The Spirit Thief (The Legend of Eli Monpress, #1)

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The Spirit Thief (The Legend of Eli Monpress #1)

by Rachel Aaron (Goodreads Author)

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 1,732 ratings · 220 reviews

Eli Monpress is talented. He's charming. And he's a thief.

But not just any thief. He's the greatest thief of the age - and he's also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he's going to put his plan int...more

Paperback, 310 pages

Published October 1st 2010 by Orbit (first published 2010)

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Dec 20, 2010 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Recent speculative fiction has trended towards the dirge-like in nature, delighting in delving deep into the execrable nature of humanity, taking pains to wallow melodramatically in all manner of ethical turgidity, and throwing all manner of dark and disturbing fare in the direction of the hapless reader. Freaks and abominations abound, and our moral shortcomings are painfully (and verbosely) highlighted through plots that take us through a veritable narrative morass of foulness. With speculativ...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Denae rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: epic-fantasy, favorites

Wow. So, I haven't had that much fun with a new book since Witches Inc., last year.
Characters. Not well-developed yet, but I can see how there's plenty of room for me to learn more about them in books to come. They are consistent, and the reader learns about them, just doesn't learn much. It's not a big enough book, though.
Beings. A good plethora, from spirits, Great Spirits, humans, wizards, ghosthounds, and demons (and whatever the Shepherdess is). I hope there will be a few more like the ghos...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Soo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

There is a spirit in everything in the world and only a handful of people have the ability to communicate with them. It's the strength of the person's spirit that defines the power they have and their control that maintains how much they can do with it. In this world, there is a man who desires to be the best thief of all time and he does most of his work with carefree chitchat with the spirits that live in everything. Eli Monpress won't let a small thing like plans falling apart to keep him fro...more There is a spirit in everything in the world and only a handful of people have the ability to communicate with them. It's the strength of the person's spirit that defines the power they have and their control that maintains how much they can do with it. In this world, there is a man who desires to be the best thief of all time and he does most of his work with carefree chitchat with the spirits that live in everything. Eli Monpress won't let a small thing like plans falling apart to keep him from his goal. In fact, he takes it all in stride with confidence and an impish grin. Throw in a swordsman with a magical sword and a young girl bearing a demonseed and you have the trio of ornery characters that keeps the world of spirits on their toes.

If you enjoy snarktastic characters who confidently walk into trouble and are ready to rumble with anything that stands in the path of their convictions, you've come to the right place! It all starts with a simple ransom of a king for a little bit of the kingdom's gold and a promise to rank up the bounty on Eli. Everything spirals out of control when a contender for the throne comes to play. Enemy of my enemy is my friend is a great concept!

My thoughts:

(view spoiler)(less)

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Dec 12, 2010 Brenda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Why I read it: kept seeing it reviewed all over
The Plot: At first glance this sounds like a lot of other books I've read. A thief who is so good that he can do anything and get out of any scrape? It sounded a bit like The Thief (The Queen's Thief, Book 1) or The Lies of Locke Lamora. I mean, in The Thief, we start out in pretty much exactly the same place--with our hero locked up figuring out how to escape. But there's an interesting magic system here that makes it different. Every single thing...more Why I read it: kept seeing it reviewed all over
The Plot: At first glance this sounds like a lot of other books I've read. A thief who is so good that he can do anything and get out of any scrape? It sounded a bit like The Thief (The Queen's Thief, Book 1) or The Lies of Locke Lamora. I mean, in The Thief, we start out in pretty much exactly the same place--with our hero locked up figuring out how to escape. But there's an interesting magic system here that makes it different. Every single thing has a spirit, from trees to sand to doors, and wizards can hear and talk to the spirits. So, our main character, Eli is looking for a way to increase the bounty on his head, and the fastest way he knows how to do that is to kidnap a king, and he's able to sweet talk just about any spirit into doing whatever he wants. Craziness ensues.
The Characters: At first I was pretty sure I wouldn't like Eli. He seemed a little too good at everything. But it turns out that Eli wasn't quite as strong as I first suspected. He had weaknesses and flaws, which made him a better character, and surprisingly, I really liked him. Yes, he was snarky and a little full of himself, but he was also funny and interesting. I also really liked Josef, the swordsman who is a part of Eli's gang, and would like to know more of his backstory. There really aren't very many characters in this one, but that's part of what makes it nice. You never get confused about who is who.
The Setting: The story takes place in the fictional kingdom of Mellinor, and never really goes beyond that. We start out in the castle, and the whole story takes place within a few miles of it. It never feels stagnant though, and the scope feels broader than what we're given.
Who Should Read This? Fans of fantasy, especially lighter fantasy that includes humor.
Final Thoughts: I was a little leary of this one at the start, but it turns out that I really liked it and thought it was a lot of fun. I'm glad that the second and third books are already out so I don't have to wait to continue on with the series.
Grade: A-
Cover Thoughts: The cover for this one is a bit deceiving. It looks like it might be an urban fantasy or something, not the fun adventure fantasy that it is. If you're turned off by the cover, ignore it and give this one a go anyway. (less)

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Dec 24, 2012 Book Chick City rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Reviewed by Laura for www.BookChickCity.com - 7/10 on the blog.

In 'The Spirit Thief', Aaron has created a clever world where every thing in the world has a soul. Be it the wind or a singular piece of wood. Every item has a soul and a will of their own. Which is where wizards come in. Wizards or spiritualists can talk to the spirits, a good wizard treats spirits with respect and takes spirits into their service via a contract. A bad wizard takes away a spirit's will and forces them into servitude...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I was passed along this book by a friend who said if you like Dungeons and Dragons, you'll probably like this book. Boy was she right. I was hooked just reading the summary. Who else but Eli Monpress could steal not gold, not crown jewels, but the very king himself? And that's just the beginning, an elegant combination of wizard and thief, with some of the most interesting friends you'll meet, Eli is a captivating not-quite-hero and this series just makes you want more.

If you like swords and spe...more

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May 04, 2013 Linda Jaejoong rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Man nehme einen Dieb mit einer bezaubernden Stimme, einen Schwertkämpfer mit seiem geheimnisvollen Schwert und ein Mädchen mit einer dunklen Seele und man hat das beste Team der Welt. Eli, Josef und Nico sind einfach ein Traumpaar. Ich hoffe wirklich das bald aufgeklärt wird wie sie sich kennengelernt haben und wie das Verhältnis zwischen Nico und Josef ist, ich habe so das Gefühl das die Beiden was tiefergehendes verbindet!!

Eli ist ja mein absoluter Liebling. Er flirtet mit allem was ihm zuhört...more Man nehme einen Dieb mit einer bezaubernden Stimme, einen Schwertkämpfer mit seiem geheimnisvollen Schwert und ein Mädchen mit einer dunklen Seele und man hat das beste Team der Welt. Eli, Josef und Nico sind einfach ein Traumpaar. Ich hoffe wirklich das bald aufgeklärt wird wie sie sich kennengelernt haben und wie das Verhältnis zwischen Nico und Josef ist, ich habe so das Gefühl das die Beiden was tiefergehendes verbindet!!

Eli ist ja mein absoluter Liebling. Er flirtet mit allem was ihm zuhört und bleibt dabei immer charmant. Er und Josef sind so niedlich wenn sie mal wieder eins ihrer Wortgefechte haben. Josef ist auf Platz 2 meiner Lieblinge und mich interessiert brennend warum er mit Eli zusammenarbeitet. Von Nico weiß ich noch nicht was ich halten soll, sie scheint eigentlich ganz nett zu sein, aber wenn sie dann mal die Kontrolle verliert kann sie Freund von Feind nicht unterscheiden.

Miranda fand ich so eingebildet und unsympathisch. Sie findet sich ja selbst so toll und sie ist ja so stark, dafür hat sie aber komischerweise die hälfte des Buches nur auf dem Boden gelegen. Gin find ich richtig cool, aber mit Miranda zusammen benimmt er sich wie ein Weichkeks. Miranda hat für mich nicht in das Buch und in die Handlung gepasst!!

Die Liga der Stürme interessiert mich auch sehr. Was ist ihr Ziel und für wenn arbeiten sie? Und wer oder was ist Behehime und was will sie von Eli? Ich mag sie nicht und habe das Gefühl das sie nicht gutes im Schilde führt. Auch hoffe ich das wir in Band 2 mehr vom Geisterhof erfahren und was Eli mit Meister Banage zu tun hat.

Fazit: Super spannend, voller Action und mit viel Witz, das ist "Meister der Stimmen"!! Es liest sich super flüssig und die Handlung ist mal wan neues!!Für die nächsten Bände bleiben eine Menge fragen offen!! Was ist an Eli Monpress so besonders und warum kann er etwas was kein anderer kann?? Was verbindet ihn, Nico und Josef?? Und welche Schandtat hat er als nächstes vor?? Die Antworten darauf findet ihr in den Folgebänden!!(less)

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Jan 27, 2013 Si Barron rated it 4 of 5 stars

I must declare a semi-interest here because I am previously well-disposed towards the author. I met Rachel Aaron virtually last year while participating in Nanowrimo- she was the professional author responding to questions on one of the boards for fantasy novels. She was absolutely brilliant at this, tireless in her very detailed responses to all comers and never less than interesting and informative. Some of the dullards that posted (me also) had not previously heard of either her or her novels...more I must declare a semi-interest here because I am previously well-disposed towards the author. I met Rachel Aaron virtually last year while participating in Nanowrimo- she was the professional author responding to questions on one of the boards for fantasy novels. She was absolutely brilliant at this, tireless in her very detailed responses to all comers and never less than interesting and informative. Some of the dullards that posted (me also) had not previously heard of either her or her novels; many pledged to read them (me also)- so I got The Legend of Eli Monpress for Xmas [which is the omnibus version of her first three Spirit novels- which I have decided to review separately] and here is my review of The Spirit Thief

I knew that RA was a good writer having read all her board responses (there was a lot here as I said) and her blog postings (which are amazingly useful to budding writers) so let me say at the start that The Spirit Thief is insanely readable. The prose is clear as a bell, by which I mean that you don’t notice the words at all you just flow through it effortlessly. She has described in detail her fast writing regime on her blog and if you are interested in the writing life you will want to read about this method (she once wrote a novel draft in 11 days!!). There is probably something in writing fast that means holding more in your mind at once and therefore delivering more efficiently- anyway whatever it is it works, there is no stumbling in this novel one just breezes through.

The ease of reading is also in part due to the all-consuming action which never lets the reader go; this is especially noticeable in the extended final act as the oddly-coupled fellowship break into the castle and confront the evil therein. This ramps up and up with character revelations galore and the raising of ever greater steaks.

The characters are very well drawn; my favourite being the mysterious Nico, at once frail and powerful. This first book is focused mainly through the eyes of Miranda the Wizard-Investigator and how she perceives Eli the Wizard-Thief, but viewpoint shifts in satisfying ways so we see a broad perspective. I gather that the further books in the series will focus on other characters- I think the third will be about Nico so I can’t wait.

The plot revolves around Eli’s attempt to kidnap and ransom the king of an outlying realm Melinor- this place has banished wizards and so appears easy pickings but there is someone waiting in the wings who seizes the opportunity to complicate matters dreadfully. The plot points are convoluted and lean- there is no baggage, the reader is bounced along at breathless pace.

This is obviously a preliminary to the sequels as there are several highly mysterious, very powerful characters that flit through the plot with barely a mention which whet your appetite for more of the same.

So even though I am slightly biased because RA was so generous with her time and experience during last years Nano- I can say without qualm of conscience that this is a book that will not disappoint any fantasy addict- I found it insanely readable and am about to plough into the next in the trilogy.

(less)

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Dec 31, 2012 AnonymousBookCritics rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of anime, cocky male leads

Shelves: quick-read, humorous-at-times, underwhelming, anime-inspired

2.5 stars
Originally reviewed: 7/1/2012

Unfortunately, for how excited I was about that opening line, how enjoyable it was to see Eli talk to a door and how quirky and fun the whole scene felt, that was as far as it went. It felt to me that all of the effort of catching the reader’s eye was put into that first chapter and the rest sort of paled in comparison. We never really get to know any of the characters. We’re given the impression there’s a story behind Miranda and her ghosthound, Gin. But th...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Mei-Lu rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-f

Rachel Aaron's Eli Monpress series is one of those fantasy series that attempts to tell stand-alone stories with in each novel but then have an arc that progresses over the entire series. One thing I've noticed with these series is that the first book does a pretty good job of being self-contained and that usually the series gets increasingly more pear-shaped from there. The series that I like the best (such as Patricia Brigg's Mercedes Thompson series) are the ones that tell self-contained stor...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Anne Lyle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, omnibus

Eli Monpress is the greatest and most infamous thief in the world. At least, that’s his ambition. The bigger the theft, the higher the bounty on his wanted poster – and what could be higher profile than stealing a king? Unfortunately the kidnapped king’s absence leaves a power vacuum in the wizard-hating kingdom of Mellinor and sets off a chain of events that even Eli’s charm can’t easily get him out of.

I confess that I started reading this book under the misapprehension that it was YA – I’m not...more

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Oct 20, 2012 Cassie rated it 3 of 5 stars

An easy, light read! The writing and characters were interesting and I found myself getting through the book quickly. The thing that severely dampened my enjoyment was that I was a little baffled by the worldbuilding.

The major theme of this book is that a spirit inhabits each object. It is through dealing with these spirits that wizards (known as Spiritualists as if that wasn't confusing enough*) gain their power. What confuses me is the idea that there are mountain spirits and stone spirits an...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Julia rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: generic fantasy readers

Not bad, but not anything special. I enjoyed the story but was never pulled in to the point that I identified with the characters enough to care about them.

The title character, Eli Monpress, is a sympathetic thief who can talk to the spirit of any object. The book starts when he convinces the door of the prison cell that it would be more comfortable laying down. The first few chapters jump around between characters and viewpoints but the main viewpoint character eventually emerges as Miranda Lyo...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Jen3n rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: awful, fantasy

Badly written; with interchangeable characters, a recycled plot, and just enough self-importance to top it all off, the first few chapters had me rolling my eyes hard enough to cause friction-burns on the inside of my skull.

In defense of this book, I only got about a third of the way through it. Maybe it gets better. I hope it gets better. I mean, someone gave this book the go-ahead and someone else bought enough copies to turn this convoluted, unoriginal, waste of good paper into a series of se...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Mardel rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Spirit Thief is a charming, fun fantasy read with some characters that I want to read more about. Though the series is titled The Legend of Eli Monpress, there are three characters besides Eli that appear throughout The Spirit Thief. There is, of course, Eli Monpress - self titled the best thief in the land. He wants to prove this by making his bounty larger and larger. His stated goal, to become worth a million might not be all there is to this story. He is traveling with two companions. Jo...more The Spirit Thief is a charming, fun fantasy read with some characters that I want to read more about. Though the series is titled The Legend of Eli Monpress, there are three characters besides Eli that appear throughout The Spirit Thief. There is, of course, Eli Monpress - self titled the best thief in the land. He wants to prove this by making his bounty larger and larger. His stated goal, to become worth a million might not be all there is to this story. He is traveling with two companions. Josef is a swordsman who has been chosen by a certain sword that he refuses to use. There is Nico, who has this ability to disappear and reappear. There's something about her that frightens the spirits - they aren't simply frightened, they are terrified. And finally - there is Miranda who belongs to an order (The Spirit Court) that uses and protects spirits, keeping the lands safe from nefarious wizards and other dangers. Miranda has some strong beliefs about spirits.

In this first of (now) five novels, Eli has decided to raise his bounty by kidnapping a King. Miranda's order has learned that Eli is in the Mellinor Kingdom and Miranda is sent to arrest him. Seems it's kind of hard for anyone to detain Eli... Eli is able to talk and charm the spirits of wood, doors, plants, water, all kinds of spirits. In this world, every item - living or inanimate has a spirit, some more awake than others. And Eli has a way with all spirits, they all seem to adore him. Though his chosen life is as a thief, he does have a strong sense of respecting all spirits, and never forces the spirits - he talks to them. All the time; as he's traveling, when he needs something from them, when he just passes by...builds good will.

Miranda, on the other hand, enters into a contract type of co-existence with some spirits, using them as servants in return for protecting them. She also travels with this huge mist hound - a hound that is as big as a horse with abilities of his own. While in pursuit of Eli, she stumbles on a plot by the King's sinister brother. This brother has been exiled from the Mellinor Kingdom - a kingdom that for four hundred years has banned anything to do with magic, especially wizards. So when Renaud (sinister bro of the king) began exhibiting wizardly abilities, he was sent away. Needless to say, he grew up bitter, planned to worm his way back into the kingdom and when an opportunity arose, jumped on the chance to take over the kingdom to begin his plot...

I usually don't go into this much detail on a book review, and hope I stayed away from any spoilers. However, this novel has been around since 2010 -so any spoilers are already out there. I enjoyed reading this novel - quite a bit. The characters were fun to read, the dialogue was fitting, and there were some chuckles to balance out some of the more intense moments. Not that there were any extremely scary moments, or gore - the moments between wizards were more of a will vs will duel, and even the swordsmen fighting weren't bad - there was blood, to be sure, but nothing that would keep a sensitive person from reading...I think.

In this novel, you have all the parts you need - good dialogue, some chuckles, mysterious pasts, interesting characters (though for some reason, I found Miranda to be irritating - not irritating as in, I do not want to read about her, but in the way of, I'm glad she's not in MY face), and I loved that the spirits -a big part of the world building- weren't just mentioned here and there, but their roles were threaded throughout the book. I would have loved to find out more about Josef and what makes him tick, Nico - where did they find her? what made them want to protect her? etc. In addition, there are endless possibilities of storylines, subplots and side characters just with the idea of the spirits of ALL the items in this world. The door has a spirit - a wood spirit that is most likely deeply asleep....the water in a river, the sand, metal, even a leather bag - and this Eli seems to understand what these spirits need. The narration was pretty good, even though I found a few spots where I felt like I was in a classroom listening to teachers talk at each other on the use of magic. Minor issue, since it wasn't over done, but something that does sometimes pull me out of a story.

When the story ended, I wanted to read more. This is the type of book that I enjoy enough to buy a sequel to see where the characters are going, or just to enjoy Eli's roguish charm, Josef's intensity and Nico's way of frightening all that surrounds her - all except Josef and Eli. What is up with her? you'll have to read The Spirit Thief to find out. I'll be eventually buying the next story in the series, The Spirit Rebellion. By the way - the first three books are now available in an omnibus edition - three novels for the price of one book - well, for the price of a trade sized ppb. (less)

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Aug 08, 2012 Brandon Zarzyczny rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, it's a fun little romp in an interesting world. However, I found it a little odd with where/when the author decided to start the story, as all of the characters are completely formed and the only character that grows is the secondary character (though I do like her). I have no problem with books that have characters with long unknown lives before the reader knows them, but in this case it almost felt like I was reading the middle book of a series. I actually had to ch...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Shanna Swendson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This series has one of the more interesting magical systems I've seen. Many objects, both living and inanimate, have their own spirits, some of which are fully awakened and some of which are dormant. The wizards in this world are those that can hear and communicate with these spirits. The good ones develop a kind of symbiotic relationship with certain spirits that then mediate with all the other spirits, while the bad ones enslave spirits. And then there's the guy who just seems to flirt with th...more

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Dec 25, 2011 Felicia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

So I'm giving this four stars because I have read all three books in the series and so I'm rating the series overall as such this far. The second and third books are actually better than this first one. A REALLY REALLY fun series that fantasy fans will enjoy if they like their entertainment fluffy and light, and the books get better and better, so I would definitely encourage you to check it out!

This is a familiar fantasy-renaissance world, but where everything has a "spirit", water and air and...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Andy Gavin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Between a trip back east, mega editing on my own book, and another parental visit last week I only had time to read five or so novels in December, about a quarter of my usual rate.

Don't confuse this fun little book with The Lightning Thief, which I also just read and reviewed. The SPIRIT Thief straddlesa fairly unique line between totally straight up 80s fantasy and comedicfantasythe likes of River of Dancing Gods or Myth Conceptions. It's not however as totally comic as those, and somehow seems...more Between a trip back east, mega editing on my own book, and another parental visit last week I only had time to read five or so novels in December, about a quarter of my usual rate.

Don't confuse this fun little book with The Lightning Thief, which I also just read and reviewed. The SPIRIT Thief straddles a fairly unique line between totally straight up 80s fantasy and comedic fantasy the likes of River of Dancing Gods or Myth Conceptions. It's not however as totally comic as those, and somehow seems a bit smaller and lighter (if that's possible).

The voice is very good, and the opening scene brilliant. There's a nice new magic system here, where every living thing has a spirit inside that wizards can bargin with, enslave, or what not. Like comedy fantasy Shinto. It's not entirely evenly developed, but the book is at its best during the magic fights. Although they do have a certainly sketchy quality too them, where the action doesn't feel entirely blocked out, but I still liked quite a bit of this. The master swordsmen are really nicely done, combining the intrinsic magic of the book with a slightly Robert Jordan-esque blade-master feel. There were moments that almost felt super cool.

The prose can be very wry, in a good way. Funny, without laugh out loud. A lot of this involves attributing emotion to inanimate objects, which given the magical system is perfectly in line. When it's on, this is certainly very fun to read. But at the same time this levity makes it hard to take the characters too seriously, and certainly not their perils. So it works for and against. I found oddly marooned in a peculiar -- albiet unique -- tone.

For some reason it also reminded me a bit of Shattered World, one of my high school favorites. Probably because the protagonists is a thief. I maybe wanted it to feel more like that, but it doesn't feel as big. Everything takes place in a fairly short time and place, and the stakes seem a little local. The light tone also works against the emotional intensity of the characters, and I for the most part feel that they existed to either service the plot, or like the author was more sure of their personality than the character. The villain in particular is of the "i'm very bad, and very mad, and bad at being mad" sort.

So overall I would call the book a snack. But a tasty one.(less)

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Sep 23, 2011 Jo (Mixed Book Bag) rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Spirit Thief has been described as fast furious fun. In addition to all of those descriptions it is also full of great characters, good world building and an exciting plot. Eli and Miranda are the main characters but they are surrounded by a host of wonderful secondary characters that increase the fun in the book.

Eli Monpress is a thief. He is the greatest thief around. He is also a wizard who can ask sprits for help and is never refused. He wants a bounty worthy of his talent so he is worki...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Spirit Thief is the first of the Eli Monpress series. Eli Monpress is a thief whose goal in life is to have a 1 million bounty on his head. He will rob, kidnap and threaten to get that bounty.

And he's utterly hilarious.

The magic of this world works because spiritualists (wizards) have agreements with different spirits where the spirits do spiritualists' bidding in exchange for some of the wizard's power. Eli Monpress gets spirits to do what he wants by flirting with them until they are giggl...more

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May 16, 2011 Ryn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fantasy

It was... okay. The synopsis hooked me, and I liked the ideas behind it (he stole a king - how awesome is that?!), it just was a little... idealistic? I'm not sure if that's the word I'm looking for, but what I mean is that it just wasn't gritty enough. Oh, Rachel Aaron tried - what with the Heart of War, the demonseed, etc. - but she fell short of a truly epic fantasy. I classified this as adult because I think that's what it was likely created to be, but the reading level and subject matter ar...more It was... okay. The synopsis hooked me, and I liked the ideas behind it (he stole a king - how awesome is that?!), it just was a little... idealistic? I'm not sure if that's the word I'm looking for, but what I mean is that it just wasn't gritty enough. Oh, Rachel Aaron tried - what with the Heart of War, the demonseed, etc. - but she fell short of a truly epic fantasy. I classified this as adult because I think that's what it was likely created to be, but the reading level and subject matter are YA at best.

I do like the humor, and all of the characters (even the sadly overused flame-haired heroine archetype is bearable), but they just don't have that leaping-off-the-page quality to them. I know that if I'd found this series in my teens, I would likely have crowed over it, but after having read Joe Abercrombie's First Law series and Sarah Monette's Doctrine of Labyrinths series, I have lost the ability to be amazed by flat characters in a hunky-dory plotline, no matter how interesting the possibilities manifest in a ghosthound and everyday objects containing spirits that can be awakened and used by wizards.

I like Eli, Josef, and Nico, and the strong bonds in their little group, but in the end, this was just another way that Aaron didn't push hard enough to provide a seamy, dazzling backstory, or even any situational opportunities for their cohesiveness/trickiness to take front and center. I will, however, give her the benefit of doubt and wait to read the other books in the series to see if she develops her characters a little more. (Although, again, Monette's and Abercrombie's characters - didn't matter if they were minor or main - grabbed you by the throat in the first few chapters of their first novels and didn't let you go 'till the end of the series. Had to throw that out there. Sorry. Just sayin'...)

I will probably be reading the rest in the series (apparently there are two out already and anotherrr... two coming?), but I'm really, really, *really* hoping Aaron decides to kick it up a notch by showcasing the nitty-gritty realities of characters and adventures inherent even in tales of fantasy. (less)

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Feb 05, 2011 cecilia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: blue-covers, faces-covers, one-eyed-covers

the thing that drew my attention to The Spirit Thief was the tagline: What he gets away with is criminal. Nothing like a clever tagline to get my curiosity going! :) And then, I was definitely hooked by the back cover summary. A thief who stole a king? Ridiculous yet genius.

It has been so long (okay, since Blameless and Bewitched & Betrayed) since I've found a new fantasy series - and it has been never since I found one that releases the first 3 in the series in monthly succession! Not sure...more the thing that drew my attention to The Spirit Thief was the tagline: What he gets away with is criminal. Nothing like a clever tagline to get my curiosity going! :) And then, I was definitely hooked by the back cover summary. A thief who stole a king? Ridiculous yet genius.

It has been so long (okay, since Blameless and Bewitched & Betrayed) since I've found a new fantasy series - and it has been never since I found one that releases the first 3 in the series in monthly succession! Not sure how Ms. Aaron accomplished this, but I am devouring the series as we speak. This is simply a mini-break to ring out the good news! Right from the start,The Spirit Thief is true to its promise of being good rollicking fun with a dash of magic and incredible wit. It reminded me of Vash The Stampede (for all you anime fans) rolled into Princess Bride (without the mushy parts, but the you-killed-my-father vibe) stamped with Pirates Of The Carribean (with the spirit of Jack Sparrow, but without actual pirates). Okay, maybe the PotC was a bit of a stretch, but Eli could totally give Jack a run for his money!

I loved all the characters, and I cannot wait to find out more about them in the following books! Ms. Aaron has put together a diverse cast cloaked with loads of mysteries - who they are, where they came from, how they came to be together. A swordsman in possession of the greatest sword ever made, but absolutely refuses to use it. A demonseed on the brink of fully maturing into a demonic monster, but hidden from most of the world and somehow kept at bay by Eli and swordsman. A wizard who went through her schooling to understand magic, but totally gets stumped when Eli throws everything she has learned about magic out the window. A king who simply wants to go home. The king's exiled brother who seizes this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to steal a kingless kingdom and harbors a magic most powerfully evil.

I am 200% glad that I decided to give The Spirit Thief a chance because it has far exceeded my expectations - and I am really glad that it lived up to its tagline! What Rachel Aaron has gotten away with is fantastic - and all you fans of Lisa Shearin who are itching for a new series to bide the time until Con & Conjure come out, make room for The Spirit Thief who may give the Benares family a run for their money!(less)

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Dec 02, 2010 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

The cover is perfect for the thief. I think that sly smile describes Eli well. And although he is the main character of the story, I found myself more interested in those around him. Especially the wizard Miranda and her ghosthound, Gin. I also found the relationship between Miranda and Eli interesting. They were like polar opposites in terms of morality. Eli was much more in tune with how nature might view human morality and responsibility and Miranda was his "opposite" in her almost evangelica...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

This debut novel, the first of three books to be published in a matter of months, is a sparky introduction to what promises to be an entertaining series. Though it is nothing particularly new, it is engaging and fun, and will bring a smile to many a reader.

What is the winner for me here is the tale’s engaging tone. It’s light, fun and not particularly deep nor dark. It plays with the genre in a style that was reminiscent to me of early David Eddings. For many, that’ll be recommendation enough.

To...more This debut novel, the first of three books to be published in a matter of months, is a sparky introduction to what promises to be an entertaining series. Though it is nothing particularly new, it is engaging and fun, and will bring a smile to many a reader.

What is the winner for me here is the tale’s engaging tone. It’s light, fun and not particularly deep nor dark. It plays with the genre in a style that was reminiscent to me of early David Eddings. For many, that’ll be recommendation enough.

To the tale, then. Eli Monpress is an Errol Flynn type hero, a swordsman, renegade wizard and thief with the ability to talk to inanimate objects (that have once lived) and persuade them to do his bidding. This leads to his undoing at the beginning of the tale, but he manages to escape Allaze Prison faster than you can say ‘With one bound, he was free!’ Now rather bereft of funds, he then apparently kidnaps and holds for ransom Henrith, the King of Mellinor.

At the same time, redheaded wizard and Spirit Council messenger, Miranda Lyonette, arrives at Allaze Castle with her ghosthound Gin. Bearing a belated message she finds herself involved in the recovery of Henrith, not to mention capturing Eli and take him back to the Spirit Court for sentencing.

Unfortunately the deposing of King Henrith has led to his older brother, the exiled (and rather insane) Prince Renaud to arrive in Mellinor and take his place. Eli and Miranda find that in order to restore order they have to work together with Eli’s bunch of mercenaries to restore Henrith to kingship and remove Renaud, as well as deal with the opening of an ancient relic and the appearance of an equally ancient Spirit god.

So: a quest novel, with a touch of flirting thrown in, and a range of unusual (if not particularly new) characters, with enough of a knowing wink to keep things on the right side of fun. Eli is a likeable enough rogue, Miranda’s a strong heroine, King Henrith is not as stupid as initially portrayed and I also liked the laconic humour of Gin the ghosthound. The dialogue’s pretty sharp, the pace is frantic and the overall vibe is of a writer having a lot of fun with the telling of the tale. In terms of the world here, the idea of spirits being used by wizards and who work in alliance with their Spiritualist friends is not new but admirably done, and the actions of the characters are sensible within the environment set, though at times they are a little close to the realm of far-fetchedness, which in a Fantasy novel can take some doing! Nevertheless, perhaps reminiscent of Chris Wooding’s Ketty Jay series but in a Fantasy setting, there’s a lot here for readers to like, if perhaps at times one or two too many ‘inescapable escapes’.

The ending is one which sets itself up nicely for the next book in the series. The Spirit Rebellion follows next month, followed by The Spirit Eater the following month.

For readers just wanting something to entertain, without having to think too deeply about the whys and wherefores of such actions, this is fun, though fun that makes sense. This is what I would like Karen Miller to write like, but this has a better internal logic and better world building.

A promising debut and one from a writer to watch in the future.

Mark Yon, October 2010(less)

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Aug 22, 2010 Samantha rated it 2 of 5 stars

The book begins on a promising whimsical note, involving a conversation with a door. That being said, the book that follows largely fails to deliver on the initial promise, although there are good and even great moments here and there.

This is a spirited (see what I did there?), light-hearted adventure romp, set in a world where all things have "spirits", and magic involves getting these spirits to do your bidding - either by inviting them to voluntarily serve you, as the "Spiritualists" do, or...more The book begins on a promising whimsical note, involving a conversation with a door. That being said, the book that follows largely fails to deliver on the initial promise, although there are good and even great moments here and there.

This is a spirited (see what I did there?), light-hearted adventure romp, set in a world where all things have "spirits", and magic involves getting these spirits to do your bidding - either by inviting them to voluntarily serve you, as the "Spiritualists" do, or by forcing them by your own willpower, as the evil "Enslavers" do. The magic system is probably this novel's strength - it's clearly well thought-out, and Eli, the "spirit thief" in question, makes him stand out with unusual approach to dealing with spirits. There are a number of quite-amusing scenes involving Eli and his unconventional tactics that enhance the story well.

Unfortunately, where the book falls flat is in regards to character development and character interaction/dialogue. Character development? Well, there isn't any, really. Most of the characters are completely one-dimensional, with a couple of exceptions being Eli and the mysterious swordsman Coriano. We simply aren't given enough information about the other characters to particularly care about them at all. Regarding character interaction, a large quantity of it is very stock. Cackling evil bad guys, good wizardesses Standing Up For Doing The Right Thing, overuse of adverbs ("so and so said menacingly," etc). It got to a point where I found myself skimming over entire passages, because reading the stuff the characters were saying was diminishing my enjoyment of the book.

Now, I will say that the book has some excellent climactic scenes, and I enjoy the moral ambiguity of the "demonseed" character Nico. I also think that the dialogue and character development issues are problems that, as the author gains more writing experience, could be worked out. I am willing to read the second volume of this series - this book held enough to like that I feel the writer has definite promise. (less)

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Aug 29, 2012 Bobbi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Great beginning! I'm interested.

When I first started reading this book, I got that whole "debut novel" feeling. So I expected some awkwardness, but there is a lot less than I thought there would be. Things smooth out pretty well, and I wasn't quite sure what Eli, Nico, or Josef would do from one minute to the next. If this were because the characters weren't fleshed out enough, I would probably be done with the series. Predictability is a problem, but a complete lack thereof indicates inconsiste...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Kez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-books, ebooks, genre-fantasy, genre-epic-fantasy, theme-demons, theme-magic, theme-wizards

I've been lamenting lately the lack of easy to read, good fantasy novels. It is quite timely that Felicia Day recommended this series then. She is quite correct this is an entirely FUN series to read. It is fantasy along the vein of The Chronicles of Elantra, The Necromancer Chronicles or the Raine Benares books. The hero Eli is a wizard with a goal, unlike your usual wizard his goal is not world domination or to be the strongest, it is to get a bounty of 1 million gold marks on his head. I ador...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Lavinia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone. we all need a bit of magic and humor!

Shelves: fantasy, humor

The world Rachel Aaron creates for us in The Legend of Eli Monpress series is amazing. It is set in a time gone by when modern convieinces like cars and electricity dont exist. Candlelight and oil lamps light the dark, travelling is done using horses, battles are fought with swords and everything contains a spirit. Everything. Including the wheels on a horse drawn cart!
Eli Monpress is a wizard and he can talk to spirits, he can also charm them into doing anything he wishes. He is also a theif, a...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

I honestly wasn't expecting it to be all that good, especially after the first couple pages and I got an idea of what POV characters were going to be dragging me around all day.

That said, the first pages also intrigued me--sweet-talking a door. Really interesting concept, which quickly developed into an awesome and mostly original magic system of spirits and different ways of manipulating them. :) This was probably the greatest reason of why I liked this book, because it was flat-out fresh and...more

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About Rachel Aaron

Hello, my name is Rachel Aaron, author of The Spirit Thief and all the other Eli books forthcoming from Orbit. I live in Athens, GA, (which I always stress is not really Georgia, but a small island nation all its own adrift in the vast sea of East Georgia farmland) in a seventies house of the future with my husband, the keeper of the other half of my brain, my infant son, who's working on growing...more

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Books by Rachel Aaron

The Spirit Rebellion (The Legend of Eli Monpress, #2)

The Spirit Eater (The Legend of Eli Monpress, #3)

The Spirit War (The Legend of Eli Monpress, #4)

The Legend of Eli Monpress (The Legend of Eli Monpress #1-3)

Spirit's End (The Legend of Eli Monpress #5)

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Quotes from The Spirit Thief

“First rule of thievery,' Eli said, grinning, 'only run if you're not coming back.' (...) 'First rule of thievery, never use the same entrance twice.' Miranda rolled her eyes. 'How many 'first rules' of thievery do you have?' 'When one mistake can mean your head on a pike, every rule's a first rule,' Eli said cheerfully.” — 1 person liked it

“How did you get in here?' (...) 'How I got here isn't important, because I could do it twenty times again, each time a different way.” — 1 person liked it

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The Spirit Thief (The Legend of Eli Monpress #1)

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