First of all, finally, an actually good book for which I didn't have to make excuses to not rate it really low.

There are a few details that feel strangely poorly thought out that kept bugging me.
To be clear those are really just nitpicks compared to the overall quality.

The bounty:

First, the idea that nobody has ever thought of countering a contract is ludicrous, and even if I just take that at face value the entire reasoning behind the broker's behavior made no sense whatsoever.
He states that he can't reveal who posted the bounty because he needs to keep his integrity in the form of client confidentiality but then immediately violates this by betraying them to the one who posted the initial bounty, why exactly? They are well-paying clients just like the original bounty. If he didn't care about his impartiality as a broker he could've just killed them in an ambush of his own making. Instead, he betrayed them but also let them walk even though he knew how incredibly powerful his cousin is. If he planned to double-cross a client, losing all his integrity in the process, he would've just run with the initial 1000, to begin with. I don't think the precise amount of her retirement savings is ever stated but it is less than that so it makes no sense. Even if only both combined were enough to incite him to run why the hell would he wait for them to come back after they discovered his betrayal, and why would they not only leave him alive but also let him keep their money?! And then, after all that, he vanishes?
The entire chain of events and decisions makes zero sense in context.


Borkins motivation:

(Just in case I got his name wrong, I mean the demon mage flunky of red-hand.)
Nothing about him makes sense whatsoever really. He clearly has access to almost unlimited funds probably through red-hand but he decides to double-cross the contractor that successfully acquired the statues his master asked for. Why the ever-loving hell would he do that? The amount he is then willing to post as a bounty on the MC is magnitudes higher.
He then has to chase after the guy with the statue but he tortures him and then just lets him go?
He never even noticed that he got killed. How? What the hell was this guy doing? Why the fuck would red hand use a completely deranged psychopath like that to do his dirty work? And then, in the end, red hand already has an arrangement with the MC to surrender the statue but Borkin keeps going after her literally working against red hand at that point even if he does so unintentionally and red hand doesn't even intervene? The entire thing makes no sense.
Not a single step of borkins behavior makes any sense even if you consider him deranged. His actions only serve as being a threat and a bad guy to the MC and nothing more. There is no line of reasoning that could possibly motivate him to do the things he does other than being a plot device.


A bit of fate and clairvoyance gets thrown around here and there which is a concept I almost always hate. It's something that seems to have become a requirement for almost all fantasy even if it doesn't serve any purpose whatsoever. At least the MC has the same kind of reservations about fate and prophecy as I have, so the author seems to be aware of the weaknesses of the entire trope but that doesn't stop him from building his overall plot on it. Or at least that is how it seems after reading just the first book.
Seriously, can someone explain to me the storytelling purpose of fate? What is it supposed to accomplish? Especially as it locks the author into a predictable resolution early on.
I understand that it can be an easy way of setting up the conflict and allows you to bypass a whole lot of setup for character motivation because muh prophecy. But isn't that just cheap and lazy? What excuse is there for it?
I have read very few books that actually use the trope to their advantage by subverting it like "wheel of time" so expertly does, but this trope is only good if you subvert it! How has it become an acceptable plot device in the first place? ( )

I took overly long finishing this book but it wasn't the story's fault; some other trilogy elbowed its way in and wouldn't let me go. I was happy to return to find out what happened, and while I think one plot-critical scene was too fast (easy), I wasn't disappointed at all overall. The main character is feisty and more moral than her career would make you think. The people she interacts with range from unexpected to scary, and her world is satisfyingly deep. Recommended. ( )

Just finished this and wow..just wow. Its free too you know.

http://www.amazon.com/Thief-Pulled-Troubles-Braids-Thetys-ebook/dp/B00AF97702/re... mcclung

Review to come ( )

For the type of story it's a short, easy read, but it definitely takes a grizzly turn and starts to follow a Darren Shan path after a while. Good adventure though, and you're right in the thick of the plot from the get-go. ( )

The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids is an entertaining fantasy adventure that never seemed to go where I thought it was going. There were even a few moments that made me laugh out loud from the WTFery. But, despite the bizarre plot and mediocre writing, I had a lot of fun reading this book. I look forward to picking up the sequel. ( )