The Thief’s Gamble

On a purely personal level, I was getting tired of fantasy heroines who went through their adventures untouched by human hand until ending up as the hero’s reward in the final chapter and even more so of farm boys who turned out to be princes, unaccountably mislaid, or hugely powerful wizards without even knowing it, sometimes even both! Then there are those hugely powerful wizards who don’t decide to take over the world, because they’re such darn nice guys. Don’t misunderstand me, some writers tell these tales very well but I was finding a limit to what even the most inventive author could bring to the traditional hero tale. I certainly knew I had nothing to bring to that particular party.

So I went looking for a heroine with a mind of her own, with a network of friends and a life of her own living in a world where wizards have to make a living as much as anyone else and have to deal with the suspicions of everyday folk as well as the local civil powers. If my heroine was going to go on a quest, it would not be her own choice and it would certainly not be the usual kind of adventure.

Livak is a part-time thief and full-time gambler, long accustomed to living by her wits and and narrowly avoiding serious trouble. When she attempts to sell a stolen antique to a passing merchant, she finds herself pulled into a new and dangerous world of political intrigue in which the stakes are higher than anyone involved can imagine. For the antique she has acquired dates from a particular period in the history of Einarinn about which little is known, but much has been speculated. When the truth begins to emerge, Livak decides to take the greatest gamble of her life.

Try the opening chapter !

4 thoughts on “The Thief’s Gamble

  1. Hi Juliet! Do you know if any of the Einarinn books will be available as ebooks shortly? I would love to read them, but I’m afraid I have kind of… stopped reading printed books ever since I got my ereader. 🙂 Thanks!

    1. We’re working on it – that’s to say, me, Wizard’s Tower Books and Antimatter ePress. And indeed, just this past week, I’ve been working on what turns out to be a series of blogposts explaining some of the complexities and delays that have been involved.

      We’ve already put out A Few Further Tales of Einarinn, a short story collection of 4 reprints and 1 new piece plus some awesome artwork. You can buy that through Amazon, B&N, or direct Further Tales

      Next up, Turns & Chances, the novella that kicked off the Lescari Revolution will be coming – hopefully next month. And then The Thief’s Gamble is well on its way through the whole process, with the rest of the Tales and the Compass to follow in due course. Those are the titles I have the rights to epublish myself.

      Solaris Books have the rights to the Lescari Revolution trilogy and the Hadrumal Crisis ebooks – once again, available through Amazon, B&N or direct Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution. Incidentally, you can get a free ebook of the short story that ties into both the Lescari Revolution and the Hadrumal Crisis books here The Wizard’s Coming

      So, that’s where we are – watch this space for updates and meantime, happy reading 🙂

  2. I’m currently reading The Thief’s Gamble. I’m on page 430. I bought the book from Half Price Books several weeks ago and decided to give it a try. I really like Livak. I specifically wanted to read a sword and sorcery novel with a strong female protagonist with a likable personality, and you definitely succeeded in that. Cheers!

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