Child of the Night Guild

A Grimdark Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Thief Adventure

By: Andy Peloquin

Narrated by: Rebecca McKernan

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

"They killed my parents. They took my name. They imprisoned me in darkness. I would not be broken."

Viola, a child sold to pay her father's debts, has lost everything: her mother, her home, and her identity. Thrown into a life among criminals, she has no time for grief as she endures the brutal training of an apprentice thief. The Night Guild molds an innocent waif into a cunning, agile outlaw skilled in the thieves' trade. She has only one choice: steal enough to pay her debts.

The cutthroat streets of Praamis will test her mettle, and she must learn to dodge the City Guards or swing from a hangman's rope. But a more dangerous foe lurks within the guild walls. A sadistic rival apprentice, threatened by her strength, is out for blood.

What hope does one girl have in a world of ruthless men?

©2017 Dragonblade Publishing (P)2018 Andy Peloquin

Fast Paced! Wonderfully Narrated! A Must Listen!

Any additional comments?

It's been a while since I've remained in my car outside my house because I just couldn't stop the book! There are no slow moments and the character development is superb. Never a dull moment with the plot. If you like Brent Weeks then you will love this book! Peloquin has done it again!

If you enjoy a book about a continuously crying young girl…

I am far from a professional reviewer but I’ll do my best to summarize this book.
I can’t do it, cry, I can’t do it! I can’t do it, cry I can do it! I can’t do it, cry, I know I can do it! I can’t do it, cry, I must carry-on! I can’t do it, cry, I must do it for Ian!
And that summarizes the book.

Its darker than you expect

So, the positives...its better than average writing. The storyline is interesting for awhile, but breaks down quickly to move the plot along. Usually, I would give high marks just for those two items, but the constant whining makes you want to bang your head against the wall. Honestly, I wanted the main character to fall from the tower and die and then pick up with some other kid. The darker situations of rape, brutality, robbery, murder, unwanted pregnancy, abandonment...I am sure I missed a couple, but its pretty much the full spectrum of dark-etude.

If you can handle the whine, its probably not an awful book. I don't want my credit back, but I also have no intention of getting the sequel.

NOTE: I had some distortion(~8bit audio) in the audio during some of the early chapters....I tried different speakers, so I am fairly sure it was in the source I downloaded.

You have to read this book!!!

All I can say is wow! Amazing! Fantastic! This novel grabbed my heart and soul and did not let go. I found myself listening at every spare moment. The characters are wonderfully developed and the story line is nothing less than unique and captivating. The characters have such depth and detail that you will simply just forget about everything else when you listen. What really got me was the emotion conveyed in the writing. Anger, sadness, fear, heartbreak, love. These powerful characters and emotions really hit you where it counts. Although my review may not do this book the justice it deserves, I can say this: This book is a masterpiece and I believe that future readers will look back and see this as one of the truly great classics. Spend the credit, pay full price, do what you have too but don’t pass this by. Andy Peloquin’s writing and Rebecca McKernan’s narration is the perfect marriage of writing and voice! I can’t wait till the next book is out on Audible so I may just have to buy the rest in paperback.

Even though this book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review, my review is honest and from the heart!

Heart wrenching

A truly masterful tale written with the most gut wrenching scenarios. Life in the guild is by no means pleasant, and these characters face horrid abuse. Definitely not a read for anyone easily triggered.it is a dark seedy life in the underbelly of the elite yet these characters strive to not succumb too deeply into the darkness. The narration is spot on and allowed me to still feel every bit of the drama as it unfolds. All my reviews are always voluntarily written.

A Well Crafted Story

I had troubles with this book, but my first comment needs to be that it is a very well crafted story that is entertaining and compelling. 90% of this book is amazing and thrilling and really well thought out. What kept driving me out of the story is the constant cry of "I can't do it" , or "I will not cry" and the verbal portrayal of that with so much emphasis. I admit that it might be born of a parent of a teenager that just can't stand to hear more whining in my free time, but there it is. In the beginning, it is natural for a child of that age to be a little hysterical and her emotions are reasonable considering what she goes through, but it just wasn't enjoyable to listen to so much of that for me. This is part of what I mean when I say that the book is well crafted. She has a tragic flaw that she does everything to get rid of and can't. I am perhaps not evolved enough to enjoy that but I am at least able to recognize that it is literarily viable.


I was given a free copy of this audiobook and I have voluntarily chosen to review it.

Great begininning

This book takes you on crazy ride of how life will throw all sorts situations your way, and how you will deal with them. All in all, I hope that people will take a listen to this book because its enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing where the series will take the listener.

Disturbing, loath how this writer depicts females

The dialogue for Viola is very obviously written by a guy (Great male writers like Sapkowski and Sullivan write incredible dialogue for women, and even in moments of vulnerability, allow them to retain dignity and strength of character, this wrote does not) this writer... clearly doesn't understand young women or wants to believe he does.

I feel like the writer has a disturbing fascination with non consensual acts perpetrated against underage kids, there's a focus on "lady boys" boys dressed up as girls forced to work the street corners and the crescendo of the book, after all the female character goes through, leaves her victimized and brutalized in a scene that you feel the writer was building towards with a very unhealthy level of enthusiasm...it's sick.

The voice actress often mispronounced the name of the main character and tries to do some horribly distasteful and culturally inappropriate Jamaican-Irish accent for one of the Journeymen.

The supposedly "strong female character" is reduced to being just another victim, despite everything she is sexually assaulted and reduced to being only as useful as she is able to reproduce...

the ending was atrocious and I honestly wish I could get my money and time back, I've never wanted to "unhear" something so badly in my life.

please stop writing.

rinse and repeat

frustrating. writer has the lead character repeating same mistakes and does nothing to learn, makes it seem the character is an idiot. sad story has good ploy, but sloppy lead character development. the narrator's voice choice when speaking for lead is annoying, you will grow to hate the whining crying bits, nails on chalkboard. narrator's regular voice is fine. I had to bail on the book halfway through it just to slow paced and just repeats the same character problem. no growth or maturity for the child character 8 -10years. still same character mind and acts like old lessons don't even exist. plus logic holes. someone that trained for climbing heights to steal, all of a sudden has to ask for help to get up a rope. it's like previous skills and muscle training go right out the window. author needs to do some research on trapeze, first thing they teach you how to climb a rope. this is just one example of the author not letting the character rely on their past experiences and growing. such a disappointment this could have been good

Fine

Great audiobook I've enjoyed twice now. Viola, (age 8 when the tale begins), who becomes "7," and who then becomes [I'm not telling] has a lot of agency combines with almost paralyzing self-doubt aka fear.
This coming of age tale of a young thief in training has more travails than any of Fagan's (think Dickens) youngsters must overcome. Lots of perils.
Well plotted and certainly good world building in that portion of the novel that focuses on the thieves' beyond-expansive den.

Gripping, emotional nail-biter - start to finish!

The ‘Child of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves Book 1)’ audiobook was my introduction to Andy Peloquin’s writing and I’m impressed. This is powerful stuff – a gripping nail-biter from start to finish – and it really does run the full gamut of emotions. Andy Peloquin’s wonderfully descriptive writing has created an amazing world with well-drawn characters. Adding Rebecca McKernan’s superb narration to the mix really nails it.

I was hooked from the start, drawn deep into the world of the Night Guild which we experience through the eyes of Viola (designated number Seven by the really creepy and cruel Master Velvet and subsequently she becomes IIanna when she is allowed to take a name again). The feelings of sorrow, anxiety, heartache, anger, fear and joy that she experiences in her struggle through her apprenticeship (from age eight to eighteen) to survive and prove her worth to the guild as a successful thief are so palpable. This is one of those Audiobooks where you feel compelled to keep listening to find out what happens next and are sad when it finishes. The remedy for this is to go straight to ‘Thief of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves Book 2)’ for the continuation of the story.

An interesting Story of Thieves

Although a little slow this is a great story told with plenty of emotion and skill.
It did take me a while to get used to the narration but the engrossing tale soon draws you into it and the world building is all to real. Definitely on my to follow list now

Narration awful

I’m giving up on this because the production sounds like it was recorded in someone’s garage and the narrator sounds like an eleven year old child reading out an essay in school.

Dark, gritty, and heartwrenching!

Child of the Night Guild is the first book of the Queen of Thieves series by Andy Peloquin. It's dark, it's gritty, and it doesn't ever let up.

Ilanna is a young girl when she is first sold to the Night Guild by her father. She has a past filled with abuse, but her new life in the Night Guild is certainly no better. Time and time again, she faces more darkness and death, where seemingly anyone to come near her ends up injured or dead.

This book depicts how Ilanna, through relentless training, grows up within the Night Guild. There, she makes both friends and enemies, whereas the latter has a major impact on her life as it progresses (especially by the end of the book). I won't spoil it, but needless to say, this is one dark story.

It took a while for me to get into the story and become acquainted with Ilanna enough to understand her reasoning. The plot thickened towards the end, but early on, it felt like the book was more setting up Ilanna's character for later novels, rather than already in this one. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book with its vivid depictions of the thieves, their craft, and how they navigate the city. The training sessions and action were great, and the writing was faultless. I also liked the world-building and the host of supporting characters. The Night Guild itself was intriguing with the many houses.

All in all, a great read, and I will definitely move on to the next!

Struggled with Narration - ruined the book for me

Sorry to say that I really struggled with the narration on this book. I tried to listen but it seemed so expressionless and monotone I found it impossible to listen to. First book I've ever given up on!

Aimed at young adults

Made an effort to try and get into this book and did finish. I do have a few issues with the book. Overall an good premise and interesting genre. My first problem is with the narration, maybe just me, but I found it difficult to enjoy and wish I had previewed before buying. Second issue is the style of writing. I feel the style is more suited to a young adult and definitively a female audience. However in parts the swearing maybe too much for a younger audience, which is odd as it occurs infrequently, and almost unnecessarily. Finally the story is a little predictable, slow and therefore I found it a bit frustrating in parts. I won't be doing the sequels Not for me, but maybe more suited to young adults.