Thieftaker

Vaguely entertaining mix of fantasy, historical fiction and mystery. Our protagonist is Ethan Kaille, who works as a thieftaker in Boston in the 18th century, just after the Stamp Act. But in this alternate history, some people are able to use magic, Ethan one amongst them. We follow him as he tries to solve a number of murders committed by another conjurer.

Neither the characters nor the story were particularly memorable, but it's an okay enough read, I suppose.

This was a very interesting novel.

I enjoyed the world, and how the character used real history and presented the historical figures as real characters. I felt the plot of the book dragged a bit, with us waiting for the story while the author/main character showed us Colonial Boston. I will follow the series, but I'm not rushing to read next novel.

The realm of historical fiction can be a difficult one to work in, but even more so when you add elements of fantasy into the story weave. With Thieftaker D.B. Jackson has set himself up as one of the masters of this niche genre. Engrossing characters, well thought out plot line, a little mystery, and plenty of action mad this book very difficult to set down. Add to that the setting of early America just prior to the revolution and this was bound to be a hit for me.

The immersion into the time period is well done and you can really feel the political turmoil and unrest of America just prior to the Revolutionary War. I thought the brief conversations between characters about the morality of the events during Boston Stamp Act riots was a particularly nice touch; it's a view we seldom consider when looking at the past.

The book has it's share of fantasy and alternate history as well. The fantastical parts of the story are obvious as the main character spins spells and conjures illusions. The alternate historical parts aren't as obvious unless you know something of this time period (or sneak a peak at the end notes the author has). In particular, thieftakers did not exist in early America, only in England at this time; they did not begin showing up in America until the early nineteenth century, and then only briefly. But this was a good plot mechanism to give the story a touch of alternative history. To add to this alternative history the author did something I thought could have been a bit risky: he used real historical people as supporting characters. It did seem to work here and the author did not overuse them.

Overall the book is a great piece of writing and I highly recommend it for fans of historical fantasy. I am very much looking forward to reading the second book and hope that the author will continue this series going forward.