Book Review: The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron

Title: The Legend of Eli Monpress

Author: Rachel Aaron

Series: Eli Monpress #1-3

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Eli Monpress is talented. He’s charming. And he’s a thief. But not just any thief. He’s the greatest thief of the age – and he’s also a wizard. And with the help of his partners – a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls – he’s going to put his plan into effect. The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he’ll need to steal some big things. But he’ll start small for now. He’ll just steal something that no one will miss – at least for a while.
Like a king.

The Review:

Picking this one up on a whim, I was sold on it before I even cracked a page. As the greatest thief in the land, Eli Monpress is trying to increase the bounty on his head (for his own amusement, of course) so he decides to steal the king. He’s also a wizard, introducing the reader to an awesome new magic system that involves manipulating the spirits of inanimate objects. But this story’s not just about Eli. There are several other characters with equally fascinating plot-lines throughout, and I’d be hard-pressed to say which one I enjoyed reading about more.

Highly original concept, great characters, and page-turning plot – an excellent read! I don’t usually go for the ridiculous, but it really worked in the parameters of this book and still felt like a serious (okay, mostly serious) fantasy. I was so entertained, I will definitely be picking up anything this author puts out in the future.

Overall assessment: Cheeky, clever, and highly entertaining! This book is a hoot!

Recommendations: Aaron has a novella called “Spirit’s Oath” which gives a bit of back-story on one of the most excellent sidekicks I’ve come across in a while. If you like the series, it’s definitely worth your time to read. Also, “The Spirit War” (Book 4) is available now, and “Spirit’s End” (Book 5) will be out November 20, 2012!

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