Book Review: No Heart for a Thief by James Lloyd Dulin
Genre(s): Epic Fantasy
Book Synopsis:
We are the stories we tell ourselves…even the lies.
The Thief, a great spirit, and her descendants have abused their ability to steal magic for centuries. When Kaylo starts to hear the song of other people’s magic, he must learn to hide from his people as well as the invaders. A gift or a curse, Kaylo may be able to save his people from the Gousht Empire that claimed their land with this stolen magic.
Eighteen years later, Kaylo still prays to the spirits, but not out of loyalty or love. He knows better than to rely on those selfish bastards for anything. While hiding in the forest from his foolish acts of rebellion, he encounters a girl, Tayen, being pursued by two soldiers of the empire. Against his better judgment, he risks facing the consequences of his past to intervene.
When Tayen attempts to run off seeking vengeance for her family, he offers to train her to wield her magic and a blade. If he can’t convince her to relinquish her need for vengeance and stave off the demons of his past, he’s going to get them both killed.
Review:
No Heart for a Thief wasn’t quite what I expected, but in the best possible way. It’s well-written and engaging, has some memorable characters, and has a depth to its worldbuilding that I really enjoyed. And while there is some action in the story, there wasn’t as much as I anticipated based on the synopsis (but that’s okay, it was still a great read.)
The bulk of the story is focused on Kaylo and his past. His story isn’t a happy one, but he tries to do what is right—even when others refuse to trust him due to the nature of his magic. He’s a spirit thief, capable of borrowing the magic of others to use as his own. What I loved most about Kaylo was that he really tried to use his ability honorably. Long-standing beliefs by his people forced him to hide what he was, while the Gousht (the invading enemy) see his power as a useful tool they’d like to keep for themselves.
The other main character is Tayen, though her chapters are significantly fewer than Kaylo’s. She’s a young girl (I don’t think her age was ever stated, but I imagined her being around ten years old?) She’s another spirit dancer, but unlike Kaylo, her magic comes from The Shadow. She’s on a path of vengeance when she meets Kaylo, and he offers to teach her what he can.
The two warring factions in the story are heavily influenced by their respective religions. The Gousht arrived to conquer and “convert” the natives of Ennea to their ways; basically, they brainwash the children, force their customs on the adults, and kill those who don’t conform. The Gousht are ruthless and unyielding, claiming their “one true god” is superior to the traditional spirits worshipped by the Enneans. The Enneans follow six spirits, each related to an aspect of the natural world (wind, fire, the forest, the shadow, etc.) The spirits are responsible for gifting select humans with their magic. Naturally, the Gousht want to steal that magic for themselves and turn it into a weapon.
With that conflict as the backdrop, there were some inevitable fights along the way. Most of the fight scenes/action sequences were brief, and the focus of this story was the characters’ interactions with the world and those they considered family or friends. I feel there was a nice balance between family life, survival in the wilderness, and those fight scenes; there wasn’t too much of any one thing.
No Heart for a Thief was a great first installment to the series. My only complaint is that it ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I don’t have the reading time to fit in book 2 right away, but I plan to get to it eventually.
Author website: jamesldulin.com
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