9/10 if you like fantasy fiction
9/10 if you liked the first book but found it to be a dreary slog at times
Finally got around to reading the sequel to Priest and I absolutely tore through it from cover to cover in a weekend. Its a treat to have fast paced writing, frequent chapter breaks (80 over 397~ pages), and a tight editor’s belt keeping narrative bloat at bay. I’m going to reprise the praise and criticism section from my review of the first book and indicate the largest writing shifts.
Spoilers ahead!
The Praise
- I expected to sprint through the sequels to Priest, and so far I’m 1 for 1. As the cast expands in Fighter to include the less psychologically tormented Teagan, this trend should continue. Overall there was a strong sense of narrative purpose and meta-plot threads that made it more coherent than Priest.
- Comparing the cast of characters to Book One: I originally felt this book came off worse but after sitting on it for a few days I’ve really come around. The only character from Book One that I distinctly miss is Renaldo (the bard from Capital). That’s not to say the other characters were bad, but I would struggle to record all their names and personalities. Priest was HEDEN’s book whereas Thief offers a much broader cast of moderately explored personalities. Vanora holds an uncertain position given the central role she plays. I struggle to understand who is she and where she’s going; the arc she receives in the series as a whole will retrospectively make or break her character for me.
- Starkiller the magic sword was sick in Priest but somehow completely overshadowed by the use of Solaris and Apostate here. Again this is such a fantastic way to illustrate the shared fantasy fantasy of many tabletop players (and one they might take for granted as a rather tired trope). In the same vein, the implementation of magic was a treat. Heden’s clerical magic was good in the first book but I appreciated the branch into more arcane/sorcerous spellcasting. There are a few particularly gnarly descriptions that sell the spells as part of Colville’s mud & blood world.
- The dialogue registered no complaints, again I found it modern and distinctive enough between characters. There was no Renaldo…sooo…no real standout lines
- Truly a delight to have Colville’s ideas and inspirations put to page, I eagerly anticipate the completed series and think it will be an important part of his personal artistic legacy.
- I wanted to see a tighter scope of locales anddddd voila! There are probably just as many unique locations but they all paint the same picture this time around.
The Criticism
- The sexual and romantic encounters/tension between Heden and other female characters still falls flat. I think the writing is largely fine but it just doesn’t work focusing so intently on Heden.
- The worldbuilding is a mixed bag. I appreciate the unique and idiosyncratic touches around magic, gods, and the political landscape…but still get pulled out of the experience a bit by unique names on age old tropes. I think its OK to let a dwarf be a dwarf.
- Some of the antagonists were both over explained and under developed, not a great mix.
- Fixing up the tavern was a nice plot but I think there was room to explore more characterization of Heden and Co in terms *other* than how they related to the staffers as prostitutes.
You can pick up a copy here -> https://www.amazon.com/Thief-Ratcatchers-Two-Fantasy-Hardboiled
Scriptorium Ludi 