After the Heist, comes the FadeHunted and on the run inside the fabled and dangerous City of Thieves, U.S. Army Ranger Sniper Sergeant Thor must pull the greatest fade of his career as powerful sorcerers and conniving eunuchs dispatch small armies of deadly mercenaries and vicious hired killers to track down and take what Thor has stolen fair and square. But other dangers await the Ranger inside the wild and untamed alleys, temples, once-mighty fortresses, and degenerate palaces of the Ruin’s greatest and most ancient of cities. Intrigue, betrayal, and mystery abound in this taut tightwire run-for-your-life dash to deceive and best the enemies who have unwisely set themselves against the lethal Sergeant Thor. In the City of Thieves, the game doesn’t stop after the bodies hit the floor. Assassins, bandits, warriors, wizards, monsters, and gods are all out to get Thor before a fabled treasure slips through their grasp, and disappears forever. In a fantastic city caught between its diabolical devils and the deep blue sea, legendary for its larceny, lies, and licentiousness, Sergeant Thor must be more cunning than the best the City of Thieves has to offer in order to survive and win.
Jason has created a machine with Sgt. Thor. He joins the thieves in the City of Thieves and goes into the pit to fight for a share of the chest. He destroys multiple foes and is wounded in brutal combat but survives to claim his prize. The real battle begins when he leaves and begins his fade to destroy the ones waiting in ambush. He has to contend with other thief guildes, wizards and enuchs who have amassed enormous power. He survives but you have to read the story to find out how.
Best of the Forgotten Ruin books by far. Finally, the author got (somewhat) away from the painful and constant retelling of the Ranger Mantras every five pages. The first book was so awash with Ranger 'wisdom' it was almost impossible to get through.
This book was a breath of fresh air, the writing style more descriptive and the story more interesting with a much better flow. It is patently obvious that the authors are doing their best to imitate and somewhat plagiarize Robert E Howards Conan's adventures as a thief in the City of Ophir, as in "The Tower of the Elephant". Also they blatantly plagiarize copywritten Dungeons and Dragons material which may eventually cause them legal issues. The Galaxy Edge series's bad guy is a dead ringer of Darth Vader. Originality is not their strong point.
Still, all being said, a BIG step in the right direction.
What if the varied Conan authors had given him modern special operations small unit operations, tactics, and strategy training with modern "boom sticks"? You might have a Ranger named Thor somehow stuck in an unlikely future of monsters and magic. Thor has left his Ranger outfit to find worthy tests of his skills. The City of Thieves provides such opportunities. The city is run by several groups of power-mad power seekers. Thor seeks an ultimate prize. The fantastic treasure held by mysterious priests and giving the ordinary people freedom from their tyrannical rulers.
I’ve loved this new universe, but this book is hard to read
I’ve read and loved the rest of this book universe more than once. I thought Underspire was a great spin off. Thor’s spin off is rather difficult to read. The action scenes are what we’ve come to expect from the author, but all the in between content on the City of Thieves was boring, irrelevant (the characters could be dead by the end of the next chapter, never to matter again), and tedious. Lots of potential, and a good new character (Sato), but the author will need to rethink how he tells Thor’s story.
I've been reading books like this for a very long time. This brings to mind stuff by Fritz Lieber, David Lindsay, Robert Howard. Especially Robert Howard's heavy hitters. Even the cover is like an old Conan one. At times it reads like getting stuck in traffic during an evening commute that eventually opens up and you can floor it into high speed ecstasy.
These books did the impossible and combined two of my favorite genres: fantasy and military science fiction. It's almost like Jason and Nick can read my mind (gee, I hope not! 😀)
The Ruins saga books read like a fun Dungeons and Dragons campaign with close friends...and I'm always ready for the next one!
Really enjoyed more of Sgt Thor, a little bit more about the before time. Though I do wish he would go back with the rangers, either way still a fun read.
This time Sgt Thor is the bait in the greatest chase to nowhere speading chaos all over the city of thieves in this nonstop action story where everybody learns the hard way not to cross paths with a ranger
Once again we follow Sergeant Thor, the Ranger as he seeks the ‘edge’ in the City of Thieves! This was a fantastic story of an impossible heist , quests and good old fashioned adventuring ! I really enjoyed it!
After reading hundreds of adventure books I acknowledge an author who uses. The word “decimated” correctly! And here by the way ere the four more words required.