| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Dennis |
Posted - 26 Apr 2012 : 02:06:53
Thieves are hardly my favorite class. But I’ve come to like them after reading quite a lot of books where they are the ‘star’ or supporting cast, accomplishing what even the most powerful wizard in the land cannot…
My picks are the first three. Though technically, among the three, only Jimmy would qualify as a pure thief. Seregil has magic, albeit it works rather disastrously. And Jace Beleren, though he steals for a living, is first and foremost a powerful planeswalker and mindage. Given that, I cast my vote on Jimmy.
The others on the list are remarkable in their own right. Locke Lamora, for instance, did what most thieves would deem quite impossible. And Dash is worthy to be in his grandfather’s shoes.
I haven’t yet read the last three, so if you know them, feel free to share anything. I only read a line or two about them in some sites; goodreads, among the others. |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kiaransalyn |
Posted - 09 Jun 2012 : 05:47:45
Favourites change with the moment and the mood.
So having said that, my current favourite thief is Kvothe from the Kingkiller books by Patrick Rothfuss. (Although it could be argued he's more a bard.)
Edit: Perhaps Sinbad could be my all time favourite. |
| Stormlord77 |
Posted - 08 Jun 2012 : 04:55:39
I may be a little late to this discussion, but nobody mentioned Gord the Rogue?
isnt he, or wasnt he "THE" iconic dnd rogue for decades? |
| Entromancer |
Posted - 02 Jun 2012 : 00:48:33
Moonglum of Elwher. |
| Tamsar |
Posted - 01 Jun 2012 : 23:08:43
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Tamsar
Macore. Lets see if anyone knows who he is.
Your own character, I suppose.
No. He was a thief in the River of Dancing Gods series by Jack L Chalker (RIP). The wizard in it has a most awesome name, Throckmorton P Ruddygore. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 31 May 2012 : 05:40:04
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Probably because, unlike most that have been mentioned and voted, he's lived a rather "short" life.
-I wasn't a fan of his, but I didn't like him too much either. His "afterword" scene when Cale attempted to bring him back to life left me with generally positive feelings.
I liked him, a little. Especially how he connected to his friends. Though he's way low on my Favorite Thieves List. |
| MrHedgehog |
Posted - 23 May 2012 : 08:49:38
I am not familiar with anything in the poll other than Cyric :S So I didn't vote.
Imoen from the Baldur's Gate game is my favourite thief. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 23 May 2012 : 04:55:56
quote:
Originally posted by Thauranil
I ll only played final fantasy 8 onwards. So how does that count in your rankings
-I liked VIII at the time, but after there the series really took a nosedive.
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Probably because, unlike most that have been mentioned and voted, he's lived a rather "short" life.
-I wasn't a fan of his, but I didn't like him too much either. His "afterword" scene when Cale attempted to bring him back to life left me with generally positive feelings. |
| vallon |
Posted - 23 May 2012 : 01:22:06
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Elfinblade
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Jak Fleet yet.
Probably because, unlike most that have been mentioned and voted, he's lived a rather "short" life.
boo.. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 22 May 2012 : 04:07:50
quote:
Originally posted by Elfinblade
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Jak Fleet yet.
Probably because, unlike most that have been mentioned and voted, he's lived a rather "short" life. |
| Thauranil |
Posted - 21 May 2012 : 12:18:03
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
-Geeze, what is wrong with you people!? Come on, Erik. Let's Moogle Dance outta here and head to the Colosseum.
I played Chrono Trigger, does that count? 
-Halfway. If you played Chrono Cross, you get a slight penalty for it sucking so much, and if you played Radical Dreamers, you get a slight bonus for it being pretty cool. Either way, your assignment is to play Final Fantasy VI and report back to me periodically on it's awesomeness.
I ll only played final fantasy 8 onwards. So how does that count in your rankings |
| Elfinblade |
Posted - 20 May 2012 : 15:49:40
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Jak Fleet yet. For me, he embodies the classical thief. Besides, halfilings rule. Also his god is awesomeness. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 20 May 2012 : 02:24:53
Has anyone read The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron? Sounds fun...I think I'll drop by the bookstore and grab this! |
| Sightless |
Posted - 19 May 2012 : 11:39:29
Mythrin Hazlin from from the Out of the grave series is another good one. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 19 May 2012 : 03:36:44
quote:
Originally posted by Tamsar
Macore. Lets see if anyone knows who he is.
Your own character, I suppose. |
| Sightless |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 23:43:01
Kella Blackstar from Justin Throw's Death to the Unicorn was pretty good. I liked her alot at least. She had a way of confounding those folks that thought to highly of themselves. |
| Tamsar |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 23:32:38
Macore. Lets see if anyone knows who he is. |
| LastStand |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 21:40:37
Prince Kheldar of Drasnia aka Ambar of Kotu aka Radek of Boktor - from the Belgariad novels by David Eddings.
and
Jimmy the hand |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 17:18:50
Apologies to the OP for de-railing the main issue of the thread for a bit. Back on topic! |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 17:17:26
quote:
Originally posted by Sightless
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Blame Tolkien and others who follow his path...
I think it would be more accurate to blame those that think Tolkien is a paragon point of immulation to which all others should follow. I know the man never thought so, if you read his personal writings to Lewis. Unfortunately, much of his stuff has become the linch pin by which much is judged by, which is unfear to JRRT and to whomever is being compared.
I agree 100%. Besides, there are so many sub-genres of fantasy out in today's market which didn't even exist during Tolkien's time. (Though many might agrue that Fantasy in general didn't exist before Tolkien, let alone sub-genres) A critic whose favorite sub-genre of fantasy is Urban or Gritty probably would not enjoy Tolkien...and vice versa, a critic who only enjoyes Tolkien's High Fantasy style probably thinks the Real Life gritty fantasy (George Martin, Joe Abercrombie, etc) of today's market is atrocious. |
| Captain Grafalcon |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 17:14:52
Morik the rogue, the character that becomes Wulfgar´s companion in Path of darkness adds some fun the the story. |
| Sightless |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 14:32:10
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Blame Tolkien and others who follow his path...
I think it would be more accurate to blame those that think Tolkien is a paragon point of immulation to which all others should follow. I know the man never thought so, if you read his personal writings to Lewis. Unfortunately, much of his stuff has become the linch pin by which much is judged by, which is unfear to JRRT and to whomever is being compared. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 17 May 2012 : 14:06:34
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
Blame Tolkien and others who follow his path...
Many fantasy critics nowadays misconstrue verbal diarrhea for quality writing. Sadly, many of the "Best/Worst Fantasy Reads" sites also consistently trash authors like RA Salvatore (and usually the entire shared world fantasy setting like the Realms) for being to simple or transparent. IMHO not everything written in the genre has to be the best fantasy book ever written. What ever happened to just enjoying fun to read books?
*sigh |
| Dennis |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 21:53:52
Blame Tolkien and others who follow his path... |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 21:11:49
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by entreri3478
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I think my favorite Thief in fantasy is Azoth (aka, Kylar Stern) from Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy.
Just to deviate, slightly... What's this trilogy like?
I saw the omnibus edition at my local book store yesterday-eve, and I thought about picking it up. So any reader experiences with these books, would be welcome.
Excellent character development. Tinged with grittiness. Fast-paced. Interesting conflict. [But weak world-building.] Planning to re-read it a month or two from now...
There are many characters you would definitely find easy to like. However, don't get too attached, as Weeks kill even his (and his fans') favorite characters.
I agree with all of this. Weeks is very easy to read and presents a nice raw and gritty fantasy setting for his characters. One of my favorite things about his Night Angel Trilogy is that he took the time to actually show the reader how the character becomes this super awesome assassin. Highly recommend.
I've read criticisms on his style; too simple, many said. But I didn't mind, really. His style didn't exactly take away the fun of the story. If anything, it helped add more fun to it.
Yeah I agree. His style is fun and easy to follow, while still presenting a story that you care about. It bothers me that scifi/fantasy critics act like everything written in the genre has to be some complex hard-to-follow masterminded story. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 20:10:43
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
-Geeze, what is wrong with you people!? Come on, Erik. Let's Moogle Dance outta here and head to the Colosseum.
I played Chrono Trigger, does that count?
-Halfway. If you played Chrono Cross, you get a slight penalty for it sucking so much, and if you played Radical Dreamers, you get a slight bonus for it being pretty cool. Either way, your assignment is to play Final Fantasy VI and report back to me periodically on it's awesomeness. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 19:19:42
quote:
Originally posted by entreri3478
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I think my favorite Thief in fantasy is Azoth (aka, Kylar Stern) from Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy.
Just to deviate, slightly... What's this trilogy like?
I saw the omnibus edition at my local book store yesterday-eve, and I thought about picking it up. So any reader experiences with these books, would be welcome.
Excellent character development. Tinged with grittiness. Fast-paced. Interesting conflict. [But weak world-building.] Planning to re-read it a month or two from now...
There are many characters you would definitely find easy to like. However, don't get too attached, as Weeks kill even his (and his fans') favorite characters.
I agree with all of this. Weeks is very easy to read and presents a nice raw and gritty fantasy setting for his characters. One of my favorite things about his Night Angel Trilogy is that he took the time to actually show the reader how the character becomes this super awesome assassin. Highly recommend.
I've read criticisms on his style; too simple, many said. But I didn't mind, really. His style didn't exactly take away the fun of the story. If anything, it helped add more fun to it. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 17:47:36
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
quote:
Originally posted by entreri3478
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I think my favorite Thief in fantasy is Azoth (aka, Kylar Stern) from Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy. From the list posted, I'm a fan of Jace Beleran (Magic: The Gathering). Also, Nicolai beat me to it about Garret from the Thief video games (espically, the Deadly Shadows version).
You don't think Kylar's ultra-assassin side overshadowed the thief side?
No, because I'm clumping both Thief & assassin into one whole aspect. I think both of these traits are pretty impressive and make for a great Rogue-ish character
I guess I alwasy look at assasins as a different category because of their unique skill set. I mean, technically, any character type can be an assassin...but rogues and fighters tend to make the best ones. |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 17:45:29
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I think my favorite Thief in fantasy is Azoth (aka, Kylar Stern) from Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy.
Just to deviate, slightly... What's this trilogy like?
I saw the omnibus edition at my local book store yesterday-eve, and I thought about picking it up. So any reader experiences with these books, would be welcome.
Excellent character development. Tinged with grittiness. Fast-paced. Interesting conflict. [But weak world-building.] Planning to re-read it a month or two from now...
There are many characters you would definitely find easy to like. However, don't get too attached, as Weeks kill even his (and his fans') favorite characters.
I agree with all of this. Weeks is very easy to read and presents a nice raw and gritty fantasy setting for his characters. One of my favorite things about his Night Angel Trilogy is that he took the time to actually show the reader how the character becomes this super awesome assassin. Highly recommend. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 17:14:30
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by Diffan
I think my favorite Thief in fantasy is Azoth (aka, Kylar Stern) from Brent Weeks's Night Angel Trilogy.
Just to deviate, slightly... What's this trilogy like?
I saw the omnibus edition at my local book store yesterday-eve, and I thought about picking it up. So any reader experiences with these books, would be welcome.
Excellent character development. Tinged with grittiness. Fast-paced. Interesting conflict. [But weak world-building.] Planning to re-read it a month or two from now...
There are many characters you would definitely find easy to like. However, don't get too attached, as Weeks kill even his (and his fans') favorite characters. |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 16 May 2012 : 16:56:48
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Interestingly, this is exaggerated in the (somewhat awful) D&D movies.
As an inversion/undermining of the "scoundrel hero" trope, that does have some intellectual merit--i.e., usually you sympathize with rogues despite their shady dealings, but right now I'm going to do something UTTERLY ridiculous and you get to sympathize with me anyway, la dee da. Kind of an ad absurdem argument about the nature of how we look at fantasy tropes.
I mean, assuming that's what they were going for, which I in no way argue. 
quote:
I mean, seriously ... look at the rogue. He skulks around in shadows, would steal from you and your loved ones without hesitation, and instead of fighting fair he'll ambush you from behind with a pair of daggers to the kidneys. Charming indeed.
Ah, but that just depends on the rogue. Sure, a hardened badass assassin such as you describe leaves something to be desired, but the things that make a character charming aren't usually his behavior but rather his outlook, personality, and motivation.
In the first Star Wars movie, Han Solo, judged on just his actions (because we all know Han shot first), isn't a particularly likeable or charming character--he rather comes off as just extremely insane. But couple that with his bravado, smooth attitude, and latent noble streak, and you've got a very charming rogue character.
I wonder if the rogue isn't easier for some of us to relate to than the other character tropes because the rogue's skill is more mundane/attainable. Ability-wise, I have less in common with Conan or Elminster than I do with, say, the Grey Mouser. While I lack the rippling muscles or cosmic power, I could actually see myself doing rogue things, with training and practice.
Cheers |
