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It Takes a Thief to Start a Fire (It Takes a Thief... Book 2) by [Rob J. Hayes]

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Rob J. Hayes

It Takes a Thief to Start a Fire (It Takes a Thief... Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Rob J. Hayes (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Following hot on the heels of the events of It Takes a Thief To Catch a Sunrise, ...To Start a Fire sees Jacques Revou and Isabel de Rosier adapting to life in Great Turlain while competing against murderous fences, shadowy secret police, and a group of thieves who can control the very elements.

“We started our lives together with barely a coin to our name. We have won fortunes and lost them. We have stolen the un-stealable, survived plots and schemes determined to see us fall, and saved a Queen from certain death.

But sometimes a fresh start is exactly what is needed and here we can have just that. Free from devious machinations and troublesome reputations alike. Here we can go back to our roots.

A good thief gets out without being caught. A great thief makes it look as though they were never there. But we are neither good, nor great. We are the best.”

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280 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 25, 2016
File size

3657 KB
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01M1JJYV1
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 25, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3657 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #915,081 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,376 in Humorous Fantasy (Books)
- #8,883 in General Humorous Fiction
- #16,431 in Humorous Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
29 ratings

About the author

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Rob J. Hayes

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Having served in a hundred different offices as a keyboard monkey Rob J. Hayes finally decided to follow his life long passion of daydreaming. After writing a small horde's worth of short stories, he released his debut dark fantasy trilogy "The Ties that Bind" in 2013 as an indie publication and followed it up with the steampunk caper "It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise" in 2014.

In 2017 he released his piratical duology, Best Laid Plans, and in 2018 the first book, Where Loyalties Lie won Mark Lawrence's Self Published Fantasy Blog Off.

Rob has now tried his hand at Science-Fiction (Drones, 2018) and Military Fantasy (City of Kings, 2018), and even East-Asian influenced fantasy (Never Die, 2019).

"One of self publishing's rising stars" - Mark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns

"Hayes spins a tale like a wushu master spins a kick - with deft speed, grace, and bone-crushing impact." - Dyrk Ashton, author of Paternus

“Books like this deserve to be read by all lovers of fantasy. It’s got just about everything you could ask for in the genre; and a few things you’d never think to ask.” – Filip, BookNest.eu

“Hayes writes some of the darkest and most brutal fiction around." - Fantasy Book Review

“Rob J. Hayes remains one of the best writers of grimdark fantasy around and should always be mentioned with Erikson, Lawrence, Abercrombie, and Morgan. He is a master of making compelling and memorable characters that always capture your attention.” – BookNest

Customer reviews

5 star		44%
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3 star		23%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		6%

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C.T. Top Contributor: Star Trek

A light fun read about a wife and husband pair of thieves

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2017

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IT TAKES A THIEF TO CATCH A FIRE is the sequel to IT TAKES A THIEF TO CATCH A SUNRISE. If I were to describe the books in short, it'd be they're kind of a Gentleman Bastards-lite. They're funny heist capers about a husband and wife pair which live in a world of steampunk magic and alchemy. The books are a bit on the light side and could use a bit more stakes and drama but are otherwise extremely entertaining.

The sequel begins with Jacques Revou and Isabel de Rosier starting their new lives in Great Turlain after accidentally getting themselves made enemies of the state in their homeland. Unfortunately, their plans to steal the Elemental Stones from a museum end badly when a group of Elementals (basically people who can control one form of magic or another) get there first. They are then blackmailed by the country's secret police in getting them back, only to find they like the thieves more. Revolution and rights for elementals brews in the background as our pair of thieves have to figure out what to steal next.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to say about this book other than its a fun and enjoyable ride from beginning to end. It's definitely on the light and breezy side with things being a little too easily resolved but the characters are likable as well as the heists entertaining. I strongly recommend this for people who want a light fun read with plenty of dry humor.

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JOSEPH VANUCCHI

Don't know maybe 4

Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2017

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I mean it's hard to review something fun and straightforward(as far as writing style not talking straightforward as in plot) with some intricate monstrosity some author's probably slaved over for years. Really enjoyed the book, and the earlier one..but I am more of a Ties That Bind fan. Kinda opposite poles, thinking on it. Recommended

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Amazon Customer

It is good. The plot really starts after the first 100 ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017

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It is good. The plot really starts after the first 100 pages. No female characters. Strange. 2nd book is better.

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M. Wanchoo

A solid sequel & an even better heist story

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016

FORMAT/INFO: It Takes A Thief To Start a Fire is divided into thirty-five chapters and an epilogue. The narration is in third person omniscient via Isabel de Rosier, Jacques Revou, Ada Frost & Inspektor Tobias Breeze. This book while being the second book in the “It Takes A Thief …” series can be read as a standalone.

ANALYSIS: When I first read It Takes A Thief To Catch A Sunrise, Rob’s story about the adorable thieving couple Jacques and Isabel, was a fun read. The book introduced readers to a whole new world wherein alchemy, French steampunk and a heist plan were all rolled into one exciting plot. The story ended on a solid stopping point and even though it was deemed as a standalone. Fans and readers were clamoring for a sequel and so Rob obliged once he had a solid sequel idea.

The story opens once again with our adorable duo who are planning another heist in the neighboring Great Turlain Empire (read Germany analogue) nearly a year after the events of the first book. This time around though they don’t have anyone shadowing them or even accompanying them to make sure they do it (like in the preceding volume). However as they find out to their dismay that thieving in a different nation has its own risks and this time around they might be screwed over in a worse fashion. The series of events that follow after the most recent abysmal turn of events are deadly as they are being held accountable by a special inspektor and the person who agreed to be a fence for them. All in all Jacques and Isabel will have to dig deep to find themselves out of Great Turlain with their lives intact.

If you find the above description to be a bit vague towards the end, then don’t worry it’s on purpose. I didn’t want to spoil the first plot twist and readers will find out about it at the end of the first chapter itself. Like the first ITAT book, this one also has a twisted plotline but instead of just one faction influencing our duo’s actions, this time around there are three. We are reacquainted with Jacques and Isabel and get further insights in to their successful relationship and working style. They are both the main drivers of the story as together they make a formidable duo and it is just so much fun to read about them. The author has to be lauded for making them flawed and yet so likeable, Jacques can be a know-it-all prick & Isabel can be controlling however the beauty is that they are presented in such a manner that readers will root for them in spite of these flaws. Also rounding off the other characters, is where the author truly excels. Of particular note is a minor character, who remains unnamed and is only referred to as Gunter’s mother, who with just one appearance steals the show so much so that I’m hoping we get a novella or side story about her.

Rounding up the POV character list is Inspektor Tobias Breeze who is as inscrutable as they come and proves to be a worthy adversary to our beloved duo. What I enjoyed about his was that, he’s a closed book to the readers and characters and we only get tiny hints about what his true thoughts are. I hope the author considers going the Tana French route and giving us a story via Tobias or Gunter’s mother. Like the first book, there are multiple plot twists involved and the story does have a quick pace to it. However unlike the first book, there’s a lull in the middle portion of the book as certain events play out. The pace picks up again and we are back to an action-packed, magically enhanced finale.

Following on the pattern of flashbacks from the first book, we get similar flashbacks in this volume as well however they aren’t as far reaching in to the past as was the case with the first book. We are mainly given a look into the time period between the two books and we see how the current events have come to be. Lastly the first book dealt with spycraft, misdirection and subterfuge. While the subterfuge follows in this volume too, there’s an enhanced focus on magic and especially manipulation of the elements. Previously the story focused on Sassaille (France facsimile) & we got to see the cultureal norms and behaviour over there. With this book, we get its neighboring kingdom of Great Turlain & its intricacies (Think Germany but with magic). There's a stark contrast drawn between these two nations beginning with the acceptance of magic in one and the spread of science in the other. There's also other minute differences highlighted such as naming conventions, and simply drinking habits such as tea vs coffee. This was an interesting aspect of the story that each book highlights a different nation, culture while providing an action-packed storyline.

I’ve been enjoying these escapades and the exploration of these vivid but different cultures, however they don’t go quite deep for plot expediency reasons. One of the things that detracts from this volume is that it doesn’t quite mention what’s happening in neighboring Sassaille especially after the events of the epilogue in It Takes A Thief To Catch A Sunrise (currently available for free on Amazon & Amazon UK) . While this helps with the standalone nature of the story, folks like me might feel a bit cut off. The author also talks about the standalone nature of this series in this guest piece (http://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.com/2016/10/when-is-trilogy-not-trilogy-by-rob-j.html). Last but not the least, this is a personal request as I very much enjoyed Franseza Goy's character in the preceding volume and I hope the author decides to bring her back for the third volume as she’s too great a character for a one-off appearance.

CONCLUSION: It Takes A Thief To Start A Fire is a solid sequel and a fun story about a pair of intrepid thieves who are forced to adept to their unfortunate circumstances. Those who love a good heist story should really enjoy this one as there’s a big twist on the heist trope and there’s also some cool magic involved. Rob J. Hayes certainly proves that he’s no one trick pony with grimdark fantasy & you can add caper fantasy to his ever growing list of genres he’s successfully tackled.

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Edea Baldwin

My Favorite Thieves Are At it Again

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016

I adore Jacques Rivou and Isabel de Rosier, the charismatic thieves from It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise. When the author gave me a chance to read an arc, I hopped on it with no hesitation. The couple is as endearingly quirky, if not more so, in their new escapade.
This time around, they are given a job by a member of the secret police, and albeit reluctantly, they set out to do their best.
They find themselves among a performing group of elementals, persons who can create magic by using earth, air, water, or fire.
Indeed, it is only as carnival performers that these gypsy-like folks can safely survive, for elementals are under great suspicion and surveillance.
In fact, as Jacques and Isabel live and work with them, they see firsthand how fraught with danger the lifestyle of their hosts is.
The story actually takes on a very current significance in light of present-day sociopolitical realities, as our intrepid pair are enmeshed with elementals in order to carry out their assignment.
But the focus of the tale is always on the caper, and on the fantastic skill and wit of our thieving couple.
I can't recommend this story too highly, as I'm sure the reader will enjoy everything about it! And if you've not yet read their first adventure, I'm pretty sure you'll want to after this one!

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2017

Generally I prefer my fantasy fiction on the dark side, which this is not, however I thoroughly enjoyed it. Much like it's predecessor this is a steam-punk-ish, relatively light-hearted, adventure starring very engaging characters. This episode sees Jaqcues and Isabel in a new country with the challenge of making a new life on the run but it's hard not to engage in their old habits again. The story is a lot of fun and the new characters and magical concept are good. All in all a grand romp.

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Top reviews from other countries

Dr. R. W. Leslie

Developing Nicely

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

Since Scott Lynch spawned a new sub-genre with Locke Lamora and then went silent on us, a number of writers have tried to fill the vacuum. Rob J. Hayes, out of those I have read, gets closest. This is a most enjoyable series, and I look forward to Volume 3. Also, the proof-reading has improved since Vol. 1, although Hayes still thinks "riddance" is spelt "riddens".

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