The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids (Amra Thetys Series Book 1)

I read a lot in various genres. Michael has found a nice way of delivering his stories which by themselves are highly enjoyable. I am liking the steamunk mystery magic mix. Great character in the female lead too.

I really hate leaving less than a positive review. I'm giving it three stars because the story itself is good. The problem is the style that the story is written in, which is basically a passive first person.

I read 75 percent of the book, I really wanted to like it, but I finally gave up.

Some people will like this style of writing, others won't. I think its always a risk for an author when they choose to write in this style, makes hard to get into the story.

Anyways, if that kind of stuff doesn't bother you, then I'm sure you'll love the book because the story has a lot of promise.

Well-written, fast-paced fun with cool characters, the seeds of interesting connections to come and an unexpected twist at the end. What more could you ask for? Downloaded the second book in the series the moment I was done!

Long meandering, and fairly “meatless” line extension to the Amra Thetys franchise. First three novels were exciting and withi the context of the fantasy world McClung has created, cohesive.

This fourth venture in the saga is a big disappointment. Had the feel of a book being written to fulfill a contract commitment rather than a work of passion or interest. Ill wait for episode 5 to see if he gets back on track....but this was a bust in the context of the rest of the series.

I stumbled upon this author by accident, and it may be the best find of the summer! Great charactors, interesting world, unique creatures, all spun in an easily readable story that has me looking forward to more.

Winner of the first SPFBO in 2015. I enjoyed this book but it has flaws. The story was interesting enough but I never felt fully connected with the characters. Nonetheless, I plan to read the second in the series.

Well written, and a well developed plot. While some may find the ending a bit too easy or convenient for their liking's, it was incredibly thought full to me. I look forward to reading the second in the series.

The plot is pretty familiar to anyone who read the old Thieves' World series and/or Brust's Vlat series. It is written at a more young adult level I think. It's obviously intended to be the series it has become. It kind of brings to mind the old Heinlein juvenile SF novels. A quick read and those new to this plot and type of story will probably enjoy it. Mechanically very well written, I have too much experience not to see well in advance what the plot twists and resolutions will be.
I would recommend it to new fantasy readers in a heartbeat though.

I HATE when a book is left “unfinished.” By that, I mean I hate it when an author just cuts the book off in a random spot and calls it a “cliffhanger.” It feels like their only goal is to get you to read the next book. This is not one of those books! This book is the perfect example of how a cliffhanger should be written! Every loose end and plot point is closed. You aren’t left wondering what happened to anybody. Everything is completed. But yet, you still know there is more to the story and you want to keep reading to find out what happens next!! Its a subtle difference and I am not explaining it very well, but this book hits the nail on the head! I felt no frustration or annoyance with the ending and I can’t wait to read the next book! The ending was perfect!

Amra is an awesome protagonist. She is strong and skillful and has made a name for herself in a male dominated society. And, she didn’t have to use her looks or “feminine charm” to get there! Her looks are mentioned a few times and you get the impression she is not pretty, but grizzled and tough (at least that is what I am picturing) It was refreshing to have a book where there was almost no focus on looks. You just got a basic description and that was it. What the book did focus on was personality, and that actions spoke louder than words.

I liked the grey area that most of the book lived in. Amra is a thief. Her moral compass spins around a lot, but she is still a good person. Even one of the bad guys isn’t really so bad. (I mean he is pure evil, but he is not motivated by evilness, its something else which I can’t say) Throughout the book you see a lot of the lines blurred and at times you can’t tell who is friend and who is foe. And again it comes back to actions speak louder than words. Some characters might claim they are evil and don’t care about anyone, but through their actions you can see that deep down they do care.

The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that some of the names were really weird, and I had trouble remembering who was who. Its funny because just two days ago I answered a poll asking if you would rather read “Keyboard-smash fantasy names or all names that start with the same letter” I picked Keyboard-smash fantasy names, and then completely coincidentally I started this book, later the same day. The names in this book aren’t “keyboard-smash” bad, but there were a couple that I struggled with

I loved this book! It was awesome and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!!

Sporting a cover that's more than a little reminiscent of Lindsay Buroker's Emperor's Edge series, I was immediately drawn to this title. That it featured in Mark Lawrence's Self-Published Blog Off competition was further fuel for the fire and it was to no surprise of mine that it received a glowing review.

Michael McClung knows exactly who he's writing for, and the story reads like a love letter to all those thief-based Sword and Sorcery books that came before it. There are no pretensions and no gimmicks with this tale, just quality throughout that really stands head and shoulders above its competition.

Amra Thetys is the first-person protagonist of this particular tale and as expected she's a thief. What was also intriguing was that it took some reading on my part to determine that she was female at all. In a refreshing divergence from tradition, Amra completely eschews conventional characterisation by being neither a walking set of breasts masquerading as a thief nor a try-hard 'girls can do it too!' character.

Gender aside, Amra comes across as a fairly ordinary character with a strong moral code and a competency at her occupation that at no point threatens to become overtly heroic. As the tale goes on, little 'Amraisms' litter the text as we learn more about her outlook on life. These were well-placed and entertaining, displaying a dry internal wit that I found endearing.

The book doesn't waste time, immediately throwing Amra head-first into the scene of a murder and possession of a strange artifact. These swiftly establish the plot and without further pontificating we're off.

In terms of supporting cast there's not a great deal of fleshing out on the part of the author, but this is better than overtly shunting in reams of text to that effect when Amra isn't really given much of an opportunity to learn about the players in this particular game.

Holgren is a mage and serves as a companion of sorts, he seems quite overpowered in his abilities and I hope that this doesn't cause problems for the author later in the series.

Outside of Holgren we have Kluge the inspector, Osskil the brother of the deceased, and our antagonist Bosch. All of these characters play integral roles in the book, but because of the pace of the tale there's not enough lingering on any one of them.

Pacing is both the book's greatest strength and weakness, as Mcclung throws a number of very interesting parts of the city at us but never lingers longer than is absolutely necessary. The result is that the world seems to have depth, but the narrative prevents us from exploring said depth to any great degree.

Less is more, and I feel that because of its genre this book can be given a pass for the lack of further exposition. It lent a sense of mystery as to what would happen next, not knowing exactly how this city and its magic worked, an aspect familiar from past Sword and Sorcery novels.

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids is an excellent piece of work with solid prose and a lightning-fast plot. That the author is unabashedly honest about its roots is both refreshing and a credit to the strength of this tale, as this could stand alone both as a Sword and Sorcery tale and a standard fantasy book.

After the tale finishes the author laments in the afterword that it took him six years to create the two-hundred pages that flashed by. To these reading eyes I feel that it was six years well spent.

Amra is the possessor of multiple knives, multiple bolt-holes but has few friends. Thus, when her best friend is murdered she wades in boots, knives and all to mete out justice, or is it revenge, to the evil-doer.
She's a great character, beautifully described, as are the others that she encounters in this suspenseful, intriguing and often humorous tale.
It's packed with action, monsters and magic and set in an intriguing world.
Never a dull moment even in the quiet ones, it's a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Highly recommended.
I've just finished the next in the series The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye and it's an equally pleasurable read!

Story was a pleasurable thrilling make-believe to read, introducing a stubborn contrary gal. Offers the perfect form of entertainment: the very best storytelling filled with plenty of action, mysterious happenings going on, lots of surprises. Occasionally I got a bit confused...'tho after a bit got back on-track with following the plot twists. Immediately started looking for the next book in the series.
I received the e-book for free, in exchange for an honest review.

Very enjoyable from start to finish! Amra is a character who is trying to make her way through the world without any trouble. She's not perfect, pretty, or really anything special. Caught up in a whirlwind of sword and sorcery, the reader will forget to breathe as Amra struggles to make her way through her imperfect life. Wonderfully written, and edited, with a good flow, I highly recommend this book!

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. I read the entire book and now am looking forward to reading the next books in the series. The main character was well developed, she is not the pure, innocent sometimes seen in fantasy books but she does end up doing the right thing. The supporting cast. was also well thought and and worked well with the heroine. There is more than one evil entity to challenge the flawed, but mainly moral, lead character. There are a couple of twists that will throw you off as what she is fighting against turns out to be something completely different than what she bargained for! The story drew me in and kept me captive until the end, then I wanted more! As I stated above, I will definitely continue to follow the series and look forward to more of her adventures.

The plot is pretty familiar to anyone who read the old Thieves' World series and/or Brust's Vlat series. It is written at a more young adult level I think. It's obviously intended to be the series it has become. It kind of brings to mind the old Heinlein juvenile SF novels. A quick read and those new to this plot and type of story will probably enjoy it. Mechanically very well written, I have too much experience not to see well in advance what the plot twists and resolutions will be.
I would recommend it to new fantasy readers in a heartbeat though.