Giant Thief

December 5, 2011
Best known for an eclectic variety of short stories, Tallerman debuts with a breezy novel of a man with his eye on the prize. Easie Damasco is a thief. His priorities are simple: find something to steal, steal it, run like hell, and try not to get caught. Unfortunately, it’s a bit hard to steal a giant and not be noticed. Saltlick the giant is so popular, in fact, that two opposing factions in a civil war take it personally when Easie Damasco pilfers him out from under their eyes. When the going gets tough, Easie finds that his self-centered take-the-money-and-run attitude is more hindrance than help. Tallerman’s charming, devil-may-care hero has plenty of swashbuckling roguishness to carry him through the planned sequels. Agent: Zeno Agency.

January 1, 2012

Con man Easie Damasco awaits execution; then, his life is spared on condition that he enlist in the army that is fighting an invading warlord's magically controlled giants. In a few days, Easie has gotten on the wrong side of both forces and stolen the gem that controls the giants. On the run, he attracts a number of odd companions, including a giant, a city mayor, and a guard-captain--and that is only the beginning. VERDICT Capturing the brisk pacing and snappy dialog of comic fantasy adventure, Tallerman's accomplished swashbuckling series opener should appeal to fans of Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories and Robert Asprin's "Thieves' World" series.

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