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66th out of 73 books
—
44 voters
Finder
by
Terri-Lynne DeFino (Goodreads Author)
Survival along Therk's seedy coast is precarious. Hounds rule the streets with fear and fists. Former highwaymen now call themselves Merchants. Spices, rare since the desert swallowed the Spice Way, are forbidden to all but the wealthy and powerful.
Ethen's ability to Find lost objects has helped him survive in this world; now, it's going to make him rich. The Merchant Jud...more
Ethen's ability to Find lost objects has helped him survive in this world; now, it's going to make him rich. The Merchant Jud...more
Hardcover, 344 pages
Published
November 12th 2010
by Hadley Rille Books
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Set in a richly imagined, Middle-Eastern flavored fantasy world, Finder is at heart a complicated, decades-long love story between Ethen and Zihariel, two star-crossed lovers from very different backgrounds. Ethen is the eponymous hero with a special power: he can “find” any sort of objects or people just by concentrating on them. During the course of the book he transforms from a streetwise urchin to a rich and relatively respectable middle-aged man. Zihariel is a beautiful woman with an amazin...more
A fine first offering by a new author. In depth characterization and an original, conquered world makes for an exciting and easy read. Make no mistake, this book is about what I call, the "little people." No princes, kings, or massive warlocks bent on destruction here. Just average folks that would fit right in some fantastic market square in a truly original world--one of whom is slave. I love this. The more I read, the less I want to hear about Princes or Wizards. I want to hear from the valet...more
This new author has given us a look into an amazing world. And what a world she has created for us... I was lost in emotions. Some much that I could smell the spices that were forbidden, loved those who later would need forgiveness. You become a person you never understood until you felt the love of other. My heart sang with those longing to be heard. Ached for those who had to endure. And swooned at the promising moments sealed with a hungry kiss.
How do you feel about a map in the beginning of...more
How do you feel about a map in the beginning of...more
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I am lucky in that I got to read this book before a publisher set eyes on it. I fell in love with the story. Ethen, a thief has the uncanny ability to find things. He is hired by a wealthy man to find Zihariel, a musically gifted, escaped slave. But that aspect of the story is a fraction of the story. There is political intrigue surrounding the smuggling of banned spices. There are two powerful loves stories. The reader gets to watch the characters age 18 years. This adds depth to the story beca...more
Ethen has lived his youth on the streets, learning to survive through cheating and thievery. Yet he has a gift that promises him a future of wealth and prosperity: He is a Finder. Upon contact with simple objects, maps unfold in his mind and locations reveal themselves. Elite families of Pashni’it pay well to have that which was lost to them Found, and Ethen’s first commission is a simple one: Find the runaway slave Zihariel.
So begins this adventure through the Mediterranean-style world of Therk...more
So begins this adventure through the Mediterranean-style world of Therk...more
I reviewed this book for Adopt an Indie Month in November 2011. Ethen is a Finder. Hand him something related to something lost, and he will immediately see in his head the place where it's located and a map of how to get there.
He is asked to find a runaway slave named Zihariel -- a pooni who has a remarkable musical talent. He tracks her down, and they discover they are soul mates. But fate, and their own headstrong ways, conspire against them. Ethen and Zihariel must go through many changes be...more
He is asked to find a runaway slave named Zihariel -- a pooni who has a remarkable musical talent. He tracks her down, and they discover they are soul mates. But fate, and their own headstrong ways, conspire against them. Ethen and Zihariel must go through many changes be...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This is a light, and delightful novel, told primarily through the eyes of its pair of star-crossed lovers. Terri-Lynne DeFino does some deft worldbuilding here, light touches that give glimpses of tremendous depth, hinting that somewhere in the author's home are volumes of notes and maps and mythologies and histories and cookbooks and recordings of stories passed down from parent to child going back many generations.
While the plot tends to substitute coincidence for complexity, the novel more th...more
While the plot tends to substitute coincidence for complexity, the novel more th...more
Not your stock Tolkienesque fantasy novel:
—Finder's hero has an interesting talent—the ability to locate things and people—that I don't believe I've seen before.
—The novel's second half takes place 18 years after the first half, allowing the reader a rare look into how people's choices worked out and how they try to fix them.
—Social issues are an important subtext in the novel.
I enjoyed the unusual and well-constructed world, the interesting characters, and the different perspectives of the cha...more
—Finder's hero has an interesting talent—the ability to locate things and people—that I don't believe I've seen before.
—The novel's second half takes place 18 years after the first half, allowing the reader a rare look into how people's choices worked out and how they try to fix them.
—Social issues are an important subtext in the novel.
I enjoyed the unusual and well-constructed world, the interesting characters, and the different perspectives of the cha...more
A nicely written YA-feeling fantasy about gifted-musician slave who runs from her owner and the young man with the talent to Find things who is hired to bring her back. The world-building is well done, down to the level of small details and word choices, the characters are interesting and flawed enough to seem real. Actions have real-world consequences, including pregnancy and death. The plot has several twists and turns (although perhaps a few too many narrow escapes) and it held my interest th...more
A bit different from other fantasy novels I've read. I was expecting this to be about a teen, but was surprised to find the main character was an adult. Overall I liked it. It was almost like reading two books in one. The second part happens 18 years after the first part. I wasn't sure how I was going to like that, but it ended up offering great insight into the growth and changes in the characters. The author really did a good job of pulling this off without losing the feel of who the character...more
I was fortunate enough to wrangle an ARC of Finder away from my publisher, and what a treat! DeFino's world is lush, creative, and, set in an exotic desert world, not your traditional fantasy. Against this amazing backdrop she explores the themes of love and loss, slavery and freedom, friendship and family, and how the choices we make affect our own destiny. DeFino is a writer to watch, and I cannot wait for the sequel!
1 like · like · see review
Finder was a beautifully unique and epic tale. I loved the world-building here- and saw vividly the desert sands as well as the idyllic garden-cities of DeFino's setting. The two main characters, Ethen and Zihariel won my heart and then broke it again with the choices they made. Finder is about magic, freedom, loyalty, and long-lost secrets, but most importantly, it's about love.
A great book with characters that make you fall in love and indentify with them. With an interesting plot and fabulous subplots that will have you reading until the last page.
Terri-Lynne has a beautiful way of making you feel , smell , hear and see everything she writes.
One of the best books I ever read.
Terri-Lynne has a beautiful way of making you feel , smell , hear and see everything she writes.
One of the best books I ever read.
This is a wonderful piece of fiction. It is absolutely thick with incredible world-building that makes the mind savor every detail. DeFino is a unsung master of her genre, driving characters into the forefront of her fiction in a backdrop of love, magic, and loss. I highly recommend this book.
I loved this book! Very engaging, and a great read :) DeFino's world is amazingly described, and her handling of characters and their relationship is fantastic. I highly recommend this book!
I was lucky enough to read an ARC of this book ahead of time, and it was a total treat. It starts off like a rollicking fantasy, which is fun - but I really enjoyed how it's not just a romance and adventure, but what comes *after* the adventure. There's lots of excitement to be found here, but also broken promises, the lies we tell ourselves with the best intentions, and best of all: second chances.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jul 01, 2011
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
marked it as decided-not-to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy-fiction
All the conveniently-English-cognate words bugged me. And the characters kept being idiots in non-enjoyable ways. Admittedly, I didn't get very far.
Wow awesome book. It sucked me in and transformed the world around me until I looked up and was shocked to be in Colorado. Highly recommend this one to anyone who likes Fantasy.
Loved, loved, loved the book.
Love the author. I lost myself in the story and the world it created.
Love the author. I lost myself in the story and the world it created.
Too much sexual content. I did not finish the book due to that.
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Very enjoyable book.
Very enjoyable book.
I just started this book,
Jun 16, 2013
David Hunter
marked it as to-read
May 30, 2013
Lacie Carmody
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Linda D.
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Aubrey
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2013
Luna
marked it as to-read
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