Book Review: Storm Thief

As a new thing for the blog, I'm going to be doing book reviews. It will be a combination of ARCs, newly published and some older books. I decided to start this off with Storm Thief by Chris Wooding, a British author. Many of you may have not heard of him. This is a book I bought a few years ago and read. I recently read it again and decided to review it.

I have to admit that I'm a sucker for a good cover. I'm really biased when it comes to the cover. For example, I have an aversion to any book that has those drawn neutral colored wooded/mountain scenes with the hero and his maiden/sword/horse/a dragon. You know what I'm talking about. But I saw the cover of Storm Thief and loved it. Then I read the inside cover (hardcover also a plus).

"Anything can happen…at any time.

Rail and Moa are thieves in a city of chaos. For as long as anyone can remember, Orokos has been lashed by probability storms – violent tempests that change whatever they touch. When a probability storm hits, streets are rearranged, children are turned to glass, rivers break from their banks, and life suddenly becomes death. Nothing is stable. Everyone is vulnerable.

Rail has struggled with the effects of one such storm for years; when he was hit, he lost the ability to breathe freely. Moa has also seen her share of struggle – as the daughter of dead rebels, as an outcast, as a criminal…."

And it goes on from there. I was hooked. I took it home and read it immediately. I liked it enough to read it twice. I'll probably read it again.

First of all, this is one of those books I read and thought, "Damn, why didn't I think of that?" For example, early on we are introduced to the Mozgas, one of the byproducts of a probability storm. They are humanlike, but they are out of sync with time. They can move super fast, but in an instant be going so slowly that they seem to be at a standstill. Cool, right? I certainly think so. The concepts in this book are way cool, including probability storms themselves.

As the story goes, it's easy to follow. It's pretty straightforward. You won't be getting lost. It follows Rail and Moa and a golem named Vago as they run from the city guards and Revenants, manta-ray like spirits who kill people with a touch. (Think the Final Fantasy: Spirits Within minus the lameness.)

I hated the villains, felt sympathy for the good guys…the only problem for me was that I cared about Vago way more than Rail and Moa. It was hard for me to connect with them. By the end, Vago was definitely my favorite.

The story is great, the character connection is lacking when it comes to Rail and Moa, but Vago makes up for it.

I really recommend it for anyone who likes fantasy, even if it is YA.