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Twisted Seas #1
The Thunder Heist
A relentless thief. An impossible heist.
Meet Kef Cutmark. Pirate, monster-slayer, scourge of the Twisted Seas.
After a lifetime of running from her past, she’s returned to Zorith – a tangled jungle of a thousand boats, all lashed together to make a floating city-ship. Zorith is powered by a device that draws energy from lightning. Mysterious, unique, and locked in an unbreachable tower, it’s the envy of Zorith’s rivals.
And Kef? She’s here to steal it.
If she can take the device and cripple Zorith, maybe she’ll find justice for all the hurt the city has caused her. But with an unreliable thieving crew, hunters closing in, and her past bearing down upon her, failure looks more likely. And if she fails, she’ll never find peace again.
Meet Kef Cutmark. Pirate, monster-slayer, scourge of the Twisted Seas.
After a lifetime of running from her past, she’s returned to Zorith – a tangled jungle of a thousand boats, all lashed together to make a floating city-ship. Zorith is powered by a device that draws energy from lightning. Mysterious, unique, and locked in an unbreachable tower, it’s the envy of Zorith’s rivals.
And Kef? She’s here to steal it.
If she can take the device and cripple Zorith, maybe she’ll find justice for all the hurt the city has caused her. But with an unreliable thieving crew, hunters closing in, and her past bearing down upon her, failure looks more likely. And if she fails, she’ll never find peace again.
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 19, 2020
44 people are currently reading
823 people want to read
About the author
Jed Herne
11 books371 followersJed Herne is a fantasy author from Perth, Western Australia. His books include
Fires of the Dead
, which readers say is "the perfect read for someone looking to be quickly immersed in a magic system unlike anything else," and
Across the Broken Stars
, described as "an epic fantasy that has a unique setting," and
The Thunder Heist
- an epic pirate fantasy tale, which forms the first book in the Twisted Seas series.
His short stories have been published in The Arcanist, Scarlet Lead Review, Flintlock, and more. He is currently developing an interactive fiction game for Choice of Games.
Outside of writing, he hosts the Wizards, Warriors, & Words fantasy writing advice podcast with Rob J. Hayes, Dyrk Ashton, and Michael R. Fletcher. He also hosts The Novel Analyst Podcast, where he deconstructs his favourite books to help listeners improve their writing. And because that isn't already enough podcasting, he also hosts the Half-Baked Stories podcast, an improv storytelling show where writers are locked in a room and given half an hour to combine three random ideas into a single story.
He loves hearing from fans, and you can email him at: jed.herne1 [at] gmail.com . He does his best to read and reply to every message.
His short stories have been published in The Arcanist, Scarlet Lead Review, Flintlock, and more. He is currently developing an interactive fiction game for Choice of Games.
Outside of writing, he hosts the Wizards, Warriors, & Words fantasy writing advice podcast with Rob J. Hayes, Dyrk Ashton, and Michael R. Fletcher. He also hosts The Novel Analyst Podcast, where he deconstructs his favourite books to help listeners improve their writing. And because that isn't already enough podcasting, he also hosts the Half-Baked Stories podcast, an improv storytelling show where writers are locked in a room and given half an hour to combine three random ideas into a single story.
He loves hearing from fans, and you can email him at: jed.herne1 [at] gmail.com . He does his best to read and reply to every message.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
October 5, 2021
This was sent to me in exchange for an honest review!
This was SO much fun! I loveee a good heist story, but a good heist story in a super unique and fascinating world with an AWESOME main character?!
Kef was a character that was so easy to get behind! I love characters who always seem to be a step ahead of everyone else in the room! Her troubled past and noble mission along with a twist at the end has me totally hooked! I loved her!
The world-building in this one was really well-done as well! I loved how unique the setting was and the addition of mutants which fit in seamlessly!
Also that ending made me want the next book immediately!
The only thing I wish we got more of was relationship building between Kef and the other main characters! I would’ve loved to have taken more time with them, especially during the planning phase of the heist!
Overall, I really enjoyed this one from start to finish and could easily recommend this to any type of fantasy reader! I can’t wait for the next book!
This was SO much fun! I loveee a good heist story, but a good heist story in a super unique and fascinating world with an AWESOME main character?!
Kef was a character that was so easy to get behind! I love characters who always seem to be a step ahead of everyone else in the room! Her troubled past and noble mission along with a twist at the end has me totally hooked! I loved her!
The world-building in this one was really well-done as well! I loved how unique the setting was and the addition of mutants which fit in seamlessly!
Also that ending made me want the next book immediately!
The only thing I wish we got more of was relationship building between Kef and the other main characters! I would’ve loved to have taken more time with them, especially during the planning phase of the heist!
Overall, I really enjoyed this one from start to finish and could easily recommend this to any type of fantasy reader! I can’t wait for the next book!
April 7, 2021
**Review copy supplied by Netgalley, with my thanks**
The Thunder Heist by Jed Herne is a fun, fast-paced heist adventure serving up high seas mayhem, but without ever feeling like the high seas.
Kef Cutmark is the leader of a crack team of pirates, a crew at the top of their game and including mutant wingers (flyers, with wings and hollow bones) and gillers (swimmers with gills and webbed feet). Zorith is one of a series of ship-cities – thousands of boats chained together to form one floating metropolis. Unlike the other ship-cities though, which are powered by oil, Zorith’s power lies in the lightning tower at its centre. And Kef means to steal it.
The premise, the characters, the world – all are interesting. This book however doesn’t manage to pull them all together into a great story. There just isn’t enough meat on the bones, and the fast-paced writing and sharp-tongued dialogue aren’t enough on their own to make up for it.
There are a number of things left unexplained, and with a bit of space dedicated to them, I feel the story would have improved quite a bit. Firstly, we’re advised of Kef’s crew, but we never meet them. Instead, Kef recruits a new crew for this most daring and dangerous of jobs. There’s no real explanation for this, just a throwaway comment along the lines of her needing some time away. Yes, the recruited crew members have their individual talents that are vital to the heist, but it just seems odd to me that the crew Kef has worked with for some time, and trusts implicitly, is not the one taking on this job.
The characters themselves are ok, but not nearly well enough fleshed out. Kef, being the main character, fills almost every page, but even then we don’t delve deeply enough into her character to truly get to know her. The writing seems to have too narrow a focus, is too linear, not looking beyond the specifics of the job at hand. For Kef then, we see action and reaction, but not much more.
There is one time where we start to see a softening up of Kef’s hard exterior, a literal sidestep from the plot where she has a couple of hours to kill. This comes to nothing though, there’s nothing leading up to it, there’s nothing spoken of it afterwards, it’s all just brushed off in the space of a couple of paragraphs. It was just a bit odd, a very out of place section of the book, like the author decided not to include the scene, but didn’t rewrite the chapter to remove all trace of it.
For the other characters, we don’t get into their heads enough to see what makes them tick. Indeed, every chapter is from Kef’s viewpoint until we get to 60% through the book. From that point on, a half-dozen or so chapters are given over to various other characters, but not with enough focus to build on what we see of them from Kef’s eyes – in fact one of them is not even seen in the book outside of their chapter, just there to give a snippet of information that doesn’t quite resolve an unresolved plot point.
Moving on to the world and we come to one of the high points of The Thunder Heist. We never set foot on dry land, just being told that monsters roam there and so everyone lives on the Twisted Seas. What this gives us is a floating society, where cities made up of many ships tied together sail around mining seaweed for the oil that gives them power. On Zorith we get to see what the society looks like, and we also hear of other societies on other ships. For this, we get a decent level of detail – certainly enough to paint the picture we need.
Outside of the plot and the characters, I found the writing itself to be a bit hit and miss. While the vast majority of the book was well written, there were a couple of decisions that didn’t work for me. For the most part, as mentioned, we see from Kef’s point of view. We see her get into scrapes, and get out of them in true action-hero style. Then as things start to ramp up, we see her get into danger… and instead of seeing an escape, we cut to a non-Kef chapter, in which Kef turns up, having escaped. There’s no explanation of what happened, we just know that it all worked out. This just didn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the book.
In another scene, there’s a whole big paragraph, almost an entire page, made up of a single sentence. Commas abound, but otherwise there is no break for almost 150 words, and it made for difficult reading. I think this might have been an intentional device, used to highlight the intense nature of the scene, but it just didn’t do the trick for me, contrasting too much with the style of the sections around it. Short sharp sentences would be less jarring for me here and make for quicker, more intense reading.
As for the main event, the heist itself was actually pretty good, with some unexpected twists just as you think you’ve got a handle on what’s happening. There are still some unanswered questions, but these don’t detract too much from the enjoyment, even if they would improve the storyline were they answered.
Overall, The Thunder Heist could do with some extra depth to its pages, but it’s still a fun read. If you’re looking for fully fleshed out characters and an intricate plot with multiple arcs weaved together, you might find this to be a bit lacking. If you’re looking for a nice easy read with plenty of action and excitement however, The Thunder Heist might be the book for you.
The Thunder Heist by Jed Herne is a fun, fast-paced heist adventure serving up high seas mayhem, but without ever feeling like the high seas.
Kef Cutmark is the leader of a crack team of pirates, a crew at the top of their game and including mutant wingers (flyers, with wings and hollow bones) and gillers (swimmers with gills and webbed feet). Zorith is one of a series of ship-cities – thousands of boats chained together to form one floating metropolis. Unlike the other ship-cities though, which are powered by oil, Zorith’s power lies in the lightning tower at its centre. And Kef means to steal it.
The premise, the characters, the world – all are interesting. This book however doesn’t manage to pull them all together into a great story. There just isn’t enough meat on the bones, and the fast-paced writing and sharp-tongued dialogue aren’t enough on their own to make up for it.
There are a number of things left unexplained, and with a bit of space dedicated to them, I feel the story would have improved quite a bit. Firstly, we’re advised of Kef’s crew, but we never meet them. Instead, Kef recruits a new crew for this most daring and dangerous of jobs. There’s no real explanation for this, just a throwaway comment along the lines of her needing some time away. Yes, the recruited crew members have their individual talents that are vital to the heist, but it just seems odd to me that the crew Kef has worked with for some time, and trusts implicitly, is not the one taking on this job.
The characters themselves are ok, but not nearly well enough fleshed out. Kef, being the main character, fills almost every page, but even then we don’t delve deeply enough into her character to truly get to know her. The writing seems to have too narrow a focus, is too linear, not looking beyond the specifics of the job at hand. For Kef then, we see action and reaction, but not much more.
There is one time where we start to see a softening up of Kef’s hard exterior, a literal sidestep from the plot where she has a couple of hours to kill. This comes to nothing though, there’s nothing leading up to it, there’s nothing spoken of it afterwards, it’s all just brushed off in the space of a couple of paragraphs. It was just a bit odd, a very out of place section of the book, like the author decided not to include the scene, but didn’t rewrite the chapter to remove all trace of it.
For the other characters, we don’t get into their heads enough to see what makes them tick. Indeed, every chapter is from Kef’s viewpoint until we get to 60% through the book. From that point on, a half-dozen or so chapters are given over to various other characters, but not with enough focus to build on what we see of them from Kef’s eyes – in fact one of them is not even seen in the book outside of their chapter, just there to give a snippet of information that doesn’t quite resolve an unresolved plot point.
Moving on to the world and we come to one of the high points of The Thunder Heist. We never set foot on dry land, just being told that monsters roam there and so everyone lives on the Twisted Seas. What this gives us is a floating society, where cities made up of many ships tied together sail around mining seaweed for the oil that gives them power. On Zorith we get to see what the society looks like, and we also hear of other societies on other ships. For this, we get a decent level of detail – certainly enough to paint the picture we need.
Outside of the plot and the characters, I found the writing itself to be a bit hit and miss. While the vast majority of the book was well written, there were a couple of decisions that didn’t work for me. For the most part, as mentioned, we see from Kef’s point of view. We see her get into scrapes, and get out of them in true action-hero style. Then as things start to ramp up, we see her get into danger… and instead of seeing an escape, we cut to a non-Kef chapter, in which Kef turns up, having escaped. There’s no explanation of what happened, we just know that it all worked out. This just didn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the book.
In another scene, there’s a whole big paragraph, almost an entire page, made up of a single sentence. Commas abound, but otherwise there is no break for almost 150 words, and it made for difficult reading. I think this might have been an intentional device, used to highlight the intense nature of the scene, but it just didn’t do the trick for me, contrasting too much with the style of the sections around it. Short sharp sentences would be less jarring for me here and make for quicker, more intense reading.
As for the main event, the heist itself was actually pretty good, with some unexpected twists just as you think you’ve got a handle on what’s happening. There are still some unanswered questions, but these don’t detract too much from the enjoyment, even if they would improve the storyline were they answered.
Overall, The Thunder Heist could do with some extra depth to its pages, but it’s still a fun read. If you’re looking for fully fleshed out characters and an intricate plot with multiple arcs weaved together, you might find this to be a bit lacking. If you’re looking for a nice easy read with plenty of action and excitement however, The Thunder Heist might be the book for you.
August 30, 2021
Full transparency, I did receive and eCopy of this book from the author to read and share my thoughts.
Honestly though, if Jed Herne was my friend and he said, "Hey, I found this book about pirates and people who live on CITY-SHIPS on the sea because the land is ruled by monsters....with magic....centered around a heist!" I would have instantly wanted to read this book.
The Thunder Heist - Book 1 of The Twisted Seas series by Jed Herne - I can't tell you enough how much I love a great start to a book to reel me in. Herne started this book off with so much energy, it was so fun to imagine. I was picturing the scenes with the characters that resembled the acrobatics of The Musketeer movie with Justin Chambers. Over the top in all the best of ways!
A quick summary of the plot: Kef Cutmark, a daring young pirate (the GREATEST pirate of the seas if you ask her) has planned a huge heist for YEARS. The time has come to put the plan in motion...along with the opportunity for revenge against those that held her as a slave when she was a child. There is a magical device of a sort that is powering a large tower in the city-ship of Zorith and Kef is here to take it. Like Rocket from The Guardians of the Galaxy, Kef's going to need a few things: a mutant that breathes underwater (did I mention there were MUTANTS?!!!), an alchemist, an architect and a whole lot of luck.
This story is daring and full of sharp wit. I honestly thought it was simple and straightforward and was delighted to find out that was not the case. I am very much looking forward to the next adventure!
Honestly though, if Jed Herne was my friend and he said, "Hey, I found this book about pirates and people who live on CITY-SHIPS on the sea because the land is ruled by monsters....with magic....centered around a heist!" I would have instantly wanted to read this book.
The Thunder Heist - Book 1 of The Twisted Seas series by Jed Herne - I can't tell you enough how much I love a great start to a book to reel me in. Herne started this book off with so much energy, it was so fun to imagine. I was picturing the scenes with the characters that resembled the acrobatics of The Musketeer movie with Justin Chambers. Over the top in all the best of ways!
A quick summary of the plot: Kef Cutmark, a daring young pirate (the GREATEST pirate of the seas if you ask her) has planned a huge heist for YEARS. The time has come to put the plan in motion...along with the opportunity for revenge against those that held her as a slave when she was a child. There is a magical device of a sort that is powering a large tower in the city-ship of Zorith and Kef is here to take it. Like Rocket from The Guardians of the Galaxy, Kef's going to need a few things: a mutant that breathes underwater (did I mention there were MUTANTS?!!!), an alchemist, an architect and a whole lot of luck.
This story is daring and full of sharp wit. I honestly thought it was simple and straightforward and was delighted to find out that was not the case. I am very much looking forward to the next adventure!
December 21, 2020
I spotted the promotions for this book on twitter- pirates, thieves, and lightning harvesting…not the combination of keywords you see everyday; I knew then that I had to read it. Thank you to Mihir for putting me in touch with the author, and to the author Jed Hearne, for setting me up with an ARC of The Thunder Heist.
This was action-packed, edge of your seat pacing, and fun as hell. I blew through this one in just a few hours. A unique setting kind of Waterworld meets the Italian Job…minus the mini-car chase but the underwater scenes were just as breath-stealing. Exactly the kind of read I was needing to break up the epic-sized stories that have been on my plate lately.
I loved the world. It was full of so many neat ideas.
A post-apocalyptic world or at least a world on the edge of other more advanced societies, as there are mention of fallen debris from the sky-travelers and repurposing various things found in the ocean. There is land but it is populated with aggressive monsters and too dangerous to try and settle (the water has monsters but to a lesser degree).
Ship-cities- boats and ships and other floating craft, lashed together. Some of these ship-cities float freely and other were stationary. Oil supplies most of their power sources but the people of the ship-city of Zorith harness lightning to power their city (similar to Atlantis in Stargate).
The population is made up of varied races- some were self-explaining like the Gillers (fish-people) and the Winged-people but, then there were the Crystalcoats, with whom had a mutation that slowly petrifies them. Which I found incredibly intriguing and horrifying at the same time.
The cast isn’t huge.
We have Kef, our lead and main pov. she’s tough as nails and set on her path. She’s prickly, insensitive, and un-empathetic. She does warm-up to us but it takes awhile to break through her shell. When it comes to her goals; which are so fueled by anger and purpose, when the tough decisions are presented, and opportunities for revenge- I could not guess what her choice was going to be. I knew what I hoped they would be but she already proved to me that where her goals are concerned, she wasn’t the soft-hearted kind of girl.
Kef’s team is made up of a couple of old folks and a teen. There is Gabine, the engineer who helped build the lightning harvester. Harold, a friend from Kef’s past who works in alchemy. And Squine, the Giller that Kef hired out his use of, from the local equivalent of the mob. (Giller’s are owned)
I liked that the team was so unique, in ages and skills and I enjoyed the intro to them during the set-up to the heist part of the story. I did wish to see them more hands-on during the key moments of the break-in, but their skill-sets were to do with the prepping than the actual heist itself.
Outside the team there is Bartholomew- a highborn who hopes to benefit from favours that will get him on the good side with the new leaders (and higher socially from his association to them).
And Exoran, the newly elected captain in the city of Zorith. On the surface he is not a nice guy but later we see there’s more to him than meets the eye. He and Kef have some bad blood between them. I think she would be pretty happy to kill him and I have to admit- I can’t blame her.
This was a good fun popcorn read with a little bit of darkness to give it some bite. I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out in the next book.
Other notes-
I have to mention the cool art work inside. A nice touch and beautiful done pieces. Coincidentally this is the second book I’ve read recently with illustrations! Love it and I hope this is an upcoming trend.
This was action-packed, edge of your seat pacing, and fun as hell. I blew through this one in just a few hours. A unique setting kind of Waterworld meets the Italian Job…minus the mini-car chase but the underwater scenes were just as breath-stealing. Exactly the kind of read I was needing to break up the epic-sized stories that have been on my plate lately.
I loved the world. It was full of so many neat ideas.
A post-apocalyptic world or at least a world on the edge of other more advanced societies, as there are mention of fallen debris from the sky-travelers and repurposing various things found in the ocean. There is land but it is populated with aggressive monsters and too dangerous to try and settle (the water has monsters but to a lesser degree).
Ship-cities- boats and ships and other floating craft, lashed together. Some of these ship-cities float freely and other were stationary. Oil supplies most of their power sources but the people of the ship-city of Zorith harness lightning to power their city (similar to Atlantis in Stargate).
The population is made up of varied races- some were self-explaining like the Gillers (fish-people) and the Winged-people but, then there were the Crystalcoats, with whom had a mutation that slowly petrifies them. Which I found incredibly intriguing and horrifying at the same time.
The cast isn’t huge.
We have Kef, our lead and main pov. she’s tough as nails and set on her path. She’s prickly, insensitive, and un-empathetic. She does warm-up to us but it takes awhile to break through her shell. When it comes to her goals; which are so fueled by anger and purpose, when the tough decisions are presented, and opportunities for revenge- I could not guess what her choice was going to be. I knew what I hoped they would be but she already proved to me that where her goals are concerned, she wasn’t the soft-hearted kind of girl.
Kef’s team is made up of a couple of old folks and a teen. There is Gabine, the engineer who helped build the lightning harvester. Harold, a friend from Kef’s past who works in alchemy. And Squine, the Giller that Kef hired out his use of, from the local equivalent of the mob. (Giller’s are owned)
I liked that the team was so unique, in ages and skills and I enjoyed the intro to them during the set-up to the heist part of the story. I did wish to see them more hands-on during the key moments of the break-in, but their skill-sets were to do with the prepping than the actual heist itself.
Outside the team there is Bartholomew- a highborn who hopes to benefit from favours that will get him on the good side with the new leaders (and higher socially from his association to them).
And Exoran, the newly elected captain in the city of Zorith. On the surface he is not a nice guy but later we see there’s more to him than meets the eye. He and Kef have some bad blood between them. I think she would be pretty happy to kill him and I have to admit- I can’t blame her.
This was a good fun popcorn read with a little bit of darkness to give it some bite. I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out in the next book.
Other notes-
I have to mention the cool art work inside. A nice touch and beautiful done pieces. Coincidentally this is the second book I’ve read recently with illustrations! Love it and I hope this is an upcoming trend.
April 9, 2021
If you want a really good smooth reading fantasy steam punk heist novel than this is the book for you.
Jed is a new author for me and I am looking forward to reading more books from.
Highly recommended to all my goodreads friends who love fantasy.
Jed is a new author for me and I am looking forward to reading more books from.
Highly recommended to all my goodreads friends who love fantasy.
May 21, 2022
Zorith. The floating city. The source of its power locked away in what’s believed to be an unbreachable tower. For one returnee & crew this claim will be put to the test. Lots of action & entertaining characters in this one. Fun adventure! Quick read.
November 16, 2020
Another grand discovery of author talent! Jed Herne hits the ground running on this series and never slows down. Intense, action thriller moving at breakneck speed, my favorite kind of books. The twisted seas offers a plethora of options with an incredible heroine who is creative, witty and likeable. The world building, magic systems, characters all compliment the story, a true, epic saga that begs for more exploration, don't let me down, Jed Herne with this promising, spectacular series. I also received a prequel, from following Jed Herne, which further develops this series, is another strongly written addition to this series and I highly recommend reading both. Work well done, Jed Herne, I am a fan, thank you for your work.
April 24, 2021
Now I love good heist story, and when I saw this book on NetGalley, I was immediately intrigued because I am someone who has grown up loving movies like Ocean's 11, The Italian Job, Now You See Me (just the first movie) ,and I'm a lover of just the heist genre in general. So when I got the opportunity to read another fantasy heist novel, I jumped at the opportunity.
Now this is unlike the other fantasy heist novels that we usually see like Mistborn, and Six of Crows because this is, at its core just a good old heist story.
Ok, if I talk about the things I like about this book, first of all- it starts off with a BANG! It's a very cinematic opening. It reminded me a ton of heist movies, just like that first scene that throws you into the action and sets you up for the whole ride. I really liked seeing that, since it set me up for what the rest of the book was going to be.
Also I loved the world building in this. It's very cool. It's just while idea of cities at sea. The land is filled with monsters and it is un-inhabitable. No one can go on it, so the people have created City Ships by latching together a ton of ships, so it became just like, cities floating around.
And I really liked that. I thought it was very cool. Even if you're not a big urban fantasy gal, I think this type of world would still appeal to you.
This is obviously a non-spoiler review so I won't get into any details, but there is this one scene right at the end which I like to call a classic heist shenanigan, and I mean that in the best possible way! There's just this moment between two characters and they’re talking, and I am like, “Yes! this is what I'm talking about. This is what I'm here for!”
Things just clicked for me in that moment. There was this fulfilment of expectations, which is not burdensome or predictable in any way, but just a genuine, good pay-off of what makes heist stories what they are. And I really enjoyed that!
I also really liked the female representation in this book. The main character is female, but beyond that as well, the rest of the crew is half and half...there is a female mob boss, and a lot of roles that are associated with males were kind of flipped on their heads.
If we talk about other books, there are often complaints about how there is only one female character in Mistborn, and even in movies, other than Ocean's 8, there aren't really many female leads in any of the heist movies I love. So I appreciated that this book changed it up a little bit without feeling force or trying too hard.
It's a great first entry into a series and I also appreciate that it is a pretty contained story.
I find that to be a positive actually because as I was reading, it it felt very complete. It felt like the series is maybe gonna be a bit more serial in nature, like the Dresden Files. It didn't feel like it had a ton of loose ends, like in a trilogy, and that's turned out to be a positive for me as sometimes I enjoy reading a book where I don't have to worry about getting through 5 more books to know what happens.
So overall if you or someone who likes heists, s and particularly really action-packed and fast-paced stories, you’re really gonna love this book.
I do have some negatives to talk about though. So I'm just gonna mention a few things that didn't work for me as much.
Honestly, the biggest criticism I have about this book is the main character. My biggest problem was that I couldn't really get a grasp on her. I never really understood who Kef Cutmark really is. It wasn't really like a journey or discovery with her. It felt like she was two different characters merged into one. The front that she put up in front of her crew members went up and came down in ways that didn't necessarily make a lot of sense to me.
Another thing that I felt was lacking was that, unlike the usual crew leaders in heist stories, Kef wasn't charismatic. I mean, there's Danny in Oceans 11 and Kelsier in Mistborn who are essentially known for that; but Kef was I think intentionally made an unlikeable character. And yet unfortunately it didn't work for me.
Moving on, this point actually gives way for my second problem, which is the camaraderie, or lack of it there of, between the crew members. One thing that I’ve reali about myself is that one of the reasons I like heist stories so much is because of the banter and the camaraderie between the characters.
There’s also the saying that “a crew is as good as its weakest member.”, but this book didn't really have that and it's something I sorely missed. All the characters are strangers, they don't have any team feeling or camaraderie among them, which really bummed me out.
I’d also like to take a moment to appreciate the cover art and the supplementary illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. They’re so fantastic, and they just give the story a whole new life!
Now this is unlike the other fantasy heist novels that we usually see like Mistborn, and Six of Crows because this is, at its core just a good old heist story.
Ok, if I talk about the things I like about this book, first of all- it starts off with a BANG! It's a very cinematic opening. It reminded me a ton of heist movies, just like that first scene that throws you into the action and sets you up for the whole ride. I really liked seeing that, since it set me up for what the rest of the book was going to be.
Also I loved the world building in this. It's very cool. It's just while idea of cities at sea. The land is filled with monsters and it is un-inhabitable. No one can go on it, so the people have created City Ships by latching together a ton of ships, so it became just like, cities floating around.
And I really liked that. I thought it was very cool. Even if you're not a big urban fantasy gal, I think this type of world would still appeal to you.
This is obviously a non-spoiler review so I won't get into any details, but there is this one scene right at the end which I like to call a classic heist shenanigan, and I mean that in the best possible way! There's just this moment between two characters and they’re talking, and I am like, “Yes! this is what I'm talking about. This is what I'm here for!”
Things just clicked for me in that moment. There was this fulfilment of expectations, which is not burdensome or predictable in any way, but just a genuine, good pay-off of what makes heist stories what they are. And I really enjoyed that!
I also really liked the female representation in this book. The main character is female, but beyond that as well, the rest of the crew is half and half...there is a female mob boss, and a lot of roles that are associated with males were kind of flipped on their heads.
If we talk about other books, there are often complaints about how there is only one female character in Mistborn, and even in movies, other than Ocean's 8, there aren't really many female leads in any of the heist movies I love. So I appreciated that this book changed it up a little bit without feeling force or trying too hard.
It's a great first entry into a series and I also appreciate that it is a pretty contained story.
I find that to be a positive actually because as I was reading, it it felt very complete. It felt like the series is maybe gonna be a bit more serial in nature, like the Dresden Files. It didn't feel like it had a ton of loose ends, like in a trilogy, and that's turned out to be a positive for me as sometimes I enjoy reading a book where I don't have to worry about getting through 5 more books to know what happens.
So overall if you or someone who likes heists, s and particularly really action-packed and fast-paced stories, you’re really gonna love this book.
I do have some negatives to talk about though. So I'm just gonna mention a few things that didn't work for me as much.
Honestly, the biggest criticism I have about this book is the main character. My biggest problem was that I couldn't really get a grasp on her. I never really understood who Kef Cutmark really is. It wasn't really like a journey or discovery with her. It felt like she was two different characters merged into one. The front that she put up in front of her crew members went up and came down in ways that didn't necessarily make a lot of sense to me.
Another thing that I felt was lacking was that, unlike the usual crew leaders in heist stories, Kef wasn't charismatic. I mean, there's Danny in Oceans 11 and Kelsier in Mistborn who are essentially known for that; but Kef was I think intentionally made an unlikeable character. And yet unfortunately it didn't work for me.
Moving on, this point actually gives way for my second problem, which is the camaraderie, or lack of it there of, between the crew members. One thing that I’ve reali about myself is that one of the reasons I like heist stories so much is because of the banter and the camaraderie between the characters.
There’s also the saying that “a crew is as good as its weakest member.”, but this book didn't really have that and it's something I sorely missed. All the characters are strangers, they don't have any team feeling or camaraderie among them, which really bummed me out.
I’d also like to take a moment to appreciate the cover art and the supplementary illustrations sprinkled throughout the book. They’re so fantastic, and they just give the story a whole new life!
September 1, 2020
First off, thank you to Jed Herne for sending me a complimentary e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This was a quick, engaging, well-developed fantasy.
Characters: 9/10
Ease of Reading: 10/10
Enjoyable: 10/10
Illustrations: 10/10 (map)
Pace: 10/10
Plot development: 9/10
Quality of Writing: 10/10
World-building: 9/10
One thing I love about Jed Herne as an author is that he always has such unique, easy to follow world-building. This world is an ocean-based world, meaning they live on city-ships. The land is full of horrifying monsters, so they took to the sea to survive. Kef Cutmark is a thief who is from Zorith. She hasn’t been home for nearly 15 years and the only reason she is returning now is to steal the city-ships novelty form of power, lightning. She gathers a small group to help her pull off her heist, but betrayals and her past begin to haunt her. Will she be able to pull off this heist after all? There were many surprises in this story, especially at the end, which I really enjoyed. I’d like to discuss more, but it would spoil the plot.
I really loved the use of sign language and how it played into the story.
World-building: I loved the atmosphere of the city-ships and how each ship within the overall city had its own purpose. The mutants were interesting, especially the crystalcoats, but their fate made me sad. My only wish is that mutants and monsters were described more because they were very intriguing.
Characters: Kef Cutmark is a cutthroat who will do just about anything to get her revenge. I liked that she wasn’t a sad, damsel who was too afraid to do what was necessary. Her backstory was very secretive until the end, which worked well for the plot. I wanted to see more of her past with her former crew too.
Gabine is an intelligent, grouchy old lady who has just about had it with life.
Harold is the sweet, scientific grandpa type.
Squine is a scared Giller teenager, stressed and just trying to do his best.
Nicholas is exactly what one would imagine a rich, uppity, socialite to be. So, perfect for his role.
What happened to the High Captain’s daughter? That is the only thing that is bothering me about the end. I was waiting for the reveal and it never came. *cries* This is a series, but I think that it would work well as a standalone also. For those that don’t enjoy romance in their fantasies, there wasn’t any in this novel.
Quotes that resonated with me in today’s world: “Was it wrong, for a man to see injustice in the world, and not dedicate all his power towards fixing it?”
“The colours of a city run by selfish pricks who didn’t know about the slavery and the hardships and endless brutality that powered their lives. Or if they did know, they didn’t care.”
Overall, I enjoyed reading about Kef and her impossible heist in this beautifully dangerous oceanic world.
Characters: 9/10
Ease of Reading: 10/10
Enjoyable: 10/10
Illustrations: 10/10 (map)
Pace: 10/10
Plot development: 9/10
Quality of Writing: 10/10
World-building: 9/10
One thing I love about Jed Herne as an author is that he always has such unique, easy to follow world-building. This world is an ocean-based world, meaning they live on city-ships. The land is full of horrifying monsters, so they took to the sea to survive. Kef Cutmark is a thief who is from Zorith. She hasn’t been home for nearly 15 years and the only reason she is returning now is to steal the city-ships novelty form of power, lightning. She gathers a small group to help her pull off her heist, but betrayals and her past begin to haunt her. Will she be able to pull off this heist after all? There were many surprises in this story, especially at the end, which I really enjoyed. I’d like to discuss more, but it would spoil the plot.
I really loved the use of sign language and how it played into the story.
World-building: I loved the atmosphere of the city-ships and how each ship within the overall city had its own purpose. The mutants were interesting, especially the crystalcoats, but their fate made me sad. My only wish is that mutants and monsters were described more because they were very intriguing.
Characters: Kef Cutmark is a cutthroat who will do just about anything to get her revenge. I liked that she wasn’t a sad, damsel who was too afraid to do what was necessary. Her backstory was very secretive until the end, which worked well for the plot. I wanted to see more of her past with her former crew too.
Gabine is an intelligent, grouchy old lady who has just about had it with life.
Harold is the sweet, scientific grandpa type.
Squine is a scared Giller teenager, stressed and just trying to do his best.
Nicholas is exactly what one would imagine a rich, uppity, socialite to be. So, perfect for his role.
What happened to the High Captain’s daughter? That is the only thing that is bothering me about the end. I was waiting for the reveal and it never came. *cries* This is a series, but I think that it would work well as a standalone also. For those that don’t enjoy romance in their fantasies, there wasn’t any in this novel.
Quotes that resonated with me in today’s world: “Was it wrong, for a man to see injustice in the world, and not dedicate all his power towards fixing it?”
“The colours of a city run by selfish pricks who didn’t know about the slavery and the hardships and endless brutality that powered their lives. Or if they did know, they didn’t care.”
Overall, I enjoyed reading about Kef and her impossible heist in this beautifully dangerous oceanic world.
May 4, 2021
Meet Kef Cutmark. Pirate, monster-slayer, scourge of the Twisted Seas.
After a lifetime of running from her past, she’s returned to Zorith – a tangled jungle of a thousand boats, all lashed together to make a floating city-ship. Zorith is powered by a device that draws energy from lightning. Mysterious, unique, and locked in an unbreachable tower, it’s the envy of Zorith’s rivals.
And Kef? She’s here to steal it.
The Thunder Heist is the first installment in Jed Herne's explosive new series, Twisted Seas. I was so excited to start this book because its very different to the type of fantasy I usually read and it was a chance to find a new author. I knew I would enjoy reading something different but I'm still surprised by how much I loved it. It had the perfect combo of creative world building, engaging characters and explosive pacing which complimented the fascinating plot so well.
The story follows Kef's escape from Black Drake Prison and her plans for the Heist to steal Zorith's thunder which provides the city with power. I've been searching for a good Heist book for a while so when I was given the chance to read a fantasy Heist with pirates, I knew I was going to be in for a crazy and entertaining journey. I feel like it truly ticked all the boxes for me as a reader.
My favourite aspect of The Thunder Heist has to be the MC, Kef Cutmark. I absolutely loved the sass and sarcasm which lead to so many moments of laughter. Its so refreshing to have the MC as a powerful female whose an absolute badass! It usually takes a while for a character to grow on me, but in this case, I instantly took a liking to Kef and she's become one of my all time favourite characters. We also meet other really cool characters as Kef recruits her team to take on the almost impossible Heist. I also loved the idea of not all the characters being human. We have Gillers who are a mix between human and fish. It kind of reminded me of how Harry Potter looked when he eats the Gilly weed in The Goblet of Fire. There is also Wingers who are humans with wings which I thought was really cool. The level of creativity with the characters/creatures was on point.
The type of world building used was something I've never encountered in a book before. Zorith, where the majority of the story takes place, is basically a city that's made from joining ships. Its just bursting with imagination and is truly epic. Zorith is one of those places I would love to visit if I had a magic bean to create a portal.
The Thunder Heist is a fast paced and beautifully written book that has some of the most explosive and brutal fight scenes! It's a story that is truly captivating from Start to finish.
If the rest of the books are as good as this. I can see myself adding this series to my list of favourites series.
A big thank you to Jed Herne for providing me with a copy to read and review.
After a lifetime of running from her past, she’s returned to Zorith – a tangled jungle of a thousand boats, all lashed together to make a floating city-ship. Zorith is powered by a device that draws energy from lightning. Mysterious, unique, and locked in an unbreachable tower, it’s the envy of Zorith’s rivals.
And Kef? She’s here to steal it.
The Thunder Heist is the first installment in Jed Herne's explosive new series, Twisted Seas. I was so excited to start this book because its very different to the type of fantasy I usually read and it was a chance to find a new author. I knew I would enjoy reading something different but I'm still surprised by how much I loved it. It had the perfect combo of creative world building, engaging characters and explosive pacing which complimented the fascinating plot so well.
The story follows Kef's escape from Black Drake Prison and her plans for the Heist to steal Zorith's thunder which provides the city with power. I've been searching for a good Heist book for a while so when I was given the chance to read a fantasy Heist with pirates, I knew I was going to be in for a crazy and entertaining journey. I feel like it truly ticked all the boxes for me as a reader.
My favourite aspect of The Thunder Heist has to be the MC, Kef Cutmark. I absolutely loved the sass and sarcasm which lead to so many moments of laughter. Its so refreshing to have the MC as a powerful female whose an absolute badass! It usually takes a while for a character to grow on me, but in this case, I instantly took a liking to Kef and she's become one of my all time favourite characters. We also meet other really cool characters as Kef recruits her team to take on the almost impossible Heist. I also loved the idea of not all the characters being human. We have Gillers who are a mix between human and fish. It kind of reminded me of how Harry Potter looked when he eats the Gilly weed in The Goblet of Fire. There is also Wingers who are humans with wings which I thought was really cool. The level of creativity with the characters/creatures was on point.
The type of world building used was something I've never encountered in a book before. Zorith, where the majority of the story takes place, is basically a city that's made from joining ships. Its just bursting with imagination and is truly epic. Zorith is one of those places I would love to visit if I had a magic bean to create a portal.
The Thunder Heist is a fast paced and beautifully written book that has some of the most explosive and brutal fight scenes! It's a story that is truly captivating from Start to finish.
If the rest of the books are as good as this. I can see myself adding this series to my list of favourites series.
A big thank you to Jed Herne for providing me with a copy to read and review.
March 4, 2022
I was not expecting anything like this. Very mysterious, bloody and gritty. I liked the main heroine and the heist and cannot wait for the next one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tY12...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tY12...
December 2, 2024
Jed completely exceeded my expectations with this incredible follow-up to his prior novel, Across The Broken Stars. His previous book was already really good, but it was inspiring to see just how much further he’d progressed since then.
The Thunder Heist had all of the positive qualities I’ve come to expect from Jed’s writing: intense pacing, interesting characters, dope action sequences, and unique worldbuilding. However, I could also tell that Jed had learned a lot from his prior publication and it informed his writing this time around. The voices in this book were much sharper and it felt like Jed relied less on formulas/cliches when structuring scenes. His prose was all the better because of these improvements.
And Kef Cutmark was such a badass protagonist!!! She had all the best attributes of your typical jaded, smooth-talking hero (she was giving Spike from Cowboy Bebop fused with Kelsier from Mistborn). Her personality and perspective were a huge part of what kept me engaged with this story. I also found her an excellent example of female, LGBTQ+ representation, and that was pretty neat.
The last thing I’d like to touch on regarding the positive aspects of this book is just how detailed Jed was with the worldbuilding. He put so much thought into this story, from the city-ships floating across monster-infested seas to the water-breathing mutants to the science of alchemy. I felt like Jed did such a good job of making this world feel believable and distinct. This was all the more enhanced by the awesome artwork incorporated throughout the book.
One critique I had for this book was the occasional awkward word choice. For example: “a smattering of rain pissed through the open door…” This wasn’t a big deal by any means, but it left me wondering whether the author felt obligated to use eccentric word choices for the sake of it even if it didn’t add anything to the overall story.
My next critique is about Chapter 23: Grindhouse. I won’t spoil anything, but this chapter felt like filler that didn’t meaningfully progress the plot. The perspective character it focuses on doesn’t contribute anything of value to the overall story and is barely tangentially relevant. We don’t learn anything new either. I was left wondering why Jed decided to include this chapter. I guess it was to emphasize the gravity of a pretty dark decision made by the main character, but I feel like the gravity of that decision was already conveyed sufficiently enough without it. The Thunder Heist is the first book in a series, so there is the possibility that future books will provide additional context, but I doubt that's the case.
My last critique is about a minor plot hole. Again, I won’t spoil anything, but there’s a character the protagonist deceived into conspiring with her, and the ending of their relationship doesn't make sense. Jed could’ve done a better job of making the reader believe this ending would transpire the way it did.
Overall, the pros vastly outnumbered the cons and I enjoyed this book. I’d highly recommend checking it out!
The Thunder Heist had all of the positive qualities I’ve come to expect from Jed’s writing: intense pacing, interesting characters, dope action sequences, and unique worldbuilding. However, I could also tell that Jed had learned a lot from his prior publication and it informed his writing this time around. The voices in this book were much sharper and it felt like Jed relied less on formulas/cliches when structuring scenes. His prose was all the better because of these improvements.
And Kef Cutmark was such a badass protagonist!!! She had all the best attributes of your typical jaded, smooth-talking hero (she was giving Spike from Cowboy Bebop fused with Kelsier from Mistborn). Her personality and perspective were a huge part of what kept me engaged with this story. I also found her an excellent example of female, LGBTQ+ representation, and that was pretty neat.
The last thing I’d like to touch on regarding the positive aspects of this book is just how detailed Jed was with the worldbuilding. He put so much thought into this story, from the city-ships floating across monster-infested seas to the water-breathing mutants to the science of alchemy. I felt like Jed did such a good job of making this world feel believable and distinct. This was all the more enhanced by the awesome artwork incorporated throughout the book.
One critique I had for this book was the occasional awkward word choice. For example: “a smattering of rain pissed through the open door…” This wasn’t a big deal by any means, but it left me wondering whether the author felt obligated to use eccentric word choices for the sake of it even if it didn’t add anything to the overall story.
My next critique is about Chapter 23: Grindhouse. I won’t spoil anything, but this chapter felt like filler that didn’t meaningfully progress the plot. The perspective character it focuses on doesn’t contribute anything of value to the overall story and is barely tangentially relevant. We don’t learn anything new either. I was left wondering why Jed decided to include this chapter. I guess it was to emphasize the gravity of a pretty dark decision made by the main character, but I feel like the gravity of that decision was already conveyed sufficiently enough without it. The Thunder Heist is the first book in a series, so there is the possibility that future books will provide additional context, but I doubt that's the case.
My last critique is about a minor plot hole. Again, I won’t spoil anything, but there’s a character the protagonist deceived into conspiring with her, and the ending of their relationship doesn't make sense. Jed could’ve done a better job of making the reader believe this ending would transpire the way it did.
Overall, the pros vastly outnumbered the cons and I enjoyed this book. I’d highly recommend checking it out!
April 22, 2021
Thank you Netgalley for providing this ebook!
You had to play with the cards you had. And even down to her last card, Kef was a better player than most
It's like if Six of Crows and The Mortal Engines had a child IN HIGH SEAS!
This one was so good!
An entertaining fast paced story about a heist impulsed by trauma and vengeance with likely characters, plot twists and a very cool and original worldbuilding!
We got ships that form cities and enhanced beings and so much action!
I really enjoyed it and cannot wait to see what's coming next !
You had to play with the cards you had. And even down to her last card, Kef was a better player than most
It's like if Six of Crows and The Mortal Engines had a child IN HIGH SEAS!
This one was so good!
An entertaining fast paced story about a heist impulsed by trauma and vengeance with likely characters, plot twists and a very cool and original worldbuilding!
We got ships that form cities and enhanced beings and so much action!
I really enjoyed it and cannot wait to see what's coming next !
November 18, 2020
This is my first foray into Jed Herne’s body of work, but it won’t be the last. The Thunder Heist is a splendid adventure tale of a unique thief. Replete with violence, vengeance, and monsters, Hearne has populated this tale with colorful and dangerous characters, both human and mutant. With a strong female protagonist at the center of the story, possessing a unique gift she keeps hidden from the world, but doesn’t hesitate to use when the ends justify the means. The relatively familiar urban technology is blended with alchemy that is delightful and deadly. The clean writing and wise-cracking dialogue builds depth into the characters. The world-building is detailed in sights, sounds, and scents. It completely immerses you from the start into this strange and brutal world with many delightful and suspenseful twists throughout.
The Thunder Heist starts off with action packed chapters that throw us directly into the story and introduce us to our protagonist, Kef Cutwork. A woman whose will is bent to one goal and one goal only, to get into the Lightning tower of the city-ship, Zorith, and steal its source of power. This power source freed the city-ship from the burden of processing oil for power from the sea weed farms and oil processing plants that other city-ships must solely rely upon. Their clean power source is the envy of the seas, and many other city-ships would swoop in to claim it should it shows any signs of weakness they could exploit.
This is a cleverly imagined world called the Twisted Seas. Where humans have been pushed off land by monsters and have built cities from hundreds of ships of all sizes, all anchored together by miles of chains. The floating city ships also face monsters from the deep, as well as raging storms on the seas.
Of the common populace, only Kef knows the hidden secret of the Lightning Tower. Along with a very few select men in positions of government power and their closest guards. Even the architect of the tower itself does not know the truth.
Kef has been roaming the seas on her own for 15 years, dreaming of a way to avenge an abusive childhood in Zorith, a nightmare from which she escaped at the age of fourteen. She is a strong and able-bodied sailor, and a thief, with the wits and weapons to leave a trail of havoc and destruction across the Twisted Seas as she works on her master plan. A way to exact revenge combined with the biggest heist ever conceived.
A perfect escape from the mundane, The Thunder Heist is a violent and hair-raising adventure. I’d highly recommend this to fans of steampunk, urban, and piratical fantasy. This book has all the right elements for you.
The Thunder Heist starts off with action packed chapters that throw us directly into the story and introduce us to our protagonist, Kef Cutwork. A woman whose will is bent to one goal and one goal only, to get into the Lightning tower of the city-ship, Zorith, and steal its source of power. This power source freed the city-ship from the burden of processing oil for power from the sea weed farms and oil processing plants that other city-ships must solely rely upon. Their clean power source is the envy of the seas, and many other city-ships would swoop in to claim it should it shows any signs of weakness they could exploit.
This is a cleverly imagined world called the Twisted Seas. Where humans have been pushed off land by monsters and have built cities from hundreds of ships of all sizes, all anchored together by miles of chains. The floating city ships also face monsters from the deep, as well as raging storms on the seas.
Of the common populace, only Kef knows the hidden secret of the Lightning Tower. Along with a very few select men in positions of government power and their closest guards. Even the architect of the tower itself does not know the truth.
Kef has been roaming the seas on her own for 15 years, dreaming of a way to avenge an abusive childhood in Zorith, a nightmare from which she escaped at the age of fourteen. She is a strong and able-bodied sailor, and a thief, with the wits and weapons to leave a trail of havoc and destruction across the Twisted Seas as she works on her master plan. A way to exact revenge combined with the biggest heist ever conceived.
A perfect escape from the mundane, The Thunder Heist is a violent and hair-raising adventure. I’d highly recommend this to fans of steampunk, urban, and piratical fantasy. This book has all the right elements for you.
November 5, 2020
(I and Grimdark Magazine received an ARC of this book for review. Thanks to the author and GDM!)
In Jed Herne’s The Thunder Heist, humanity has abandoned monster-infested land and taken to the Twisted Seas in colossal city-ships. Among these tangled masses of lashed-together boats, one stands out: Zorith, the only floating metropolis fueled entirely by lightning. Enter Kef Cutmark, a pirate, thief, and slayer of beasts with a troubled past. When Kef gets a shot at the heist of a lifetime, the prize is no less than the device that powers Zorith. The only things standing in her way are an impenetrable tower, a small legion of mutant guards, a jailer with a deep grudge, and her own dark history with Zorith.
The Thunder HeistThe Thunder Heist is a tightly plotted, fast-paced heist story with a primary third-person POV of Kef herself. As a reader who loves elaborate burglaries in any genre, I can say that Herne has written a really enjoyable rogue’s tale. The job itself is threaded through with complications, clever twists, setbacks, and emotional stakes, and the author manages to pack a lot of backstory, plot, and worldbuilding into a slightly shorter work with an impressive economy of words.
In a lot of ways, I’d consider Kef to be an ideal grimdark protagonist. While she possesses a sardonic, roguish charm that makes her easy to root for, she also has an ice-cold pragmatism and ruthlessness. One of my common complaints about too many antiheros is that, beneath the black and brooding veneer, they lack any meaningful flaws or truly complex morality. Kef is the real deal. People who betray her don’t get a second chance–just a knife in the throat. She’s a competent, believably written crook and the kind of character who can persuade readers that her ends truly do justify her sometimes-questionable means. The Thunder Heist’s antagonist is painted in equally skillful shades of grey, and a few chapters from his perspective add a lot to the narrative as a whole.
When it comes to worldbuilding, I found the Twisted Seas to be a top-notch setting. Rife with alchemic pollution and political turmoil and populated by humans, a second citizenry of indentured mutants, and the Honourborns living richly off the suffering of both races, the seedy city-ship of Zorith is a great backdrop for nautical crime. Herne’s setting features some wild and creative concepts and implications of a completely seaborne humanity (a long, snake-like city-ship that ensnares and raids others, for one) and strikes a good balance of dark and gritty with fun and interesting. Tying it all together is the recurring theme and question that many characters ask themselves: In a deeply broken world, is it our job to fix things? Is it even worth bothering?
If there was one area I felt was a little bit lacking in this story, it was the crew dynamic. To me, the factor that elevates so many entries in this subgenre, from Lies of Locke Lamora to Ocean’s Eleven are the relationships, banter, and contrasting skills between their protagonists. While I did enjoy the characters in Kef’s crew and thought each was well written in their own right, their lack of screentime and direct involvement in the job left something to be desired. While I like the book’s shorter length for the most part, I feel like this is one area where a tighter word count worked against it.
All together, I’d give this book a strong 4 stars. A compelling protagonist, tight plot, and some genuinely unique nautical worldbuilding spice up the tried and true heist genre. Toss in a clever ending, and The Thunder Heist will steal a few reading hours from your afternoon before you even realize they’re gone.
In Jed Herne’s The Thunder Heist, humanity has abandoned monster-infested land and taken to the Twisted Seas in colossal city-ships. Among these tangled masses of lashed-together boats, one stands out: Zorith, the only floating metropolis fueled entirely by lightning. Enter Kef Cutmark, a pirate, thief, and slayer of beasts with a troubled past. When Kef gets a shot at the heist of a lifetime, the prize is no less than the device that powers Zorith. The only things standing in her way are an impenetrable tower, a small legion of mutant guards, a jailer with a deep grudge, and her own dark history with Zorith.
The Thunder HeistThe Thunder Heist is a tightly plotted, fast-paced heist story with a primary third-person POV of Kef herself. As a reader who loves elaborate burglaries in any genre, I can say that Herne has written a really enjoyable rogue’s tale. The job itself is threaded through with complications, clever twists, setbacks, and emotional stakes, and the author manages to pack a lot of backstory, plot, and worldbuilding into a slightly shorter work with an impressive economy of words.
In a lot of ways, I’d consider Kef to be an ideal grimdark protagonist. While she possesses a sardonic, roguish charm that makes her easy to root for, she also has an ice-cold pragmatism and ruthlessness. One of my common complaints about too many antiheros is that, beneath the black and brooding veneer, they lack any meaningful flaws or truly complex morality. Kef is the real deal. People who betray her don’t get a second chance–just a knife in the throat. She’s a competent, believably written crook and the kind of character who can persuade readers that her ends truly do justify her sometimes-questionable means. The Thunder Heist’s antagonist is painted in equally skillful shades of grey, and a few chapters from his perspective add a lot to the narrative as a whole.
When it comes to worldbuilding, I found the Twisted Seas to be a top-notch setting. Rife with alchemic pollution and political turmoil and populated by humans, a second citizenry of indentured mutants, and the Honourborns living richly off the suffering of both races, the seedy city-ship of Zorith is a great backdrop for nautical crime. Herne’s setting features some wild and creative concepts and implications of a completely seaborne humanity (a long, snake-like city-ship that ensnares and raids others, for one) and strikes a good balance of dark and gritty with fun and interesting. Tying it all together is the recurring theme and question that many characters ask themselves: In a deeply broken world, is it our job to fix things? Is it even worth bothering?
If there was one area I felt was a little bit lacking in this story, it was the crew dynamic. To me, the factor that elevates so many entries in this subgenre, from Lies of Locke Lamora to Ocean’s Eleven are the relationships, banter, and contrasting skills between their protagonists. While I did enjoy the characters in Kef’s crew and thought each was well written in their own right, their lack of screentime and direct involvement in the job left something to be desired. While I like the book’s shorter length for the most part, I feel like this is one area where a tighter word count worked against it.
All together, I’d give this book a strong 4 stars. A compelling protagonist, tight plot, and some genuinely unique nautical worldbuilding spice up the tried and true heist genre. Toss in a clever ending, and The Thunder Heist will steal a few reading hours from your afternoon before you even realize they’re gone.
June 23, 2021
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
Unrelenting, fast paced action a la "Indiana Jones."
Really first class world building. Here is a world where monsters keep people off the land, so cities are vast concatenations of vessels of all types, travelling around dangerous seas. Mutations randomly affect percentages of the population, giving them wings or gills -- or other, more esoteric abilities. The descriptions are evocative but crisp, not getting in the way of the story or annoying you with "fantasy overload" -- that tendency of some authors to make up so many words, names and things that the reader loses any sense of identification with a new world. I was right there in the world of the Twisted Seas, with all five senses engaged. As an added plus, there are excellent illustrations.
In the first few pages, Kef, sentenced to death and in chains, manages to explode into action as she lays the groundwork for her Thunder Heist and she really doesn't quit till the last page. Kef is one of those tragic but tough villain-heroes, you come to understand what made her the way she is, but you never quite like her for it. However, since she is carving her way through people, seas, walls and doors with reckless abandon you don't really have time to worry about that.
The pace of this story is great, I never found myself bored.
Personally, I prefer a bit more humor to leaven all the guts and gore and conflict. Kef is deadly serious about everything she does and while she makes smart remarks from time to time, you get no sense she thinks anything is funny or there is a lighter side. She's a woman on a mission and everyone else is just a means to an end, even those she seemed to care about. You could argue that the horrible things that led her to this heist justify that easily, so if you like a tragic story, where the protagonist fights against impossible odds, you will like this. No funny sidekick here, all the characters were serious/tragic as well. To be fair, it wasn't unrelentingly depressing, there was plenty of relief from the spectacular fantasy and action elements like monsters, storms, super fast boats, alchemy and mutant abilities.
Also, there were a number of threads left dangling -- several times the author would leave you with a cliff hanger where you wonder what choice Kef is going to make or what this has to do with the story -- but in at least two notable cases doesn't tell you, just goes on to the next part of the story. While this can be done well in a series, setting up the next installment, here it fell flat. I wondered why that bit or character was put in there at all.
Overall, a better than good read. I will definitely pick up the next in the series and I am interested in reading more of this author.
Unrelenting, fast paced action a la "Indiana Jones."
Really first class world building. Here is a world where monsters keep people off the land, so cities are vast concatenations of vessels of all types, travelling around dangerous seas. Mutations randomly affect percentages of the population, giving them wings or gills -- or other, more esoteric abilities. The descriptions are evocative but crisp, not getting in the way of the story or annoying you with "fantasy overload" -- that tendency of some authors to make up so many words, names and things that the reader loses any sense of identification with a new world. I was right there in the world of the Twisted Seas, with all five senses engaged. As an added plus, there are excellent illustrations.
In the first few pages, Kef, sentenced to death and in chains, manages to explode into action as she lays the groundwork for her Thunder Heist and she really doesn't quit till the last page. Kef is one of those tragic but tough villain-heroes, you come to understand what made her the way she is, but you never quite like her for it. However, since she is carving her way through people, seas, walls and doors with reckless abandon you don't really have time to worry about that.
The pace of this story is great, I never found myself bored.
Personally, I prefer a bit more humor to leaven all the guts and gore and conflict. Kef is deadly serious about everything she does and while she makes smart remarks from time to time, you get no sense she thinks anything is funny or there is a lighter side. She's a woman on a mission and everyone else is just a means to an end, even those she seemed to care about. You could argue that the horrible things that led her to this heist justify that easily, so if you like a tragic story, where the protagonist fights against impossible odds, you will like this. No funny sidekick here, all the characters were serious/tragic as well. To be fair, it wasn't unrelentingly depressing, there was plenty of relief from the spectacular fantasy and action elements like monsters, storms, super fast boats, alchemy and mutant abilities.
Also, there were a number of threads left dangling -- several times the author would leave you with a cliff hanger where you wonder what choice Kef is going to make or what this has to do with the story -- but in at least two notable cases doesn't tell you, just goes on to the next part of the story. While this can be done well in a series, setting up the next installment, here it fell flat. I wondered why that bit or character was put in there at all.
Overall, a better than good read. I will definitely pick up the next in the series and I am interested in reading more of this author.
July 14, 2021
This and more at superstardrifter.com~
This is the story of Kef, who is a woman who lives in a world where most of the cities are in fact fleets of ships. One of those ships, a city called Zorith, is powered by a giant tower which harnesses the power of lightning rather than using the oil that the rest of the world of ships relies on. Kef, for reasons of her own that I won’t spoil, has taken it upon herself to steal the secret inside of that tower, and cripple Zorith in the process.
The Thunder Heist has a steampunkish sort of vibe, which I enjoy a lot, but I didn’t really find myself cheering for Kef, or liking her much at all. The heist aspect of the book kept me reading to see how it would play out, but I found that I didn’t really care about Kef’s motivations for doing it. Kef is part of a crew of thieves, though this heist is a solo venture on her part, so while they are mentioned in passing, we don’t get to meet any of them. There are a few other secondary characters instead, like Gabine, who is the person who designed the lightning tower they are infiltrating, and Harold, who is a master alchemist, who help her plan her heist. They were interesting, but largely secondary, so we don’t get to learn too much about them.
This story takes place in a really fascinating world. It reminded me in many ways of Miéville’s The Scar, which isn’t a criticism, because The Scar is my favorite Miéville book. I do like the idea that in a world where there isn’t much land, humans would take to the seas in giant fleets of ships. There are mutated people in this world as well, ones with gills who are called ‘gillers’, and ‘wingers’ which… yep. 😀 We don’t get to see many wingers, but gillers play a bigger part in this tale. A young giller named Squine is hired to help with the heist, and I thought he was interesting, but again, very secondary.
I liked this book, but I didn’t love it as much as I was expecting to, unfortunately. It was well written and well paced, but since I didn’t really like the main character at all, I had a hard time staying interested. I did enjoy the payoff of the heist, and the world it takes place in, so I’d be interested in reading more adventures in this world, but with Kef’s crew involved to see what sorts of shenanigans they can get up to as a team. I had 6.75/10 stars of fun with The Thunder Heist. If a book that’s like Waterworld meets The Scar meets Ocean’s Eleven sounds interesting to you, then I think you may enjoy this story!
This is the story of Kef, who is a woman who lives in a world where most of the cities are in fact fleets of ships. One of those ships, a city called Zorith, is powered by a giant tower which harnesses the power of lightning rather than using the oil that the rest of the world of ships relies on. Kef, for reasons of her own that I won’t spoil, has taken it upon herself to steal the secret inside of that tower, and cripple Zorith in the process.
The Thunder Heist has a steampunkish sort of vibe, which I enjoy a lot, but I didn’t really find myself cheering for Kef, or liking her much at all. The heist aspect of the book kept me reading to see how it would play out, but I found that I didn’t really care about Kef’s motivations for doing it. Kef is part of a crew of thieves, though this heist is a solo venture on her part, so while they are mentioned in passing, we don’t get to meet any of them. There are a few other secondary characters instead, like Gabine, who is the person who designed the lightning tower they are infiltrating, and Harold, who is a master alchemist, who help her plan her heist. They were interesting, but largely secondary, so we don’t get to learn too much about them.
This story takes place in a really fascinating world. It reminded me in many ways of Miéville’s The Scar, which isn’t a criticism, because The Scar is my favorite Miéville book. I do like the idea that in a world where there isn’t much land, humans would take to the seas in giant fleets of ships. There are mutated people in this world as well, ones with gills who are called ‘gillers’, and ‘wingers’ which… yep. 😀 We don’t get to see many wingers, but gillers play a bigger part in this tale. A young giller named Squine is hired to help with the heist, and I thought he was interesting, but again, very secondary.
I liked this book, but I didn’t love it as much as I was expecting to, unfortunately. It was well written and well paced, but since I didn’t really like the main character at all, I had a hard time staying interested. I did enjoy the payoff of the heist, and the world it takes place in, so I’d be interested in reading more adventures in this world, but with Kef’s crew involved to see what sorts of shenanigans they can get up to as a team. I had 6.75/10 stars of fun with The Thunder Heist. If a book that’s like Waterworld meets The Scar meets Ocean’s Eleven sounds interesting to you, then I think you may enjoy this story!
September 10, 2023
I got The Thunder Heist by Jed Herne as an ARC, so yeah, I'm a tiny bit late in actually getting around to it...
Alas, I am finally making progress on some of my backlog, and I'm happy to report I LOVED this one!
The story starts with a bang, when the main character frees a prisoner, so we quickly get a feel both for her snarky personality as well as for the quick pace of the story.
I clicked with her right away, and was drawn in by her voice, so much so, I finished the whole book in one single sitting!
I loved how there's older side characters, even though I wish they would have gotten more page time. The story is really narrowly focussed on Kef, so the other characters stay a bit in the shadows. This however manages to keep the pace up really well, so it does work for the story.
The world building and intriguing magic as well as mutants were a big plus, especially as they fit so smoothly and there were no long winded explanations or descriptions to get through. Nevertheless it feels like a world you can walk right into, and discover something new at every corner.
The end felt a bit too easily resolved for my personal taste, but was still a good read that was satisfying and managed to give enough closure to even work as a stand alone I think, but also leave enough lines open for future stories.
Alas, I am finally making progress on some of my backlog, and I'm happy to report I LOVED this one!
The story starts with a bang, when the main character frees a prisoner, so we quickly get a feel both for her snarky personality as well as for the quick pace of the story.
I clicked with her right away, and was drawn in by her voice, so much so, I finished the whole book in one single sitting!
I loved how there's older side characters, even though I wish they would have gotten more page time. The story is really narrowly focussed on Kef, so the other characters stay a bit in the shadows. This however manages to keep the pace up really well, so it does work for the story.
The world building and intriguing magic as well as mutants were a big plus, especially as they fit so smoothly and there were no long winded explanations or descriptions to get through. Nevertheless it feels like a world you can walk right into, and discover something new at every corner.
The end felt a bit too easily resolved for my personal taste, but was still a good read that was satisfying and managed to give enough closure to even work as a stand alone I think, but also leave enough lines open for future stories.
January 13, 2023
I have read a few of Herne's books before and enjoyed his creative worlds and writing style and am always left wanting more. The Thunder Heist is no different, taking place in a very inventive post-apocalyptic water world where cities made of lashed together ships are the only places safe from sea monsters. In one such city, a device is used to capture and harness the power of frequent electrical storms. Kef Cutmark wants this device and brings together a team with the right skills to achieve the feat.
The book plods along quite nicely with the plot unfolding apace, all leading up to the pulling off of the heist, with twists and turns along the way as very few things about this world turn out to be what they seem.
I had a few personal issues with the dialogue and the slightly clumsy way aspects of the world (that would be well known and second nature to inhabitants of the world) are revealed in conversation.
That aside, I found this to be an enjoyable fantasy heist tale with good distinct characters that I wanted to see overcome adversity and triumph.
The book plods along quite nicely with the plot unfolding apace, all leading up to the pulling off of the heist, with twists and turns along the way as very few things about this world turn out to be what they seem.
I had a few personal issues with the dialogue and the slightly clumsy way aspects of the world (that would be well known and second nature to inhabitants of the world) are revealed in conversation.
That aside, I found this to be an enjoyable fantasy heist tale with good distinct characters that I wanted to see overcome adversity and triumph.
April 20, 2021
I really enjoyed this book, more than I thought I would. The authors writing style was smooth, and despite the violence that was described it would be suitable for young adults. The main character is hard as nails, but is not infallible, and in fact she has many flaws that others use to their advantage. It makes her a good protagonist. A great book, and I can not wait for the next in the series!
March 31, 2021
Morally grey characters pull off a heist in a fantasy world where monsters roam the seven seas.
I have to say, I read the book the whole way through. I’m not always into mortally grey protagonists, and Kef’s actions sometimes made it hard to root for her, but it was overall an enjoyable story.
(Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.)
I have to say, I read the book the whole way through. I’m not always into mortally grey protagonists, and Kef’s actions sometimes made it hard to root for her, but it was overall an enjoyable story.
(Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.)
April 7, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. I've always like heist stories, and this set in a well defined fantasy made it different and better. Enjoyed the characters and great action and pacing. Can't wait for more adventures with Kef. #TheThunderHeist #NetGalley
July 25, 2024
I don't mind flawed heroes, but one thing I absolutely hate is dead kids, the moment the heroine killed the kid with the gills, I just switched off, I didn't care about her anymore.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2025
Jed Herne's earlier, lackluster beginnings could well be behind him.
The Thunder Heist avoids the issues that plagued his first two novels, improving the things I didn't like then.
Fires of the Dead introduced an interesting magic system while pulling the rug under its readers' feet with an intriguing point-of-view hopping system, but didn't try to go beyond that. The Thunder Heist focuses on a single POV first before skipping to others later in the book, a narrative trick used to allows us to understand the characters more without shifting away from the story purely for shock value. Across the Broken Stars ditched magic in favour of a magically 'realistic' approach to angels in space, attempted an intimate character study that failed because its characters weren't interesting, and substituted the worldbuilding with an Indiana Jones-style quest requiring extensive knowledge of a world we knew nothing about. The Thunder Heist's big promise of a single woman taking on a massive ship-city delivers, giving us Herne's most developed world to date in the process. The Twisted Seas aren't built through exposition alone, instead giving us just enough information to understand why humanity chose to live on strung-together ships in the middle of monster-filled seas (). The worldbuilding is also based on a strong theme: survival, perfectly incapsulated in the ship-city of Zorith. When the characters are on Zorith, I get the feeling of what it must feel like to live in that kind of monstrosity, from all the back-alleys and shantytowns that I've come across, but also with enough history provided that I can fill in the blanks myself.
But The Thunder Heist's biggest achievement is its main character Kef Cutmark. Rather than boiling her down to a bunch of traits as he did in Fires of the Dead, or by making her pitiful rather than a screwup like Leon in Across the Broken Stars, Herne created an actual FUN character. She always has the last word, the last laugh, and whatever she can't have, she just steals (she is a thief, after all). Her way of seeing the world is believable and amusing, making it easy to root for her. Even if we know that such humour and 'devil-may-care' attitude hide something dark. Kef succeeds where Herne's previous main characters failed because, instead of just making her superficially funny, he found a valid reason why she would be funny, why she needs to challenge the world and dare it to do its worst; why she can't just take what she's got and get on with her life. Fascinating characterisation.
Nor is she the only one. A few other characters stand out. Squine is another example of something Herne previously tried, . Nicolas is an interesting insight into the high-society courtier still on the outside of the circles of power and desperate to get in. I didn't expect to like him as a character quite that much, one who's hateful because he represents the 'I'm-in-it-for-myself' instinct we all have in us. It helps tjay Herne has a lot of fun tormenting Nicolas as he gets drawn into Kef's intrigues, but he also makes him more than just that: his insecurity is on show when we got into his head, concealed behind his own bravado in the same way Kef hides behind her humour. But the most interesting character is High Captain Exoran, the recently self-installed ruler of Zorith. He is the story's villain, but Herne makes him more than just a one-note villain. Exoran's characterisation is deeper than expected and I'm glad we got to see what made him click, to see how easy it can be to slip into the role of the villain if the right circumstances call for it. Herne doesn't answer the question this poses, whether we need people like that or whether it's a lie we tell ourselves to sleep better at night. But he didn't need to: instead, reading Exoran's scenes, I found myself asking the question all on my own. Masterful.
If the character work wasn't enough, The Thunder Heist is also a heist story where the heist isn't about the money. Rather than being in it for monetary reward, Kef and her crewmates all have their reasons for wanting to steal the source of Zorith's lightning channeling power: Gabine has a grudge against those who built the Lightning Tower, Harold promised Kef he would help her when the time came, and both Squine and Nicolas are drawn into it against their wills or without a complete understanding of what they are doing. The mystery of what they are stealing is well-drawn out.
Which brings us to:
Before I get into that, a few gripes (I'm a consummate nitpicker): while the vast majority of The Thunder Heist is such a remarkable improvement for Herne, there are still a few things that bugged me. The biggest is how blatantly it sets itself up as the first of a series; I mean, Herne actually titled it Twisted Seas #1, nagging me overhead every time I turned a page. I'm really not against a book serving this purpose, but I do dislike books doing it overtly. Herne doesn't do it often, I'll give him that, but one such scene slightly spoiled my enjoyment of the ending ().
The next nitpick is that I expected Kef's priate crew to appear; pirates come with crews after all. But they are only mentioned. It would have been fun to feature them, as a further obstacle Kef has to overcome in her need to steal Zorith's treasure. They could have helped her in the opening scenes of the book, then tried to stop her from returning to Zorith, unsure why she wanted to sacrifice everything she had just for a chance to overcome the traumas of her past.
That's it. That's all I really felt annoyed about in The Thunder Heist. There's a another that I have a slight issue with, but it's so small that I probably won't even mention it. But it helps me segway perfectly into one of the best things about this book:
A criticism I had for both Fires of the Dead and Across the Broken Stars was their approach to magic, neither using it to its fullest potential, either in action scenes or thematically. The Thunder Heist changes that. In the very early chapters, humanoid mutants are shown, divided into two known categories, the wingers (because they have wings and can fly) and the gillers (because they have gills and can swim under water). Herne doesn't go far to explain where they come from, but he does say a powerful faction called the Asadi are apparently responsible for... breeding, creating, manufacturing (not sure) these creatures. The good thing is the way he presents them: it's very easy to see where these creatures might have come from. Is it really inconceivable that humans searched for better ways to survive their harsh living conditions? Same thing with the alchemists. In a world where humanity can rely only on what they have, why wouldn't they have tried to turn what they have into what they haven't got? This is specualtive fiction at its best. Even the backstory begs the question, without it ever being uttered, about whether this is 'magic' or something else. It is to us, but is it to those living on the Twisted Seas? Everything Across the Broken Stars could have achieved, and all with the barest minimum of information.
That small problem I mentioned? Slightly spoiler-ey. Actually no: hugely spoiler-ey. When Herne does answer questions, they can be a bit disappointing. He answers questions in a minimalist way suggesting he is saving further revelations for future books. But why not give us answers now? To be clearer about this, I'll need to spoil. .
Now, my biggest gripe about The Thunder Heist:
The heist itself, the mechanics behind it, the reason for each different crew member's involvement? That was the most boring part of the book. I'm vaguely clear why everyone was involved, but it's never completely explained. And the whole section of Kef breaking into the Lighting Tower is the one I felt most like skipping because of how utterly boring it was. Fortunately, the ensuing resolution was sufficiently epic to obliterate most of that criticism.
And that's The Thunder Heist. A tale that stumbles a few times, but gets everything it has to right, goes beyond what it needs to be either intentionally or just as the result of reader's imagination, and a rewarding treat for those who like seeing a writer's evolution. I know Jed Herne intends to write more adventures on the Twisted Seas and I look forward to the day he does. In the meantime, The Thunder Heist has convinced me that purchasing Herne's next book, Kingdom of Dragons, is probably worth my time.
The Thunder Heist avoids the issues that plagued his first two novels, improving the things I didn't like then.
Fires of the Dead introduced an interesting magic system while pulling the rug under its readers' feet with an intriguing point-of-view hopping system, but didn't try to go beyond that. The Thunder Heist focuses on a single POV first before skipping to others later in the book, a narrative trick used to allows us to understand the characters more without shifting away from the story purely for shock value. Across the Broken Stars ditched magic in favour of a magically 'realistic' approach to angels in space, attempted an intimate character study that failed because its characters weren't interesting, and substituted the worldbuilding with an Indiana Jones-style quest requiring extensive knowledge of a world we knew nothing about. The Thunder Heist's big promise of a single woman taking on a massive ship-city delivers, giving us Herne's most developed world to date in the process. The Twisted Seas aren't built through exposition alone, instead giving us just enough information to understand why humanity chose to live on strung-together ships in the middle of monster-filled seas (). The worldbuilding is also based on a strong theme: survival, perfectly incapsulated in the ship-city of Zorith. When the characters are on Zorith, I get the feeling of what it must feel like to live in that kind of monstrosity, from all the back-alleys and shantytowns that I've come across, but also with enough history provided that I can fill in the blanks myself.
But The Thunder Heist's biggest achievement is its main character Kef Cutmark. Rather than boiling her down to a bunch of traits as he did in Fires of the Dead, or by making her pitiful rather than a screwup like Leon in Across the Broken Stars, Herne created an actual FUN character. She always has the last word, the last laugh, and whatever she can't have, she just steals (she is a thief, after all). Her way of seeing the world is believable and amusing, making it easy to root for her. Even if we know that such humour and 'devil-may-care' attitude hide something dark. Kef succeeds where Herne's previous main characters failed because, instead of just making her superficially funny, he found a valid reason why she would be funny, why she needs to challenge the world and dare it to do its worst; why she can't just take what she's got and get on with her life. Fascinating characterisation.
Nor is she the only one. A few other characters stand out. Squine is another example of something Herne previously tried, . Nicolas is an interesting insight into the high-society courtier still on the outside of the circles of power and desperate to get in. I didn't expect to like him as a character quite that much, one who's hateful because he represents the 'I'm-in-it-for-myself' instinct we all have in us. It helps tjay Herne has a lot of fun tormenting Nicolas as he gets drawn into Kef's intrigues, but he also makes him more than just that: his insecurity is on show when we got into his head, concealed behind his own bravado in the same way Kef hides behind her humour. But the most interesting character is High Captain Exoran, the recently self-installed ruler of Zorith. He is the story's villain, but Herne makes him more than just a one-note villain. Exoran's characterisation is deeper than expected and I'm glad we got to see what made him click, to see how easy it can be to slip into the role of the villain if the right circumstances call for it. Herne doesn't answer the question this poses, whether we need people like that or whether it's a lie we tell ourselves to sleep better at night. But he didn't need to: instead, reading Exoran's scenes, I found myself asking the question all on my own. Masterful.
If the character work wasn't enough, The Thunder Heist is also a heist story where the heist isn't about the money. Rather than being in it for monetary reward, Kef and her crewmates all have their reasons for wanting to steal the source of Zorith's lightning channeling power: Gabine has a grudge against those who built the Lightning Tower, Harold promised Kef he would help her when the time came, and both Squine and Nicolas are drawn into it against their wills or without a complete understanding of what they are doing. The mystery of what they are stealing is well-drawn out.
Which brings us to:
Before I get into that, a few gripes (I'm a consummate nitpicker): while the vast majority of The Thunder Heist is such a remarkable improvement for Herne, there are still a few things that bugged me. The biggest is how blatantly it sets itself up as the first of a series; I mean, Herne actually titled it Twisted Seas #1, nagging me overhead every time I turned a page. I'm really not against a book serving this purpose, but I do dislike books doing it overtly. Herne doesn't do it often, I'll give him that, but one such scene slightly spoiled my enjoyment of the ending ().
The next nitpick is that I expected Kef's priate crew to appear; pirates come with crews after all. But they are only mentioned. It would have been fun to feature them, as a further obstacle Kef has to overcome in her need to steal Zorith's treasure. They could have helped her in the opening scenes of the book, then tried to stop her from returning to Zorith, unsure why she wanted to sacrifice everything she had just for a chance to overcome the traumas of her past.
That's it. That's all I really felt annoyed about in The Thunder Heist. There's a another that I have a slight issue with, but it's so small that I probably won't even mention it. But it helps me segway perfectly into one of the best things about this book:
A criticism I had for both Fires of the Dead and Across the Broken Stars was their approach to magic, neither using it to its fullest potential, either in action scenes or thematically. The Thunder Heist changes that. In the very early chapters, humanoid mutants are shown, divided into two known categories, the wingers (because they have wings and can fly) and the gillers (because they have gills and can swim under water). Herne doesn't go far to explain where they come from, but he does say a powerful faction called the Asadi are apparently responsible for... breeding, creating, manufacturing (not sure) these creatures. The good thing is the way he presents them: it's very easy to see where these creatures might have come from. Is it really inconceivable that humans searched for better ways to survive their harsh living conditions? Same thing with the alchemists. In a world where humanity can rely only on what they have, why wouldn't they have tried to turn what they have into what they haven't got? This is specualtive fiction at its best. Even the backstory begs the question, without it ever being uttered, about whether this is 'magic' or something else. It is to us, but is it to those living on the Twisted Seas? Everything Across the Broken Stars could have achieved, and all with the barest minimum of information.
That small problem I mentioned? Slightly spoiler-ey. Actually no: hugely spoiler-ey. When Herne does answer questions, they can be a bit disappointing. He answers questions in a minimalist way suggesting he is saving further revelations for future books. But why not give us answers now? To be clearer about this, I'll need to spoil. .
Now, my biggest gripe about The Thunder Heist:
The heist itself, the mechanics behind it, the reason for each different crew member's involvement? That was the most boring part of the book. I'm vaguely clear why everyone was involved, but it's never completely explained. And the whole section of Kef breaking into the Lighting Tower is the one I felt most like skipping because of how utterly boring it was. Fortunately, the ensuing resolution was sufficiently epic to obliterate most of that criticism.
And that's The Thunder Heist. A tale that stumbles a few times, but gets everything it has to right, goes beyond what it needs to be either intentionally or just as the result of reader's imagination, and a rewarding treat for those who like seeing a writer's evolution. I know Jed Herne intends to write more adventures on the Twisted Seas and I look forward to the day he does. In the meantime, The Thunder Heist has convinced me that purchasing Herne's next book, Kingdom of Dragons, is probably worth my time.
April 13, 2021
This story gripped me right away, from page one. It opens with Kef being dragged out of her cage in prison for her execution, and she seems to be having the time of her life. Kef is snarky, she is muscly, she is capable, confident, and smart. She definitely embodies a lot of tropes, but she feels like a well-rounded and unique character nonetheless. Despite being at her own execution, she is exactly where she needs to be, and it only takes a few pages for the action to start and for her break-out to take place. This is where we get to see phase one of her heist: free another prisoner who will join her team. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. If you hadn’t guessed it from the title already, this is a heist book! And it’s a brilliantly executed one. I think heists can be quite hard to write; it’s definitely the kind of story that adapts more easily to the screen, but it’s so satisfying when it’s well-executed on page. This was one of those times.
One of the things that really kept me hooked on The Thunder Heist was the world building. Kef lives in a world in which land is not safe for humans, so they have built themselves great city-ships and live on the ocean. Some travel through the seas, and some, like Zorith, are large enough that they stay in one place and feel protected. This is an incredibly cool setting, and there are times I would forget, such as when a character was at the opera, or at a party, or in an inn and then suddenly something in the description would remind me that all of these indoor spaces were in ships and boats. It really adds to the atmosphere. There’s even a hint at one point that this world once had Star Sailors, and that some of the metal that falls down to the earth from the debris belt that surrounds the planet are part of their old ships. I was super intrigued by this detail, and I hope it’s explored more in future books.
It is unclear if this world has any sort of specific magic system, but it does have mutants: certain people seem to change as they grow older, and either become gillers -attuned to water, with slitted eyes, gills, and webbed hands and feet- or wingers -attuned to the air, with wings and hollow bones. It’s not explained how this happens, but most of these people get taken and become slaves, working for governments or richer members of society.
One of the members of Kef’s crew, a young man names Squine, is a giller, and it’s really cool to see it up close. He’s also an interesting character because where Kef was looking for a strong and competent giller, Squine is an outcast and a weakling even among his own people. This creates an interesting dynamic, and Squine is not the only atypical member of the group…
With a relatively small cast, this book was very character-focused, and I really enjoyed reading about them all. Kef, who is already very cool, scored further points with me for being twenty-nine years old, because so many of the books that exist in this vein tend to have their badass female characters be as young as possible within the context. But I liked having a character that has already lived a relatively long life for a fantasy book main character. The other two members of her team are also older than average; Gabine, the architect, is in her seventies, and she is a lovely grumpy cynic. Harold, the alchemist, is in his forties and is a kindly, rotund man who simply goes along with the heist because he cares about Kef and knows how important it is to her. These two definitely weren’t featured enough, but I know this book was quite short, and most of the character development was focused on Kef, as the protagonist.
Overall, a really good first book in this new series. Concise in its storytelling, yet still weaving an intriguing, credible world that seems to extend beyond the pages, so that you are left wondering what else might be out there. The ending took me by surprise, but was also very satisfying; it tied up the story while still leaving room for more, and I very much look forward to visiting the Twisted Seas again.
One of the things that really kept me hooked on The Thunder Heist was the world building. Kef lives in a world in which land is not safe for humans, so they have built themselves great city-ships and live on the ocean. Some travel through the seas, and some, like Zorith, are large enough that they stay in one place and feel protected. This is an incredibly cool setting, and there are times I would forget, such as when a character was at the opera, or at a party, or in an inn and then suddenly something in the description would remind me that all of these indoor spaces were in ships and boats. It really adds to the atmosphere. There’s even a hint at one point that this world once had Star Sailors, and that some of the metal that falls down to the earth from the debris belt that surrounds the planet are part of their old ships. I was super intrigued by this detail, and I hope it’s explored more in future books.
It is unclear if this world has any sort of specific magic system, but it does have mutants: certain people seem to change as they grow older, and either become gillers -attuned to water, with slitted eyes, gills, and webbed hands and feet- or wingers -attuned to the air, with wings and hollow bones. It’s not explained how this happens, but most of these people get taken and become slaves, working for governments or richer members of society.
One of the members of Kef’s crew, a young man names Squine, is a giller, and it’s really cool to see it up close. He’s also an interesting character because where Kef was looking for a strong and competent giller, Squine is an outcast and a weakling even among his own people. This creates an interesting dynamic, and Squine is not the only atypical member of the group…
With a relatively small cast, this book was very character-focused, and I really enjoyed reading about them all. Kef, who is already very cool, scored further points with me for being twenty-nine years old, because so many of the books that exist in this vein tend to have their badass female characters be as young as possible within the context. But I liked having a character that has already lived a relatively long life for a fantasy book main character. The other two members of her team are also older than average; Gabine, the architect, is in her seventies, and she is a lovely grumpy cynic. Harold, the alchemist, is in his forties and is a kindly, rotund man who simply goes along with the heist because he cares about Kef and knows how important it is to her. These two definitely weren’t featured enough, but I know this book was quite short, and most of the character development was focused on Kef, as the protagonist.
Overall, a really good first book in this new series. Concise in its storytelling, yet still weaving an intriguing, credible world that seems to extend beyond the pages, so that you are left wondering what else might be out there. The ending took me by surprise, but was also very satisfying; it tied up the story while still leaving room for more, and I very much look forward to visiting the Twisted Seas again.
November 21, 2023
this will be my first time reviewing a book on goodreads because I want to support the Author of this book
I'm a fan of his YouTube channel and I wanted to read what he writes
actual rating 7.5/10 which is pretty high btw
this may look like your average revenge story but it isn't
it's got unique world building that at least for me I didn't see it before and it's packed with action sequences that leave you at the edge of your seat
and it's got an ocean's eleven-ish twist in the end
the thunder heist began on an action sequence with a lot of foreshadowing and world building
which I really liked
not a lot of stories can do world building without it being an info dump and at the same time not making me think I'm so dumb because I don't understand anything
and that's something I can respect because it's really hard to do something like that
the story has three main "povs" I'm being conservative with using povs because there's one pov that we follow the whole story and there's two others that only have like two chapters respectively but none the less they weren't just to follow the trope that action fantasies should have multiple povs
no one of them was for foreshadowing the twist in the end and the other probably foreshadow the next book in the Series
and there's also two chapters each of them was the pov of two Separate characters
so in total five povs
which I really liked because the main pov can get a little Boring at times which brings me to my next point
action sequences that includes kef was so good
but none action sequences that includes her too was medicare at best
I really struggle to remember any none action sequence that includes kef
except for the epilogue
but the other povs was good it didn't Suffer from the same problem as Kef’s
but nonetheless this is a good story
and a short one too
I recommend it if you like action packed fast based hesit stories
but I'm telling you in the middle of it you will have to push on a little
and I'm excited to read the rest of jed's stories
I'm a fan of his YouTube channel and I wanted to read what he writes
actual rating 7.5/10 which is pretty high btw
this may look like your average revenge story but it isn't
it's got unique world building that at least for me I didn't see it before and it's packed with action sequences that leave you at the edge of your seat
and it's got an ocean's eleven-ish twist in the end
the thunder heist began on an action sequence with a lot of foreshadowing and world building
which I really liked
not a lot of stories can do world building without it being an info dump and at the same time not making me think I'm so dumb because I don't understand anything
and that's something I can respect because it's really hard to do something like that
the story has three main "povs" I'm being conservative with using povs because there's one pov that we follow the whole story and there's two others that only have like two chapters respectively but none the less they weren't just to follow the trope that action fantasies should have multiple povs
no one of them was for foreshadowing the twist in the end and the other probably foreshadow the next book in the Series
and there's also two chapters each of them was the pov of two Separate characters
so in total five povs
which I really liked because the main pov can get a little Boring at times which brings me to my next point
action sequences that includes kef was so good
but none action sequences that includes her too was medicare at best
I really struggle to remember any none action sequence that includes kef
except for the epilogue
but the other povs was good it didn't Suffer from the same problem as Kef’s
but nonetheless this is a good story
and a short one too
I recommend it if you like action packed fast based hesit stories
but I'm telling you in the middle of it you will have to push on a little
and I'm excited to read the rest of jed's stories
April 22, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the author, Jed Herne, for providing a copy of The Thunder Heist (Twisted Seas book one). I have reviewed honestly.
The Thunder Heist features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ Pirates
○ Anti-heroes
○ Magic
○ Mutants
○ Heists
○ Prison breaks
My overall rating for The Thunder Heist is…
4.5 Stars!
With a setting combining the likes of Waterworld and Mortal Engines, and characters for fans of Throne of Glass and Daughter of the Pirate King, The Thunder Heist is intoxicating! And let's not forget the heist in itself! Think Six of Crows, but add the afore mentioned qualities. This book is go, go, GO from page one, which kept me riveted and excited as the tale developed. The characters were unique and quircky, but that world building was just perfection! Fans of pirates, heists and snarky female leads will devour this book.
The Thunder Heist features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ Pirates
○ Anti-heroes
○ Magic
○ Mutants
○ Heists
○ Prison breaks
My overall rating for The Thunder Heist is…
4.5 Stars!
With a setting combining the likes of Waterworld and Mortal Engines, and characters for fans of Throne of Glass and Daughter of the Pirate King, The Thunder Heist is intoxicating! And let's not forget the heist in itself! Think Six of Crows, but add the afore mentioned qualities. This book is go, go, GO from page one, which kept me riveted and excited as the tale developed. The characters were unique and quircky, but that world building was just perfection! Fans of pirates, heists and snarky female leads will devour this book.
January 12, 2021
Really enjoyed this. A bit short but plenty of promise. Reminded me a bit of Lies of Locke Lamara.
June 26, 2022
From the moment I picked up this book, I knew I would like it, just seeing what the story was about. Though, at first I did find Kef a bit too gruff for my liking. She just seemed like an arrogant person, and I had no understanding of why.
However, about halfway through the book, my understanding of Kef grew deeper. You get to see there were events that took place that made her the way she is. Under her rough exterior, she is just a broken person. I personally loved that and it made me connect with her on a whole other level. What I found, was this made me contemplate how judging people from first appearances can be totally off course. Only through knowing what people have been through can you truly understand who they are and why.
Loved the story, the reveals near the end were wonderful and tied everything together nicely!
However, about halfway through the book, my understanding of Kef grew deeper. You get to see there were events that took place that made her the way she is. Under her rough exterior, she is just a broken person. I personally loved that and it made me connect with her on a whole other level. What I found, was this made me contemplate how judging people from first appearances can be totally off course. Only through knowing what people have been through can you truly understand who they are and why.
Loved the story, the reveals near the end were wonderful and tied everything together nicely!
April 27, 2021
The Thunder Heist was an intriguing book. Almost immediately I was drawn into the world that Herne created, the floating cities, the mutant people. Kef is definitely the type of anti-hero I love to read about, ruthless, amoral, with a secret heart and more trauma than you can shake a stick at.
Kef's introduction is brilliant. A prisoner who's not afraid to walk to her own death immediately pulled me into the world. I loved the cast of characters that were revealed to us - not all of them young and spry, but all of them masterfully talented. An engineer, an alchemist, and a girl who can control lightning. What more could you ask for?
The first half of the novel had me eager to read more, I wanted to hear about Kef's plans, her past. Having recently read Six of Crows, I was eager to immerse myself in another steampunk fantasy world, and Herne delivered on that. World building is definitely where Herne flourishes.
It was the second half of the novel that let me down. The more I read, the more obvious the twists became. The secret of the Lightning Tower was laughably obvious once you considered Kef's own abilities. I also didn't feel any sympathy for Exoran, despite how Herne tried to set him up to have a more sensitive side.
All in all, the end of the novel felt rushed. Get in and out, reveal the secret. It was hard to feel tense when everything seemed to be over in a matter of minutes. I would have loved a few more twists, a slower and more cunning revelation, one more struggle that lasted more than a few gloating lines.
Herne did a brilliant job at setting up a heist, at getting you excited, and then failed to clear the last hurdle. The Thunder Heist wasn't a bad novel, but it wasn't what I'd call brilliant either. That being said, I would glady read more about Kef and her adventures on the ocean world that make up her home. I'm intrigued by the setting, the ships and monsters that fill the sea, I just think the Thunder Heist could have done with a little more mystery to pad out the plot.
(Book given by Netgalley)
Kef's introduction is brilliant. A prisoner who's not afraid to walk to her own death immediately pulled me into the world. I loved the cast of characters that were revealed to us - not all of them young and spry, but all of them masterfully talented. An engineer, an alchemist, and a girl who can control lightning. What more could you ask for?
The first half of the novel had me eager to read more, I wanted to hear about Kef's plans, her past. Having recently read Six of Crows, I was eager to immerse myself in another steampunk fantasy world, and Herne delivered on that. World building is definitely where Herne flourishes.
It was the second half of the novel that let me down. The more I read, the more obvious the twists became. The secret of the Lightning Tower was laughably obvious once you considered Kef's own abilities. I also didn't feel any sympathy for Exoran, despite how Herne tried to set him up to have a more sensitive side.
All in all, the end of the novel felt rushed. Get in and out, reveal the secret. It was hard to feel tense when everything seemed to be over in a matter of minutes. I would have loved a few more twists, a slower and more cunning revelation, one more struggle that lasted more than a few gloating lines.
Herne did a brilliant job at setting up a heist, at getting you excited, and then failed to clear the last hurdle. The Thunder Heist wasn't a bad novel, but it wasn't what I'd call brilliant either. That being said, I would glady read more about Kef and her adventures on the ocean world that make up her home. I'm intrigued by the setting, the ships and monsters that fill the sea, I just think the Thunder Heist could have done with a little more mystery to pad out the plot.
(Book given by Netgalley)
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