No Heart for a Thief

I continue to be blown away by the quality of writing in the SPFBO9 competition. No Heart For A Thief hits all the right notes for me. A coming of age tale in a pretty grim world, where a country has been over run by a conquering civilization that is trying to eradicate their culture, and a very nice master/apprentice relationship being built, all attached to a very well constructed magic system. These are a set of tropes I can get behind!

The repressed native population trope is one that is attempted quite often in fantasy, but this one is particularly effective, in the insidious way the conquerors try to warp and eradicate the culture (inherently linked to the native magic). It is a very anticolonial message and it is extremely effectively realised. The world is well built with this conflict central to everything in the story. Add into that some internal and latent prejudice within the oppressed against ‘thieves' (magic users who can steal other magic users abilities) and we are treated to a very interesting political setup.

The relationship between our two central characters is also extremely well done, with the jaded old master and the rash new apprentice dynamic well realised and organic in its feel. The way the main part of the story is told through flashbacks is also well done and does not feel too gimmicky.

This is very much the first story in a series, there is not much resolution to be had on the plot themes in the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking forward to the next book!

I loved the cover, so I signed right up for the ARC team and I was happy to be approved. 
Let me start with saying, WOW, that is how you write an ending! The climax is just so incredibly epic and beautiful and dark at the same time. Threads that were weaved throughout the entire story coming together to make a beautiful little sweater of gut-punching, heartbreaking action and tension. I am blown away. 
An epic debut with heavy emotion, heart, power, and gravity. Written in part as a study of colonialism, this fantasy brings a completely new world with incredible characters, magic, and histories. 
The main character, Kaylo, is a jaded loner. He has been through the ringer, and connecting with others is not his thing. When Tayen crosses his path, he's faced with a choice—let her be captured, or worse, killed. He makes his choice, and the novel has its momentum. With a story like this, for me at least, it reminded me heavily of The Last of Us. As with TLOU, both characters bounce off each other, bickering and fighting, before finding caring. It's such a good dynamic, and the author brings some new things to the plate with it. The side characters are just as important and fully imagined as well though, it's just super solid. 
The magic system is brought to the world's inhabitants through the Great Spirits, or worshipped godlike presences. The gifts bestowed to the people allow them to call upon these spirits, altering the world around them in various ways. It was refreshing that this didn't have limits attached for the users, but it was simply understood that it isn't limitless either. 
 The writing is fantastic, and I loved that the teacher told the story of his life as a way to give her lessons as opposed to the regular fantasy teaching scenes. It also gave the story two timelines which were both great. 
Personally a 5/5*. I'll be thinking about this one for a while. Bring on book two asap.