Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson

D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker is one of those books that I’d meant to read a long time ago, but managed to slip through the cracks of my addled prose-addicted mind. It wasn’t until I started seeing the sequel making the rounds on Twitter that I went searching for the title. And I'm sure glad I did. An interesting blend of historical fiction, urban fantasy, and a old fashioned detective yarn, Thieftaker is a spectacular start to a series that I can’t wait to continue. Fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series will take special note, the rich sense of place and historical detail is likely to appeal as are Jackson's excellent sense of character and atmosphere.

Ethan Kaille makes his living recovering stolen property in Pre-Revolutionary Boston. But Kaille is no ordinary thieftaker, he is also a conjurer who uses his magical gifts to assist him in his profession. Due to the suspicion and fear surrounding sorcery, Ethan keeps his skills secret and avoids all but the most mundane assignments. When he accepts an assignment to recover a brooch stolen in the commission of a murder, Ethan finds himself embroiled in a mystery with ties to not only the turbulent and violent politics of the time but to a powerful conjurer whose skill far surpasses Ethan’s own.

Audio Files: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One has been described as a "nerdgasm" by John Scalzi, and has garnered the kind of ardent praise and outright love from the genre community that most authors can only dream about. Cline's novel is a love letter to pop culture and those of us who revel in it. But unlike many other works that only appeal to a specific audience, Cline layers his tale with plenty of vintage goodies for geeks and non-geeks alike. Add in the pitch-perfect narration of Wil Weaton, no stranger to the subject matter, and an already fantastic story is elevated to something akin to a nostalgic trip to geek Valhalla.

The year is 2044, and we find our protagonist Wade Watts living a grim existence. The age of excess and plenty has passed, and all but the rich live in squalor and soul crushing poverty. But this dystopian cloud has a silver lining, the OASIS. Like most of the world's populace, Wade spends almost every waking minute of his life inside the simulation, escaping the harsh realities of his real-world existence.

The OASIS is a bleeding edge Internet that is free for all. It is equal parts MMO, virtual reality simulation, and operating system. Created by James Halliday, a reclusive, anti-social genius, the OASIS is now the primary means for communication, commerce, education, and entertainment. Anything the imagination can create can be found and explored by putting on your gloves and visor and logging in. Upon Halliday's death, his will proclaims that his entire fortune, including control of the OASIS will pass to the winner of the Contest. The Contest is a quest for an Easter Egg hidden within the his creation. A series of keys and gates have been scattered throughout the countless worlds of the OASIS. The secret to succeeding in this quest is hidden in Halliday's passion for the movies, television, music, and video games of his childhood in the 1980's.

Five years after Halliday's death, not a single key or gate has been found. Egg-hunters or 'gunters' as they come to be called, obsess over every obscure reference in Halliday's journal determined to find the first key. Corporate hunters employed by communications giant IOI, called 'sixers' are also in the search, to gain control of the OASIS so that their masters can turn the once free platform into a commercial theme park for the rich. Everything changes when Wade finds the first key. A deadly race ensues where Wade must not only deal with the dangers and mysteries of the Contest within the OASIS but finds himself on the run from IOI agents who are not afraid to bribe, threaten, or murder if it means finding the key.

The story is told in first person through the eyes of Wade Watts, high school student, third level warrior, and gunter known as Parzival in the OASIS. Wade's extensive knowledge of all things 80's is on full display as are his quick wit and intelligence. Wil Wheaton brings it in the audio presentation, personifying the snark and vulnerability of the teenage Wade with ease. His own experiences as a self-proclaimed geek and growing up in the 80's himself lends his narration an undeniable air of authenticity. We are treated to references about everything from Family Ties, War Games, Dungeons and Dragons, and 8-bit video games. A spirited argument about the cinematic value of Lady Hawke was a highlight, complete with the perfect mix of good-natured ribbing and absolute seriousness. Wade and Wheaton are such a perfect match,  it is hard to imagine anyone else as the voice of the gunter.

Cline wisely doesn't ignore the psychological issues stemming from Wade's life of  isolation or those common to teenagers everywhere. His social anxiety is best mined through his budding romance with fellow gunter and eventual ally Atr3mis. Their conversations are among my favorite passages in the novel; awkward, earnest, and all too true to life. As the hunt for Halliday's egg grows more dangerous, and Wade is forced to spend more and more time out of the OASIS, he begins to experience a growing sense of agoraphobia, showing the dark side of the glittering escapism of the virtual world.

The supporting characters are handled well, particularly Aech, Wade's best friend, and Art3mis, his love interest. Interactions between the trio are among the best passages of the novel and Wheaton handles the banter well. It is easy to imagine that he has similar conversations with his own circle of friends. Cline plays some expected games with the concept of persona versus reality when the action moves out of the OASIS in the last third of the novel, but manages to avoid being pedantic or throwing previous characterization out the window as nothing more than lies.

The OASIS is simply genius as a setting and is almost a character in and of itself. Cline creates a world where the constraints of genre are obliterated, allowing him to mine popular culture with impunity. Imagine a place where you can have armor clad knights and spell slinging mages fighting side by side with thirty foot tall robots against the lions of Voltron and Godzilla. The OASIS is that place and any other place you love from movies, video games and literature. Cline wisely chooses to show a little bit of everything, and never has to bother disguising it.

While full of vast cinematic battles full of spells, bullets, and mechanized warriors and lower key ones like playing video games against a lich (my personal favorite), Ready Player One is a story about growing up. Wade finds that despite all the flash and spectacle of the OASIS that he must become more Wade Watts than Parzival in order to achieve his goal of finding Halliday's Egg. As it turns out, the real world is not so bad after all.

Audio-Files: Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick

I spend a lot of time in my car. Rather than listen to NPR or the radio, I tend to listen to audio books on my e-reader. So while, I haven't technically read these books, I still have discovered more than one gem that I would like to share with my readers. So with out further adieu my thoughts on Douglas Hulick's debut novel  Among Thieves. 

  

Let me just start out by saying that Among Thieves is told in first person. And in some ways, this places Among Thieves more in the camp of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, than Brent Weeks' Night Angel series. As a fan of Harry Dresden, I was excited to see a traditional other world fantasy told in similar fashion. But Drothe, Hulick's protagonist is no Harry Dresden. 

Drothe is not a man of any exceptional talents. He is clever enough, a proficient swordsman, and is good at his job. As a "Nose", he is responsible for gathering information for the bosses of the expansive network of Ildrecca's criminal empire. It's his work on the side, selling religious relics to the highest bidder that gets him in trouble. Luckily for Drothe, he has a wide network of friends who prop up the inadequacies in his skill set. Hulick does an exceptional job of fleshing out these secondary characters, none of them are there simply for the benefit they provide for Drothe's increasingly difficult situation as he manages to be at odds not only with his own boss, the volitile "Upright Man" Nico, but the mysterious Gray Princes who manipulate the underworld from behind the scenes, and the Empire that rules the city of Ildrecca where the story is set. Each character is framed by their relationship to Drothe and feel like real people with personalities and prejudices beyond their contribution to Drothe's attempts to recover the stolen relic. 

 Drothe's likability really shines in his interactions with others. Whether it is with the "ears" that provide him with the information he gathers for Nico, or his hostile sister the countess, or his best friend Bronze Deegan who provides much of the muscle in Drothe's fight to stay one step ahead of the countless factions chasing the missing relic, Drothe's good nature, humor, and skewed sense of honor and generosity shine. Even the villains are well drawn and rounded. You'll find very little mustache twirling here.  

Drothe's relationship with Bronze Deegan is the high point of the novel for me. It felt very genuine and was full of the highs and lows that any real friendship possesses. Drothe like many of us, discovers the dangers and consequences of taking those closest to us for granted, and I look forward to more fallout from the conclusion. 

Well drawn characters, and a engaging protagonist are not all Among Thieves has worth recommending. The setting of Ildrecca feels like a real place, with a history and flavor all it's own. Hulick wisely chooses to limit his world building only when it serves to better inform the story and info dumping is usually so well placed as to be largely seamless with the narrative. 

After doing a little reading on the author's website, I discovered that the genesis of the story came in part from a book on Thieves Cant Hulick purchased years ago. That discovery is evident in the language used by the characters in the novel and lends an authentic feel that adds rather than distracts from the story as a whole. The explanation of the terminology was only used in service to the story and much like the aforementioned world building flowed naturally and never felt forced.

I could go on. The combat scenes were well written and informed by the author's knowledge of Western European Martial Arts. The magic of the world was consistent, mysterious, and never seemed thrown in just because this was a fantasy novel. Pacing and plotting were well considered and even with the myriad of twists and complications, things never got so convoluted that I got the sense that Hulick was trying to hard. 

My only quibble with the book was the protagonists over reliance on stimulants. Not that drug use doesn't fit with the world or the character, but rather that Drothe never seemed to pay any price for his dependency. I have a feeling this will be addressed in later installments in the series. Installments that I can't wait to get my hands or ears on.