Steal the Sky

The Scorched Continent, Book 1

By: Megan E. O'Keefe

Narrated by: Jim Frangione

Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Detan Honding, a wanted con man of noble birth and ignoble tongue, has found himself in the oasis city of Aransa. He and his trusted companion, Tibs, may have pulled off one too many cons against the city's elite and need to make a quick escape. They set their sights on their biggest heist yet - the gorgeous airship of the exiled commodore Thratia. But in the middle of his scheme, a face changer known as a doppel starts murdering key members of Aransa's government. The sudden paranoia makes Detan's plans of stealing Thratia's ship that much harder. And with this sudden power vacuum, Thratia can solidify her power and wreak havoc against the Empire. But the doppel isn't working for Thratia and has her own intentions. Did Detan accidentally walk into a revolution and a crusade? He has to be careful - there's a reason most people think he's dead. And if his dangerous secret gets revealed, he has a lot more to worry about than a stolen airship.

©2016 Megan E O'Keefe (P)2017 Recorded Books

A promising debut

Humor, a well-realized world, and fully developed characters make this a promising debut both for the author and the series!

Hm…

Hm

No sure what to make of this one… I listened to both the book as well as the full cast version, and both, hm, leave me, hm uninterested.

I think it’s maybe the too many things this material isn’t quite
- it isn’t quite adult, but also not young adult - it’s kind of very young adult or older young adult? That need not be a bad thing, but it’s just making the listener wonder how serious to take this
- So yes, it isn’t quite serious and not quite funny either
- It’s not Dune by any stretch of the imagination, and not game of thrones or similar in any way
- The main male character is probably supposed to be “swashbuckling”… but in all honesty, he’s not womanizing or “scoundrely” enough
- The material is maybe too lively for the single narrator version - but it’s not action + dialogue-driven enough to really work in the full cast version

Overall, nice world-sketching and a sympathetic effort - but I don’t know if I’m going to shell out for the next volumes (these were free).

Fun, cheeky, and well written

I wasn't really expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. The main character, Deaton, was fun, sarcastic, and lived life his own way. It was so much fun to follow his story and see how he faired against the odds stacked against him. The author did a fantastic job of planning everything out and keeping the surprises coming. Definitely, an enjoyable read that I will recommend to anyone.

Fun. Charming. Exciting. A little empty.

I loved the characters. The action was clear and well staged. The world building was just interesting enough to give the sense of depth.

Unfortunately, the protagonists never felt like they had real skin in the game. Sure, they were thrown in over their heads and the physical stakes were constantly raised, but I never saw them face real dilemmas. I never wondered, “What would I do here? This is a tough choice.” And I didn’t really see much of a character arc for any for the two MCs.

Having said that, lots of comedy, swashbuckling, scheming, and quick thinking. I’ll definitely read more in this universe.