of a book. Of course, considering that she seems to have little else than ego between her ears, the book would probably bounce off. I regret ever reading the first page of it.
The prose is choppy and juvenile. Considering that the narrator is a teenager, I suppose that's one technique. It's written in 1st person, which is an excellent POV to provide insights to the main character's mind, but unfortunately the author takes no advantage whatsoever of this, instead leaving us with "I did this, I did that, I sang knicknack on my drum" tune that we quickly get bored of. But what infuriated me - and will permanently inhibit me from reading book 2, 3, 4, 5, or any of the future releases - is just amazingly horrible the protagonist is. Okay, she's a teenager. But I was a teenager as well, and never - I repeat, never - had I been this awful to anyone, this spiteful, and this wishy-washy, whilst believing myself to be the epitome of "epic toughness", as modern-day boys would call it. She really embodies Hamlet's "frailty, thy name is woman".
Point number 1. The boy she grows up with is really a kind-hearted boy; refuses violence, refuses to lie, teaches her how to read. She constantly mocks and belittles him, thinking that would make her tougher. Do note that not once does she feel she is inferior to any of the bandits for anything, so this belittling isn't to make up for some inferiority complex, it's just meanness. She calls him a coward, calls him names, tells him just how inept he is and then proceeds to order him about. Now, my question is, if he really is inept, why let him do anything? He's bound to fail the task anyway. Which leaves the conclusion - she really is just mocking him for the sake of it. But that doesn't preclude her from checking out his abs. And in the end, she betrays him to the enemy, and goes, "well, he's dumb anyway". Is the author someone like her to be able to write her like this? Because I felt irritated just reading about her, so I'd be raging if I had to WRITE about her.
Point number 2. Her father-figure is a kind man. A man with mistakes, but nevertheless kind. At one point she hits his weak point - his almost fatally weak point - and she feels the trust is gone. So what does she do? Belittle him at every chance. Mock him at any given opportunity, despite his continued kindness. She then cries over all the mocking she's done when he's dead, yells at the aforementioned boy when he points out that her father-figure was a brigand, and that those who killed him was just doing the job (as he was killed by the law enforcers). Right. The enforcers are bad guys for killing someone who has robbed innocent travellers of all their livelihoods and killed them as well.
Point number 3. Throughout 80% of the book, the protagonist fawns over the bandit leader. The bandit leader is quite possibly yours truly generic stock bandit leader character - no morals, abusive and aggressive, and probably a sociopath - and she constantly looks to him, so much so that one of the bandits casually comments that she licks his boots. So when this much-admired bandit leader forbids anyone to go chasing after the law enforcers who raided and killed his men - he knew they were dead anyway, and the camp was in danger - what does she do? GO CHASE AFTER THEM. Oh, and then she packs up and leaves the camp, never mind that the camp has fed her and clothed her all these years. She apparently hasn't thought anything about leaving the boy behind to face the fallout.
She is selfishness and thoughtlessness and cruelty and idiocy personified. I'm amazed anyone would WANT to read about her after this. She can't even bootlick properly. I would have ripped the book apart in my fury, but alas it was on Kindle. I've been plenty angry at characters before but this one takes the cake. Seriously, I have never hoped for the main character to die some gruesome, miserable death in the middle of the book... until this one. I was hoping she'd fall in the ditch and break her neck. I hate this girl that much. That's saying something. I even wanted Richard Rahl to find happiness.
I'm generally not a violent person, but I want to bash the main character's head repeatedly over the head with this excuse of a book. Of course, considering that she seems to have little else than ego between her ears, the book would probably bounce off. I regret ever reading the first page of it.
April 5, 2013
I picked this book up on a whim, mainly because I liked the cover. That's a lot more common with me than I like to admit. I wish the book had lived up to the visual cool factor. Unfortunately it doesn't.
The book isn't horrible, really. The writing is tight enough and the character is, at first, engaging. I was drawn immediately into the heroine's world as she suffers the tragedy of losing her parents and being thrust into the company of bandits and thieves. Sadly, that's where the charm ended. The story bogs down badly, once Ilan (as she comes to be called—I don't think we ever actually learned her real name) is taken in by the bandits. She's only days away from losing her parents and still very, very young. Greenwood slows down to show us every significant event in her life from that point forward. Which might have worked well enough if that didn't become pretty much the entirety of the novel.
Indeed, I was surprised with how short the book ended up being. I might have felt ripped off if it hadn't been offered free at Amazon. Ilan is still young when the book ends and I was still waiting for it to start. It didn't help that Ilan turns out to be kind of a mercenary jerk and that we never got to see her actually use that little bow that stands out so well on the cover.
I actually ended up purchasing the next book, and I've come to regret doing so. I don't usually mash up a series in a single review or allow a sequel to affect my review of the first in a series, but this has bearing, I think. Namely, the second book has all the weaknesses of the first (too short, a tendency to bog down, and Ilan is a kind of a jerk) but with the added bonus of completely separating Ilan from anybody else in the first book who you might have been attached to. This book needed people to be attached to, so this was a bad move by the author. In some series, it's perfectly legitimate to put up with the initial weaknesses because you eventually end up somewhere you'd like to be. This is not the case here.
The book isn't horrible, really. The writing is tight enough and the character is, at first, engaging. I was drawn immediately into the heroine's world as she suffers the tragedy of losing her parents and being thrust into the company of bandits and thieves. Sadly, that's where the charm ended. The story bogs down badly, once Ilan (as she comes to be called—I don't think we ever actually learned her real name) is taken in by the bandits. She's only days away from losing her parents and still very, very young. Greenwood slows down to show us every significant event in her life from that point forward. Which might have worked well enough if that didn't become pretty much the entirety of the novel.
Indeed, I was surprised with how short the book ended up being. I might have felt ripped off if it hadn't been offered free at Amazon. Ilan is still young when the book ends and I was still waiting for it to start. It didn't help that Ilan turns out to be kind of a mercenary jerk and that we never got to see her actually use that little bow that stands out so well on the cover.
I actually ended up purchasing the next book, and I've come to regret doing so. I don't usually mash up a series in a single review or allow a sequel to affect my review of the first in a series, but this has bearing, I think. Namely, the second book has all the weaknesses of the first (too short, a tendency to bog down, and Ilan is a kind of a jerk) but with the added bonus of completely separating Ilan from anybody else in the first book who you might have been attached to. This book needed people to be attached to, so this was a bad move by the author. In some series, it's perfectly legitimate to put up with the initial weaknesses because you eventually end up somewhere you'd like to be. This is not the case here.
March 22, 2022
✅🆗 Pace
🆗 World-building
🆗❌ Characters
🆗❌ Plot
❌ MC does not seem to have a goal
❌ Inconsistencies
1.5 stars
Well… That one was though to finish.
The writing of this story is okay, nothing more, and nothing less. The main problem for me is the lack of a goal for the main character. Ilian lives in the forest with a band of brigands, time passes, she’s 7, then 13, then 14, but all she does is living in the forest. She does not have a purpose. I had no idea where this story was going. The action picked up a little bit in the second half, but the endgame of this book was still very unclear.
Ilian is a very bland and boring character, as are all the other characters. None of them sparked my interest. They are quite ordinary, we know next to nothing about them. We know their name and that’s about it, which makes it difficult to get attached to them. The same blandness and boringness apply to the world-building. We know nothing about the land, the rules, and the history of wherever it is they live. We only know that the Praetor is hunting magic-wielder and have been for many years. Why? To which end? Who do they answer to? We know nothing.
There were also many little things that didn’t make sense… Someone was supposed to bring Ilian back to a village and on the next page, we learn that she has been living in the wood for a few years. She has magic powers allowing her to sense when people are near, yet she doesn’t think to use them when she is searching for her friend… As I said, small things but added to the rest made Magic of Thieves a boring story to read.
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🆗 World-building
🆗❌ Characters
🆗❌ Plot
❌ MC does not seem to have a goal
❌ Inconsistencies
1.5 stars
Well… That one was though to finish.
The writing of this story is okay, nothing more, and nothing less. The main problem for me is the lack of a goal for the main character. Ilian lives in the forest with a band of brigands, time passes, she’s 7, then 13, then 14, but all she does is living in the forest. She does not have a purpose. I had no idea where this story was going. The action picked up a little bit in the second half, but the endgame of this book was still very unclear.
Ilian is a very bland and boring character, as are all the other characters. None of them sparked my interest. They are quite ordinary, we know next to nothing about them. We know their name and that’s about it, which makes it difficult to get attached to them. The same blandness and boringness apply to the world-building. We know nothing about the land, the rules, and the history of wherever it is they live. We only know that the Praetor is hunting magic-wielder and have been for many years. Why? To which end? Who do they answer to? We know nothing.
There were also many little things that didn’t make sense… Someone was supposed to bring Ilian back to a village and on the next page, we learn that she has been living in the wood for a few years. She has magic powers allowing her to sense when people are near, yet she doesn’t think to use them when she is searching for her friend… As I said, small things but added to the rest made Magic of Thieves a boring story to read.
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April 24, 2021
I haven't read anything for a whole year. The virus, y'know? It used to be my whole life and then it became absolutely nothing. It was saddening.
The first time I read a few days ago something I actually cried. It wasn't what I was reading, it was just the act of reading. I missed it.
This was one of the books I had in my kindle that I am trying to get through. I didn't think I'd like it, but I've been pleasantly surprised by them before and I hate to think that I'd miss out on something just because of statistics.
This book is not terribly written in the basic sense, but it is too full of flowery prose for my liking. The protagonist is terribly unlikeable (as are most YA protagonists and any teenager ever) and her actions are almost impossible to really understand. The story is fairly formulaic and it didn't inspire any kind of feeling within.
The first time I read a few days ago something I actually cried. It wasn't what I was reading, it was just the act of reading. I missed it.
This was one of the books I had in my kindle that I am trying to get through. I didn't think I'd like it, but I've been pleasantly surprised by them before and I hate to think that I'd miss out on something just because of statistics.
This book is not terribly written in the basic sense, but it is too full of flowery prose for my liking. The protagonist is terribly unlikeable (as are most YA protagonists and any teenager ever) and her actions are almost impossible to really understand. The story is fairly formulaic and it didn't inspire any kind of feeling within.
March 9, 2016
This was rough. Really rough.
I took a chance on this on Amazon because the premise seemed interesting enough, and I've been successful with the "lesser known" or "indie/self-published" section of the kindle books before. But this was a lost one.
Here are my main two reasons as to why I didn't like this book:
1) The story was weak at best.
2) I still have no idea what the plot was.
I realize that this is a first in a series, so perhaps it becomes more obvious later on, but I surely will not continue to read this series.
I took a chance on this on Amazon because the premise seemed interesting enough, and I've been successful with the "lesser known" or "indie/self-published" section of the kindle books before. But this was a lost one.
Here are my main two reasons as to why I didn't like this book:
1) The story was weak at best.
2) I still have no idea what the plot was.
I realize that this is a first in a series, so perhaps it becomes more obvious later on, but I surely will not continue to read this series.
March 14, 2020
2.75
Had potential, but not a fan of most of the characters.
Had potential, but not a fan of most of the characters.
July 15, 2013
Suckered in by the title and the fact that it was free, I'm now glad I hadn't paid for this as there really wasnt much magic in it for me.
Orphaned as a young child by the Praetor's men as they cleanse the land of those with magic, Ilan soon finds herself in the keeping of a band of thieves after being rescued from abandonment by one of their number, Brig.
Growing up among the gang, she's soon joined by Terrac, a young priest wannabe whom she saves during the course of one of their robberies. It's during the course of another, unsuccessful, robbery that Ilan meets another priest, who recognises the magic within her and offers to teach her, which she turns down for now. But seems to take up after Brig is killed, and she wanders off into the end of the book.
For something that wants to be character driven this was a rather shallow and flimsy read. I couldn't really get into the characters and their relationships as it skipped so quickly across the years, and couldnt get into the character of Ilan at all, who I found inconsistent and completely unlikeable.
Starting off as Brig's adoring shadow, soon she's slavishly loyal to the outlaw's cruel leader, Rideon, instead, especially once he gives her the mother of all kickings. Thoughtless, spiteful and cold, she's soon being a snide little cow to Brig, for no apparent reason. When she's not being an ungrateful little wretch to him, she's being a complete cow to Terrac, who she seems to have saved mostly so she has someone at her side that she can always be a bitch to. Until Brig is captured, when suddenly he means more to her than the world and she'll stop at nothing to get him back, including throwing Terrac under the bus.
Having seemed to have picked up a magic bow during her attempted rescue of Brig, that's the only bit of the book that really intrigued me, but I'm not so bothered that I'll be reading any other entries to find out more.
**Also posted at Randomly Reading & Ranting**
Orphaned as a young child by the Praetor's men as they cleanse the land of those with magic, Ilan soon finds herself in the keeping of a band of thieves after being rescued from abandonment by one of their number, Brig.
Growing up among the gang, she's soon joined by Terrac, a young priest wannabe whom she saves during the course of one of their robberies. It's during the course of another, unsuccessful, robbery that Ilan meets another priest, who recognises the magic within her and offers to teach her, which she turns down for now. But seems to take up after Brig is killed, and she wanders off into the end of the book.
For something that wants to be character driven this was a rather shallow and flimsy read. I couldn't really get into the characters and their relationships as it skipped so quickly across the years, and couldnt get into the character of Ilan at all, who I found inconsistent and completely unlikeable.
Starting off as Brig's adoring shadow, soon she's slavishly loyal to the outlaw's cruel leader, Rideon, instead, especially once he gives her the mother of all kickings. Thoughtless, spiteful and cold, she's soon being a snide little cow to Brig, for no apparent reason. When she's not being an ungrateful little wretch to him, she's being a complete cow to Terrac, who she seems to have saved mostly so she has someone at her side that she can always be a bitch to. Until Brig is captured, when suddenly he means more to her than the world and she'll stop at nothing to get him back, including throwing Terrac under the bus.
Having seemed to have picked up a magic bow during her attempted rescue of Brig, that's the only bit of the book that really intrigued me, but I'm not so bothered that I'll be reading any other entries to find out more.
**Also posted at Randomly Reading & Ranting**
September 20, 2018
Magic of Thieves by C. Greenwood is the first installment in the Legends of Dimmingwood series. In a village where magic is forbidden, Ilan must find safety in the forest of Dimmingwood.
Plot 4/5: Good plot about a girl coming into her power.
Characters 5/5: Well fleshed out characters.
World building 4/5: Good world building within the setting.
Pacing 4/5: Steady
Writing 5/5: Very well written.
Overall 4.4
I loved Greenwood's beautifully written storytelling.
Purchased from Amazon.
Plot 4/5: Good plot about a girl coming into her power.
Characters 5/5: Well fleshed out characters.
World building 4/5: Good world building within the setting.
Pacing 4/5: Steady
Writing 5/5: Very well written.
Overall 4.4
I loved Greenwood's beautifully written storytelling.
Purchased from Amazon.
July 24, 2014
The story begins with a small girl and her family being chased out of their homes by Praetor’s menas they attempt at cleansing the land of all magic. Having lost both her parents in one night, the child survives with the help of a neighbor who then sends her off to the another land to be with other magicians, who can help her wield her own power. But as fate would have it, she lands up among a band of thieves and is adopted by Brig – a soft hearted one. As she grows up among the band, she has to keep her magic a secret. She is soon joined by Terrac, a wannabe priest. Things get stirred up and soon Ilan is looking for revenge… Will she be able to avenge Brig’s death. What is in store for her next?
Ilan is a character that I had a love-hate connection with throughout. Though she is the only girl among the band of thieves, I think we should cut her some slack. But still, I could not understand her outbursts against Brig and Terrac and neither could I understand her fascination towards Rideon or the Red Hand. Terrac is a comparatively straightforward character that I liked. But I liked Brig the most. The plot read more like a prequel to the actual story. It reminded me of the prequel novellas to the Throne of glass series. I am guessing that the actual story of Ilan going up against or along with Praetor is the actual storyline that we are going to see in the coming instalments. The narration style of the author is however, simple and easy to get into.
Overall this makes for an interesting fast and easy read.
Ilan is a character that I had a love-hate connection with throughout. Though she is the only girl among the band of thieves, I think we should cut her some slack. But still, I could not understand her outbursts against Brig and Terrac and neither could I understand her fascination towards Rideon or the Red Hand. Terrac is a comparatively straightforward character that I liked. But I liked Brig the most. The plot read more like a prequel to the actual story. It reminded me of the prequel novellas to the Throne of glass series. I am guessing that the actual story of Ilan going up against or along with Praetor is the actual storyline that we are going to see in the coming instalments. The narration style of the author is however, simple and easy to get into.
Overall this makes for an interesting fast and easy read.
March 9, 2017
There are a lot of reviewers who found this book to be less than fantastic, but as I read the book I found myself questioning what they expected it to be. Looking at the cover I expected an action packed book about some girl with a magic bow kicking butt. What I got was a story about a young teenage girl with magical potential growing up among a band of thieves and finding a magic bow that she's going to do some serious damage with in the next installment.
The writing was what I would expect from a book written for young adults. It was cinematic without getting too complex. (Honestly, the amount of depth reminded me of Crispin by Avi.) Its a charming story that sets the main character up for bigger adventures. This is a coming of age story, and it shows. The main character is about 14, and she acts like a 14 year old. She's moody and no matter how bad she feels about mouthing off to her father-figure she's confrontational with him time and again. I totally remember what that was like, and if I was still my 14 year old self I would have loved the heck out of this series. I would have devoured the first book and been hungry for more.
At my current age of 30 I understand that the complexity I typically desire from my fiction is best found elsewhere, and my interaction with this series probably ends here, but in a heart beat I'd recommend Magic of Thieves to readers in its intended age group.
The writing was what I would expect from a book written for young adults. It was cinematic without getting too complex. (Honestly, the amount of depth reminded me of Crispin by Avi.) Its a charming story that sets the main character up for bigger adventures. This is a coming of age story, and it shows. The main character is about 14, and she acts like a 14 year old. She's moody and no matter how bad she feels about mouthing off to her father-figure she's confrontational with him time and again. I totally remember what that was like, and if I was still my 14 year old self I would have loved the heck out of this series. I would have devoured the first book and been hungry for more.
At my current age of 30 I understand that the complexity I typically desire from my fiction is best found elsewhere, and my interaction with this series probably ends here, but in a heart beat I'd recommend Magic of Thieves to readers in its intended age group.
September 9, 2015
Good introductory novel into what seems so far to be a promising series. It left me wanting so much more and the promises of the magic in upcoming volumes. The story is fast paced and it feels a lot shorter than it is. Ilan is an orphan girl who while running away lands in the care of thieves in the Dimmingwood. There she learns much and discovers a few things along the way. More important she grows into herself and leaves us all right when the this will become very interesting. I could complain about the cliffhanger but it seems fair.
Good story, good characters. If Goodreads only allowed half stars. 3.5 in my scoring.
Good story, good characters. If Goodreads only allowed half stars. 3.5 in my scoring.
February 20, 2014
The start of this book is really engaging. But it goes downhill from there. Very lackluster. Makes sense that it was a free download. Will not finish the series.
October 17, 2018
I haven't read any other books in the series, but this seems more like a prequel. The main character knows that she has some sort of magic and her parents were killed because of it, but that's as far as the Magic plot goes. She doesn't learn about it, and most of the Thieves don't even know that she (or anyone) has magic.
The setting reminds me of Robin Hood stories except that the outlaws aren't doing good things, they are just a gang in the forest.
I read this in the omnibus Secrets & Spells: 6 Fantasy Novels (not linked due to problem with GR Insert function)
The setting reminds me of Robin Hood stories except that the outlaws aren't doing good things, they are just a gang in the forest.
I read this in the omnibus Secrets & Spells: 6 Fantasy Novels (not linked due to problem with GR Insert function)
July 11, 2017
I enjoyed this, and will be reading the next book in the series. I don't think it's the best piece of literature I have ever encountered, but fine for a quick entertaining read. And I want to know what will happen next :)
Note: When I started this book I was listening to the audible narration. But the narrator really didn't work for me and I decided I'd rather read it myself. Glad I did, as I enjoyed it a lot more after that!
Note: When I started this book I was listening to the audible narration. But the narrator really didn't work for me and I decided I'd rather read it myself. Glad I did, as I enjoyed it a lot more after that!
March 21, 2017
couldn't understand the premise of the story
June 12, 2017
This book has a major flaw. The protagonist is utterly unlikable. She will lash out with spiteful comments, mock her friends, use one of them as a decoy, and just in general has no redeeming qualities to make you care for her whatsoever. Is she supposed to be some kind of crappy version of an anti-hero or something?
Also if you want to write a book about elves, do it. Not this "IM TOTES A HUMAN BEING GUYS" when you describe your character as having silver hair and pointed ears.
Also if you want to write a book about elves, do it. Not this "IM TOTES A HUMAN BEING GUYS" when you describe your character as having silver hair and pointed ears.
February 12, 2019
**I'll warn you now, there's character development spoilers, but not actual story spoilers**
This was more of a 2.5 for me. Like some other reviewers I found it hard to connect with Ilan. While Greenwood does a good job setting the world, she makes the main character so unbelievably unlikeable.
Its not that Ilan spent a lot of time bemoaning the fact her parents died horribly--other than a few throw away mentions of nightmares involving her parents she doesn't seem that disturbed by it. Nor does she complain about the life as an outlaw in a (steadily growing more) infamous band of thieves. Instead she complains that her guardian, Brig, is being too protective. That she's never allowed to go out on the 'fun' (the raiding of travelers). That no one recognizes her worth. Or that in a land where people were butchered wholesale because of their magic she has no one to talk to about it.
Add to it the outright ingratitude she shows at times towards Brig and the malicious glee she seemed to take in treating Terrac like dirt, I couldn't figure out what exactly was so commendable.
She didn't have a BAD life. Despite the fact she was the youngest in a band of all men--men who turned to thieving, but had few other vices--her life wasn't that hard. She ran errands, did chores and was in general protected almost like a mascot. Their leader, Rideon the Red Hand (or the Hand for short) wasn't exactly a cruel man--he just had total indifference to everyone (possibly including himself). He cared for the results. He took calculated risks and had very few hardfast rules (don't injure folk unnecessarily, don't kill them if at all possible, don't give away our secrets) and adapted to changes to teach others a lesson.
All things considered things could have gone A LOT worse for Ilan. Death, slavery or worse could have occurred, but she's caught up in her own little problems. Which on the one hand makes sense (I think she's maybe 15 by the end of the book?) because she's a teenager, but on the other was just frustrating.
Many of the other characters took my focus moreso. Brig--who's wife took their children and left him when he took to thieving, Dradac--who seemed half philosopher when he spoke, Terrac--the would be priest boy who struggles to adhere to the path he wanted, Rideon--what drove him to this life and kept him going and later Hadrian--another priest that Ilan runs afoul of who gives her a lot to think about. I wanted to know more about them, but Greenwood treated them as carelessly as Rideon treated his men's lives.
Also, and this is a problem I seem to be having more often in fantasy, We're told about the atrocities the Praetor commits (and those that commit it in his name). Endlessly. From both Ilan and Rideon, as well as several others. Yet we're not actually told why. Why did he target the magickers? Why is Rideon so bent on creating issues for him? Why why why. There's another two books currently out (Book 2: Betrayal of Thieves & Book 3: Circle of Thieves), with a fourth due out soon so I imagine some of these questions may be answered.
I hope.
But as it stands right now I'm far less satisfied then I had hoped I would be.
This was more of a 2.5 for me. Like some other reviewers I found it hard to connect with Ilan. While Greenwood does a good job setting the world, she makes the main character so unbelievably unlikeable.
Its not that Ilan spent a lot of time bemoaning the fact her parents died horribly--other than a few throw away mentions of nightmares involving her parents she doesn't seem that disturbed by it. Nor does she complain about the life as an outlaw in a (steadily growing more) infamous band of thieves. Instead she complains that her guardian, Brig, is being too protective. That she's never allowed to go out on the 'fun' (the raiding of travelers). That no one recognizes her worth. Or that in a land where people were butchered wholesale because of their magic she has no one to talk to about it.
Add to it the outright ingratitude she shows at times towards Brig and the malicious glee she seemed to take in treating Terrac like dirt, I couldn't figure out what exactly was so commendable.
She didn't have a BAD life. Despite the fact she was the youngest in a band of all men--men who turned to thieving, but had few other vices--her life wasn't that hard. She ran errands, did chores and was in general protected almost like a mascot. Their leader, Rideon the Red Hand (or the Hand for short) wasn't exactly a cruel man--he just had total indifference to everyone (possibly including himself). He cared for the results. He took calculated risks and had very few hardfast rules (don't injure folk unnecessarily, don't kill them if at all possible, don't give away our secrets) and adapted to changes to teach others a lesson.
All things considered things could have gone A LOT worse for Ilan. Death, slavery or worse could have occurred, but she's caught up in her own little problems. Which on the one hand makes sense (I think she's maybe 15 by the end of the book?) because she's a teenager, but on the other was just frustrating.
Many of the other characters took my focus moreso. Brig--who's wife took their children and left him when he took to thieving, Dradac--who seemed half philosopher when he spoke, Terrac--the would be priest boy who struggles to adhere to the path he wanted, Rideon--what drove him to this life and kept him going and later Hadrian--another priest that Ilan runs afoul of who gives her a lot to think about. I wanted to know more about them, but Greenwood treated them as carelessly as Rideon treated his men's lives.
Also, and this is a problem I seem to be having more often in fantasy, We're told about the atrocities the Praetor commits (and those that commit it in his name). Endlessly. From both Ilan and Rideon, as well as several others. Yet we're not actually told why. Why did he target the magickers? Why is Rideon so bent on creating issues for him? Why why why. There's another two books currently out (Book 2: Betrayal of Thieves & Book 3: Circle of Thieves), with a fourth due out soon so I imagine some of these questions may be answered.
I hope.
But as it stands right now I'm far less satisfied then I had hoped I would be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2017
This book felt a lot shorter than it looked. There wasn't much plot introduced - the story was more focused on building characters, setting up the world, and explaining motivations.
The book starts with Ilan narrating the events that brought her to where she is now...which is the end of the book. It makes me wonder if each book is just going to be a sort of diary, recounting only one part of her journey rather than the entire story being told retrospectively.
The story was...okay. Not much of the plot is explained. Ilna can use magic (but almost never does in this book), some guy purged the land of magic users, and Ilna managed to escape and got taken in by bandits. That's about it.
Character and scene descriptions are done well, as well as Ilna's back story. That's all I can really say the book has going for it, though.
All of the characters are horrible people. In a story where the main character is an anti-hero, or raised by villains, you have to have some way for your readers to connect to the main character. Take, for instance, David Dalglish's Shadowdance trilogy. Haern, the main character, is absolutely an anti-hero...his father raised him to be a perfect killing machine, so when he decides to rebel and start a war against his father, that's the only way he knows how to do it. You can understand why Haern is the way he is, and feel sorry that such a young boy was brought into that world.
Ilna doesn't really have that excuse. While she was raised by bandits, they don't kill men of the cloth...they avoid killing when at all possible. While that's not really a matter of the group having morals (they avoid killing to avoid drawing attention to themselves), but it's still better than how most bandit groups would be set up. So she was raised with at least a hint of morals. But the only time you really see that is when she saves the priest her age - and even that she constantly turns to, "I saved your life, you should be grateful to me, I could have left you to die!" whenever he so much as disagrees with her. Otherwise, all she does is start fight after fight with everyone.
Having dead parents will only get you so much sympathy.
To be fair, her character starts to change in the last few chapters of the book, but after everything else she's done it comes off as too little, too late.
The book starts with Ilan narrating the events that brought her to where she is now...which is the end of the book. It makes me wonder if each book is just going to be a sort of diary, recounting only one part of her journey rather than the entire story being told retrospectively.
The story was...okay. Not much of the plot is explained. Ilna can use magic (but almost never does in this book), some guy purged the land of magic users, and Ilna managed to escape and got taken in by bandits. That's about it.
Character and scene descriptions are done well, as well as Ilna's back story. That's all I can really say the book has going for it, though.
All of the characters are horrible people. In a story where the main character is an anti-hero, or raised by villains, you have to have some way for your readers to connect to the main character. Take, for instance, David Dalglish's Shadowdance trilogy. Haern, the main character, is absolutely an anti-hero...his father raised him to be a perfect killing machine, so when he decides to rebel and start a war against his father, that's the only way he knows how to do it. You can understand why Haern is the way he is, and feel sorry that such a young boy was brought into that world.
Ilna doesn't really have that excuse. While she was raised by bandits, they don't kill men of the cloth...they avoid killing when at all possible. While that's not really a matter of the group having morals (they avoid killing to avoid drawing attention to themselves), but it's still better than how most bandit groups would be set up. So she was raised with at least a hint of morals. But the only time you really see that is when she saves the priest her age - and even that she constantly turns to, "I saved your life, you should be grateful to me, I could have left you to die!" whenever he so much as disagrees with her. Otherwise, all she does is start fight after fight with everyone.
Having dead parents will only get you so much sympathy.
To be fair, her character starts to change in the last few chapters of the book, but after everything else she's done it comes off as too little, too late.
January 25, 2015
I was given a free review copy of this book in exchange for this review.
This book is a first person narrative revolving around a female character named Ilan. She is a young magicker and unfortunately the Praetor has ordered their cleansing. As such Ilan loses her parents and she has to travel to another village to be with others like herself. On the way there the cart Ilan is travel in is attacked by bandits and she is the lone survivor of the attack. Ilan grows up with the bandits, but since they don’t possess magic Ilan has to figure out her magic on her own. During her time there Ilan inadvertently discovers a traveling magicker who offers her a chance to learn about her powers and to develop them. But to do so she has to leave her bandit home, a choice that would lead her to be hunted by the bandits themselves and killed before she could tell of their hiding places.
The book is short and feels like the beginnings of a much larger book. There are other books planned to follow, but part of me wishes the next book could have just been added to this one. Still the descriptions the author uses in this book are wonderful. There’s just enough to help you picture the world without it being overwhelming.
I didn’t realize that Ilan’s true birth name was never mentioned in the book. It took a re-reading to confirm this fact, a testament to the author’s skill to word things so I didn’t take note of it at the time. (The name Ilan is given to her by the leader of the bandit camp, since she refused to speak and give her name.)
Ilan makes some mistakes in the book that made me wince. I’m not sure if it’s because of her personality, or some bout of rebelliousness brought about during her teen years. However it was refreshing to read a character making mistakes and having the face the consequences of them.
I have always loved a good medieval fantasy book and this quenched my appetite very nicely. I’m eager for the next book to see what happens next. The magical bow presented at the end seems like a very interesting concept that I’m looking forward to the author expanding on, along with finding out what Ilan’s magical abilities will fully become.
In summary it’s a very good start of hopefully a longer story.
This book is a first person narrative revolving around a female character named Ilan. She is a young magicker and unfortunately the Praetor has ordered their cleansing. As such Ilan loses her parents and she has to travel to another village to be with others like herself. On the way there the cart Ilan is travel in is attacked by bandits and she is the lone survivor of the attack. Ilan grows up with the bandits, but since they don’t possess magic Ilan has to figure out her magic on her own. During her time there Ilan inadvertently discovers a traveling magicker who offers her a chance to learn about her powers and to develop them. But to do so she has to leave her bandit home, a choice that would lead her to be hunted by the bandits themselves and killed before she could tell of their hiding places.
The book is short and feels like the beginnings of a much larger book. There are other books planned to follow, but part of me wishes the next book could have just been added to this one. Still the descriptions the author uses in this book are wonderful. There’s just enough to help you picture the world without it being overwhelming.
I didn’t realize that Ilan’s true birth name was never mentioned in the book. It took a re-reading to confirm this fact, a testament to the author’s skill to word things so I didn’t take note of it at the time. (The name Ilan is given to her by the leader of the bandit camp, since she refused to speak and give her name.)
Ilan makes some mistakes in the book that made me wince. I’m not sure if it’s because of her personality, or some bout of rebelliousness brought about during her teen years. However it was refreshing to read a character making mistakes and having the face the consequences of them.
I have always loved a good medieval fantasy book and this quenched my appetite very nicely. I’m eager for the next book to see what happens next. The magical bow presented at the end seems like a very interesting concept that I’m looking forward to the author expanding on, along with finding out what Ilan’s magical abilities will fully become.
In summary it’s a very good start of hopefully a longer story.
March 24, 2014
This was an OK book. As a rule, I don't normally like female authors (with some exceptions, of course), and I think you should be a brilliant author to even try writing a book in 1. person. I am probably going to read the second book, but as I suspect it's written in 1. person present, it really needs to be a much better author. I can't really put my finger on what it was missing, but it was a certain something .
Maybe it's the fact that the story sort of dies a bit after a good beginning, maybe it's the fact that the main character lacks personality in a way, I don't know. I do wish we got to know Ilan better, so we could understand why she's being a bitch. I also wish we got to know more characters, like Brig and the priest, especially as the reader won't have too much sympathy with Ilan. I would also like to know more about this Praetor. Why was he killing the magickers? Who is he? How is the society built up? I understand that a girl living in a wood with outlaws won't really know or care much about such things, but she does mention she's getting an education, and these things would be natural to explain then.
Maybe that sums up my problem; The reader doesn't know anything about either characters, or the world in which the story takes place.
Maybe it's the fact that the story sort of dies a bit after a good beginning, maybe it's the fact that the main character lacks personality in a way, I don't know. I do wish we got to know Ilan better, so we could understand why she's being a bitch. I also wish we got to know more characters, like Brig and the priest, especially as the reader won't have too much sympathy with Ilan. I would also like to know more about this Praetor. Why was he killing the magickers? Who is he? How is the society built up? I understand that a girl living in a wood with outlaws won't really know or care much about such things, but she does mention she's getting an education, and these things would be natural to explain then.
Maybe that sums up my problem; The reader doesn't know anything about either characters, or the world in which the story takes place.
August 19, 2021
A compelling and thoroughly enjoyable young adult fantasy book. It is part one of a series to come. (Personally I would love to see works like this published as one volume, but alas, the publishing business demands otherwise.) I really liked the story that starts and begins to develop here in Act One.
The writing is rich and satisfying without resorting to too many cliches or plodding narrative. The author serves up a ponderous protagonist named Ilan in first person POV. She evokes an enigma while at the time compels the reader to compassion. Her conflicts are poignant, her motivations complicated, and her morality pleasantly murky.
The plot line comes off as natural and original not stuffy or contrived. The setting is a bit standard fantasy fare, but I found the concept of magic as empathy fresh and interesting.
I will eagerly await reading about the rest of the journey.
The writing is rich and satisfying without resorting to too many cliches or plodding narrative. The author serves up a ponderous protagonist named Ilan in first person POV. She evokes an enigma while at the time compels the reader to compassion. Her conflicts are poignant, her motivations complicated, and her morality pleasantly murky.
The plot line comes off as natural and original not stuffy or contrived. The setting is a bit standard fantasy fare, but I found the concept of magic as empathy fresh and interesting.
I will eagerly await reading about the rest of the journey.
November 11, 2017
*Rating: 3.5
That was surprisingly enjoyable. I liked Ilan well enough, and Terrac was nice. I, of course, think they would be a cute couple, so I'm definitely hoping for that in the next books. The story was not very fast, yet I was still interested enough to continue. Not very much action, until the end, but I assume that's because of how short the book was. My only problem was that there wasn't much of a plot. It was very random, and I sometimes struggled to keep up and remember the characters. Overall, though, I did like it and am planning to continue with the series.
P.S. I got this book for free on Amazon a couple of days ago! Thanks Bookbub for letting me know of this great deal! :)
That was surprisingly enjoyable. I liked Ilan well enough, and Terrac was nice. I, of course, think they would be a cute couple, so I'm definitely hoping for that in the next books. The story was not very fast, yet I was still interested enough to continue. Not very much action, until the end, but I assume that's because of how short the book was. My only problem was that there wasn't much of a plot. It was very random, and I sometimes struggled to keep up and remember the characters. Overall, though, I did like it and am planning to continue with the series.
P.S. I got this book for free on Amazon a couple of days ago! Thanks Bookbub for letting me know of this great deal! :)
June 10, 2013
The main character just wasn't terribly engaging. She's orphaned at six years old and is taken in by a band of brigands, most of which ignore her. She spends a few years doing not much of anything but being weak, petty and childish, then ends the story with a somewhat heroic but totally foolish act. But even then she betrays those she should be bonding with, continuing her petty streak.
The magic promised in the title didn't really have a significant role, which was disappointing. The story does set up a few things which are clearly seeds for the rest of the series, but they're all so vague that the reader has no sense of why those things could change her.
The magic promised in the title didn't really have a significant role, which was disappointing. The story does set up a few things which are clearly seeds for the rest of the series, but they're all so vague that the reader has no sense of why those things could change her.
October 19, 2018
Bravo! A good fast read! now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
October 22, 2014
An enjoyable read! I look forward to the rest of the series.
October 31, 2018
A really fast read. Coudn't put it down.
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