Rating: 
Summary: Good start to a potentially great writing career
Review: Two of the hardest things to do in fantasy are (a) creating a believable world and magic system and (b) creating sympathetic characters to root for. In her first book, Juliet McKenna manages to do both. Her world is not that complex compared to high fantasy, having no talking animals, orcs, or elves, but once she gets going it is entirely believable. The first half of the book is a little hard to get into because she's juggling too many characters and storylines but once she can concentrate on one or two characters and storylines everything comes together very well. At first I was afraid I had wasted my money buying all three books in the series at once, but as it turned out I can't wait to get to the second book. Livak and Ryshad are both compelling if not captivating characters and, although the magic systems are not very well explained, there is enough variety in the elemental magicians to be believable and provide some tension and comic relief. The enemy is well described and McKenna giving them a different sort of magic that can't be used by the elemental magicians was something I hadn't seen before.
Rating:
Summary: Okay book
Review: This book starts off a little slow. I was about 3/4 of the through before I got into it. There just isn't much suspense early in the book. However, once I got into it I couldn't put it down. The world that the characters live in isn't that remarkable compared to other worlds in other books, but the characters are reasonably loveable, especially the heroine. I'd reccomend this book to patient readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Unpolished potential
Review: This is a difficult book to review. The difficulty arises primarily from the same thing that my lukewarm 3-star rating does: the uneven, jam-packed narrative and the periodic confusion that it caused. The narrative is really three-fold: (1) the main story, as seen through the eyes of Livak, a tough, lucky female thief who stumbles into a quest for artifacts that may somehow be linked to a lost race and new kind of magic; (2) near-simultaneous events occuring elsewhere, told from a third-person viewpoint but focusing on an irritating, pompous minor wizard, Casuel; and (3) excerpts from treatises in the fantasy world that are supposed to provide key information to understanding things that will soon happen. The problem, in a nutshell, was that there were just too many things--a pantheon/religious system that is only explained piecemeal; systems of magic explained sometimes in too much or too little detail for comprehension; scenes where you can't tell how many wizards are talking in a room or exactly which villain is which in a combat; etc. To the author's credit, Livak is an engaging protagonist, and her narrative (often filled with clever details of thieving) is usually fun to read. Just when things tend to get moving, though, the next chapter begins with a dense passage from a treatise or, worse, whatever Casuel is doing--and the frustrating thing (having read it through now) is that he really is only a bit player in the story! Why so much of the story focuses on him (an unlikable character) is a mystery to me, as is using "stuff the chicken" repeatedly as a synonym for sex and having the wizard Livak accompanies declare his homosexuality (apparently for no other reason than to make it a "modern" fantasy) when to keep him straight might have actually done more for inter-character tensions and connections. (And the name for the main villain is "The Iceman" . . .) One bright note is that the author's writing does seem to improve in both substance and style as the book progresses (although the final battle scene is still a mess). I don't know whether the next books in the series benefit from tighter, cleaner plotting and description, but on the strength of this one, I'd recommend Robin Hobb's _Liveship Traders_ series if you're looking for a strong, vibrant female protagonist (and fascinating story). A library loan or used book buy at best.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good Book
Review: this is a good book, very invovling, very interesting. the author uses a different style than most others.. it's called first person narration. Livak, the main character, a thief who got caught up with a band of the Archmage's people tells the story from her point of view, which is that this is all very unfair. it's definatly a switch but it is really good. for reader's that like this book i would recommend Maggie Furey's Aurian trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: High Adventure
Review: With a colorful cast of characters and clever plot, The Thief's Gamble is a delight to read. Follow the thief Livak from petty larceny headlong into a insidious plot that threatens the entire empire. McKenna's treatment of magic and sorcery is especially interesting; wizards wielding earth-shattering powers fight it out on land, in air, and on the high seas. All while Livak uses her cunning skills to outwit her adversaries; a race of mysterious men from remote islands, who seek ancient artifacts of mysterious power. Men who will kill anyone who stands in their way.
Similar to works from Fritz Lieber and Tracy Hickman, The Thief's Gamble is entertaining fantasy. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good sit me down Read...
Review: I myself actually enjoyed the book. The character's were
great. Mostly the Thief of course being the Main character.
Some of the characters were less brought out in the story but had none the less an effect in the story.
There was action, romance, some funny parts. Everything
you need for a good book. Sometimes I had a hard time
understanding things, but once I read through them, I got the idea.
The island of the yellow haired people was wonderful.
It was like the lost island of Avalon. But I assure you it was aeverything but heaven for the charcters Livak (thief) and her friends. You'll have to read it to know what I mean.
If you want a book to read, to sit down and enjoy it, try this one. It's pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshingly different
Review: Having read fantsy for many years I have finally learnt to wait until a complete trilogy is finished and then I read them knowing the next book is available for when I want it! The bad news is that is has been a very long weekend reading three books on the trot. Because they were worth it.
The female lead character is believable and the clash of different types of magic did make the usually powerful wizards refreshingly vulnerable. The narrative slips from first to second person but it is easy to get used to and makes you change your perspective on the story (the second book in the series is also like this, but is told from the first person viewpoint of a different character!).
I do not like to go too much into story details, but this one has depth and interest beyond the expectations you may have of a fantasy trilogy. The author writes very well and has managed the fairly unique task of a new slant on the genre.
Well worth seeking out and an author that will bear some watching.
Rating:
Summary: Great Start to a New Series
Review: Livak is a gambler and a thief. She's certainly not the kind of person you would think would be a hero. Nevertheless, she's the main character of this book. When Livak needs some extra money and hears there were wizards buying certain antiquities, she goes and steals a rather unremarkable looking tankard from an old acquaintance. The wizards know the tankard is stolen, since they already tried to buy it from the owner, but rather than turn her in, they hire her to "acquire" some other pieces they want to get their hands on, but the owner is unwilling to part with. Someone else is trying to acquire these type of items too, and they're going about it in a much more vicious way. The more Livak learns, the less she likes the situation. Apparently the other people are from another nation that has a mysterious type of magic where the user isn't required to have the traditional "powers" associated with magery. Livak is a fiercely independent woman and is hard-pressed to give up her freedom to this group of mages. She stays true to herself in this book. She's no warrior, and she's no shy princess. She doesn't go rushing off, sword in hand, but sneaks around in darkness, poison darts up her sleeve, to find out what she needs to know. The book is mostly told from Livak's perspective, although it switches to a third person perspective that gives us a clearer view of what's going on, since Livak couldn't possibly be aware of everything happening. The characters are believable. This is the kind of book where I cry if someone I liked dies, and I cheer if the villains are beaten. This book was thoroughly enjoyable and I look forward to the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Ante Up
Review: "The Thief's Gamble" is the story of a woman who is a thief. Now, there are some books out there where we have women heros but ultimately they always seem to be written as men. Give the heroine a man's name and the story would not change. Here, Livak, is always a woman. In that, the author Juliet E. McKenna's writing style is almost unique. At least, I have never seen read anything like it. I really enjoyed learning about Livak and her adventures. The fact that she was a she added to this book. Especially since the author always remained true to her character. For example, when she is attacked, she doesn't overpower big men, she throws poison darts. This made sense to me. If a woman really wanted to be a thief, this is a reasonable way that she could survive. Indeed, Ms. McKenna continually takes chances and tries new things in this book. In addition to a woman as the heroine, she switches from first person to third person continually. As such, we get a personal insight into the story, while still receive a global view. At first, this style was a little confusing, but I really began to enjoy it as the story goes on. Livak, in particular, seems to have a real history, a real past. We only get a glimpse of it, but we understand enough about her to understand why she is a thief. As the story goes on, she becomes more real. We care about her, so we care about the story. Finally, the story gets better with each page. I understand that this was Ms. McKenna's first effort. Tremendous! If she improves with the next book, this series could become a classic. But, even if there are no improvements, it undoubtedly will be a story worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I really loved this book. Her characters just jumped off the page and I liked her use of dtail. It reminded me alot of my favorite thief type series, the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling, where standard-type fantasy characters are done better so they seem like real people insted of just the same old stereotypes. McKenna's quote on this page shows she really cares about her story.
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