Thick As Thieves: A Not Quite Review

[inkasrain.livejournal.com]

Hello, dearest reprobates!

I haven't been here in, like, a million years... except to lurk on ocassion for the news which so delightfully eventually arrived. But in the course of my work, I was very generously sent an advanced copy of Thick As Thieves, which I literally finished five minutes ago and must write about somewhere.

Don't worry, these thoughts are utterly non-spoilery -- but I'll pop them behind a cut in case you (like me) don't want to know even the slightest thing about our next adventure before you experience it yourself.

Reprobates.

Oh, reporobates.

Megan has done for us again.

Thick As Thieves is like reading The Thief, but... different. Are the stakes higher? The path stranger? The journey longer, and lonelier, and yet closer to our hearts?

All that, and more.

For all that we are literally on unfamiliar territory here, Kamet's journey has all the stinging, blink-and-you-miss-it detail we (think) we know to look for. Make no mistake, this book takes its time; it's not one I'd use to draw new readers into this marvelous world. But those of us who know the game know that MWT does nothing by accident, and all that time turns out to be very important indeed.

The characters we love are not at the forefront. They're not even really in the background. Instead, they act behind a distant curtain, obscured, but we can see their shapes where they poke through.

But as a reviewer before me mentioned, Kamet will smarm his way right into your heart within pages. He is as uncompromisingly complicated as any of Megan's protagonists -- funny and infuriating, heartbreakingly insightful and yet blind to obvious truths all at once. (And I can say that, because Kamet doesn't give a broken sandal what I think of him.)

Ahh! There is so much in Thick of Thieves that must be drained and analyzed and studied. I think the readers here at EAS will have a grand time reading it, and an even grander (though perhaps more painful) time breaking it apart to see what's really inside. It's different from what we're used to, but in a way, I think it's an indication of how much Megan trusts her readers. As ever with the Queen's Thief, those who follow will be rewarded.

I can't wait to read your thoughts.

(Oh, and there is a line or two toward the end of the book that will punch your thrumming heart right out of your chest. You'll have to chase after it to get it back.)

~inky

Comments

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

INKY!!!!

It's hard to write a spoiler free review for this book, isn't it?

I agree with everything you said! I was a little worried that no one could possibly love Kamet as much as I do, but I'm glad to see him getting love even before the book is officially out. He's insightful, sassy, arrogant, clever, yet so emotionally vulnerable all at the same time. Such a complex character! I can see why Megan said he took over the story. He's been through hell, but still has the strength to walk with his head held high. I admired that about him.

I was blown away by how many blink-and-you'll-miss-it references and hints there were! Just casually flipping through the pages reveals new incites and jokes that I didn't notice the first time through.

And the jokes! It was a lot like The Thief, but with twice the stakes and twice the humor and Megan's more matured and developed writing.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Ahh!! These reviews will SLAY me before I even get my hands on the book!!

*moment of silence*

...ok, I'm back.

I'm already a fan of Kamet and cannot wait to hear his story.

All these comparisons to Thief have my sneaky-sense on high alert.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Oh, and thank you for this review. It's really quite wonderfully written!

[smallsotong.livejournal.com]

I think it's interesting that both of you liked Kamet from the beginning. It definitely took many chapters for me to grow to like him as a character, though I did appreciate him as an interesting and complex narrator from the start. (I do like him now, though!!)

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I think I was pretty far into the book too before, I started to really love him at the same level as the other main characters. Probably about the time I started to realize how kind he actually is. I immediately connected to him from the first chapter, though for much the same reason as Gen--his sense of humor.

While Gen's sense of humor is playful and sarcastic, Kamet's is much more fatalistic and dry. It's so dry that it's hard to detect his sass at first, but I picked up on it pretty quick. Also, there's an under note of "(bad word) my life" to his narrative, which I found highly amusing. He's a trooper and keeps on keeping on, and I really admire him for it.

[inkasrain.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I should say that I don't personally love Kamet as much as I love the rest of our crew. (I don't know that one book would be enough to do that for me, when we've spent so much time with everyone else.) But I do *really* like him -- the dry FML humor is directly up my alley, and I found the insights into his life deeply powerful. I will be happy to see him if he turns up again.

He's just different, I think, than what we've become used to. He very much harkens back to Gen's all-knowingness, which we haven't experienced firsthand since The Thief. Most of the heads we've peaked inside since then have been at least conflicted, and obviously Sophos doesn't think he knows anything at all. Returning to the kind of cockiness that Kamet and Gen embody is startling, but I think it's a very interesting place to bring the series to.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

I would be so happy to see him again! I'm sure he'll have some role to play in the final book.

It's a bit like coming full circle, right? In a way, Kamet is a lot like Gen in his narrative but still very, very different. His level of insight intrigued me. So different from Costis and Sophos who never seemed to know what was going on! Of course, Kamet doesn't know EVERYTHING, which makes him slightly more relatable to me than Gen. I like how he figures things out on his own, and no one has to tell him explicitly.