Among Thieves

A Tale of the Kin, Book 1

By: Douglas Hulick

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Drothe has been a member of the Kin for years, rubbing elbows with thieves and murderers while smuggling relics on the side. But when an ancient book falls into his hands, Drothe finds himself in possession of a relic capable of bringing down emperors - a relic everyone in the underworld would kill to obtain.

©2011 Douglas Hulick (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A dark, gritty fantasy for fans of the Thieves' World novels and Glen Cook's Garrett, P.I. series." ( Library Journal)

Fantastic Thief novel.

I was looking for a new low fantasy novel to help me survive until the Thorne of Emberlain came out, and boy did I strike gold. An extremely interesting and rich world, I am eagerly looking forward to the rest of the tales.

From someone interested in the genre

This was recommended after reading David Dalglish and Brent Weeks. It's good. Definitely worth a listen. Liked the story and narrator.

Interesting, different.

Drothe is in no way special, not even anti hero special. He has no real talent, can be cruel and mean, and short tempered. He does have his moments of caring and kindness, though. He has the best of luck and the worst of luck, in this mobsters meets fantasy meets mystery tale. He bounces from meeting with people to battling for his life while searching the scant clues he finds along the way in search of potent relic. The end is a bit of a surprise, ending with Drothe in position even he couldn't have imagined. It leaves the second book wide open for possibilities.
The author does a good job of making you interested in a man you probably wouldn't have as friend or even care to know. The magic system is hardly explained, but happens in strange ways that still keep it fresh. The narrator draws you in even further using his clear unassuming voice and different characterizations.
I liked this book because the main character is pretty plain and simple, but it is his journey that leaves you wanting to see whats just around the corner.

If you liked the Gentlemen Bastards, Dark Angel, or Riyria series, you might like this one, but don't expect this to be anything like those.

Frustraiting how good this book is.

Any additional comments?

This book is very good but it is the first book in the series and we still havn't gotten the second one recorded in 5 years. This book was first recorded on Tantor before being brought to audible in 2011. It's like child of fire all over again. The books are out there but they never record it. Book 2 in this series is Sworn by Steel and I don't think they are getting around to it. If you have a problem with closure than you will want to skip the story no matter how good it is. The ending is a big set up for the sequel.

Just what I was looking for

It was an easy book to finish and kept me interested throughout. Drothe is not what I would call a badass, but overall he was an extremely likable character to me. I'll just keep it short and say I recommend this book for anyone interested in a medieval criminal style book.

Amazing

One of the most refreshing reads in recent memory. LOVED the main character and the originality of the story itself. Definitely will be checking out all future books by Douglas. We NEED Sworn in Steel on audiobook.

Disturbing First Chapter

The first chapter was very dark and I nearly returned the book because I found the descriptions of a character's torture to be really unsettling. I ended up skipping ahead to the next chapter, and there I found a book I could enjoy. It was interesting to see how the main character managed to survive all of the challenges (and challengers) that were thrown at him, and the ending was pretty cool, though I do wish he had been able to mend fences with another character.

It was funny and a bit distracting to hear Fred the vampire accountant using rough language and manipulating and threatening people, and a certain ancient dragon's voice showed up regularly, too. Always entertaining to hear a familiar reader covering a different series!

fun read. fun listen.

What is there to say? the book was fast paced. loved the 1st person narrative. This really kept me engaged.
Douglas Hulich knows what he's doing!

Great fantasy

Excellent story and narration. The world building here is incredible. I wish the sequel had an audiobook.

Jusy okay

The narration was shrill at certain points. At points the story seemed like an exercise someone would do in english class. The action scenes were strung out to the point silliness.