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Tracy Townsend

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The Nine (Thieves of Fate Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Tracy Townsend (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 146 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Thieves of Fate

Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy

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In the dark streets of Corma exists a book that writes itself, a book that some would kill for... Black market courier Rowena Downshire is just trying to pay her mother’s freedom from debtor's prison when an urgent and unexpected delivery leads her face to face with a creature out of nightmares. Rowena escapes with her life, but the strange book she was ordered to deliver is stolen. The Alchemist knows things few men have lived to tell about, and when Rowena shows up on his doorstep, frightened and empty-handed, he knows better than to turn her away. What he discovers leads him to ask for help from the last man he wants to see—the former mercenary, Anselm Meteron. Across town, Reverend Phillip Chalmers awakes in a cell, bloodied and bruised, facing a creature twice his size. Translating the stolen book may be his only hope for survival; however, he soon realizes the book may be a fabled text written by the Creator Himself, tracking the nine human subjects of His Grand Experiment. In the wrong hands, it could mean the end of humanity. Rowena and her companions become the target of conspirators who seek to use the book for their own ends. But how can this unlikely team be sure who the enemy is when they can barely trust each other? And what will happen when the book reveals a secret no human was meant to know?

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[An] intriguing debut of nearly flawless writing. . . . A gritty series opener.”

—Publishers Weekly

"The Nine is a tense, fast-moving and twisty caper, with divided loyalties, creepy monsters, and grand mysteries. More please!"

—Max Gladstone, author of the Hugo Award-nominated Craft Sequence series

“An inventive alloy of low-fantasy grit and saucy gaslamp caper, by turns both uplifting and brutal—I dug the world, I loved the characters, and I definitely want to know what happens next.”

—Curtis C. Chen, author of the Locus Award finalist Waypoint Kangaroo

“George R. R. Martin and China Miéville have nothing on the audacious, intricate world-building, gritty politics, and compelling characters in this excellent debut.”

—Sam J. Miller, Nebula Award–nominated author of The Art of Starving

About the Author

Debut author Tracy Townsend holds a master's degree in writing and rhetoric from DePaul University and a bachelor's degree in creative writing from DePauw University, a source of regular consternation when proofreading her credentials. She is chair of the English Department at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, an elite public boarding school, where she teaches creative writing and science fiction and fantasy literature. She has been a martial arts instructor, a stage combat and accent coach, and a short-order cook for houses full of tired gamers. Now she lives in Bolingbrook, Illinois with two bumptious hounds, two remarkable children, and one very patient husband. Her short story "Late Arrivals" was published by Luna Station Quarterly in March 2016.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B06WVGGX7T
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pyr (November 14, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 14, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 889 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 357 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,269,451 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,443 in Gaslamp Fantasy (Books)
- #1,582 in Fairy Tales (Kindle Store)
- #8,785 in Fairy Tale Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 146 ratings

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Tracy Townsend

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Tracy Townsend is the author of The Nine and The Fall (books 1 and 2 in the Thieves of Fate series), a monthly columnist for the feminist sf magazine Luna Station Quarterly, and an essayist for Uncanny Magazine. She holds a master's degree in writing and rhetoric from DePaul University and a bachelor's degree in creative writing from DePauw University, a source of regular consternation when proofreading her credentials. She is the former chair of the English department at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, an elite public boarding school, where she teaches creative writing and science fiction and fantasy literature. She has been a martial arts instructor, a stage combat and accent coach, and a short-order cook for houses full of tired gamers. Now she lives in Bolingbrook, Illinois with two bumptious hounds, two remarkable children, and one very patient husband.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

146 global ratings

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Michelle B.

Intricate Plot and Beautifully Written - A Must Read For Fans of SF/F

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2018

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This book is beautifully written, crafted and designed to create a story that's equal parts thriller and literary art. The story is intricate with many intersecting storylines and networks of characters. Each time I left a character's POV/chapter I was sorry to step out of their story, but each new chapter/POV quickly drew me in, and then when that chapter ended, I was sorry to see that one go, and on, and on. It reminded me of reading the many POV's in GoT and like that saga, this book does a great job of keeping me invested in each character's journey.

Overall, the plot is complex with many twists and turns, and the fantasy world backdrop is very memorable. For me, the book read like Oceans Eleven meets the Davinci Code, with some Tolkien-esque creatures thrown in, all written in killer prose. The Nine is definitely a stand-out novel, and despite my many comparisons, is truly unique and memorable.

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L Dopa

Held Back by Lackluster Execution and Unrealistic Ideas

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2018

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3.5 stars, but I'll round up because I was interested in some parts.

This is a good example of a book that just didn't turn out right. It started off really great! I was excited to meet a bunch of characters, anticipating that they'd end up all working together to steal something (as the "thieves" in the subtitle seemed to hint at.) And maybe, yeah, that IS what happens in this book, but it wasn't at the same time, and the book never re-captured that excitement I felt at the beginning.

One of the main things that held this book back was the large number of POV characters. It was a bit unnecessary to give POV chapters to characters who would be written out of the story and/or die, especially because two of the real main characters - Anselm and the Alchemist - don't get POV chapters until about halfway through the book. Out of the POV characters, three are main characters who needed POVs, and the four or five others are minor characters who just didn't need a chapter devoted to their thoughts, especially since (spoilers kinda?) one of the main characters is able to get around that.

The second thing that held this story back was the concept and execution of the aigamuxas (sp?). This is a case where the author included something in their work that breaks immersion too much. I can believe a story where God only takes notes on nine people in the whole world, but I can't believe there's a sentient mammalian creature with eyes on its feet. That just wouldn't happen! In a world where magical creatures explicitly don't exist (as stated by the Alchemist), it's really hard to both picture and believe in a sentient species would have such bizarre, un-mammalian biology. There's a reason our eyes are on our faces! It's called cephalization! Look it up!

Then, finally, the author was a bit too fond of the thesaurus in this book, as she over-relied on archaic synonyms to words in order to create an atmosphere. It can work, but in this case, it was too noticeable, and thus too troperific.

Still, this book did have some interesting things going for it. An interesting setting, an initially interesting start, a climax sequence that I was invested in, characters that became more developed as time went on, etc. Maybe you'll like it more than I did!

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Faith

Golden Compass for Grownups

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2019

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The Nine hits a lot of my personal buttons - ragtag crew, plucky urchin, our-world-but-not, science-as-religion (it's not something I want in all my books, but it's an interesting idea to explore; see also The Golden Compass - actually, now that I think about it, in many respects this book has a sort of "Golden Compass for an older audience" feel...). There are also unique creatures (I've never seen anything like the aigamuxa before), lots of plot twists, and most importantly of all, rich character work. Everyone in this book is complicated, has flaws, makes mistakes, does "bad" things. But they are drawn so vividly, and I find myself rooting for them anyway.

Sometimes I group books together in my head, in a way that's hard to explain and has mostly to do with gut feeling. If I were to do that with this book, I'd cluster it with The Golden Compass, T. Kingfisher's Clockwork Boys books, and Kate Elliot's Cold Fire. If you've read and liked any of those, or any of the description appeals to you, I'd strongly consider giving The Nine a try.

2 people found this helpful

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pennyprints

Just good enough

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2019

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A well written fantasy with interesting characters in search of a cohesive story. Not sure if I’ll read the follow up.

One person found this helpful

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Todd Clan

Amazing

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2019

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Tracy Townsend, I cannot forgive you for writing the best book I have read on a year and then making me wait half a year for the sequel.

It is an astonishingly well-written book - story, dialogue, character creation and development, and world-building done to perfection. Lucky are her students.

A more mismatched trio of protagonists likely never existed in literature and they will haunt my dreams tonight because, as the indomitable and irrepressible Rowena Downshire says, The Nine is "jake."

Five stars. Ten of it would let me.

One person found this helpful

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spacemanskip

Interesting and creative

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2022

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I really enjoyed the characters but also the new types of species created for this world. I'm looking forward to the next book.

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Eleanor Naudzius

I picked up Ms Townsend’s The Nine in order to recover from a book hangover from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2017

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Are you familiar with the concept of a “book hangover”? It’s the term I use to describe that feeling when you’ve just finished a book and you don’t want it to be over and your head is kind of stuck in that book’s world. It puts you in a bit of a daze and the easiest way to cure it is to read a different book.

Anyway, I picked up Ms Townsend’s The Nine in order to recover from a book hangover from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. It had been on my list since it came out- I love Ms Townsend, 12/10 quality high school teacher. And now her book’s book hangover has eclipsed the one from Gaiman.

I absolutely loved the story and the world. It is a bit reminiscient of The Lies of Locke Lamora, another fantastic book. It has a snappy tone, lovely characters, and a fun cast. I will absolutely be recommending this book to others.

Awesome job Ms Townsend! Super proud of you!

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

almost a steam punk city

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2019

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characters from an assortment of social classes become entangled in the machinations surrounding a book that writes itself. odd creatures, including ambulatory plants and apes with eyes in their feet confront the characters, several of whom perish. interesting characters and world building.

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