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Ratcatchers #2
Thief
For years the king bottled up the city's crime by pitting the thieves' guilds against each other. A balance enforced by ruthless double-dealing, blackmail and a special cadre of secret watchmen. Now, armed with a mysterious substance that turns men into ravening ghouls, the Count is prepared to upset the balance. Installing himself as Underking, master of all crime in the city. Thief battles thief as the city threatens to erupt in violence. Then Heden returns from the forest. Prepared to exact vengeance against the bishop, he finds Vanora caught up in the Count's lethal scheming. Before he can act, he must ensure her safety. He can stand against the count, the guilds, even the bishop. But he cannot do it alone.
401 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2014
260 people are currently reading
1024 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
February 27, 2019
En serio lo único que hacen es mejorar, y para variar lloré otro poco. La mandíbula por el suelo, parecen escritos para mí.
December 2, 2025
It's better than the first book, but still a 3 star. Still flawed. Still has sentimental value to me.
March 11, 2018
Great stuff. Thief delivers on the promise of Priest, with a fast paced and tighter narrative. Matt Colville keeps the story moving and I found myself reading chapter after chapter. Great ending and I can't wait to read Fighter. Interesting characters, good dialogue, and epic deadly fights. A fun series.
August 11, 2021
Lesson learned take book recommendations from my boyfriend’s friends with a grain of salt.
January 23, 2022
I'm a huge fan of Matt's youtube DM series, so I bought this book along tis prequel, Priest. I read them one after the other and I feel that Thief is the better of the two. Matt's definintely getting better in his storytelling; I will surely buy the third of the series, when published!
Strong points:
- The worldbuilding is exquisite and I'd really love to run a DnD campaign in the setting.
- Small chapters, small paragraphs, cliffhangers almost everywhere; a page-turner!
- Text 'justified' on page, with more text per page. A proper novel.
- Although the MC is still not explained enough and he goes from one stupid mistake to another (he really thought that the BBEG's alchemist would be unguarded!!?), the rest of the cast (and there's many, perhaps too many) are very interesting, detailed and deep.
Weak points:
- Lots of typos. Never before have I found sentences starting with lowercase in published books.
- I found no sense of closure at the book's finale. A great cliffhanger, but it didn't feel like completeness (although less than Priest). More like reading the second part of a book with many parts...
Strong points:
- The worldbuilding is exquisite and I'd really love to run a DnD campaign in the setting.
- Small chapters, small paragraphs, cliffhangers almost everywhere; a page-turner!
- Text 'justified' on page, with more text per page. A proper novel.
- Although the MC is still not explained enough and he goes from one stupid mistake to another (he really thought that the BBEG's alchemist would be unguarded!!?), the rest of the cast (and there's many, perhaps too many) are very interesting, detailed and deep.
Weak points:
- Lots of typos. Never before have I found sentences starting with lowercase in published books.
- I found no sense of closure at the book's finale. A great cliffhanger, but it didn't feel like completeness (although less than Priest). More like reading the second part of a book with many parts...
June 6, 2017
Where the first book takes you through a dark, emotional quagmire, “Thief” focuses on Heden’s home. While everything and everyone around him seem to be feeling gating off their own demons, it’s now Heden’s turn to both fight and forgive. This second book wouldn’t let me put it down. Colville has found a way to weave a story of mystery, politics, and adventure, into what I would consider to be one of my now all-time favor the books.
December 22, 2024
Colville's view on what creates drama and how to create political intrigue are on full display here. I love to try to see the cogs of the story turning in the background.
As with the first book, all dialogue was extremely engaging. Loved it.
As with the first book, all dialogue was extremely engaging. Loved it.
February 22, 2020
Great story with ominous twists and turns. Didn't suffer from rpgitis like it's predecessor and was a genuinely fun and coherent book to read.
September 20, 2018
Colville really knows how to write. Very powerful stuff, I'd totally recommend it for anyone who likes RPG or fantasy.
December 29, 2014
The first book in this series is one of my favorite fantasy books. I thought I had reviewed it before, but since I can’t locate that review, a little bit about Priest before I review its sequel. Priest’s protagonist, Heden, is a former campaigner, or Ratcatcher as it’s called in this world. Heden is a man troubled by his past and is trying to redeem himself by doing right in his present. Without going too much into the plot, he rescues a young woman that those in power would prefer dead, and then he is sent on a mission on which he’s expected to fail. This book has everything I like in the fantasy genre. It shows the respect for its characters on par with Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind. It has a similar level of grim humor as a Joe Abercombie book, as well as a sense of a fully developed world ready to explore as any of the greats have created. It has all that and then there’s this one line of dialogue, where Heden eloquently states the theme and says, “A man is better than the worst thing he’s ever done.” It seems simple but right there I feel like this sets this book apart. It’s about something important: redemption and also about how we judge people.
In Thief, we get to explore more of the "Ratcatchers" world, and it’s every bit as vast and fully realized as we suspected in Priest. We learn more about the world’s players. We learn more about the young woman that Heden rescued back in the beginning of Priest. In addition to his excellent sense of world building, Colville maintains a high level of grim humor as Heden is confronted with odds that are initially beyond his understanding. These are some of my favorite scenes. Heden crossing the line between bravery and stupidity, and what observers of this have to say are brilliantly crafted and hysterical. Again it makes me want to draw a comparison to Rothfuss for how much Colville makes us care about the characters, feel for them, mourn when one of those we’ve come to care about is lost, and how we come to seethe at and loathe the villain.
The theme is less straight forward, but Thief is also about something. Heden repeats his brilliant words from Priest about redemption. But here we see this viewpoint mature. Heden is faced with someone that he forgives but cannot fully redeem. And we see that maturation. Heden forgives that person, but that person still needs to pay for what he’s done, redemption is earned not granted.
In a way, I wish these books had been taken to a traditional publisher. First, the series is good enough that it deserves to be promoted. It deserves to be mentioned alongside with the other great fantasies of our era. In addition to the thematic items mentioned above, I have to say that as much I like a good fantasy doorstop book, the fact that Colville has achieved what he has in these shorter ~300 page, quicker reads, is amazing. The second reason, is that in Thief there was one thing that I think should have been fixed in editing. The point of view for the vast majority of the book is a close third person, which is fine, except in a few scenes the point of view jumps and there’s some head popping, which I wish had been caught in editing. That said, it seems nitpicky to mention given the fantastic experience that the book delivers.
I’m looking forward to spending more time in this world and will pick up volume three as soon as it’s available.
In Thief, we get to explore more of the "Ratcatchers" world, and it’s every bit as vast and fully realized as we suspected in Priest. We learn more about the world’s players. We learn more about the young woman that Heden rescued back in the beginning of Priest. In addition to his excellent sense of world building, Colville maintains a high level of grim humor as Heden is confronted with odds that are initially beyond his understanding. These are some of my favorite scenes. Heden crossing the line between bravery and stupidity, and what observers of this have to say are brilliantly crafted and hysterical. Again it makes me want to draw a comparison to Rothfuss for how much Colville makes us care about the characters, feel for them, mourn when one of those we’ve come to care about is lost, and how we come to seethe at and loathe the villain.
The theme is less straight forward, but Thief is also about something. Heden repeats his brilliant words from Priest about redemption. But here we see this viewpoint mature. Heden is faced with someone that he forgives but cannot fully redeem. And we see that maturation. Heden forgives that person, but that person still needs to pay for what he’s done, redemption is earned not granted.
In a way, I wish these books had been taken to a traditional publisher. First, the series is good enough that it deserves to be promoted. It deserves to be mentioned alongside with the other great fantasies of our era. In addition to the thematic items mentioned above, I have to say that as much I like a good fantasy doorstop book, the fact that Colville has achieved what he has in these shorter ~300 page, quicker reads, is amazing. The second reason, is that in Thief there was one thing that I think should have been fixed in editing. The point of view for the vast majority of the book is a close third person, which is fine, except in a few scenes the point of view jumps and there’s some head popping, which I wish had been caught in editing. That said, it seems nitpicky to mention given the fantastic experience that the book delivers.
I’m looking forward to spending more time in this world and will pick up volume three as soon as it’s available.
March 14, 2016
A fantastic sequel to Priest, this book has lots to recommend it. The plot is intricate, with many actors having their own plans that intertwine with the main arc; the characters are complicated and are forced to deal with both internal and external conflict.
Now, this is noir, which means we're going to go in expecting some problematic ladies. Colville does pretty well with them - we have an interesting array of side characters who have their own lives that often (not not always) revolve around the main character, although Vanora at least has a familial instead of a romantic connection. Heden often sees women as beings needing to be saved - luckily they sometimes remind him that that isn't always the case.
Overall this is a suspenseful, tightly written book with flawed but lovable characters. Please please please finish the next book soon. :)
Now, this is noir, which means we're going to go in expecting some problematic ladies. Colville does pretty well with them - we have an interesting array of side characters who have their own lives that often (not not always) revolve around the main character, although Vanora at least has a familial instead of a romantic connection. Heden often sees women as beings needing to be saved - luckily they sometimes remind him that that isn't always the case.
Overall this is a suspenseful, tightly written book with flawed but lovable characters. Please please please finish the next book soon. :)
July 25, 2019
My feelings on this book are largely mirrors of my feelings on the first book. The world building interesting (though I've seen a number of his YouTube streams so I'm not sure if not having that outside information would change the feeling there), the writing is generally solid but a little too "clever" at times, Heden is powerful in a way that seems somewhat plot dependent (though I do feel Colville has improved in that presentation since Priest), there is this weird "every woman he meets seems to want him" thing made me roll my eyes a few times. But a lot of that could be seen as more feature than bug depending on your point of view.
On whole it's a solid book, was easy to read and I felt it was worth the time it took to read.
On whole it's a solid book, was easy to read and I felt it was worth the time it took to read.
August 26, 2017
I finally managed to get to the second book of the Ratcatchers series. The story picked directly from the ending of Priest and it was quite a ride. From the forest of the first book we now see Heden in the city, trying to deal with what happened in Priest. Aimsley, the polder from Priest, now has a main role in the story, hence "Thief". We has a good chunk of solo chapters and is featured in even more.
All in all, I liked this book as much as I liked the first one and I can't wait for "Fighter" to get released.
All in all, I liked this book as much as I liked the first one and I can't wait for "Fighter" to get released.
February 27, 2018
Enjoyable, and you probably will like Thief if you like 'gaming fantasy' Sword and Sorcery type books.
Good stuff:
1) All the characters are flawed.
Critique:
1) There's an odd switch from what feels like 3rd person limited to 3rd Omniscient that happens reasonably often. To me, the story feels like it either needs a real frame, or to lock down into a more traditional storytelling mode.
2) There's obviously a lot more going on in the world than the reader can possibly know. Some of this is clearly ineffable, but it's hard to tell what is effable and what isn't. :-p
Good stuff:
1) All the characters are flawed.
Critique:
1) There's an odd switch from what feels like 3rd person limited to 3rd Omniscient that happens reasonably often. To me, the story feels like it either needs a real frame, or to lock down into a more traditional storytelling mode.
2) There's obviously a lot more going on in the world than the reader can possibly know. Some of this is clearly ineffable, but it's hard to tell what is effable and what isn't. :-p
July 25, 2020
Solid 2.5. It was better than OK, but Heden pulls deux ex machina after deus ex machina like crazy. It's extremely unsatisfying how the only foreshadowing we're given to expect the main character doing these unlikely feats is that he's done any number of previous unlikely feats.
The world building is excellent, and frankly the best thing about the story, but, oh my god, there are so many typos in the text. Colville's editor ought to be fired.
These gripes aside, Colville writes a fast-paced tale that's hard to put down, but it all falls apart upon closer consideration.
The world building is excellent, and frankly the best thing about the story, but, oh my god, there are so many typos in the text. Colville's editor ought to be fired.
These gripes aside, Colville writes a fast-paced tale that's hard to put down, but it all falls apart upon closer consideration.
April 24, 2022
the number of typos became maddening. Was it not proofread?
March 10, 2018
It is worth noting that, in the time between my purchasing of this novel, and my reading it, the author has gone back and revised it. I read this on my kindle, but I do believe the version I read is the pre-edited version.
Note: Spoilers for book one.
Setting:
The entirety of this book takes place in the city of Celkirk. Imagine a fairly large city in the traditional dark ages European fashion of fantasy and you'll have it about right. Matt has previously gone on record as saying that the world for his novels was designed originally for his D&D games and he decided to just use that since he'd already gone through all the trouble of setting it up.
Characters:
Heden: Heden is the titular priest from the previous book. Heden made some terrible mistake in his past and seems to harbor a great deal of regret about it, though exactly what that mistake is hasn't been ever fully explained. For years he shut himself away from the world, only coming out of his hiding place when forced to at the start of the previous novel. Heden really doesn't much seem to want to be involved with any of this but now that he is, he's going to see it through the way he thinks he should.
Vanora/Violet: This young girl is a former prostitute whom Heden saved during the last book. She starts to have a bit more of an active role in this book, both because her past is coming back to haunt her and because she is working on what she wants for her future.
Aimsley: Aimsley works for one of the gangs in town… sort of. He’s a “fixer”. My understanding of the position is that that a fixer isn’t exactly part of the gang, but they work for the gang fixing problems. It’s some strange legal loophole or arrangement they have with the guards. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t make sense to me either, but I probably am explaining it poorly. Aimsley is a “polder” (read gnome/halfling) and an adept thief who also dabbles into shadow magic as is necessary for his work.
Plot:
There are a few things going on with the plot here. There is some continuation from the previous novel, Heden now aware that the bishop intentionally caused the fall of the green order and allowed a city to be destroyed. Though Heden dealing with this is actually a small part of the novel. The majority of the novel is spent dealing with Vanora choosing to open Heden’s inn and The Count causing trouble. The Count is the leader of one of the gangs in town and he's recently come into possession of a substance called night dust which is something akin to an evil spirit. Upon shattering one of the little glass marbles of the black stuff, a ghost-like creature will attack whoever is closest. If the ghost is successful in killing them, the person is reanimated as a powerful zombie, which continues with the killing of any unfortunate people nearby.
My Thoughts:
I can see the D&D influences in the world ( though I do wonder how much of that is because I was told it was previously a D&D world, it's so much easier to see something when you're told it's there ) but thankfully I see it differently here than in Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first of the Dragonlance novels. In that book, I felt I could almost see the table itself with the normal, boring people sat around it, and the book was pretty much exclusively a point for point explanation of what happened in the game. It wasn't “the wizard coughed loudly and then explained the situation” it was more “John said that his character explains things and then ate a couple Doritos.” In this book the setting felt very much like the world of a D&D campaign, but I didn't see through it to the game. It felt like a proper novel that just happened to be set in such a world.
The biggest issue I had with the novel was the constant, rapid shifting of perspectives. The first novel didn't have this issue as it followed only Heden. I don’t mind multi-perspective novels normally, but this one was a bit rough, mainly due to a combination of two things: the chapters are very very short and almost every chapter follows a different perspective than the previous one. This leads to there rarely being more than a few pages without jumping to someone else, usually doing something different. This does calm down towards the end of the book, but for a decent portion of the book it’s a lot of jumping around.
It’s cute that Colville found a way for city watchmen to be referred to as “copper” due to the copper coins given to them when they enter the service. However, the explanation for this comes late in the book, leading to it feeling like out of place, modern day slang for most of the book.
Note: Spoilers for book one.
Setting:
The entirety of this book takes place in the city of Celkirk. Imagine a fairly large city in the traditional dark ages European fashion of fantasy and you'll have it about right. Matt has previously gone on record as saying that the world for his novels was designed originally for his D&D games and he decided to just use that since he'd already gone through all the trouble of setting it up.
Characters:
Heden: Heden is the titular priest from the previous book. Heden made some terrible mistake in his past and seems to harbor a great deal of regret about it, though exactly what that mistake is hasn't been ever fully explained. For years he shut himself away from the world, only coming out of his hiding place when forced to at the start of the previous novel. Heden really doesn't much seem to want to be involved with any of this but now that he is, he's going to see it through the way he thinks he should.
Vanora/Violet: This young girl is a former prostitute whom Heden saved during the last book. She starts to have a bit more of an active role in this book, both because her past is coming back to haunt her and because she is working on what she wants for her future.
Aimsley: Aimsley works for one of the gangs in town… sort of. He’s a “fixer”. My understanding of the position is that that a fixer isn’t exactly part of the gang, but they work for the gang fixing problems. It’s some strange legal loophole or arrangement they have with the guards. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t make sense to me either, but I probably am explaining it poorly. Aimsley is a “polder” (read gnome/halfling) and an adept thief who also dabbles into shadow magic as is necessary for his work.
Plot:
There are a few things going on with the plot here. There is some continuation from the previous novel, Heden now aware that the bishop intentionally caused the fall of the green order and allowed a city to be destroyed. Though Heden dealing with this is actually a small part of the novel. The majority of the novel is spent dealing with Vanora choosing to open Heden’s inn and The Count causing trouble. The Count is the leader of one of the gangs in town and he's recently come into possession of a substance called night dust which is something akin to an evil spirit. Upon shattering one of the little glass marbles of the black stuff, a ghost-like creature will attack whoever is closest. If the ghost is successful in killing them, the person is reanimated as a powerful zombie, which continues with the killing of any unfortunate people nearby.
My Thoughts:
I can see the D&D influences in the world ( though I do wonder how much of that is because I was told it was previously a D&D world, it's so much easier to see something when you're told it's there ) but thankfully I see it differently here than in Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the first of the Dragonlance novels. In that book, I felt I could almost see the table itself with the normal, boring people sat around it, and the book was pretty much exclusively a point for point explanation of what happened in the game. It wasn't “the wizard coughed loudly and then explained the situation” it was more “John said that his character explains things and then ate a couple Doritos.” In this book the setting felt very much like the world of a D&D campaign, but I didn't see through it to the game. It felt like a proper novel that just happened to be set in such a world.
The biggest issue I had with the novel was the constant, rapid shifting of perspectives. The first novel didn't have this issue as it followed only Heden. I don’t mind multi-perspective novels normally, but this one was a bit rough, mainly due to a combination of two things: the chapters are very very short and almost every chapter follows a different perspective than the previous one. This leads to there rarely being more than a few pages without jumping to someone else, usually doing something different. This does calm down towards the end of the book, but for a decent portion of the book it’s a lot of jumping around.
It’s cute that Colville found a way for city watchmen to be referred to as “copper” due to the copper coins given to them when they enter the service. However, the explanation for this comes late in the book, leading to it feeling like out of place, modern day slang for most of the book.
September 5, 2020
An improvement over the first novel. Matt clearly refined his writing style in the intervening time. Priest felt like an excerpt from a D&D campaign, whereas Thief is structured more like a regular story, to its benefit. I also found the plot to be more interesting than Priest - the battle of wills between Heden and the evil count is more engaging than the whodunit of the first novel, mainly because the whodunit had a very unsatisfying conclusion. But, I recognize that is mostly due to personal preference.
A couple of things I specifically pointed out in my review of Priest were "fixed" in this. Matt's predilection towards referencing things about the world but then not explaining them was used less here. It still occurred a few times, but I believe things were explained more often than not.
The female cast of characters was also, overall, improved upon. Vanora was given way more agency than in Priest, and actually became a character of her own. However, there's still a few aspects of it that come off as less-than-great. While Vanora is allowed to do more things, her infatuation with Heden only deepens. It comes off a bit creepy, to be honest. She's also reduced to being a damsel in distress in the last third or so of the novel, which is a retread of territory we've already seen. A few other prostitute girls were introduced, who more or less instantly like Heden on a similar level. The madam of the brothel turns out to have a thing for Heden as well, because of course. This powerful wizard lady we are introduced to is later revealed to have known Heden for awhile, and she also wants to sleep with him. To the point where she hints that she could be repaid for a favor with sex. Can any woman simply not have an opinion about Heden, for once?
One of the villains of the novel is Garth. Garth is a master swordsman, and we are told numerous times how skilled Garth is and how Heden is no match for him. I don't really have anything to say about this, other than that Garth is possibly the least threatening name that could have been used, and it amused me every time he was mentioned. I couldn't help but picture a swordsman wearing a cowboy hat.
Anyways, this was quite an enjoyable novel, criticisms aside. I was very much engrossed in the story, and the resolution was satisfying while also fitting the tone. It's a shame that Fighter has still not been published after all this time, because I'd love to see the series reach its conclusion. I will be waiting with anticipation.
A couple of things I specifically pointed out in my review of Priest were "fixed" in this. Matt's predilection towards referencing things about the world but then not explaining them was used less here. It still occurred a few times, but I believe things were explained more often than not.
The female cast of characters was also, overall, improved upon. Vanora was given way more agency than in Priest, and actually became a character of her own. However, there's still a few aspects of it that come off as less-than-great. While Vanora is allowed to do more things, her infatuation with Heden only deepens. It comes off a bit creepy, to be honest. She's also reduced to being a damsel in distress in the last third or so of the novel, which is a retread of territory we've already seen. A few other prostitute girls were introduced, who more or less instantly like Heden on a similar level. The madam of the brothel turns out to have a thing for Heden as well, because of course. This powerful wizard lady we are introduced to is later revealed to have known Heden for awhile, and she also wants to sleep with him. To the point where she hints that she could be repaid for a favor with sex. Can any woman simply not have an opinion about Heden, for once?
One of the villains of the novel is Garth. Garth is a master swordsman, and we are told numerous times how skilled Garth is and how Heden is no match for him. I don't really have anything to say about this, other than that Garth is possibly the least threatening name that could have been used, and it amused me every time he was mentioned. I couldn't help but picture a swordsman wearing a cowboy hat.
Anyways, this was quite an enjoyable novel, criticisms aside. I was very much engrossed in the story, and the resolution was satisfying while also fitting the tone. It's a shame that Fighter has still not been published after all this time, because I'd love to see the series reach its conclusion. I will be waiting with anticipation.
May 18, 2022
A new yet familiar world invented by Colville filled by shades of gray
I very, very rarely write reviews. But I have been exceedingly happy with the discovery of this series by Colville and avidly look forward to reading more.
Neither Priest nor Thief talk down to the reader as so many stories do. Rather than long-windedly explaining this or that idea or concept, Colville merely introduces them and builds the story using them allowing the reader to pick up on contextual clues and further details as the stories are woven.
In some ways they remind me most of the series of books led by The Hangman’s Daughter. As with those novels, these feel like artfully constructed whodunit tales straight out from the Middle Ages, until you realize it’s not our world at all. But the ways in which they differ become clear, and the differences always interesting.
Most enjoyable has been the concept of a religious power structure based upon actual interaction with gods and saints. Far more appealing than the cookie cutter concept of spells tossed around by clerics, prayers that may evoke miracles backed by actual divine entities that choose only to answer them if they feel it proper. Divine beings that may appear as nearly human and spoken with as such is refreshing. As is, most of all, a “church” of generally well-meaning and effective acolytes rather than the common caricature of nasty, political animals who could not possibly have good intentions that is most often overused these days as tired and overwrought commentaries on the same old religious targets today.
Well crafted stories provide the scaffolding to support a world of characters informed by good, bad, and so many in-between levels of morality. Good characters fall, bad ones find redemption, both often struggle between the two in an endless loop. Being “good” is hard, and the “right” decision is rarely the obvious one.
I think the expression, demonstrated and illustrated repeatedly by the protagonist Heden, sums up the hopeful premise for me best: A man is better than the worst thing he has done. Show me risen heroes, show me fallen thieves and malcontents, but above all, show me hope - not just at the macro/epic level, as most series do, but on the individual character level. Do that, and you’ve got me hooked.
I very, very rarely write reviews. But I have been exceedingly happy with the discovery of this series by Colville and avidly look forward to reading more.
Neither Priest nor Thief talk down to the reader as so many stories do. Rather than long-windedly explaining this or that idea or concept, Colville merely introduces them and builds the story using them allowing the reader to pick up on contextual clues and further details as the stories are woven.
In some ways they remind me most of the series of books led by The Hangman’s Daughter. As with those novels, these feel like artfully constructed whodunit tales straight out from the Middle Ages, until you realize it’s not our world at all. But the ways in which they differ become clear, and the differences always interesting.
Most enjoyable has been the concept of a religious power structure based upon actual interaction with gods and saints. Far more appealing than the cookie cutter concept of spells tossed around by clerics, prayers that may evoke miracles backed by actual divine entities that choose only to answer them if they feel it proper. Divine beings that may appear as nearly human and spoken with as such is refreshing. As is, most of all, a “church” of generally well-meaning and effective acolytes rather than the common caricature of nasty, political animals who could not possibly have good intentions that is most often overused these days as tired and overwrought commentaries on the same old religious targets today.
Well crafted stories provide the scaffolding to support a world of characters informed by good, bad, and so many in-between levels of morality. Good characters fall, bad ones find redemption, both often struggle between the two in an endless loop. Being “good” is hard, and the “right” decision is rarely the obvious one.
I think the expression, demonstrated and illustrated repeatedly by the protagonist Heden, sums up the hopeful premise for me best: A man is better than the worst thing he has done. Show me risen heroes, show me fallen thieves and malcontents, but above all, show me hope - not just at the macro/epic level, as most series do, but on the individual character level. Do that, and you’ve got me hooked.
March 16, 2019
General Overview
A flashing and deadly quick read, Thief is the definition of modern fantasy page turner. Building on the strengths and characters of Priest, Thief is a superb second book in the series.
Style
Matthew Colville, now Twitch Streamer, D&D River to his People, and King of Kickstarter, was a great writer before these successes. This is more then clear in the writing style and pace of his 2nd book Thief. If you have read Priest (I mean, why would you not? Read that before this!) then you will be quite familiar with his quick, and to the jugular style. Not a word is wasted. No phrase or dialogue is without worth. This only means what is there is superb.
No time is wasted on lore, or history. This story is a character piece. A human (for the most part) drama, with a fantasy backdrop. This plays to the strengths of the author, and the novel. The backdrop of the world feels rich, but it is not laboured on. Before I knew it, I was reaching the dramatic conclusion, after flying through a world I felt as interested in as Westeros or Middle Earth.
Story
Heden and a host of other familiar characters from Priest return in this 2nd installment. There is in part less of a focus on Heden in Thief to begin with. This is good. It allows the reader to be set up for the new themes in this book, and delver deeper into the other characters besides our protagonist.
The city, with all its villains, scoundrels, and do gooders, is the main stage for this book. Heden, eventually, returns one more, with revenge in his eyes. This is of no surprise, but of course, the friends he has make sure obstacles for the path he seeks.
The story ends well, if almost out of nowhere, it came by so quick. However, it does leave me nothing but excited for the next book, Fighter.
Final Thoughts
If you liked Priest, you'll love Thief. Heden returns in all his power, and with new and old friends along with him. Mr Colville, thank you for this book.
A flashing and deadly quick read, Thief is the definition of modern fantasy page turner. Building on the strengths and characters of Priest, Thief is a superb second book in the series.
Style
Matthew Colville, now Twitch Streamer, D&D River to his People, and King of Kickstarter, was a great writer before these successes. This is more then clear in the writing style and pace of his 2nd book Thief. If you have read Priest (I mean, why would you not? Read that before this!) then you will be quite familiar with his quick, and to the jugular style. Not a word is wasted. No phrase or dialogue is without worth. This only means what is there is superb.
No time is wasted on lore, or history. This story is a character piece. A human (for the most part) drama, with a fantasy backdrop. This plays to the strengths of the author, and the novel. The backdrop of the world feels rich, but it is not laboured on. Before I knew it, I was reaching the dramatic conclusion, after flying through a world I felt as interested in as Westeros or Middle Earth.
Story
Heden and a host of other familiar characters from Priest return in this 2nd installment. There is in part less of a focus on Heden in Thief to begin with. This is good. It allows the reader to be set up for the new themes in this book, and delver deeper into the other characters besides our protagonist.
The city, with all its villains, scoundrels, and do gooders, is the main stage for this book. Heden, eventually, returns one more, with revenge in his eyes. This is of no surprise, but of course, the friends he has make sure obstacles for the path he seeks.
The story ends well, if almost out of nowhere, it came by so quick. However, it does leave me nothing but excited for the next book, Fighter.
Final Thoughts
If you liked Priest, you'll love Thief. Heden returns in all his power, and with new and old friends along with him. Mr Colville, thank you for this book.
March 16, 2018
Thief by Matthew Colville is an amazing fantasy book that follows a method similar to the first book in the Ratcatchers series, not overly describing everything in excruciating detail. The story continues following Heden as he returns from the forest and begins planning his vengeance against the ones who set him up to fail. He wants to go straight to the culprit but has others he has to care about, mainly Vanora who is similar to a daughter currently to him. As Heden tries to make his moves, others in the city push their agendas forward and the balance of law and chaos begins to shift. The book was not written with a heavy intent to push ideas into the limelight, just to make a good story that readers enjoy. One issue that is prevalent is alcoholism that takes its hold onto Aimsley Pinwhistle who uses it to forget the horrible things he does. He forgets the faces of the people he's killed and is eventually forced out of his habit with words more than anything. In fact my favorite moment of the book and the one I thought was the most powerful has Aimsley in it talking to Heden. In this scene after a major battle Heden repeats his most important phrase,"'A man is better than the worst thing he's ever done,'Heden said." This quote is so applicable to the real world in all its variety. It is the hope that people change, people can recover.
This book is great for anyone who love fast fantasy, where they rely on their own brains to fill in the blacks of descriptive detail as the author jumps onto the next important scene. I would recommend it to all people who have grown up reading Percy Jackson and enjoy the quick pace of going from one important event to the next. I don't think that this book is revolutionary in spreading important ideas and important themes. This book is much more about telling a good story with some themes handed to the reader in direct quote, as Heden is very much a simple minded man when is comes to vocabulary and likes getting to the point.
This book is great for anyone who love fast fantasy, where they rely on their own brains to fill in the blacks of descriptive detail as the author jumps onto the next important scene. I would recommend it to all people who have grown up reading Percy Jackson and enjoy the quick pace of going from one important event to the next. I don't think that this book is revolutionary in spreading important ideas and important themes. This book is much more about telling a good story with some themes handed to the reader in direct quote, as Heden is very much a simple minded man when is comes to vocabulary and likes getting to the point.
June 15, 2019
Colville does two things incredibly well that I wish fantasy in general (and I, in specific) did better. (He does more than two things incredibly well, but these two are the things that stuck out to me).
1) He doesn't tell you, but that doesn't mean you're lost. Anyone who's read these two books comes away knowing there is a metric ton of history and lore and backstory oozing out of every pore of this world that he's created, but he doesn't stop and explain every bit of it the first time he mentions it. Normally, it's in some kind of context that tells you its importance to whoever mentioned it, and you have some idea of the nature of whatever's mentioned, but just because he mentions Capital doesn't mean that the first time he does so, he stops and explains to you that it was the ancient seat of the Emperor and the greatest city in this or any age (you have to watch the stream for that). But you only get that there's a place called Capital, which you come to understand by context is a city, and by later context is a big city. He doesn't give you all that up front, but you do learn and absorb it over time, and he manages it in such a way that you feel just lost enough to be curious rather than confused. It's a razor's edge to walk, but he does it very, very well.
2) The resolution of the story does not act as conclusion, but as propellant. In both books so far (and I assume through at least the third and fourth books of the proposed series as well), the conclusion of the climactic action of the story does not result simply in an ending, but as a contextualization of the central story to a much larger theater of action. It moves the story outward toward the greater drama of the world at the same time as the smaller drama of the individual story is falling. It's a masterful balancing act, and one Colville does exceptionally well.
Eagerly awaiting the release of Fighter along with everybody else.
1) He doesn't tell you, but that doesn't mean you're lost. Anyone who's read these two books comes away knowing there is a metric ton of history and lore and backstory oozing out of every pore of this world that he's created, but he doesn't stop and explain every bit of it the first time he mentions it. Normally, it's in some kind of context that tells you its importance to whoever mentioned it, and you have some idea of the nature of whatever's mentioned, but just because he mentions Capital doesn't mean that the first time he does so, he stops and explains to you that it was the ancient seat of the Emperor and the greatest city in this or any age (you have to watch the stream for that). But you only get that there's a place called Capital, which you come to understand by context is a city, and by later context is a big city. He doesn't give you all that up front, but you do learn and absorb it over time, and he manages it in such a way that you feel just lost enough to be curious rather than confused. It's a razor's edge to walk, but he does it very, very well.
2) The resolution of the story does not act as conclusion, but as propellant. In both books so far (and I assume through at least the third and fourth books of the proposed series as well), the conclusion of the climactic action of the story does not result simply in an ending, but as a contextualization of the central story to a much larger theater of action. It moves the story outward toward the greater drama of the world at the same time as the smaller drama of the individual story is falling. It's a masterful balancing act, and one Colville does exceptionally well.
Eagerly awaiting the release of Fighter along with everybody else.
September 30, 2019
There is such a depth hinted at here. Of backstory for each individual, of relationships between individuals, of political organizations on a local, regional, continental, cosmic scale.
I get the strong feeling that Colville has been playing or DMing a game of Dungeons & Dragons for +20 years, and is giving us a glimpse into a story that he's spent a lifetime building.
I feel super sad that this is likely to be the last book in the series and that it will never be finished.
Pros:
- Unique takes on traditional fantasy races. In order: dwarves (earthy elemental type characters), elves (demigods), orcs and halflings ("urqs" and "polders" in this setting.)
- A frank look at how fantasy heroes fit into average, day-to-day life. Kind of a "reconstructionist" view on what it means to be a "campaigner/ratcatcher" trying to fit in and be a normal part of society.
Cons:
- Heden himself is pretty intolerable. All the women love him. He's emotionally unavailable. But has to save all everybody. Except women are so mysterious and unknowable. There's a lot of emotional depth to a lot of characters in these books, so I don't think this is due to a lack of talent/insight on Colville's part. I honestly believe this is just a limitation on the part of the protagonist. But it's tiresome to yet again have so very much of "women are so wise and mysterious and will man ever understand such an enigmatic creature?"
- There's almost TOO much lore. Reading casually, I often had a hard time keeping up with political factions, characters, gods, etc. I kind of want to read the first two books again knowing what I know now.
I get the strong feeling that Colville has been playing or DMing a game of Dungeons & Dragons for +20 years, and is giving us a glimpse into a story that he's spent a lifetime building.
I feel super sad that this is likely to be the last book in the series and that it will never be finished.
Pros:
- Unique takes on traditional fantasy races. In order: dwarves (earthy elemental type characters), elves (demigods), orcs and halflings ("urqs" and "polders" in this setting.)
- A frank look at how fantasy heroes fit into average, day-to-day life. Kind of a "reconstructionist" view on what it means to be a "campaigner/ratcatcher" trying to fit in and be a normal part of society.
Cons:
- Heden himself is pretty intolerable. All the women love him. He's emotionally unavailable. But has to save all everybody. Except women are so mysterious and unknowable. There's a lot of emotional depth to a lot of characters in these books, so I don't think this is due to a lack of talent/insight on Colville's part. I honestly believe this is just a limitation on the part of the protagonist. But it's tiresome to yet again have so very much of "women are so wise and mysterious and will man ever understand such an enigmatic creature?"
- There's almost TOO much lore. Reading casually, I often had a hard time keeping up with political factions, characters, gods, etc. I kind of want to read the first two books again knowing what I know now.
April 17, 2018
A non stop ride without the epic fluff
After getting involved with Matt Colville by watching his YouTube videos on dming, I picked up these books of his with a small amount of hesitation. Within minutes of beginning to read them, I soon left behind all hesitation as each page kept me engaged and either to turn to the next one as quickly as possible. It's been awhile since I read into the early hours of the morning, having a hard time putting the book down. I'm quite excited for the third book in the series and Hope to have access to it before the end of the year, remaining hopefully he will not become like Patrick rothfuss and make us wait 6 to 7 years or more for the Next book. Please don't make me wait that long!
Seriously though, I don't remember the last book that had all of the normal fluff I've come to associate with reading completely removed. Each new page and or paragraph is the next event that happens rather than a bunch of exposition on a town the size of the town and the people of the town and the reasons for the town's existence and Etc. You just go from one important point in the book to the next, which really made for an exciting read. Thank you Matt for writing such an enjoyable book!
After getting involved with Matt Colville by watching his YouTube videos on dming, I picked up these books of his with a small amount of hesitation. Within minutes of beginning to read them, I soon left behind all hesitation as each page kept me engaged and either to turn to the next one as quickly as possible. It's been awhile since I read into the early hours of the morning, having a hard time putting the book down. I'm quite excited for the third book in the series and Hope to have access to it before the end of the year, remaining hopefully he will not become like Patrick rothfuss and make us wait 6 to 7 years or more for the Next book. Please don't make me wait that long!
Seriously though, I don't remember the last book that had all of the normal fluff I've come to associate with reading completely removed. Each new page and or paragraph is the next event that happens rather than a bunch of exposition on a town the size of the town and the people of the town and the reasons for the town's existence and Etc. You just go from one important point in the book to the next, which really made for an exciting read. Thank you Matt for writing such an enjoyable book!
August 21, 2017
I enjoyed Priest a lot more than i expected to. Which probably led to me not enjoying Thief as much as i expected. The books are wildly different, despite sharing the same major characters.
Heden and many other characters are a little more inconsistently written this time around, and the expanding cast has expanding chances for some continuity or character errors. A lot of character's just state their motivations through dialogue, but even then it feels like its unclear what their actual goals are or why they're motivated as such.
One particular pet peeve i have, is how every woman in his life seems to be in love with Heden for no other reason than he has an unrequited love with someone that is only referenced in passing the past two books except for one appearance in a grand total of 3 pages. It made a lot more sense with Aedryn in the last book than it does with the other three women who throw themselves only to be rejected by him in this one.
This book is still fun, but its a lot easier to see that Matt is a self published author this time around. I'm still invested and will read Fighter whenever that gets released, but my expectations have been certainly tempered.
Heden and many other characters are a little more inconsistently written this time around, and the expanding cast has expanding chances for some continuity or character errors. A lot of character's just state their motivations through dialogue, but even then it feels like its unclear what their actual goals are or why they're motivated as such.
One particular pet peeve i have, is how every woman in his life seems to be in love with Heden for no other reason than he has an unrequited love with someone that is only referenced in passing the past two books except for one appearance in a grand total of 3 pages. It made a lot more sense with Aedryn in the last book than it does with the other three women who throw themselves only to be rejected by him in this one.
This book is still fun, but its a lot easier to see that Matt is a self published author this time around. I'm still invested and will read Fighter whenever that gets released, but my expectations have been certainly tempered.
June 25, 2021
Matthew Colville expands on the story began in his first novel with the second entry in his ratcatchers series. We meet new characters, while continuing on with Heden's journey. If the first novel is about failure, the second is about recovery. On multiple fronts. It's deep and it beautiful, written in a fast, hard style that it seems has fallen out of fantasy recently. It's a style that I love and that I wish would be used more often.
This is the second book in the series and should be read after the first, Priest, but one of the things that I really enjoy about Colville's writing is how he ends each book in the series on what is more or less a satisfying note. There are a few loose ends and you have an idea where the story is going next, or at least what the next novel will be about, but he doesn't leave you on a missive cliff hanger, desperately waiting for the next instalment. Instead each novel tells a story that, when taken together, tells a larger more complex story. If you enjoy fantasy and are looking for something new this is one that should definitely go on your shelf.
This is the second book in the series and should be read after the first, Priest, but one of the things that I really enjoy about Colville's writing is how he ends each book in the series on what is more or less a satisfying note. There are a few loose ends and you have an idea where the story is going next, or at least what the next novel will be about, but he doesn't leave you on a missive cliff hanger, desperately waiting for the next instalment. Instead each novel tells a story that, when taken together, tells a larger more complex story. If you enjoy fantasy and are looking for something new this is one that should definitely go on your shelf.
October 19, 2017
Buried under the unknown backstory
Once again Matt delivered an interesting story. The problem is that we are still missing the background. The events that lend weight to character motivation are clouded by being unexplained. We learn only a little more and it fills in a few gaps but he introduced plenty more to take their place.
And now with the addition of the next member of the group I wonder if they are all going to join as enemies that he just hadn't killed yet. Which is what it feels like for Aimsley.
This was a book called Thief and he played a part but he deserved a bigger role. He contribution was considerable but it felt like it was only for his own ends. Heden found a different way in. Heden fought alone on the bridge. Heden alone with the alchemist.
I'll still read the next one and see if the complex politics doesn't kill it for me completely.
Once again Matt delivered an interesting story. The problem is that we are still missing the background. The events that lend weight to character motivation are clouded by being unexplained. We learn only a little more and it fills in a few gaps but he introduced plenty more to take their place.
And now with the addition of the next member of the group I wonder if they are all going to join as enemies that he just hadn't killed yet. Which is what it feels like for Aimsley.
This was a book called Thief and he played a part but he deserved a bigger role. He contribution was considerable but it felt like it was only for his own ends. Heden found a different way in. Heden fought alone on the bridge. Heden alone with the alchemist.
I'll still read the next one and see if the complex politics doesn't kill it for me completely.
December 22, 2017
Punchy and Riveting
Colville's second book is a solid read. He's set out to write a fantasy without the usual humongous page count and really succeeded. Every chapter is one scene and every scene is short and to the point. The book is almost entirely dialogue and narration with the barest nod to description. It's incredibly captivating and doesn't actually feel like it's missing anything.
The one downside is the book's female characters. Literally every woman wants to have sex with Heden and is angry at him because he won't. Sure, he's devoted to someone, so including one woman who is close to Heden but never romantically involved due to his prior attachment would be an interesting relationship to see. It becomes ludicrous though when every one of the already slim cast of female characters fits this category. Where are the female clerics and thieves? Where are the women who are friends or colleagues of Heden?
Colville's second book is a solid read. He's set out to write a fantasy without the usual humongous page count and really succeeded. Every chapter is one scene and every scene is short and to the point. The book is almost entirely dialogue and narration with the barest nod to description. It's incredibly captivating and doesn't actually feel like it's missing anything.
The one downside is the book's female characters. Literally every woman wants to have sex with Heden and is angry at him because he won't. Sure, he's devoted to someone, so including one woman who is close to Heden but never romantically involved due to his prior attachment would be an interesting relationship to see. It becomes ludicrous though when every one of the already slim cast of female characters fits this category. Where are the female clerics and thieves? Where are the women who are friends or colleagues of Heden?
January 29, 2018
And now I have to wait for Book 3 - Fighter. I really hope it doesn't take to long for him to finish the next book. The same time I want him to take all the time he needs to make book 3 as good as the first two.
This time the story develops faster than in book 1, where you kept reading because you felt Hedens confusion trying to solve the mystery of the recent past of the green order. This time Heden is pissed. And while he tries to find a way to his new enemy another threat appears in town and while he tries to protect his new friend Vanora, he gets attacked by thieves and undead.
Matt Colville finds new ways to describe the known magic and abilities of common fantasy classes. I don't know if this is the way he described it in his Pen and Paper Roleplaying adventures, or if he "invented" this way magic and skills work for the books. You get the familiar feeling to know what he means while it's refreshing and fun to read.
This time the story develops faster than in book 1, where you kept reading because you felt Hedens confusion trying to solve the mystery of the recent past of the green order. This time Heden is pissed. And while he tries to find a way to his new enemy another threat appears in town and while he tries to protect his new friend Vanora, he gets attacked by thieves and undead.
Matt Colville finds new ways to describe the known magic and abilities of common fantasy classes. I don't know if this is the way he described it in his Pen and Paper Roleplaying adventures, or if he "invented" this way magic and skills work for the books. You get the familiar feeling to know what he means while it's refreshing and fun to read.
August 8, 2024
I thought Priest was fantastic, but unfortunately found Thief to be a bit of a let-down. It starts off incredibly strong, dunking us head first into a compelling political plot while simultaneously bringing us back to Heden’s story. But at some point late into the second act, things start falling apart. The pacing is so fast that I actually think it hinders the book. A side character’s major flaw is revealed and then almost totally resolved over the course of little more than a single chapter. An elaborate heist-like scenario is established, the stakes raised, and then…the heroes have already undertaken the heist on literally the next page. New threats are introduced and then dealt with immediately. It feels like Matt Colville was ready to finish writing when he hit the halfway point and wanted to speedrun the final act as quickly as possible. It left me feeling underwhelmed and slightly disappointed.
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