Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin (2018), 512 pages
Description
Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML:Unforgiveable betrayals, devious motives, and forbidden love collide in the first installment of internationally bestselling author Sally Green�??s epic new fantasy series, perfect for Game of Thrones fans. In a land tinged with magic and a bustling trade in an illicit supernatural substance, destiny will intertwine the fates of five players: A visionary princess determined to forge her own path. An idealistic solider whose heart is at odds with his duty. A streetwise hunter tracking the most dangerous prey. A charming thief with a powerful hidden identity. A loyal servant on a quest to avenge his kingdom. All are driven by ambition, honor, and desperation on the cusp of war. But who will be left standing when the smoke clears? Read by Charlie Anson, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Yasmin Page, Daniel Weyman, and Asa Butterfield… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member kamoorephoto
'The Smoke Thieves' had me thoroughly captivated as soon as I started to read it, and I can honestly say I didn't want to be interrupted at all once I fell into this brilliant medieval fantasy that author Sally Green has created. Woven around five main characters, from different walks of life, a
The main characters are all wonderfully fleshed out in their nuances and are all given equal page time; the individual chapters follow their movements and whereabouts, whether in the war-mongering Brigant, or the more liberal Pitoria, and they embark on their own personal and physical journeys, keeping this novel action-packed. It's hard not to get attached to their individual situations as we follow each story.
We are treated to a princess, Catherine, who is ready to forge her own path, against the will of her father and brother, and she shows those around her that she will not stand for the brutal ways of her father, the King, and wants to create her own new strong identity.
Ambrose is the princess' loyal guard, who has just seen his sister die, accused a traitor, and at the same time as being loyal to the crown, he is wrestling with feelings for Catherine. Then there are the demon hunters, including Tash, at only twelve years of age, she's nimble and fast on her feet (Green says she likes to include a runner in her books because she's a runner herself). The other two 'main' characters are March and Edyon: one who is a servant to Prince Thelonius, caught up in a plot to bring Edyon, a compulsive thief, back to Calidor under false pretenses, but the two of them end up falling for each other's charms.
There are whole host of other minor characters in the story and they fortify the novel with rich dialog and plot twists. Green has also created wonderful contrasts between the different kingdoms and made sure to point out language/accent differences, eye color traits, and clothing styles, and other things that add to the vivid world-building she carefully undertakes throughout the book. Simply imagining the parade leading Princess Catherine up to the castle in Pitoria is just brilliant.
*There is a lot of violence and appropriate blood and gore, as comes with war and fighting (it's medieval times, after all); sword-fighting, spears being thrown and that sort of thing, but there was no unnecessary sexual violence or triggers to warn about. Swearing happens, but that's life.
I honestly didn't want this absolutely engaging book to end, and I'm so glad that the story will continue; the end of the book saw the individual exploits of these characters entwine, and I can see the ensuing adventure becoming even more complex. I'm hooked! Demon smoke wasn't even needed.
*Thank you to Penguin Random House for my early copy of this (epic) book.
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story deepens to reveal a war between different kingdoms, an impending royal marriage, forbidden love, long-held family secrets, and the real reason why demon smoke is so sought-after.The main characters are all wonderfully fleshed out in their nuances and are all given equal page time; the individual chapters follow their movements and whereabouts, whether in the war-mongering Brigant, or the more liberal Pitoria, and they embark on their own personal and physical journeys, keeping this novel action-packed. It's hard not to get attached to their individual situations as we follow each story.
We are treated to a princess, Catherine, who is ready to forge her own path, against the will of her father and brother, and she shows those around her that she will not stand for the brutal ways of her father, the King, and wants to create her own new strong identity.
Ambrose is the princess' loyal guard, who has just seen his sister die, accused a traitor, and at the same time as being loyal to the crown, he is wrestling with feelings for Catherine. Then there are the demon hunters, including Tash, at only twelve years of age, she's nimble and fast on her feet (Green says she likes to include a runner in her books because she's a runner herself). The other two 'main' characters are March and Edyon: one who is a servant to Prince Thelonius, caught up in a plot to bring Edyon, a compulsive thief, back to Calidor under false pretenses, but the two of them end up falling for each other's charms.
There are whole host of other minor characters in the story and they fortify the novel with rich dialog and plot twists. Green has also created wonderful contrasts between the different kingdoms and made sure to point out language/accent differences, eye color traits, and clothing styles, and other things that add to the vivid world-building she carefully undertakes throughout the book. Simply imagining the parade leading Princess Catherine up to the castle in Pitoria is just brilliant.
*There is a lot of violence and appropriate blood and gore, as comes with war and fighting (it's medieval times, after all); sword-fighting, spears being thrown and that sort of thing, but there was no unnecessary sexual violence or triggers to warn about. Swearing happens, but that's life.
I honestly didn't want this absolutely engaging book to end, and I'm so glad that the story will continue; the end of the book saw the individual exploits of these characters entwine, and I can see the ensuing adventure becoming even more complex. I'm hooked! Demon smoke wasn't even needed.
*Thank you to Penguin Random House for my early copy of this (epic) book.
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LibraryThing member titania86
Four teenagers don't know it, but their paths will cross. Tash is a smoke thief, running from demons as bait and helping to trap and kill them for their intoxicating smoke. Catherine is a princess set to marry a prince she's never met and holds affections for her guard, Ambrose. Ambrose is loyal to
The Smoke Thieves is a lengthy fantasy novel with a large cast of characters. Once the story gets going, I was drawn in, but it took a while to get there. The four main characters are all interesting and have different perspectives. Tasha is by far my favorite and I felt like she was shown the least. She's younger than the rest and has a fiery personality and love for gorgeous footwear. Her relationship with Gravell cracks me up. He's kind of a gruff, reluctant father to her while she can be a bit annoying when she doesn't get her way. March has the biggest journey throughout the book and starts out from an understandably hateful place. His whole world has been destroyed and people ooh and ahh at him like a circus animal. He's the only character that brings in the negative side of Calidor as a nation that stood by while the Abask people suffered because of their rivalry. Unfortunately, these two characters were not as focused on as the other two characters.
Some aspects of the book took away from the experience for me. Catherine has to marry someone she doesn't love and Ambrose is hunted for loving her. The drama between Catherine and Ambrose take up most of the book. I liked them and their romance, but there's only so many times I can read that they looked meaningfully at each other or thought about each other. Plus Catherine's plight as a very privileged woman pales in comparison to Tash or March. The misogyny of Brigant society was laid on thick and I felt for her, but other characters were much more interesting. Ambrose read as flatly good and rather uninteresting. I would have personally loved to see more depth in the relationship between March and Edyon. This style of story telling that splits the book into 5 different perspectives takes a long time for anything to come together. I also found some plot developments stretching my sense of disbelief.
The Smoke Thieves is an enjoyable novel that could have been more so in a more straight forward format. It took me quite a while to read and I grew impatient with the story. I would probably read the next book to see what happens. The ending is a mix of happy and frustrating that's perfect to set up for the second installment. If you like high fantasy and don't mind a lengthy book and a long list of characters, I would recommend this.
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a fault, reciprocates Catherine's feelings, and becomes the target of her cruel family so her match won't be ruined. Lastly, March is one of the last of the Abask people, obliterated in a war between two kingdoms, Brigant and Calidor. He serves Prince Thelonius of Calidor until he quits to make him pay for refusing to help his people in their time of need. They all find themselves in danger and face hard decisions that decide the fate of Brigant and Calidor.The Smoke Thieves is a lengthy fantasy novel with a large cast of characters. Once the story gets going, I was drawn in, but it took a while to get there. The four main characters are all interesting and have different perspectives. Tasha is by far my favorite and I felt like she was shown the least. She's younger than the rest and has a fiery personality and love for gorgeous footwear. Her relationship with Gravell cracks me up. He's kind of a gruff, reluctant father to her while she can be a bit annoying when she doesn't get her way. March has the biggest journey throughout the book and starts out from an understandably hateful place. His whole world has been destroyed and people ooh and ahh at him like a circus animal. He's the only character that brings in the negative side of Calidor as a nation that stood by while the Abask people suffered because of their rivalry. Unfortunately, these two characters were not as focused on as the other two characters.
Some aspects of the book took away from the experience for me. Catherine has to marry someone she doesn't love and Ambrose is hunted for loving her. The drama between Catherine and Ambrose take up most of the book. I liked them and their romance, but there's only so many times I can read that they looked meaningfully at each other or thought about each other. Plus Catherine's plight as a very privileged woman pales in comparison to Tash or March. The misogyny of Brigant society was laid on thick and I felt for her, but other characters were much more interesting. Ambrose read as flatly good and rather uninteresting. I would have personally loved to see more depth in the relationship between March and Edyon. This style of story telling that splits the book into 5 different perspectives takes a long time for anything to come together. I also found some plot developments stretching my sense of disbelief.
The Smoke Thieves is an enjoyable novel that could have been more so in a more straight forward format. It took me quite a while to read and I grew impatient with the story. I would probably read the next book to see what happens. The ending is a mix of happy and frustrating that's perfect to set up for the second installment. If you like high fantasy and don't mind a lengthy book and a long list of characters, I would recommend this.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cathishaw
The Smoke Thieves is an epic fantasy novel that is told from multiple points of view. Set in a land with multiple kingdoms, the story line follows five main characters' stories, all of which will converge on a battlefield at the end of the novel. Filled with royalty, thieves, mystery, and magic,
If you are not a fan of epic fantasy novels, you shouldn't attempt this book. For me, who has read LOTR, Robert Jordan and Brooks' Shannara series since adolescence, epic fantasies are a favourite genre (hence my own Marked Ones series). Green definitely is attempting a Game of Thrones feel in this young adult novel. The story opens with Tash, a tiny 13-year old demon hunter, who has an attitude larger than her stature and a fetish for boots. Her feisty personality pulls the reader right into the story.
Princess Catherine, soon to be married to a prince in a far off land, is another character that drew me in. Green does a good job of developing strong female characters. However, the princess's conflicted love interests started to feel a little cliched to me as the novel progressed. I liked Catherine best when she was pursuing her role as a future queen rather than as a future wife or lover.
And another positive was the budding relationship between Eydon and March, one a bastard who doesn't know who his father is and the other the son of a destroyed nation who has acted as a servant to the prince who destroyed his life. Their growing love seemed to an underdeveloped plotline in the story that, perhaps, Green will further develop in Book 2.
With all these positives, I did find some parts of the novel awkward and difficult to follow. First, having five different points of view, which is fairly typical in high fantasy, was frustrating for me at times. When done right, the reader follows one character's POV to a cliffhanger and then is thrust into another story line with the original one left on pause. This is an effective tool for moving the story forward and the reader understands (if only subconsciously) that these different threads will come together at the climax of the book or series. In The Smoke Thieves, however, the sudden shifts in POV left me irritated.
The second weakness was the incorporation of graphic violent scenes. This is where the Game of Thrones mimicking became most apparent. While Green is attempting to illustrate how cruel Catherine's father is, the descriptions of his victims and their untimely ends really seemed forced at times.
Overall, I enjoyed The Smoke Thieves and am looking forward to seeing where the story goes in Book 2. The climatic ending of Book 1, leads me to believe that Princess Catherine and Tash will both further develop as strong main characters as the series continues and I'm eager to read the next installment.
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The Smoke Thieves, seems to have it all but can it stand up to the hype?If you are not a fan of epic fantasy novels, you shouldn't attempt this book. For me, who has read LOTR, Robert Jordan and Brooks' Shannara series since adolescence, epic fantasies are a favourite genre (hence my own Marked Ones series). Green definitely is attempting a Game of Thrones feel in this young adult novel. The story opens with Tash, a tiny 13-year old demon hunter, who has an attitude larger than her stature and a fetish for boots. Her feisty personality pulls the reader right into the story.
Princess Catherine, soon to be married to a prince in a far off land, is another character that drew me in. Green does a good job of developing strong female characters. However, the princess's conflicted love interests started to feel a little cliched to me as the novel progressed. I liked Catherine best when she was pursuing her role as a future queen rather than as a future wife or lover.
And another positive was the budding relationship between Eydon and March, one a bastard who doesn't know who his father is and the other the son of a destroyed nation who has acted as a servant to the prince who destroyed his life. Their growing love seemed to an underdeveloped plotline in the story that, perhaps, Green will further develop in Book 2.
With all these positives, I did find some parts of the novel awkward and difficult to follow. First, having five different points of view, which is fairly typical in high fantasy, was frustrating for me at times. When done right, the reader follows one character's POV to a cliffhanger and then is thrust into another story line with the original one left on pause. This is an effective tool for moving the story forward and the reader understands (if only subconsciously) that these different threads will come together at the climax of the book or series. In The Smoke Thieves, however, the sudden shifts in POV left me irritated.
The second weakness was the incorporation of graphic violent scenes. This is where the Game of Thrones mimicking became most apparent. While Green is attempting to illustrate how cruel Catherine's father is, the descriptions of his victims and their untimely ends really seemed forced at times.
Overall, I enjoyed The Smoke Thieves and am looking forward to seeing where the story goes in Book 2. The climatic ending of Book 1, leads me to believe that Princess Catherine and Tash will both further develop as strong main characters as the series continues and I'm eager to read the next installment.
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LibraryThing member nframke
This was an awesome book! Too bad it ends in a cliffhanger. I liked this much better than Sally Green's other work, Half Bad. I hope she writes more of this story!
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
512 p.; 5.67 inches
ISBN
0141388315 / 9780141388311
Local notes
A princess, a traitor, a soldier, a hunter and a thief. Five teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Five nations destined for conflict.
Signed and lined by the author. Die-cut in the dust-jacket.
Signed and lined by the author. Die-cut in the dust-jacket.