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Thraxas #8
Thraxas Under Siege
Thraxas book eight. Turai is under threat and Thraxas is troubled by the city-wide food shortage. With no yams to go with his stew, life hardly seems worth living. Things become worse when the city is gripped by plague. Even the fearless Makri finds herself worried by the way people are falling ill all around. Soon you can't move in the Avenging Axe for casualties. Disregarding illness, and the threat of Orcish invasion, Thraxas is eager to participate in the biggest card game the tavern has ever seen, but he's short of money. The city needs saving and Thraxas needs cash, so there's no alternative for the large investigator but to get to work, solve some crime, and earn some gold.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 5, 2005
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107 people want to read
About the author
Martin Scott
137 books81 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
A pen name of Martin Millar.
A pen name of Martin Millar.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 11, 2013
Ahhh, Thraxas! I've missed you! Another cliff-hanger ending though...
I thoroughly enjoy Thraxas and his ability to both see and unsee the bad things in himself - he's flawed and grumpy, but has integrity and that makes him both believable and likeable.
I thoroughly enjoy Thraxas and his ability to both see and unsee the bad things in himself - he's flawed and grumpy, but has integrity and that makes him both believable and likeable.
October 25, 2018
End of the omnibus. I remember picking up Thraxas in the library once in a Dutch translation, I think over 15 years or so. I really liked the book. The combination of a drunken fat detective in a fantasy world was really funny for me as a kid and I always remembered it. I really wanted to read it again and finally found it online along with 7 other Thraxas books. I know there are still two more books, published by Scott/Millar himself, but I wanted to give a review now.
I still think this books series is really funny. The city of Turai feels real and Thraxas is an interesting believable character. Makri as the secondary protagonist is also quite realistic. I think the world building is quite good. I really like the use of specific sentences and expressions who fit in the world, like 'number one chariot' and 'miserable as a Niojan whore'. They are used much but give a sense of reality to this world. Expressions in real world languages are not that flexible. The dynamic between Thraxas and Makri is very fun and keeps surprising.
Downside to this series is that the stories are a bit repetitive, although always interesting. It always gives Thraxas an unsolvable case and other mysteries, which all come together and are related in the end. Although all stories have the good world building and never are really dull, but still some where a bit predictable and the meta line was quite the same.
Other downside I found was character development. All characters are interesting but secondary characters keep the same over 8 books and this is getting a bit boring in the end. For example the Gurd and Tanrose storyline has some development, but feels a bit stale. Same go for the arguments between Thraxas and Makri, which are fun but are sometimes a bit tedious.
All in all I would recommend this series, it is light reading, quite original and real fun. I really enjoyed picking this series up after leaving it in my mind for so long
I still think this books series is really funny. The city of Turai feels real and Thraxas is an interesting believable character. Makri as the secondary protagonist is also quite realistic. I think the world building is quite good. I really like the use of specific sentences and expressions who fit in the world, like 'number one chariot' and 'miserable as a Niojan whore'. They are used much but give a sense of reality to this world. Expressions in real world languages are not that flexible. The dynamic between Thraxas and Makri is very fun and keeps surprising.
Downside to this series is that the stories are a bit repetitive, although always interesting. It always gives Thraxas an unsolvable case and other mysteries, which all come together and are related in the end. Although all stories have the good world building and never are really dull, but still some where a bit predictable and the meta line was quite the same.
Other downside I found was character development. All characters are interesting but secondary characters keep the same over 8 books and this is getting a bit boring in the end. For example the Gurd and Tanrose storyline has some development, but feels a bit stale. Same go for the arguments between Thraxas and Makri, which are fun but are sometimes a bit tedious.
All in all I would recommend this series, it is light reading, quite original and real fun. I really enjoyed picking this series up after leaving it in my mind for so long
February 29, 2020
This book doesn't drag, it keeps moving and never boring.
June 1, 2024
Турай е под обсада и Траксас се опитва да събере пари за да участва в голяма хазартна игра. Разбира се, има сериозни усложнения, като например че нищо не се получава.
March 22, 2025
This book picks up directly where Thraxas at War left off. Same humor as the previous 7 books, but moves the plot significantly further. I definitely want to see where he goes next
August 23, 2009
Almost direct continuation of Thraxas at War. It took me three years to get to this book. I don't know whether I changed too much or the quality dropped so much, but this volume was a real torture to muddle through.
Quick synopsis: Turai is under siege. Orcs surrounded the city. Inside, more and more victims fall to winter malady, a powerful magic item needs to be found, and an important card game is coming up.
Thraxas Series has been known - at least to me - as rather good comic fantasy. Now the comedy aspect seems to be less pronounced; sometimes the situations and Thraxas's bragging are even annoying. For more than a half of the book, the plot doesn't seem to move in any concrete direction, instead wandering in zig-zags and circles around. There is no catching point, nothing interesting enough and worthy to turn the pages. It's all rather tiring and I kept glancing at page count, not willing to drop a book so thin.
Fortunately the ending contains a couple of twists and is rather unexpected, given the overused schemes for the genre. It cuts off in a cliffhanger, which is less unfortunate, as I'm not convinced to buy next volume. The series lost its appeal to me and I am dropping it now.
Quick synopsis: Turai is under siege. Orcs surrounded the city. Inside, more and more victims fall to winter malady, a powerful magic item needs to be found, and an important card game is coming up.
Thraxas Series has been known - at least to me - as rather good comic fantasy. Now the comedy aspect seems to be less pronounced; sometimes the situations and Thraxas's bragging are even annoying. For more than a half of the book, the plot doesn't seem to move in any concrete direction, instead wandering in zig-zags and circles around. There is no catching point, nothing interesting enough and worthy to turn the pages. It's all rather tiring and I kept glancing at page count, not willing to drop a book so thin.
Fortunately the ending contains a couple of twists and is rather unexpected, given the overused schemes for the genre. It cuts off in a cliffhanger, which is less unfortunate, as I'm not convinced to buy next volume. The series lost its appeal to me and I am dropping it now.
August 24, 2016
Turai, is now under siege, the orcs are amassing their forces to attack, and Thraxas is busy being really grumpy. Fortunately, he is soon distracted by and couple of cases, one involving a missing fortune, the other a missing magical item. Being Thraxas, he is no less grumpy for having something to do.
One of my favourite series.
One of my favourite series.
August 24, 2015
Die Reihe ist einfach überragend!!! Äußerst unterhaltsam und empfehlenswert! Schade, dass sie mit diesem Band schon endet...:-(
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews