Musings on THIEF WITH NO SHADOW

I think the thing that I liked the most about THIEF WITH NO SHADOW was its originality. I don't think there was a sword drawn throughout the entire book. No spells flung between characters. Very few tavern scenes.

The book spends a lot of time dealing with the consequences of theft. Melke stole something of vital importance to Bastian's family. She did it to rescue her brother, who tried to steal treasure from the salamanders. Bastian got his revenge by stealing something from Melke. And before everyone was born, another theft results in the curse being placed on Bastian's family.

As Scooper said in a comment a few posts back, the ending did surprise me. It was what I thought should happen early on in the story, but I didn't really expect it to happen. The ironic thing was that the only character who didn't self-sacrifice in some horrible way was the character who was the most self-sacrificing at the start of the story.

The story was literary and serious in mood, yet fast-paced and gripping. I will keep looking for other books by Emily Gee.

Here's the complete info (that I could find):

The book at Amazon
A sample chapter
Emily Gee's Website
Emily Gee's Myspace page