Thieftaker

Thieftaker Chronicles, Book 1

By: D. B. Jackson

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Boston, 1765: In D.B. Jackson's Thieftaker, revolution is brewing as the British Crown imposes increasingly onerous taxes on the colonies, and intrigue swirls around firebrands like Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. But for Ethan Kaille, a thieftaker who makes his living by conjuring spells that help him solve crimes, politics is for others…until he is asked to recover a necklace worn by the murdered daughter of a prominent family.

Suddenly, he faces another conjurer of enormous power, someone unknown, who is part of a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of power in the turbulent colony. His adversary has already killed - and not for his own gain, but in the service of his powerful masters, people for whom others are mere pawns in a game of politics and power. Ethan is in way over his head, and he knows it. Already a man with a dark past, he can ill afford to fail, lest his livelihood be forfeit. But he can't stop now, for his magic has marked him, so he must fight the odds, even though he seems hopelessly overmatched, his doom seeming certain at the spectral hands of one he cannot even see.

©2012 D. B. Jackson (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A fair start with slow delivery

The author does a good job in describing the setting. Old Boston is brought to life in vivid smells and colours. The main character frustratingly overlooks some obvious clues as the book progresses but by the end of the book I had grown to enjoy the tale.

The narrator has to my ear a very slow delivery. It has the effect of making most of the narration sound like a dramatic conversation. I was going to give up on the book but then increased the play back speed to 1.25. At that speed most speech sounds normal with only some parts being out of place. For me this saved the Audible book and I am now enjoying the second book.

I'm looking forward to more books in this setting by D. B. Jackson. If you have trouble with the speed of narration I would suggest trying to increase the speed slightly. If you are fan of the Dresden series, as I am, this will not be more of the same but something different and still enjoyable.

An interesting walk through Historical Boston

Where does Thieftaker rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It doesn't. It is a severe departure from the audio I usually purchase. It is True Historical/Fantasy/alternate timeline/murder mystery/fantasy forensics. I am usually a stright-forward fantasy or urban fantasy reader. I have dabbled in True Historical Alternate Timeline or True Historical Murder Mystery before: Laura Joh Rowland and Ariana Franklin to name two. In paper. The exotic flavor comes from the highly detailed world they described and though the murder mystery is the reason for the narration, it is almost incidental to the rich fabric of the place and people and doings described. Theiftaker is all that and a little magic thrown in too.

What did you like best about this story?

The highly descriptive world tapestry.

What about Jonathan Davis’s performance did you like?

His voice "fit" our beleaguered hero very well.

If you could rename Thieftaker, what would you call it?

I wouldn't. The name fits perfectly.

Any additional comments?

I do enjoy the struggles he goes through, but he has a huge target on his back.

A history lesson with a helping of Blood Magic

This was a fairly innovative story that places the reader in pre Revolutionary War and how a magic user navigated this pivotal time in history.

Dr. A

Ok book

Story was not that good. Complicated plot that left me wondering why it was so complicated but not very interesting. Good narrator.

Brooding Wizard Detective Wanders Old World Boston

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this book and it had lots of potential. The characters, setting and politics are perfectly outfitted. But the book is like a great set and fantastic costumes for a boring play. The main character is a brooding wizard detective who, despite his magic powers, can neither defend himself nor figure out who is behind the crimes he is investigating. In the end the bad guy literally has to tie him up and confess for him to get it. He gets beaten up over and over again and can never think of the right spell to help himself. One minute the bad guys are afraid of his powers the next they don't seem to notice. Good premise with lackluster execution.

Great narration, slow story.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narrator did an awesome job. He really distinguished between character voices and conveyed emotion well.

I ended up finding this book kind of boring. I almost stopped listening to it a couple times. I think the problem was that the plot got repetitious. Basically Ethan finds a clue, gets the stuffing beat out of him, heals, finds a clue, gets the stuffing beat out of him….repeat over and over. At times Ethan reminds a bit of a 1700’s Harry Dresden...but nearly as exciting.

The writing style is decent with some good description. The pace is a bit deliberate and slow and the plot repetitious.

The characters were okay. Ethan comes across as stoically noble to the point where he does some pretty stupid things; while I admired his determination I thought he should have been smarter about things.

There is magic and conjuring in the story, but the story is more of a straight-up murder mystery than anything. The 1760’s historical America setting is interesting and I enjoyed reading about the issues of this era and how they were reimagined with magic involved.

Overall this was an okay story but kind of boring. I enjoyed the historical setting and the descriptive writing, but thought the plot was repetitive and paced too slowly. The characters were okay but also a bit bland. I guess I would recommend if you are into historical murder mysteries and don’t mind some magic in your stories. Personally I think there are a lot better urban/historical fantasies out there and I won’t be reading any more of this series.

S

What did you like best about Thieftaker? What did you like least?

I liked that the magic was limited not like D&D magic. They used the revolution as a really good background

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The way magic is paid for at casting

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jonathan Davis?

yes

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes

American revoltion with a new angle interesting

Would you listen to Thieftaker again? Why?

No once was enough good story but not timeless

What was one of the most memorable moments of Thieftaker?

Near the end when the final showdown with the other conjurer battle it out

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First one alittle slow at first but a good story would like to hear next one

If you could rename Thieftaker, what would you call it?

Good name, didn't know what it meant at first but it works with the book

Any additional comments?

yes, I liked it after it got going and look for the next one

Good book

Good story but written in today's dialogue and words most of the time. The performer jumps into a Scottish brogue from time to time but not often. I over all enjoyed the entire book.

A Real Surprising Rip-Snorter!!

I bought this one on a whim, knowing nothing about the story or the writer and found to my surprise it was a real gem! Filled with intrigue, murder and the supernatural, the story had some really surprisingly touching moments. I was fascinated from the word go and could not put it down. I have just bought the second book in this series based on how much I enjoyed the first one. If you're a bit put off by the concept , give it a go. It's a Wierdy but a Goody!!