The Trouble With Thieves: Return to Averia [Kindle Edition]

If you think life on Earth is wild, try living in Averia, where the natives are bird like humanoids. But how would one get there? Cecil finds himself there after he falls into a portal, owned by a thief named Kormer. Anndrew, Cecil's school mate, travels into the portal with Kormer and his traveling companion from the future, Jeransy, to try to get Cecil back to his own world. However, life in Averia agrees with Cecil, and he becomes incredibly powerful; why should he return to his mundane life?

I think the reason I struggle so much with reading fantasy novels is because I lack imagination. Clearly, the authors of this book do not have the same problem. Multiple planets, languages, and storyworlds have been artfully created for this book. As I read, I had trouble picturing it in my mind, not because it was not well developed (it certainly was) but because I lacked the imagination. It made me sad that I was not able to enjoy the story as fully as it deserved to be enjoyed.

I found the character of Kormer to be fascinating. He flits through time and space via his portal, creating relationships with individuals he knows he will never see again. He is an adventurer. I would have liked to seen the story focus more on him individually, instead of adding Jeransy to the mix. I found her presence a bit on the distracting side. Similarly, I liked Cecil's character, and enjoyed watching him grow in his powers.

Overall, I think this book is well written, and highly imaginative. It would appeal best to fans of fantasy writing, particularly that involving other planets or galaxies, such as the writings of Douglas Adams.

I began by reading the sample and was enticed enough to purchase the book. Overall the book is a fun read for any sci-fi fan. I particularly like the handling of magic versus technology throughout the story.

The characters are well fleshed out and evolve somewhat as the story progresses. The main character appears to be static throughout most of the story, but also goes through some growth toward the end. The ending paces well and is not rushed

The world of Averia is very detailed and utopian with a hint of a darker 1984-ish underbelly that made it believable.

That being said, the book shows some signs of these being first time authors. I would still recommend it and look forward to some of the mystery of Kormèr's ancestry being resolved in a sequel.

I don't know what to think about this book. I cannot tell if it is trying to take itself seriously or if it trying to follow in the footsteps of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If the latter, well it makes the book a little more enjoyable as I can't find it a serious read at all. There are moments when it tried to be serious though and it just confuses the flow of the book. The story is interesting, engaging enough that I want to finish reading it, but the characters are in my opinion flat. The only character that has a little bit of depth is Lezal, the main character, though sometimes I feel his character is not set for he makes decisions or acts in ways that I didn't expect at all from him with no explination that his character has changed for some reason or that this was always how he was like. The two girls in it are very uninteresting and truthfully 60-70% into the book I have no idea what they are doing there or why they do what they do, their characters are random bantering boards for the main character and their actions and choices are not explained in any depth which leads you to ask, why do these girls after only knowing Lezal for a few days want to sleep with him and love him? There is no explanation into their developed feelings for the main character.

All in all, this book has an amusing plot line, but no depth of character. It really feels like the characters are only there to advance the plot instead of what I usually like in a book, the characters actions advancing the plot and the plot being based around the actions of said characters. There is a difference, the latter gives the characters depth and you understand that events are shaping because of their actions and motivations and not the other way around.

Truthfully I have mixed feelings about this book. I really give credence to the author for having the guts to get his work out there and read, but at the same time, I think this book needs a little more love. Now that the plot is there, he needs to go back in and really explore the characters, give them more depth and feeling. It would go a long way to making this book recommendable.

As it is book one in a series I am very curious to see how the characters further develop.