Giant Thief by David Tallerman

Author: David Tallerman

Publisher: Angry Robot Books

Date: January 31, 2012

Blurb (Amazon): Meet Easie Damasco, rogue, thieving swine and total charmer.
 
Even the wicked can't rest when a vicious warlord and the force of enslaved giants he commands invade their homeland.  Damasco might get away in one piece, but he's going to need help.

Big time. 


Giant Thief was a fun roller coaster. I dug into it, thought it was predictable, and then the author hit me with something unexpected. I read on. The story felt predictable again, and whack!, another unexpected turn. Clever, ain't he?

David Tallerman put together a tale of war, revenge, betrayal, loyalty, and thiefery. Easie Damasco is our narrator, telling the tale through his jaded, self-absorbed eyes. Right off the bat, the dude is being hung, is abruptly saved from that fate to be press-ganged into a battle he has no interest in. Through coincidence, he has to take charge of one of the many giants forced into the war. Being quick in thought, he directs the giant, Salt Lick, back to the main camp with a scheme to steal from the main bad guy, Lord Moardrid.

But Easie gets more than he stole for - and is pursued relentlessly the rest of the book. He finds old friends.....well, once-upon-a-time-alliances and forms a few other tentative friendships. He repeatedly breaks promises, constantly thinks about himself, and has no real regard for others. So why did I root for the guy? Little by little, Easie has to witness the outcome of his selfish behaviors on others. In the end, will he try to fix them?

In short, I had fun with it and hope there is a sequel in the works. I enjoyed all the Hispanic names, which gave this book the flavor of Europe.

+++: Fun, easy to get into, pace keeps moving, I like that people call Easie on his idiocy, not everyone is a good guy.

--: The last few lines by Easie Damasco at the end of the book kind of left a sour note - hadn't the dude learned a few lessons? Salt Lick deserves some decent clothes.