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The Thieves of Nottica
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In a world where humans are evil, invading aliens, Rigg is the youngest member of the Keymasters, a band of professional thieves who use their skills to defy an overbearing government known as the Hand. It is a world full of pollution, intrusive surveillance cameras, and injustice, where any who “give the finger to the Hand” are punished with death. The Keymasters are hired to steal a highly sought after treasure, but when one of their number is lost during the job, they find themselves the tools in a power play for said treasure -- a mysterious lockbox that no one can open. To ultimately survive in the end, the Keymasters must battle their way through mechanical monsters, airships, and politics, literally going through shit (they travel through a sewage pipe) to make it out alive.
In a world where humans are evil, invading aliens, Rigg is the youngest member of the Keymasters, a band of professional thieves who use their skills to defy an overbearing government known as the Hand. It is a world full of pollution, intrusive surveillance cameras, and injustice, where any who “give the finger to the Hand” are punished with death. The Keymasters are hired to steal a highly sought after treasure, but when one of their number is lost during the job, they find themselves the tools in a power play for said treasure -- a mysterious lockbox that no one can open. To ultimately survive in the end, the Keymasters must battle their way through mechanical monsters, airships, and politics, literally going through shit (they travel through a sewage pipe) to make it out alive.
303 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 24, 2017
The book is about a group of thieves called the Keymasters, they are three women who are demons. They are not exactly demons, but that is what they were called by the humans. The story takes place in a futuristic but steampunk-ish world where the demons are oppressed by the humans that one took over their world. There are also automatons/humanoids and cyborgs, which is pretty cool. I really liked the worldbuilding in this book, there is this whole background about the world and the characters, which was very cleverly made.
The characters themselves were great. I loved especially Hari and Rigg a lot, and Lisa was just so sweet and naive, I adored them. Morganith is a badass woman who really speaks her opinion and I can always appreciate a character like that in a book. The relationships between the characters felt really mature, they had a long background together and you could really see that in the way they acted around each other. Lisa is the new addition to their crew but I loved how, once she gained her trust, she was completely accepted as one of theirs. I also loved the love story which was not a large part of the book, but added a lot to the story.
What made this book stand out, for me, was the huge representation of diversity. All of the characters are in a way diverse. All of them had to deal with oppression, due to their physical attributions (being a demon and all :P), but they were also black, had varied sexual orientations and Morganith is disabled. There was representation of lesbian, asexual, intersexual and bisexual characters. This was actually the very first time I read about an asexual character in a book so I was super excited! (I identify as aromantic-asexual so YAYY)
I am giving this book 4.25 stars (I'm breaking my own rules here, I only give half stars but oh well) because it was a lot of fun to read. One minor point was that due to the large amount of information you got in the beginning of the book it was a little hard to come into but once I did, I loved it. The characters and world were great and I loved the diversity!
The characters themselves were great. I loved especially Hari and Rigg a lot, and Lisa was just so sweet and naive, I adored them. Morganith is a badass woman who really speaks her opinion and I can always appreciate a character like that in a book. The relationships between the characters felt really mature, they had a long background together and you could really see that in the way they acted around each other. Lisa is the new addition to their crew but I loved how, once she gained her trust, she was completely accepted as one of theirs. I also loved the love story which was not a large part of the book, but added a lot to the story.
"I solemnly swear that every word I utter is a lie," whispered Rigg unhappily.
Lisa tilted her head. "What was that?"
Hari glanced at Lisa with hesitation. "It's the Keymaster oath," she said with a sad smile. "Nell, Arda and me made it up when we first formed the group. See, the Keymasters aren't just a bunch of wild bandits. We've got rules."
What made this book stand out, for me, was the huge representation of diversity. All of the characters are in a way diverse. All of them had to deal with oppression, due to their physical attributions (being a demon and all :P), but they were also black, had varied sexual orientations and Morganith is disabled. There was representation of lesbian, asexual, intersexual and bisexual characters. This was actually the very first time I read about an asexual character in a book so I was super excited! (I identify as aromantic-asexual so YAYY)
"No matter how much you loved and respected me, it wouldn't change society. You cannot change the world for me, Rigg."
"I can sure as hell try."
I am giving this book 4.25 stars (I'm breaking my own rules here, I only give half stars but oh well) because it was a lot of fun to read. One minor point was that due to the large amount of information you got in the beginning of the book it was a little hard to come into but once I did, I loved it. The characters and world were great and I loved the diversity!
February 10, 2017
From The Musings of a Starving Author:
Good Friday, my literary foodies, it is time once again to throw open the pantries and pick up a (hopefully) delightful meal to read through! This week, I have an intriguing steampunk fantasy meal on my plate, distinctive at the very least for the unique cover. The Thieves of Nottica has a notable subtitle as ‘A Humorous Steampunk Adventure’, so without further ado, let’s grab our forks and knives to get started carving down to the truth!
Before we gather our tools, let us put our hands over our hearts and recite the Starving Review oath:
1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible
Have you ever taken the first bite out of the first course of a meal with a certain hesitancy, only to be overtaken by the need to devour the thing as soon as possible? That is how Thieves turned out for me. Yes, perhaps I am spoiling my own review yet I know of no other way to really start this off. With that out of the way, let’s take it by the courses, shall we?
First up, the base of any literary meal: the characters and, as with any fantasy world, the worldbuilding. In many recipes, I’d tackle these as two separate ingredients but in this case, they are closely intertwined. With a fully whole-cloth world as this, the way the chef mixes up the world forms the spongy layer cake for the flavorful layer of the characters. We need the world to help frame the characters and their relationships is what I’m saying.
In this endeavor, our chef performs excellently. The world we are given is one both wholly alien yet strangely relatable and populated by native demons, invading humans, and strangely human robots. It forms a framework where, in the midst of a rousing fantasy, we can dive into themes of prejudice, culture, race, sex, and gender issues without any of that feeling like a burden on the tale.The fully-rounded and ‘breathing’ characters magnify this feeling. Our main crew of demonic thieves and agitators, despite how it may sound, are imminently understandable with thoughts, feelings, motivations, and wants that make perfect sense for all the alienness of their origins and world.
The fully-rounded and ‘breathing’ characters magnify this feeling. Our main crew of demonic thieves and agitators, despite how it may sound, are imminently understandable with thoughts, feelings, motivations, and wants that make perfect sense for all the alienness of their origins and world. To put it mildly, I was fully invested in eating every bite of this meal after meeting these dinner companions for merely a few moments.
The plot isn’t stifled or overwhelmed by this, though. The courses of the meal move in a clean, swift fashion. It relies, which works best considering the strength of our characters, on a character-driven plot, focusing on the interactions of our cast. Still, Thieves doesn’t shy away from some explosive action moments and bits of strange arcana and steampunk technology to add flash to the fantasy.
If I have any minor quibbles over the meal, there are the occasional choke points that a meal with so much necessary exposition can have. While most of the needed information is worked through at a natural pace, there are the rare moments when it tarries overlong and the problem is more often from the occasional repetitive wordsmithing in such passages. To be fair, these points are barely noticeable and did little to detract from the read, smoothing out entirely by the halfway point to nothingness.
To sum it all up … which I somewhat did at the very start, The Thieves of Nottica is a fantastic, fun, and surprisingly moving steampunk treat! If you have any love of steampunk, romantic fantasy, or fascinating new worlds, I’d strongly suggest picking this one up. However, I would not suggest this one to the less mature set, as there are some frank moments of violence, sex, and talking about such topics over the course of the meal.
FINAL VERDICT: ***** (A fantastic, fun, and surprisingly moving steampunk treat!)
Good Friday, my literary foodies, it is time once again to throw open the pantries and pick up a (hopefully) delightful meal to read through! This week, I have an intriguing steampunk fantasy meal on my plate, distinctive at the very least for the unique cover. The Thieves of Nottica has a notable subtitle as ‘A Humorous Steampunk Adventure’, so without further ado, let’s grab our forks and knives to get started carving down to the truth!
Before we gather our tools, let us put our hands over our hearts and recite the Starving Review oath:
1. I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre
2. I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible
Have you ever taken the first bite out of the first course of a meal with a certain hesitancy, only to be overtaken by the need to devour the thing as soon as possible? That is how Thieves turned out for me. Yes, perhaps I am spoiling my own review yet I know of no other way to really start this off. With that out of the way, let’s take it by the courses, shall we?
First up, the base of any literary meal: the characters and, as with any fantasy world, the worldbuilding. In many recipes, I’d tackle these as two separate ingredients but in this case, they are closely intertwined. With a fully whole-cloth world as this, the way the chef mixes up the world forms the spongy layer cake for the flavorful layer of the characters. We need the world to help frame the characters and their relationships is what I’m saying.
In this endeavor, our chef performs excellently. The world we are given is one both wholly alien yet strangely relatable and populated by native demons, invading humans, and strangely human robots. It forms a framework where, in the midst of a rousing fantasy, we can dive into themes of prejudice, culture, race, sex, and gender issues without any of that feeling like a burden on the tale.The fully-rounded and ‘breathing’ characters magnify this feeling. Our main crew of demonic thieves and agitators, despite how it may sound, are imminently understandable with thoughts, feelings, motivations, and wants that make perfect sense for all the alienness of their origins and world.
The fully-rounded and ‘breathing’ characters magnify this feeling. Our main crew of demonic thieves and agitators, despite how it may sound, are imminently understandable with thoughts, feelings, motivations, and wants that make perfect sense for all the alienness of their origins and world. To put it mildly, I was fully invested in eating every bite of this meal after meeting these dinner companions for merely a few moments.
The plot isn’t stifled or overwhelmed by this, though. The courses of the meal move in a clean, swift fashion. It relies, which works best considering the strength of our characters, on a character-driven plot, focusing on the interactions of our cast. Still, Thieves doesn’t shy away from some explosive action moments and bits of strange arcana and steampunk technology to add flash to the fantasy.
If I have any minor quibbles over the meal, there are the occasional choke points that a meal with so much necessary exposition can have. While most of the needed information is worked through at a natural pace, there are the rare moments when it tarries overlong and the problem is more often from the occasional repetitive wordsmithing in such passages. To be fair, these points are barely noticeable and did little to detract from the read, smoothing out entirely by the halfway point to nothingness.
To sum it all up … which I somewhat did at the very start, The Thieves of Nottica is a fantastic, fun, and surprisingly moving steampunk treat! If you have any love of steampunk, romantic fantasy, or fascinating new worlds, I’d strongly suggest picking this one up. However, I would not suggest this one to the less mature set, as there are some frank moments of violence, sex, and talking about such topics over the course of the meal.
FINAL VERDICT: ***** (A fantastic, fun, and surprisingly moving steampunk treat!)
February 19, 2017
It took me a while to get into this, but I enjoyed it when I did. Set in a world where humans are invaders and the original population are suppressed and are virtually slaves, the Keymasters strike back whenever they can. A world destroyed and polluted by human intervention, full of robots and automatons. These women are considered demons, all belong to one of the original races and are on the run from the authorities. A very dark and gritty tale. Full of love, hate and layers of betrayal. Only for lovers of extreme fantasy.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews