The Legend of Eli Monpress
So... today I finished reading the fifth and final book of this series. I already know that I am going to miss it. And I am shocked that I have not posted a word about it.
What depresses me more is that the online community for this awesome series is almost non-existent (or in hiding), besides the one tumblr dedicated to it. Why do I always like series with small fan bases? If you're curious, I usually measure the size of a fan base by the amount or fanfiction and fanart dedicated to it and whether a community for it exists on livejournal. And there is no livejournal community. None. (I don't care if this is a silly measuring stick.) How I am I going to cope with my withdrawal symptoms without the support of other fan's shameless squee-ing, fanfiction, fanart and memes?
So anyway, if you have not heard or read thsi awesome series yet, go and read it now.
This book was introduced to me on one of the book communities I'd joined. I recall not being impressed by the cover, but with a blurb like this, all the words that pulled me are italicised:
"Eli Monpress is talented. He's charming. And he's a thief. But not just any thief. He's the greatest thief of the age - and he's also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he's going to put his plan into effect. The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he'll need to steal some big things. But he'll start small for now. He'll just steal something that no one will miss - at least for a while.
Like a king."
Who could resist? Also, I am not ashamed to admit that I have a thing for plots involving professional thiefs and pulling off scams (Read: Ocean's Eleven and Hustle). And I knew straight away I was going to love this series the moment I finished reading the first chapter which had Eli talking to a door and coaxing it to open for him. Creative, funny, and just brilliant.
But it was the ending of the second chapter that sealed it for me:
Miranda looked at Gin, who flicked his ear in the ghosthound equivalent of a shrug. “I suppose we have wasted enough time,” she said. “I am here on behalf of the Spirit Court by order of the Rector Spiritualis, Etmon Banage. Yesterday morning we received a tip that the known fugitive wizard and wanted criminal Eli Monpress has been sighted within your kingdom. It is our belief that he is after an old wizard artifact held in your treasury. I am here to offer my assistance to keep him from stealing it.”
There was a long pause, and Miranda got the horrible, sinking feeling that she had missed something important.
“Lady,” the Master of Security said, shaking his head, “if you’re here to warn the king about Eli, then you’re a little late.”
Miranda scowled. “You mean he’s already stolen the artifact?”
“No.” The Master of Security sighed. “He’s stolen the king.”
You cannot go wrong with an opening chapter like that.
I was forever on looking forward to reading about how Eli got himself and his companions out of sticky situations. I especially enjoy conversations where he cons the spirits into doing things for him. Actually, I enjoy all the conversations the characters have in the book with spirits.
I was also immediately impressed by the world-building. While the concept of having everything be a living spirit is not new, the idea that magic for wizards is simply being able to hear and negotiate with the spirits for service was. And then there were the constraints of humans being spirit blind, spirit hierarchies, humans having a Spirit Court to protect them for abuse (like the SPCA), interesting cases of abuse, and how the spirits could be of service in so many different ways. Fascinating. There was just so much possibility with this world. I wanted to learn all about it. Every book introduced something new about the world.
All I can say it that it has been a brilliant ride from start to finish. I was engaged all the way. I'm just disappointed that not more people are investigating the possibilities with this world.