Thief with No Shadow

by Emily Gee

Book Overview

Aided by the magic which courses through her veins, Melke is able to walk unseen by mortal eyes. When a necklace she has stolen holds the key to both saving her brother's life and breaking a terrible curse, she must steal it back from a den of firebreathing salamanders. Things are about to get very tough for Melke, especially when she comes to realise she may have to trust the very people who were out to kill her.

Thief With No Shadow is...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1844164691
• ISBN13: 9781844164691
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Solaris
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Great Characters, Great Story

I absolutely loved this book from page 1. All the primary characters are beautifully drawn, and I loved and sympathized with them even when I wanted to smack them upside the head. Part of the magic of this book for me was how deeply flawed the characters were, and how brilliantly Gee made me love them despite the flaws. There are some very dark moments in this book, but the payoff was well worth it. I closed it with a happy sigh and have a feeling I'll be reading it again in the relatively near future.

Evocative writing, great characters

I loved the character development in this book. Emily Gee takes us right into the characters' minds and shows us who they are with all their imperfections. As an added plus, the writing is beautiful. We get all the right details, and it doesn't fall into the trap of being overly spare. The story and the romance worked for me. The romance wasn't the primary focus, which I was glad of, but it felt natural when it came into play. You have to get around one small unbelievability toward the beginning, an action Bastian (the male main character) could have taken to prevent most of the trouble that followed, but if you can just skip over that the rest of the tale works and is enjoyable. However, the characters and writing are the reason I'll reread this book. Easily the best book I read in 2007.

Excellent Read

I initially bought this book because it was by a New Zealand author and I want to show my support for writers in NZ that do get published internationally but I was absolutely blown away by how good this book is and how much I enjoyed it. I am fairly well read in this genre and can say that this is an excellent read, a compelling read and is very different to what else is out there at the moment. Firstly, I haven't come across a wraith as a heroine before and the fact that the entire story takes place over just a few short weeks but is so compelling and beautifully written that you are completely hooked. Would definitely appeal to fans of romantic fantasy, but if you are a pure fantasy reader, don't let the romantic elements stop you from reading this as it is worth it.

New Genre: Fantasy Romance

I'm going to warn you right now - I do not include plot spoilers in this review, but I do mention character-based facts (such as the identity of the main couple; not that it should come as a surprise, as the man is basically the only viable option for the girl) repeatedly throughout. I do not believe these constitute real spoilers, to me at any rate, but I thought I ought to mention it all the same. Now, the review: This is a good book. Not surprising in any way (I saw all the 'twists' in the narrative coming), but still a GOOD book. It's a romance novel done up in fantasy novel trappings - the heroine and her love interest are established from the beginning, with the typical angsty, hate-at-first-sight attached. And, as is typical in romance novels, no matter how justified (or not) the love interest is in his distrust or hatred of the female lead, he is so pigheaded about it that he loses all of the readers' sympathy. At first, Bastian was so aggressive and arrogant that I truly wished him nothing but ill. (He's one of the main reasons I gave this book four stars instead of five, as I truly believe his character could have been handled much better.) By the end of the book, I still thoroughly disliked him, but it did not tarnish my enjoyment of the story nearly as much as I expected it to. I would not invite him to tea, nor do I understand Melke's eventual feelings towards him, but that's pretty typical of a romance novel, as I understand it. I've yet to meet a romance novel leading man who wasn't arrogant, aggressive, and an insult to the males of the world who try to engage their brains and emotions other than anger when dealing with people. If this is other women's ideal man, then I'm a tad ashamed of my gender. That said (and with tongue firmly in cheek, mind; I wasn't being serious) Melke is a compelling leading lady; she has issues, and honor, and she tries to do the right thing even at great personal risk. She wasn't my favorite character (and I do find her leading man a grave injustice to men everywhere, which slightly lessens my understanding of her), but I still love her dearly. In fact, my favorite characters were the side characters - Melke's brother Hantje and Bastian's sister Liana. They're well-drawn and interesting; and Hantje's presence alone was a relief from Bastian's overbearing masculinity. If there was any issue I had with them, it's a scene over halfway through the book, where Liana is thinking about her brother, how kind he is, how honorable, etc. I found myself thinking 'and what? We're just supposed to believe you?' Because nothing up to then had shown Bastian being any of those things. It's her word against ours, and I always trust myself over a fictional character. It was a symptom of a larger problem - I could see where the author was leading the story, what tricks were used. Bastian's dog Endal is another example of this. When Bastian can't see Melke as anything other than scum, Endal (who spe

A pleasing page turner.

A wraith named Melke steals a necklace from what she perceives to be a rich family. What she doesn't know is that the vast land that she views during the night is in the midst of a magical drought. By stealing (to save her brother from Salamanders) Melke goes against her morals and unintentionally condemns Bastian and his sister to a life full of despair and possibly death. Bastian, a seemingly normal man who is capable of talking to dogs, tries to save his sister from the life of misery that Melke has unknowingly promised. By doing so, he challenges his every way of life. This book is full of magic and unforseen twists. It gives a new meaning to not judging people until you get to know them. I started off disliking the characters due to their "I'm better than you" personalities, but by the end their true personas were revealed and I fell in love. Bastian's dog, Endal, is my favorite character due to his loyal and protective nature. He plays a major part of this story and never seems to be far from either Melke or Bastian. All of the characters are constantly facing dire decisions and battling their ways of life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in fantasy novels.