Publication
DAW. c. 2001
Collection
Status
Available
Description
Mercedes Lackey's triumphant return to the bestselling world of Valdemar, Take a Thief reveals the untold story of Skif-a popular character from Lackey's first published novel, Arrows of the Queen. Skif was an orphan who would have died from malnutrition and exposure if he had never met Deke the pickpocket. By the time he was twelve, Skif was an accomplished cat burglar. But it wasn't until he decided to steal a finely tacked-out white horse, which was, oddly enough, standing unattended in the street, that this young thief discovered that the tables could turn on him-and that he himself could be stolen!.
User reviews
LibraryThing member fuzzi
Enjoyed this book, very much. It's a good 'stand alone' book in the Valdemar series.
LibraryThing member SunnySD
For Valdemar fans this fills in a bit more background on one of Talia's bosom buddies. Skif's roots in Haven's seamiest streets are often referred to but until now have not been covered in any great detail. From a rather Dickensian start as an orphaned dogsbody in his uncle's tavern to his days
Minor annoyances? Well, someone mentioned the thick accents. I found Skif and his fellow street denizens far easier to read than the corny accent poor Arlerich is saddled with. He sounds as if he's channeling Yoda! That aside, this is vintage Lackey.
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prowling rooftops and learning the lifting lay, Take a Thief delves into Skif's background as well as filling in a bit more detail regarding life for the newly Chosen.Minor annoyances? Well, someone mentioned the thick accents. I found Skif and his fellow street denizens far easier to read than the corny accent poor Arlerich is saddled with. He sounds as if he's channeling Yoda! That aside, this is vintage Lackey.
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LibraryThing member SimonW11
The story of Skiff One of Mercedes' strengths is that she does not need to escalate events the adventures are quite low key for Fantasy with as is often the case with Ms Lackey a strong theme of child abuse running through it. Luckily for me her writing is to wooden for me to care overmuch about
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the characters or I would be unable to read some of her stuff. Still it is plots that keep me reading and linear or not She does understand the need for one. Show Less
LibraryThing member silentq
This book is set in the slums of Haven, following Skif this time as he learns to be a thief and is Chosen and allies with Alberich to break up a far reaching criminal ring. This one packed emotional punch when he was chosen, he'd been hard as nails before and slowly opened up his heart to the
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Heralds. There was a bit of heavy handed foreshadowing with his dream of climbing outside the Palace with Talia, though, but I liked seeing the other side of a few incidents that were mentioned in other books. Show Less
LibraryThing member velvetsnape
Hard to understand what people are saying sometimes because of the rough spoken engligh.
LibraryThing member cabri
One of the more charming of Lackey's Valdemar books, Take a Thief tells the tale of Skif, a young boy neglected and abused by his uncle, who discovers new worlds when mandatory education and breakfast is established in Valdemar. Besides the filling meal he receives at school, he discovers that he
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can supplement his diet by sneaking into fancy houses and pretending to be a page. An encounter with a pickpocket turns Skif even further into the criminal arts, but a little spot of horse rustling seals his future, and it's not the one he expects. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Although I do love Lackey's Valdemar, centered on the heroic Heralds and their horse-shaped magical "Companions," I don't think this is among the strongest books in that series, and if you're new to it, I'd recommend starting instead with Arrows of the Queen, the first published book within the
Skif, the protagonist of Take a Thief is a character in Arrows of the Queen and it was interesting reading a book centered on him that gives his backstory. In that regard it's a very often seen plot in Lackey and elsewhere: impoverished, abused boy comes into his own and finds his destiny. I will say though that Lackey is very good in this novel at creating a plausible picture of what it would be like for the poorest of the poor in a medieval setting, and how they might have trained to become thieves; you pull for Skif.
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series, even if chronologically later. Skif, the protagonist of Take a Thief is a character in Arrows of the Queen and it was interesting reading a book centered on him that gives his backstory. In that regard it's a very often seen plot in Lackey and elsewhere: impoverished, abused boy comes into his own and finds his destiny. I will say though that Lackey is very good in this novel at creating a plausible picture of what it would be like for the poorest of the poor in a medieval setting, and how they might have trained to become thieves; you pull for Skif.
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LibraryThing member JeremyPreacher
I like Take A Thief - it's probably the closest to a truly standalone novel in the series, Skif is an engaging character, and the seedy underside of Haven is a surprisingly rich world (given that Valdemar is basically the ideal modern-liberal nation.) If you don't like dialect, though, it's going
I have one minor quibble, and it's really a quibble with Exile's Valor, I guess - the Tedrel Wars appear to have come unstuck in time, and are either thirty years or so before the "modern" period (beginning with the Arrows trilogy,) or five or so years before. It's a pretty glaring discrepancy, because the Heir Elspeth's age is well-established in all of the books (except for this one, in which she is never mentioned,) and she was either born a year or so after the wars and the King's death, or twenty or so years after, and that's a big difference.
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to totally fall apart for you, because that's pretty much all there is. (I find dialect totally readable - doesn't bug me at all.) The magical talking horse side of the book is the least of it, and it's stronger for that - Skif is awesome even without telepathy and a magic steed, which is definitely not true of all of the other Herald protagonists. Alberich also figures heavily into the story, and I'm really very fond of him, too.I have one minor quibble, and it's really a quibble with Exile's Valor, I guess - the Tedrel Wars appear to have come unstuck in time, and are either thirty years or so before the "modern" period (beginning with the Arrows trilogy,) or five or so years before. It's a pretty glaring discrepancy, because the Heir Elspeth's age is well-established in all of the books (except for this one, in which she is never mentioned,) and she was either born a year or so after the wars and the King's death, or twenty or so years after, and that's a big difference.
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LibraryThing member codewitch
Totally enjoyed the coming of age story from one of my favorite thieves. Loved learning more about Skif and how he his world views were shaped.
LibraryThing member JohnFair
Skif, the central character in this novel, was one of the main secondary characters in the original Herald books and in this novel, we get his back story from unappreciated orphan in his cousin's pub to trainee Herald via masterthief. This is mostly a lot of fun - Skiff isn't a particularly moral
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character and his life wasn't particularly fun filled but Lackey makes the life of a child thief rather fun even if it's as part of a gang of child thieves and their leader that would have made Fagin blush. The accents that Skiff and his fellows of Exile's Gate were a rather strange mixture of Dick Van Dyke Cockney and, I don't know what as well. Show Less
LibraryThing member rivkat
The story of Skif, the thief eventually turned Herald who is mostly a child thief throughout this book. Abuse/neglect, and multiple references to sexual abuse of children though not in detail; Skif becomes a thief to escape his abusive uncle and then when his friends are killed sets himself a
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mission of revenge. Ends before he meets Talia. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0756400589 / 9780756400583
Original publication date
2001