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The Famine Cycle #1.5
The Phantom Heist
He has one last chance to pay his debts. But only a fool would take this job...
Talan Wraithsbane, vault-breaker and thief extraordinaire, is down on his luck. After a thwarted kidnapping of the High Vizier's valuable peacock, Talan is out of money, friends, and jobs -- except one last, desperate gambit...
A band of rich, drunk fools have a singular task for him: to break into a vault protected by imperial guards, unearthly spirits, and gods know what else -- and all to steal a magical cup...
With debts mounted high to the city's foremost crime syndicate, Talan no choice but to gamble on one last heist, and hope the gift that earned him his name will be enough to survive...
A tale of mischief, magic, and mayhem chock-full of rogues, priests, and spirits,
Talan Wraithsbane, vault-breaker and thief extraordinaire, is down on his luck. After a thwarted kidnapping of the High Vizier's valuable peacock, Talan is out of money, friends, and jobs -- except one last, desperate gambit...
A band of rich, drunk fools have a singular task for him: to break into a vault protected by imperial guards, unearthly spirits, and gods know what else -- and all to steal a magical cup...
With debts mounted high to the city's foremost crime syndicate, Talan no choice but to gamble on one last heist, and hope the gift that earned him his name will be enough to survive...
A tale of mischief, magic, and mayhem chock-full of rogues, priests, and spirits,
- GenresFantasy
172 pages, ebook
Published October 1, 2019
3 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
J.D.L. Rosell
42 books528 followers***ANNOUNCEMENT*** Don't miss The Titan Revenant, Book 5 of Ranger of the Titan Wilds, coming to Kickstarter on March 10th! Follow the campaign today at: jdlrosell.com/kickstarter
J.D.L. Rosell was swept away on a journey when he stepped foot outside his door and into The Hobbit. He hasn't stopped wandering since.
In his writing, he tries to recapture the wonder, adventure, and poignancy that captivated him as a child. His explorations have taken him to worlds set in over twenty novels and six series, which include Dragonforged, Ranger of the Titan Wilds, Legend of Tal, The Runewar Saga, and The Famine Cycle.
When he's not off on a quest, Rosell enjoys his newfound hobby of archery and older pastimes of hiking and landscape photography. But every hobbit returns home, and if you step softly and mind the potatoes, you may glimpse him curled up with his wife and two cats, Zelda and Abenthy, reading a good book or replaying his favorite video games.
* * * * *
Books by J.D.L. Rosell:
DRAGONFORGED
1. Shadow of Legends (Late 2026 release)
RANGER OF THE TITAN WILDS
1. The Last Ranger
2. The First Ancestor
3. The Hidden Guardian
4. The Wilds Exile
5. The Titan Revenant (March 2026 release)
LEGEND OF TAL
1. A King's Bargain
2. A Queen's Command
3. An Emperor's Gamble
4. A God's Plea
A Battle Between Blood (Novella)
THE RUNEWAR SAGA
1. The Throne of Ice & Ash
2. The Crown of Fire & Fury
3. The Stone of Iron & Omen
Book 4 TBA
THE FAMINE CYCLE - Available as a complete box set
1. Whispers of Ruin
2. Echoes of Chaos
3. Requiem of Silence
Secret Seller (Prequel)
The Phantom Heist (Novella)
GODSLAYER RISING - Available as a complete box set
1. Catalyst
2. Champion
3. Heretic
J.D.L. Rosell was swept away on a journey when he stepped foot outside his door and into The Hobbit. He hasn't stopped wandering since.
In his writing, he tries to recapture the wonder, adventure, and poignancy that captivated him as a child. His explorations have taken him to worlds set in over twenty novels and six series, which include Dragonforged, Ranger of the Titan Wilds, Legend of Tal, The Runewar Saga, and The Famine Cycle.
When he's not off on a quest, Rosell enjoys his newfound hobby of archery and older pastimes of hiking and landscape photography. But every hobbit returns home, and if you step softly and mind the potatoes, you may glimpse him curled up with his wife and two cats, Zelda and Abenthy, reading a good book or replaying his favorite video games.
* * * * *
Books by J.D.L. Rosell:
DRAGONFORGED
1. Shadow of Legends (Late 2026 release)
RANGER OF THE TITAN WILDS
1. The Last Ranger
2. The First Ancestor
3. The Hidden Guardian
4. The Wilds Exile
5. The Titan Revenant (March 2026 release)
LEGEND OF TAL
1. A King's Bargain
2. A Queen's Command
3. An Emperor's Gamble
4. A God's Plea
A Battle Between Blood (Novella)
THE RUNEWAR SAGA
1. The Throne of Ice & Ash
2. The Crown of Fire & Fury
3. The Stone of Iron & Omen
Book 4 TBA
THE FAMINE CYCLE - Available as a complete box set
1. Whispers of Ruin
2. Echoes of Chaos
3. Requiem of Silence
Secret Seller (Prequel)
The Phantom Heist (Novella)
GODSLAYER RISING - Available as a complete box set
1. Catalyst
2. Champion
3. Heretic
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 26, 2019
This is book #1.5 in the Famine Cycle and follows the main character, Talan Wraithsbane, a vault breaker and general thief, who is trying to stay out of the hands of the Guild to whom he owes a load of money, after one disastrous job which ended with a peacock flying through a high window, leaving him short on jobs, friends and even shorter on funds to keep himself alive. The only job he gets offered, has an extreme longshot of even being successful and the men behind the offer have their own secrets.
Talan is hiding a huge secret about himself, one that he is named after, but which if known to the Imperial Guard, would quickly lead to his arrest and death. He uses this power when he does his vault-breaking and entering, but can’t let anyone know or see what he can do. A person from his past makes an appearance, but has changed into something, rather than someone, whose job is to do the bidding of the ruler. She no longer has full control over her own body and mind and this leaves Talan guilty for what he did in his past, when his village was attacked.
The newest job is to steal a religious relic from the ruler’s temple, from under the eyes of the Imperial Guards, for a group of drunken men who are from a sect that once led an unsuccessful takeover against the current ruler. Whether Talan agrees with their purpose, he doesn’t need to have any opinion, he just needs a job that pays! He has one friend left who will lend a helping hand, his twirling mentor! This reminded me of the Turkish twirling dervils, spinning in a wide skirt, loose top, with a fez on top of their heads. Talan learnt to twirl from his mentor, but was forced out, to find another path.
I expected this book to continue with the tale of the Finches from the first book, but this was a nice surprise. The tale of one of the ‘Branded’, is fully filled out with surroundings and great descriptions of the characters. It sets you in mind of an exotic location and a people being taught what to think and having to follow only the religion of the current ruler. The job at the temple brings about more fantastical beings into the story, Jinns and the most amazing for me are the ‘Silks’, who roam the streets during the night like wraiths or ghosts, but are lethal and will wrap their silk wrappings around people to kill them.
Magic and mischief follow as Talan leads the group into the temple, to steal the relic, but finds others know of their mission and the immortal Mother of the temple has other plans for Talan and his old friend Sule. Talan has to rely on his gift to ensure he survives this last heist and isn’t one of those who ends up in the way of the mystical beings. Another good tale in the Famine Cycle, showing the setting of the world to be discovered and explored. A great tale and an interesting read. I look forward to seeing more from this series and wonder if the main characters shown so far, will be interacting in one of the future books of the series. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems, but bought it as well and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Talan is hiding a huge secret about himself, one that he is named after, but which if known to the Imperial Guard, would quickly lead to his arrest and death. He uses this power when he does his vault-breaking and entering, but can’t let anyone know or see what he can do. A person from his past makes an appearance, but has changed into something, rather than someone, whose job is to do the bidding of the ruler. She no longer has full control over her own body and mind and this leaves Talan guilty for what he did in his past, when his village was attacked.
The newest job is to steal a religious relic from the ruler’s temple, from under the eyes of the Imperial Guards, for a group of drunken men who are from a sect that once led an unsuccessful takeover against the current ruler. Whether Talan agrees with their purpose, he doesn’t need to have any opinion, he just needs a job that pays! He has one friend left who will lend a helping hand, his twirling mentor! This reminded me of the Turkish twirling dervils, spinning in a wide skirt, loose top, with a fez on top of their heads. Talan learnt to twirl from his mentor, but was forced out, to find another path.
I expected this book to continue with the tale of the Finches from the first book, but this was a nice surprise. The tale of one of the ‘Branded’, is fully filled out with surroundings and great descriptions of the characters. It sets you in mind of an exotic location and a people being taught what to think and having to follow only the religion of the current ruler. The job at the temple brings about more fantastical beings into the story, Jinns and the most amazing for me are the ‘Silks’, who roam the streets during the night like wraiths or ghosts, but are lethal and will wrap their silk wrappings around people to kill them.
Magic and mischief follow as Talan leads the group into the temple, to steal the relic, but finds others know of their mission and the immortal Mother of the temple has other plans for Talan and his old friend Sule. Talan has to rely on his gift to ensure he survives this last heist and isn’t one of those who ends up in the way of the mystical beings. Another good tale in the Famine Cycle, showing the setting of the world to be discovered and explored. A great tale and an interesting read. I look forward to seeing more from this series and wonder if the main characters shown so far, will be interacting in one of the future books of the series. I received an ARC copy of this book from Hidden Gems, but bought it as well and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
October 27, 2019
Our hero has to perform one mighty theft to regain his reputation. Of course, there is a reason it is considered a dangerous and foolish task.
This story takes place between books one and two of the series and was the first book I read by this author. As a result, it took me a little while to get oriented to the setting, but it wasn't too difficult and afterwards I found this to be a good introduction to the series. So start here or with the first book.
This is a fantasy adventure story with a definite middle eastern flavor. We have magic and magical creatures, as well as a thieves guild and other unsavory characters. I found the setting to be well detailed and the story does a good job of describing the scenes, helping to bring the story to life. The characters were many and varied and also well developed, particularly our hero of course. I thought it started a little slowly, but that also might have been my unfamiliarity with the setting. By the time I caught up, the story picked up pace and moved along at a good clip after that. Overall, it was very enjoyable and I look forward to going back to book one.
Recommended.
This story takes place between books one and two of the series and was the first book I read by this author. As a result, it took me a little while to get oriented to the setting, but it wasn't too difficult and afterwards I found this to be a good introduction to the series. So start here or with the first book.
This is a fantasy adventure story with a definite middle eastern flavor. We have magic and magical creatures, as well as a thieves guild and other unsavory characters. I found the setting to be well detailed and the story does a good job of describing the scenes, helping to bring the story to life. The characters were many and varied and also well developed, particularly our hero of course. I thought it started a little slowly, but that also might have been my unfamiliarity with the setting. By the time I caught up, the story picked up pace and moved along at a good clip after that. Overall, it was very enjoyable and I look forward to going back to book one.
Recommended.
April 11, 2023
A side story to The Famine Cycle, and while you don't need to have started the series to read it, if you have already you probably need to before going in with book 2 as it explains a bit about the character of Talan - specifically the origins of his powers.
I found this tale rather hard to follow, mostly because of the odd terminology used that didn't get explained in context so I felt lost as to the significance of things (like a Buyujinn), and some information felt contradictory. I really wasn't keen on the way the female character threw herself at the guy randomly (the kissing and undressing scenes made me very uncomfortable as I didn't get why she'd do that, but Yanara confused me a lot in general), and the ending confused me too being sort of... magically convenient? It felt to me like I should know something more about the world history, language and characters to appreciate it more.
I found this tale rather hard to follow, mostly because of the odd terminology used that didn't get explained in context so I felt lost as to the significance of things (like a Buyujinn), and some information felt contradictory. I really wasn't keen on the way the female character threw herself at the guy randomly (the kissing and undressing scenes made me very uncomfortable as I didn't get why she'd do that, but Yanara confused me a lot in general), and the ending confused me too being sort of... magically convenient? It felt to me like I should know something more about the world history, language and characters to appreciate it more.
August 14, 2020
I received a free ARC of this novel via Hidden Gems in exchange for an honest review. My opinion is my own.
This book is supposed to be 1.5 but it is more like a prequel, this time for the Talan character. It takes place before Secret Seller. I had wanted to see more of this character and was rather pleased with this. He is very different from in the other books though so that was kind of confusing. The book definitely starts off on the slow side which kind of sucks in a novella. However, the plot was good and I liked the characters. I will definitely be reading the other material from this series though.
This book is supposed to be 1.5 but it is more like a prequel, this time for the Talan character. It takes place before Secret Seller. I had wanted to see more of this character and was rather pleased with this. He is very different from in the other books though so that was kind of confusing. The book definitely starts off on the slow side which kind of sucks in a novella. However, the plot was good and I liked the characters. I will definitely be reading the other material from this series though.
Read
February 17, 2023The Phantom Heist: A Story in the World of The Famine Cycle, An Epic Fantasy Thief Saga , my ninth read from author J.D.L. Rosell, an author I'd wanted to read for since I got The Throne of Ice and Ash (Book 1 of The Runewar Saga, An Epic Fantasy Series) back in October of 2021. Well written & enjoyable. “I received a free Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
February 17, 2022
Finding out how Talan become who is and also Sulu. Very adventurous and a page turner. Seeing how all the characters become who they are now in the other books in the series. Will hold you to the end of the book. When they venture down to the Vacant City to steal a chalice didn't go as smoothly as expected. An encounter the shrouded mother was very tense.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews