The Thief and the Mercenary: The Jester-Chronicles, Book 1

by Sam Feuerbach, Rory Barnett (Narrator)

The miller's son Raffael earns his living through various swindles and scams — always careful not to lose a hand or head. For only the punishments for theft are harsher than life itself. An enchanted map, his faithful horse Diego, and his tame earthworm Borsti accompany him on his adventures.The old mercenary Brocken is considered a living legend since being the only warrior to survive the great battle in the Mist Moor. His grumpiness is surpassed only by his nastiness. A white raven flies over this wall of world-hatred and triggers a chain of wondrous events. Coincidence or providence? Thief and mercenary could hardly be more different. Yet both carry a secret within them that is also the reason why their paths cross in a fateful journey.

Audible Audio

Published April 9, 2026

About the author

Bestseller Author Sam Feuerbach garnered more than 200.000 enthusiastic reviews worldwide (Audible/Amazon) with his tales of fantasy and imagination.

In October 2018, "The Gravedigger’s Son and the Waif Girl" was awarded the Phantastic Prize for the Best Audio Book, in November 2020 he has won the Skoutz Award for "The Thief and the Mercenary".

He debuted his first series in 2014. His humorous fantasies, set in the middle-ages, are full of riveting action and captivating dialogue. Even when he is not writing, Sam is thinking about telling exciting stories, and always looking for the magic in the everyday.

Fantasy is as much a part of Sam’s life as brushing his teeth and waiting to cross when the pedestrian light is red.

Several old masters of the fantasy genre have accompanied Sam on his path towards adulthood (a path he is still journeying on). These include Robert Asprin – especially the humour in his early work, George R.R. Martin with his powerful dialogues, not to mention Joe Abercrombie and the sheer power of his words.

Reviews

[Saskia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sain Audible'is tasuta kuulata, muidu oleksis üsna pettunud. Väga midagi ei toimunud; kogu raamat tundus üles ehitatud sarja järgmis(t)e osa(de) sissejuhatuseks ja seetõttu ei ole mul plaani sarja jätkata.

[Jessica Chancellor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the concept overall is intriguing, and the characters were fun, however it seemed an incredibly drawn out prologue for a story that doesn't exactly start until the last 1/4 of the book. I totally understand it's a set up for a series, but it just felt like it took too long to get to the actual kick off of the series as a whole.

[Hannah Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine. Story is okay but not very captivating. Characters are decent. Timeline is a bit confusing. I don't plan to continue this series.

[HanaHanaNoMi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was unaware that this was to set up a series. The beginning was super confusing at first since the prologue was seemingly never ending the story didn’t pick up until the book was practically over. The characters were interesting but that doesn’t make up for the slog that was getting through the prologue

[Justine Salter · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

This book is far too drawn out, I wasn’t interested the first half of the story.

I enjoyed the battle scenes & some of the brutalities of war, but the whole book was basically a set up for the next one, so we’re left with far more questions than answers.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Lily Livingstone · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was just boring. I got like 30% through and just gave up on both the book and my will to live.