Ned Spinks, Chief Thief-Catcher has a problem. Someone is stealing the Emperor’s roses. But that’s not the worst of it. In his infinite wisdom and grace, the Emperor magically imbued his red rose with love so if it was ever removed from the Imperial Rose Gardens then love will be lost, to everyone, forever. It’s up to Ned and his band of motley catchers to apprehend the thief and save the day. … But the thief isn’t exactly who they seem to be, neither is the Emperor. Ned and his team will have to go on a quest defeating vampire mermaids, illusionists, estranged family members and an evil sorcerer in order to win the day. What could possibly go wrong?
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‘The Rose Thief’ is a quirky fantasy adventure that makes compulsive reading. It is entirely delightful and captivating.
Laced with humour and loaded with vivid, unique characters, the story is set in the kingdom of Roshaven, where someone is stealing the Emperor’s roses. This sets off a chain of events in which the reader discovers that things are not always as they appear to be, and there is always more to someone’s actions than what is observed on the surface.
Buss has crafted the story with a high degree of originality: while it includes many standard fantasy elements, the author has shaped and combined them in her own way so that their qualities and abilities are all quite individual and delightfully idiosyncratic.
The reader is quickly engaged by the opening scenes, and then becomes invested in the characters and the challenges they face. The story is well-developed and moves at good pace, with the author demonstrating excellent control over the reader by accelerating and slowing them down at various stages without the reader being conscious of this happening until later.
The unfolding mystery and the development of the characters within the narrative is enhanced by the humour, which is at sometimes very cleverly saucy and at other times subversive, which made this reader chuckle quite a bit, but it is never inappropriate, nor does it overwhelm or distract from the story that is being told.
‘The Rose Thief’ is a book that I just wanted to keep reading. I really hope there is going to be a sequel.
What if Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams had a baby in a magical universe? That’s THE ROSE THIEF!
Ned Sparks is the Thief Catcher of Roshaven—a town where magical creatures, controlled lawlessness, a complex bureaucracy, a mysterious Emperor (may he live forever and ever), and a large dose of whimsy, rule. Ned, along with a smelly sprite, a lighting bug (you really want to know how Ned communicates with him!), a grumpy maybe-warlock, and a wood nymph with some serious sex-appeal, is charged with finding out who is stealing the Emperor’s (may he… you get the idea) enchanted roses—and then the rose of love itself is stolen!
Let me admit a heresy: I do not like Terry Pratchett books. I’ve never been able to fully articulate why. Reading THE ROSE THIEF showed me why. Although Pratchett has plenty of humor, snide asides, witty snark, and magical hijinx, what he lacks is a depth of feeling. Love, you might call it. There is no depth of emotion behind his characters—they are 2 dimensional beings there to dance on the puppet stage. Claire Buss imbues each of her characters with a reason to love, to care, to really want to succeed in a world that seems entirely mad. You are pretty sure you’d rather these folks not pop into your world, but if you were in their’s, you’d certainly want to hang out with them.
This is a romp of a book with well-drawn characters, mysteries, romances, a quest, and dark forces. There are plenty of laughs of every kind to be had—from pure slapstick, to clever word play, and funny situations. Save THE ROSE THIEF for a day when you aren’t planning to do anything. You won’t want to put it down!
5 of 5 stars!
This is a brilliantly clever book that had me gripped from the beginning. It is an homage to Terry Pratchett in its witty writing style, yet so utterly unique in story that you will wonder where on earth (or beyond) the writer found her inspiration. The world is so intricately built that you can visualise every step the characters take on their journey, and the very British humour had me laughing out loud in places. This is another one where I felt that the romance could have spent more time developing, as it struck me as a bit sudden, but the characters all had such unique and cleverly drawn personalities that I was just enjoying them for what they were. If you like Pratchett you won’t be disappointed, this was a fabulous read and gets nine out of ten, or five out of five.