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Deadly Troubadours

Brent Thomas (Goodreads Author)

4.10 · Rating details · 30 ratings · 18 reviews

Who are the Deadly Troubadours? Artists? Thieves? Pranksters? Punks? The answer depends on who you ask. In the summer city of Tryst the Deadly Troubadours seek to make a name for themselves - unfortunately that leads to a stupid oath after a night of heavy drinking. Because of course it does. Kestra: former gladiator. Demetrius Tate: magician and huckster. Talbert Gretchen ...more

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Paperback, Crowdfunded Edition, 255 pages

Published December 25th 2015 (first published March 14th 2015)

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Mar 15, 2015 G. Derek Adams rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Full disclosure: The author of this book is one of my closest friends. I’ve written plays with him. We’ve have swung imaginary swords together in many strange lands. I have eaten his mother’s chewy ginger-snaps. Whether that makes me meaner or nicer is best left to your judgement. From a writing standpoint, our worlds are kissing cousins at the very least – linked by Pratchett’s ‘consensus fantasy universe’ and a shared wavelength of universes touched by the Fall of Gilead and the breath of the Full disclosure: The author of this book is one of my closest friends. I’ve written plays with him. We’ve have swung imaginary swords together in many strange lands. I have eaten his mother’s chewy ginger-snaps. Whether that makes me meaner or nicer is best left to your judgement. From a writing standpoint, our worlds are kissing cousins at the very least – linked by Pratchett’s ‘consensus fantasy universe’ and a shared wavelength of universes touched by the Fall of Gilead and the breath of the Red Wizard. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, Brent does.

Non-spoiler Review:

Absolutely top-notch world building and character work. Strong dialogue, clean action scenes. Brent has a patience that I lack, really drilling down into the core of his world — each location breathes, the thought and care put into each is delightful. It’s a fantasy where most travelers will feel at home, and that’s no easy feat. Also, really badass, involved descriptions of some magical rituals and arcane machinery – that may be a ‘writer’ sort of thing to say, but those things are a beast to write and way too easy to make boring. Brent keeps them engaging throughout, and any writer that can make logistics interesting is one to wear in your heart’s core.

Our Heroes are a ragtag band, but not of misfits. Misfits suggest a lack of competence, or a fringe status in this world – nay, they are perfectly shaped. Though I quickly found myself favoring Kestra over the other characters – your reaction may differ. I like stoic gladiators, perhaps you will prefer the wily thief-mage, Demetrius or the scholar, Talbert.

The narrative structure flips between the present, where our group has embarked on a quest of more than usual danger and foolhardiness — and the past, where we learn more about the three main characters in a series of ‘Origin’ chapters. Taken as their own, the flashbacks provide the novel’s strongest writing – but the chapter order was one of my main complaints, especially early in the book. You go from the present, to the recent past, to a flashback, to another character’s flashback, then return to the present. It was like Brent kept handing me different action figures – and let me assure you I wanted to play with each one! – but just as I would start having fun with them, he would knock them out of my hands and push another toy at me. I found myself wanting to sink deeper into each story only to be jerked out too soon. This could just be a ‘me’ thing and may not bother other readers, but by the end of the book I was only nominally interested in the present-day plot [and there’s a fucking dragon in it!] – I was much more looking forward to the resolution of each of the Origin plotlines.

This is rock-solid fantasy writing – and I have no problem saying it holds together much better than my first attempt. You all need to buy this and love or hate it – but support the writer. I want to read the next one, the next one’s what it’s all about. There’s some dark, beautiful things in that head and we’ve only gotten a glimpse. ...more

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Mar 15, 2015 Bryan Winchell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a really fun book that offers some interesting twists on the fantasy genre. The main characters are the deadly troubadours, and each has his or her backstory told through much of the book. The author does this by intermingling chapters from the past with the chapters from the present and while it took me a bit to get myself situation in this technique, I found it worked pretty seamlessly as the book wore on. In addition, the back stories do a lot to illuminate what drives our characters ...more

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Jun 19, 2016 Jonathan Hertzog rated it it was amazing

Extremely engaging from the very beginning and wonderfully written with an addictive quality of prose and colorful vocabulary, this humorous fantasy novel hooked me and never let me go. To be honest, I do know the author, so I was slightly afraid that if the book turned out to be garbage I would have to say nothing at all. But happily this is one of the best novels I've read in a while, and I found it even better than Yahtzee Croshaw's Jam. I do hope that this wonderful first novel gets praise a ...more

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May 02, 2018 Britt rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2018, adventure, dreaming-reviews, fantasy, fiction, one-star, reviewed, ecopies, male-mc, male-author

***this review contains some mild-to-moderate spoilers***
DNF @ 30%
...Yikes, all right. So, I'm usually not a huge fantasy reader, but the fact that this book was fantasy was not the thing that made me have to put this book down. I'm not a huge reader of the particular genre, but I *have* read some good fantasy books before. That itself was not the issue, and if it were then I probably wouldn't even be writing this review due to a simple conflict of interest. However, there were some...things th ***this review contains some mild-to-moderate spoilers***
DNF @ 30%
...Yikes, all right. So, I'm usually not a huge fantasy reader, but the fact that this book was fantasy was not the thing that made me have to put this book down. I'm not a huge reader of the particular genre, but I *have* read some good fantasy books before. That itself was not the issue, and if it were then I probably wouldn't even be writing this review due to a simple conflict of interest. However, there were some...things that happened that I feel like I need to be discussed. I've put this review off for 24 hours because I've been trying to figure out what the heck to say, but I think I've got it.
First of all, this book was, just, hard to get into. Not because of the fantasy thing, but because the writing itself just... isn't that great. It's filled with choppy sentences/choppy writing in general (plus, I noticed, quite a few editing errors), and it's FILLED with telling instead of showing. Just - not very great. And it switched a LOT between present action and backstory - which, I get is necessary to a degree, I just feel like it could've been done better. Right when I would start to fall in pace with what was happening, the timeline would switch and suddenly we'd be either 10-20 years (I think - timeline's a little unclear) in the past or back to the present. I actually was able to enjoy a lot of the backstory, to a degree, but then it would switch right before I could properly settle.
Now, the thing that actually made me put this book down.
There's a tag on Twitter that pokes fun at how ***some*** male authors portray the female body, and sex with females. Now, I didn't finish, but I don't think this book is full on erotica or anything (I don't review nothing-but-erotica books) - the one scene I got to before DNFing didn't even go all the way - but the one scene I did get to, was... well. Here are some direct quotes:
"He caught his first sight of her pink nipple. The tip was hard like a berry and sat on its own pink saucer of flesh.”
(strawberries and cream, anyone?)
"He felt her hand began to dig inside. He tried to lean back to allow her greater access while keeping his firm grip on her backside and his mouth sealed around the soft breast. She was so close. He could almost feel her fingertips.”
Mate...how far down is your dICK?? Is she?? digging to China?? I'm ace as fuck and still a virgin, but I'm?? pretty sure that's not how penises work??
Let's just say... after I almost cried myself laughing thinking of shovels and strawberries, I had to put the book down. I just. I couldn't anymore. That passage left me physically, emotionally, and mentally drained.
(Spoiler alert, the chic who dug her way to China in this dude's pants somehow died, like, 2 or 3 pages later. I just - yeah, I don't know either. She was stabbed or something, but I think it death via dick).
I just...I don't know. I can't. I know this review was kind of harsh, but, well - I deliver honesty, and I honestly couldn't portray my thoughts any more coherently than this mess. Just because I didn't like it doesn't mean others won't (hell, this book has a 4.42 average on Goodreads, and the reviews are just about 50/50 male/female wise) so if the summary interests you or anything, than feel free to check this book out. I'm not going to blacklist it or anything, but I just need a minute to...process...everything. Ahhh. Not all books can be perfect, I suppose.
2018 was turning out to be such a great year. Five months in and I hadn't given out ANY 1-star ratings yet. What? Happened?

(I only got through 30% but you're damn right if you think I'm still counting it toward my Goodreads challenge because, um, I Suffered) ...more

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Dec 20, 2015 Garry Donaghy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Full disclosure: The author of this book is a friend of mine.

I have for a long time read Brent's fiction (short stories) online. They have covered a range of subjects and genres, but have always been interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to learn he had decided to turn his hand to writing a full-length novel. I have to say honestly I would rate it as a "not bad" effort for a first-time novelist. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the pace. It evoked memories of Terry Pratchett for me, cr ...more

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Mar 16, 2015 Rafael Munia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

For someone that never cared too much for stories of knights and dragons, I found myself immediately caught up by this narrative.

Maybe because this book is more than a good story, but it is also a good and clever writing.
You can see that nothing is put in the story without it being meant to be used (Chekhov would be proud), a character, a weapon, a statue, every element of the story is the beginning of a new and interesting one, which is behind what I like the most about this book: The narration ...more

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Feb 07, 2016 Deborah Thomas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fantasy fiction is not a genre I typically read; I prefer more realistic plots. But, from the first chapter, I was engaged in this book. It has all the qualities of an excellent story--captivating characters, suspenseful plot, enticing prose, emotional twists, and descriptive settings. The author cleverly combined reality and fantasy which transported me to a believable world where dragons really do exist! I can't wait for the sequel, and there must be a sequel! I want to know more about how the ...more

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Aug 21, 2015 Alison Shimizu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the first book written by Brent Thomas and I enjoyed it immensely. His writing style is such that as I was reading I could completely visualize the characters in my mind. I felt the sights, sounds, smells and energy jumping off the pages. Mr. Thomas does something that many authors fail to do effectively. With each chapter he alternates between past and present and character point of views in a clear and seamless manner. The technique works beautifully and it kept me intrigued throughout ...more

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Mar 19, 2015 Leigh Vandiver rated it really liked it · review of another edition

There are so many things right with this book. Needed just one more pass. Great job, man.

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Jun 23, 2017 Laurenthelas rated it it was amazing

What a super fun adventure. Lively characters, enthralling back stories, a dragon! Can't wait to read more stories about the Deadly Troubadours one day! ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 Jessica Mullins rated it did not like it

One of the few books in my life I've just had to give up on. I pushed through several chapters, but as another reviewer pointed out, the shifts between present and past became hard to follow and there were so many errors (I think the one that made me give up at last was a mistake between conscious and conscience) that I simply had to put it down. I also found the female characters to be somewhat lacking in depth. Could have used some better editing. ...more

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Mar 30, 2016 Shannon (That's So Poe) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was excited to get this book as part of Brent's Indiegogo campaign. I knew he had great story-telling and world-building abilities since he had done such a great job as the DM for our small D&D group, so I had high expectations. I was actually pretty blown away by how amazing his writing is, though! Since this is a self-published book, and his first, I thought it might be a little rough around the edges, but it really was an incredibly high-quality, gripping story that I would rank as one of t I was excited to get this book as part of Brent's Indiegogo campaign. I knew he had great story-telling and world-building abilities since he had done such a great job as the DM for our small D&D group, so I had high expectations. I was actually pretty blown away by how amazing his writing is, though! Since this is a self-published book, and his first, I thought it might be a little rough around the edges, but it really was an incredibly high-quality, gripping story that I would rank as one of the best fantasy books I've read in quite a while (although I'll admit there were some typos and misspellings as can be expected when self-publishing).

The story started out very light-hearted as a reckless adventure by a group of youths, but quickly progressed to a much more serious and even (at times) dark story as we learned the backgrounds of each of the characters. As they continued on their quest their back stories were gradually revealed, lending depth to each character. Although the story is a bit male-dominated (70% of the characters are male), I deeply approve of the portrayal of women and men in the story - both are strong, both are weak, both are kind, both are cruel. It shows them as people rather as stereotypes. I especially enjoyed Kestra, the female of the main group, and her back story as well as her actions. She's the true warrior of the group and is shown to be so. The perspective of the female dragon was also completely engrossing, as was pretty much every perspective shown. Usually I feel that when authors tell a story from multiple perspectives it gets a bit confusing, but since each of these stories was leading back to the main quest, it all tied in cohesively into the larger story.

I really enjoyed the world that Brent built and loved how this story played out. He brought it to a strong, compelling end, but there is obviously a need for a sequel to follow up on the characters and further events that we know must take place after the end. I strongly recommend this book to anyone in search of a good new fantasy world with strong characters and a fast-paced story (although I will caution that there is a bit of adult language and content which made me a little squeamish at times, so perhaps not for young readers). ...more

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Feb 28, 2016 Jessica Haydon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I knew when starting the novel that I would like the story- the author is a friend and I know I like his writing and storytelling. I was really surprised at how much I loved reading this book though! The characters are not only likable, but relatable on an emotional level. There were often moments when I found that I was feeling relief, fear or happiness in tune to the story and needed a moment to get back to reality. I also missed my stop on the train a few times because I was so deep in the mo ...more

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May 23, 2016 Len rated it really liked it

I received this book via Goodreads Giveaways.
After wading through the tons of imaginative detail, I found an enjoyable fantasy tale. I found the characters to be compelling, and the plot to be solid.

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Mar 10, 2015 Brent Thomas rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

I am the author of Deadly Troubadours and I liked it. I hope you agree.

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Feb 21, 2017 Rodney Sloan rated it it was amazing

The author, Brent Thomas, has a natural talent for story telling, which makes Deadly Troubadours a fun read. I look forward to more from him.

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May 08, 2016 Simon Green rated it it was amazing

I'm a big fan of epic fantasy with intertwining storylines. With this book the main cast may not be as a wide as say The Malazan serieses(as if that's even possible, ha!) but the multiple lines that weave through time, fleshing characters and developing vivid back story's really entrapped me to read on. I'm really excited for the next book, not only to discover what comes next for the deadly troubadours, but also everything that came before.
This book is a fun and refreshing path away from darkl ...more

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