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Skulduggery #1
Skulduggery
Building a Criminal Empire
Lord of the Rings + Breaking Bad + The Sopranos = Skulduggery
It’s a world ruled by elves, and they have decided that alcohol and magic is illegal for all the other races.
But I know how to make whiskey. In fact, that’s the easy part.
Selling it under their noses and not getting caught and hung will be the hard part.
I’ll need to build a crew, I’ll need to slit some throats, and I’ll need to be five steps ahead of our overlords.
Wanna join me in building a criminal empire?
Lord of the Rings + Breaking Bad + The Sopranos = Skulduggery
It’s a world ruled by elves, and they have decided that alcohol and magic is illegal for all the other races.
But I know how to make whiskey. In fact, that’s the easy part.
Selling it under their noses and not getting caught and hung will be the hard part.
I’ll need to build a crew, I’ll need to slit some throats, and I’ll need to be five steps ahead of our overlords.
Wanna join me in building a criminal empire?
428 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 26, 2019
771 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
May 5, 2020
“Skulduggery 1: Building a Criminal Empire (Skulduggery #1)” is a very enjoyable fantasy adventure with excellent world building, strong, varied characters, and terrifically enthusiastic narration.
I have to say, I first noticed two things about this book: (1) I love the world “skulduggery”! and (2) I was very leery of getting the book because of the cover. A woman in a genie/harem outfit pouring a drink for a seated man? Ugh. Well, I got it anyway and I’m glad I did.
No, it’s not lesfic as the cover makes clear, but the two main women MCs (Penny and Cimarra) have very strong personalities, and the MC man (Wade) only has sex with one of them (once) so it’s not really a harem.
What Skulduggery is, is a very fun world with a hierarchy of races. Elves are at the top, and humans are at the bottom. In between are halflings, dwarves and orcs. Some people (and by people I include all of the various races) are just trying to eke out a living without getting killed or imprisoned, and others are with specialty Guilds: the Thief Guild, the Assassins Guild and others. There are strict rules for conduct, and not following the rules can have severe consequences.
The world is a dangerous place. Wade, Penny and their halfling friend MC Dar are in a Thief Guild. Their actions often make them sound amoral, but I don’t think they truly lack a moral sense, it’s just that one must set it aside to survive.
Oddly, this world isn’t as dark as it sounds, despite the frequent graphic violence. I think that orcs tearing limbs off people and eating them is just so over-the-top that the violence is cartoony compared with people being shot or knifed in a real-world setting. Still, be aware that there is lots of violence!
The story involves our three thief MCs, and later the MC dancer Cimarra, working together to earn “coin” and escape from under the thumb of their Thief Guild boss. The level of detail describing petty street pocket picking, an elaborate theft from an elven warehouse, and interactions with the dwarvan mob or a gang of orcs at a restaurant is very enjoyable.
The range of voices for the many different characters is fantastic, and I particularly liked Rebecca Woods’ voices for Penny and Cimarra. I’m going to have to look to see what else she’s done, though it’s probably too much to hope that she’s done lesfic. I will say I like her voice as much as Lori Prince, so you know she’s terrific!
If you’re looking for something different than yet-another-romance, or yet-another-space-battle, or yet-another-vampire/werewolf, and you weren’t turned off by the violence in Lord of The Rings, I think you’ll enjoy “Skulduggery”. I recommend it with 4.4*
I have to say, I first noticed two things about this book: (1) I love the world “skulduggery”! and (2) I was very leery of getting the book because of the cover. A woman in a genie/harem outfit pouring a drink for a seated man? Ugh. Well, I got it anyway and I’m glad I did.
No, it’s not lesfic as the cover makes clear, but the two main women MCs (Penny and Cimarra) have very strong personalities, and the MC man (Wade) only has sex with one of them (once) so it’s not really a harem.
What Skulduggery is, is a very fun world with a hierarchy of races. Elves are at the top, and humans are at the bottom. In between are halflings, dwarves and orcs. Some people (and by people I include all of the various races) are just trying to eke out a living without getting killed or imprisoned, and others are with specialty Guilds: the Thief Guild, the Assassins Guild and others. There are strict rules for conduct, and not following the rules can have severe consequences.
The world is a dangerous place. Wade, Penny and their halfling friend MC Dar are in a Thief Guild. Their actions often make them sound amoral, but I don’t think they truly lack a moral sense, it’s just that one must set it aside to survive.
Oddly, this world isn’t as dark as it sounds, despite the frequent graphic violence. I think that orcs tearing limbs off people and eating them is just so over-the-top that the violence is cartoony compared with people being shot or knifed in a real-world setting. Still, be aware that there is lots of violence!
The story involves our three thief MCs, and later the MC dancer Cimarra, working together to earn “coin” and escape from under the thumb of their Thief Guild boss. The level of detail describing petty street pocket picking, an elaborate theft from an elven warehouse, and interactions with the dwarvan mob or a gang of orcs at a restaurant is very enjoyable.
The range of voices for the many different characters is fantastic, and I particularly liked Rebecca Woods’ voices for Penny and Cimarra. I’m going to have to look to see what else she’s done, though it’s probably too much to hope that she’s done lesfic. I will say I like her voice as much as Lori Prince, so you know she’s terrific!
If you’re looking for something different than yet-another-romance, or yet-another-space-battle, or yet-another-vampire/werewolf, and you weren’t turned off by the violence in Lord of The Rings, I think you’ll enjoy “Skulduggery”. I recommend it with 4.4*
October 13, 2019
Mc blinded by instincts
Sorry I just couldn’t bare the amount of plot required to allow the Mc to think with his dick in a world so dystopian for him to be in risk being sniped every second.
Sorry I just couldn’t bare the amount of plot required to allow the Mc to think with his dick in a world so dystopian for him to be in risk being sniped every second.
September 7, 2019
Slow
I'm impressed this author managed to make a book about brewing take so long to show any actual brewing taking place. If this was a Braking Bad story, this book would be the first two episodes (the slowest ones).
If you are thinking about reading this, perhaps wait until the other books have come out so you can read faster (by skipping the irrelevant shit, that is 70% of the total).
I'm impressed this author managed to make a book about brewing take so long to show any actual brewing taking place. If this was a Braking Bad story, this book would be the first two episodes (the slowest ones).
If you are thinking about reading this, perhaps wait until the other books have come out so you can read faster (by skipping the irrelevant shit, that is 70% of the total).
June 17, 2020
This one wants to eat the cake and have it too.
It tries to just do the nice parts of a story without the work.
I could really have loved a story like this but it just cuts too many corners.
We have a thieving and later also murdering cast but we are diligently shown how evil every and all of their victims are right before they are robbed/assaulted/killed so it's morally ok or something like that.
I don't have anything against shady, morally ambiguous protagonists. Neither do I dislike characters with a strong moral compass but this one wants it all at least for the first 2/3ds of the book.
At least the story gives the morality for the reader thing up eventually.
We have no preparation for any of the things happening. Every fact is presented as needed by the plot. There is nothing that leaves any clue that everything that happens wasn't just made up on the spot.
Another thing was the selective insanity. Every once in awhile everyone just seems to agree that something that makes not a lick of sense is completely logical and expected. Common sense seems to just escape into Teletubby land for a short while. I am not sure if these instances are examples of bad writing/editing or just straight-up bending logic for plot reasons.
It tries to just do the nice parts of a story without the work.
I could really have loved a story like this but it just cuts too many corners.
We have a thieving and later also murdering cast but we are diligently shown how evil every and all of their victims are right before they are robbed/assaulted/killed so it's morally ok or something like that.
I don't have anything against shady, morally ambiguous protagonists. Neither do I dislike characters with a strong moral compass but this one wants it all at least for the first 2/3ds of the book.
At least the story gives the morality for the reader thing up eventually.
We have no preparation for any of the things happening. Every fact is presented as needed by the plot. There is nothing that leaves any clue that everything that happens wasn't just made up on the spot.
Another thing was the selective insanity. Every once in awhile everyone just seems to agree that something that makes not a lick of sense is completely logical and expected. Common sense seems to just escape into Teletubby land for a short while. I am not sure if these instances are examples of bad writing/editing or just straight-up bending logic for plot reasons.
December 20, 2019
Nice idea, poor execution.
The world concept is intriguing. The criminal element is well done. That's it. The racial tension is overdone and unbelievable, the magical keys are just not written into the story in any sensible way and the characters are broken. They are described one way and written another way. The author needs to go to the beginning and start over. I plan on reading the second to see if the author learned anything from this experience.
The world concept is intriguing. The criminal element is well done. That's it. The racial tension is overdone and unbelievable, the magical keys are just not written into the story in any sensible way and the characters are broken. They are described one way and written another way. The author needs to go to the beginning and start over. I plan on reading the second to see if the author learned anything from this experience.
June 9, 2020
Good idea but terrible execution.
The Mc literally threatens a character for a casual comment about telling people about the whiskey operation, only to then to drink it in front of a dozen people for confidence hoping they’ll think its medicinal, then surprise surprise blabs to the first person who confronts him about it.
He crumbles let wet tissue paper whenever he’s threatened, and sling shots between being competent and a buffoon.
The Mc literally threatens a character for a casual comment about telling people about the whiskey operation, only to then to drink it in front of a dozen people for confidence hoping they’ll think its medicinal, then surprise surprise blabs to the first person who confronts him about it.
He crumbles let wet tissue paper whenever he’s threatened, and sling shots between being competent and a buffoon.
November 29, 2023
Technically the writing is fine. I counted only one error that should have been caught by a proofreader.
And even beyond that, the characters are all fine, any given scene is almost always fine, the setting is fine. Almost everything, looked at in isolation, is perfectly servicable.
But at a big picture level, the plot makes minimal sense, and several scenes and interactions don't hang together. Specifically:
And yet despite the glaring plot holes, it's a perfectly acceptable book. Pleasant. Doesn't demand much of you (in fact, the less you think about the plot the better), but it drifts along okay.
Feh. Okay if you've got nothing better to do I guess, and hopefully the next book will be better.
Still, imagine how much better this book would be if it had a hundredth of the quality of Master of Thieves.
And even beyond that, the characters are all fine, any given scene is almost always fine, the setting is fine. Almost everything, looked at in isolation, is perfectly servicable.
But at a big picture level, the plot makes minimal sense, and several scenes and interactions don't hang together. Specifically:
And yet despite the glaring plot holes, it's a perfectly acceptable book. Pleasant. Doesn't demand much of you (in fact, the less you think about the plot the better), but it drifts along okay.
Feh. Okay if you've got nothing better to do I guess, and hopefully the next book will be better.
Still, imagine how much better this book would be if it had a hundredth of the quality of Master of Thieves.
September 1, 2019
Average
This story just did not live up to its foreword or description. From the first page the pace of the story was frenetic, the characters confusing and one-dimensional, the storyline confusing and what is up with. The liars key?
This story just did not live up to its foreword or description. From the first page the pace of the story was frenetic, the characters confusing and one-dimensional, the storyline confusing and what is up with. The liars key?
April 13, 2023
Prohibition heist and thievery plots mixed with some sexy stuff.
Not a bad novel but couldn't really interest me enough to follow the series further. Seems a bit generic at times and the base that only the MC knows how to distill alcohol is a bit far fetched.
Not a bad novel but couldn't really interest me enough to follow the series further. Seems a bit generic at times and the base that only the MC knows how to distill alcohol is a bit far fetched.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2021
A nice change of pace for a Harem series. The sex is minimum and it is very plot forward. The characters are competent and while they have amazing skills they don't seem overpowered. The tension feels real and the main character doesn't just start collecting women with no effort. In fact, he is barely in a relationship with one of them at the end of this book. While you can already see the next girlfriend, there is not a rush to make that happen.
The characters are not nice people, but they are noble. This is accomplished through racial lines. The elves are the evil empire while the rest of the races have a hierarchy within the realm Elves > Dwarves > Halflings > humans and the rest (like Djinns) > half elves (whom everyone hates). But Wade and his crew don't seem to see race, they are focused on getting rich and possibly overthrowing the elves. Yes, they murder people that get in their way, but it is for a noble cause (lol, just go with it).
The only real complaint I have is the book length. It is short. Not as short as some of the books I read previously, but short compared to stuff by Robert Jordan, David Weber, or Brandon Sanderson. I think that is one of the things holding this series back from being more mainstream.
The characters are not nice people, but they are noble. This is accomplished through racial lines. The elves are the evil empire while the rest of the races have a hierarchy within the realm Elves > Dwarves > Halflings > humans and the rest (like Djinns) > half elves (whom everyone hates). But Wade and his crew don't seem to see race, they are focused on getting rich and possibly overthrowing the elves. Yes, they murder people that get in their way, but it is for a noble cause (lol, just go with it).
The only real complaint I have is the book length. It is short. Not as short as some of the books I read previously, but short compared to stuff by Robert Jordan, David Weber, or Brandon Sanderson. I think that is one of the things holding this series back from being more mainstream.
October 14, 2021
DNF
I have read over 200k chapters of Light Novels, and light novels are young adults at best with ridiculous settings, be that as it may, I can still lose myself in the worlds in those novels. This one on the other hand is like been written by that bored friend of yours that likes to spout such unbelievable stories. I've read 20-30 novels of this kind in the past few months, but this author is one of those few that make me question if this book is really bad, or I'm just not fond of his writing?
I am not fond of scrutinizing the syntactic features of the books I'm reading, and I cringed at those reviewers who put grammar as one of the factors in determining the book. Those 200k chapters of light novels, some of them are machine-translated, meaning the grammatical structure is a good cognitive exercise for your brain, but I can still continue reading them and believe them. THIS book though is like that friend that is overdue of a flying eraser to the head.
I have read over 200k chapters of Light Novels, and light novels are young adults at best with ridiculous settings, be that as it may, I can still lose myself in the worlds in those novels. This one on the other hand is like been written by that bored friend of yours that likes to spout such unbelievable stories. I've read 20-30 novels of this kind in the past few months, but this author is one of those few that make me question if this book is really bad, or I'm just not fond of his writing?
I am not fond of scrutinizing the syntactic features of the books I'm reading, and I cringed at those reviewers who put grammar as one of the factors in determining the book. Those 200k chapters of light novels, some of them are machine-translated, meaning the grammatical structure is a good cognitive exercise for your brain, but I can still continue reading them and believe them. THIS book though is like that friend that is overdue of a flying eraser to the head.
May 5, 2021
Wow. Fast paced book to read. Its basically Gambit from X-Men meets John Wick in old RPG style Elven, Dwarfy World where humans have no value. They are the last part of the food chain and society in total.
Story starts off very dramatic which is good because such type of Dark Fantasy Series' first book should be as detailed as possible for reader to breath in the structure of the world, creatures, hero of the book, etc. Exotic scenes in the book are very descriptive which was a really good touch. This is majorly missing in many of the RPG Fantasy books because of those books are considered Young Adult Genre. Action sequences aren't many in this one because of Obvious Reasons, but would've loved to see some 10-12 fight scenes throughout the 500page book.
All in all the book is a brilliant read !!!!
Story starts off very dramatic which is good because such type of Dark Fantasy Series' first book should be as detailed as possible for reader to breath in the structure of the world, creatures, hero of the book, etc. Exotic scenes in the book are very descriptive which was a really good touch. This is majorly missing in many of the RPG Fantasy books because of those books are considered Young Adult Genre. Action sequences aren't many in this one because of Obvious Reasons, but would've loved to see some 10-12 fight scenes throughout the 500page book.
All in all the book is a brilliant read !!!!
June 30, 2022
Pretty good
Better than expected. Started off a bit slow and the characters havent really engaged me as much as they should, especially Dar. Disappointing that Penny never learned that Hagen set up her dad and aunt so she could end him, but he met his death anyway. It is kind of weird how the elven priestesses control the day/night cycle and have such potent magic that they rule the other races with an iron hand. There was foreshadowing that Wade has found an artifact that can upset the balance of power, so its likely that he will grow his empire and magic power to eventually usurp the arrogant elves as the masters of magic. I see that there are 7 books in this series, so I will go on to the next one but we'll see how many earn reading time as the story develops or stalls out.
Better than expected. Started off a bit slow and the characters havent really engaged me as much as they should, especially Dar. Disappointing that Penny never learned that Hagen set up her dad and aunt so she could end him, but he met his death anyway. It is kind of weird how the elven priestesses control the day/night cycle and have such potent magic that they rule the other races with an iron hand. There was foreshadowing that Wade has found an artifact that can upset the balance of power, so its likely that he will grow his empire and magic power to eventually usurp the arrogant elves as the masters of magic. I see that there are 7 books in this series, so I will go on to the next one but we'll see how many earn reading time as the story develops or stalls out.
December 15, 2023
The series as a whole has decent world building, it’s is kind of Pratchettian. The mc has super plot armor some will find this a bit irrational at times. I really didn't agree with some plot points, its more cringy and has a bunch of missed chances like a perfect opportunity with a will, they, won’t they thing two characters have had for years, seems to pass with little significance. There is magic, but the MC isn’t OP, the plot armor may make it feel like they are, may have also been the author’s intention. But the MC is more the man with the plan, than he is directly solving things with intervention. Tevian is the real main character
Banter is good but wish there was more chemistry between characters, and the plot is tropy.
Banter is good but wish there was more chemistry between characters, and the plot is tropy.
May 3, 2020
Another Great Book
Logan hit a home run ..... Again! Wade, Penny, Dar and Cimmera have formed a great team. Their whisky business is taking off, but they have to deal with the Thieves Guild and Dwarven Mafia, not to mention the Elves. Heads will roll and action abounds in this great story!
Logan hit a home run ..... Again! Wade, Penny, Dar and Cimmera have formed a great team. Their whisky business is taking off, but they have to deal with the Thieves Guild and Dwarven Mafia, not to mention the Elves. Heads will roll and action abounds in this great story!
November 9, 2021
The idea was good, and the explanations behind the manufacturing were well done.
But the MC is a fucking moron, and the side characters are star struck when seeing what he does.
You need to go through some mental gymnastics to make sense of everything.
It has potential to expand, and I'll try to give it another chance when the next book comes out.
But the MC is a fucking moron, and the side characters are star struck when seeing what he does.
You need to go through some mental gymnastics to make sense of everything.
It has potential to expand, and I'll try to give it another chance when the next book comes out.
April 1, 2020
Thriving Money and Hearts
Fun from open to close. I'm looking forward to reading the next book already.
There is no honesty between thieves, for the most part, but complete honesty between best friends.
This was a very enjoyable story.
Fun from open to close. I'm looking forward to reading the next book already.
There is no honesty between thieves, for the most part, but complete honesty between best friends.
This was a very enjoyable story.
May 4, 2020
Finally got this
Logan Jacobs crafts a fine story, and my review is quite behind, but this book has been on my to be read list for a while and i finally got to it, im glad i did and doubly glad that i readied for a full series read.
Logan Jacobs crafts a fine story, and my review is quite behind, but this book has been on my to be read list for a while and i finally got to it, im glad i did and doubly glad that i readied for a full series read.
August 24, 2021
Took a couple tries till I was finally hooked. It has some slow moments but all in all the characters are fun, the plots and sub plots are fun and the main story is progressed enough to keep it interesting.
May 9, 2020
So cool
First book I read from logan jacobs, it was a bit slow the first part of the book, but by the end it was pretty exciting, I had to keep reading
First book I read from logan jacobs, it was a bit slow the first part of the book, but by the end it was pretty exciting, I had to keep reading
May 18, 2020
Almost didn't read. Glad I did
This was a great book. Well worth the read. The was a part where I was about to put it down but then everything went crazy.
This was a great book. Well worth the read. The was a part where I was about to put it down but then everything went crazy.
May 19, 2020
Pretty darn good.
So I’m a big fan of Jacobs. This one started a little slow, but it all came together to make a very enjoyable story.
So I’m a big fan of Jacobs. This one started a little slow, but it all came together to make a very enjoyable story.
June 6, 2020
A thief to what?
I guess you will have to read this great book to see how far things go. It was nonstop action, romance, and intrigue.
I guess you will have to read this great book to see how far things go. It was nonstop action, romance, and intrigue.
September 9, 2020
Surprisingly fun
Well thought out story line with enough twists and turns to keep you immersed in the plot. Can’t wait for the next installment.
Well thought out story line with enough twists and turns to keep you immersed in the plot. Can’t wait for the next installment.
December 8, 2020
Loved it, The main characters in this one were great. On to book 2.
June 9, 2021
Explicit adult themes! Not for kids!
October 27, 2023
A slow burn but otherwise fantastic setup in a gritty D&D inspired fantasy world.
December 31, 2020
5 star
Really nice, author did a very good job. Personally I liked the story a lot more than scholomance and recommend to read this series first
Really nice, author did a very good job. Personally I liked the story a lot more than scholomance and recommend to read this series first
February 8, 2021
So this was a bit of a dry read. It was supposed to be like Breaking Bad, but about alcohol.
2 stars out of 5 stars
2 stars out of 5 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews