A Spell of Vengeance by D.B. Jackson, Thieftaker #0.5 Ethan Kaille is a thieftaker in Colonial Boston, scratching out a living by restoring stolen property to its rightful owners. But unlike others in his profession, Ethan relies on magical spells as well as his wits to track down thieves. Being a conjurer doesn't make him popular with the law in Boston, so Ethan is taken aback when the sheriff seeks his help in settling a dispute between a pair of wealthy merchants and a ship's captain who has threatened their lives. Ethan knows the captain can back up his threats with magic of his own. But there is more to this matter than the merchants have let on, and Ethan soon discovers that what he doesn't know might actually kill him. D. B. Jackson’s first Ethan Kaille novel, Thieftaker, will be published on July 3, 2012.
What better story to pick than one of my favourite authors, D.B. Jackson. Only two weeks ago I read his third book in his Thieftaker series, A Plunder of Souls and just as what I have come to learn from D.B. Jackson is that it is one solid and highly enjoyable story. I already new that there was one short story set in the Thieftaker series, A Spell of Vengeance but never read it, so here is the first story of the Short Fiction Friday feature.
A Spell of Vengeance takes place before the first book of the series, its marked as #0.5. Having read book two and three already gives me an edge as to who Ethan Kaille is and what his job as a thieftaker entails. But if you are not familiar with the series yet D.B. Jackson gives a clear enough introduction to fully understand the story of A Spell of Vengeance.
The story picks up with Ethan sitting in a bar and getting to talk with Kannice, who runs the bar. Though they have seen each other a couple of times they aren't that confident towards each other in terms of showing their feelings, it readily comes to show that Kannice does have an eye for our Ethan. Soon though there is an interruption by the sheriff, Stephen Greenleaf, who together with two merchants need Ethan's help. This time around they aren't after the his thieftaking skills but after his spelling skills, his conjuring, his witchcraft. The two merchants, Keller and Fross are being harrased by the son of Nathaniel Ramsey, Nate Ramsey. Ok at this point I got a HUGE grin on my face. These names Keller, Fross and Ramsey all started to ring bells, if you have read A Plunder of Souls you will know what I mean. Ethan accepts the job to try to get Nate to back down and stop his play on getting his vegeance or do everything to protect both Keller and Fross from being killed. Ethan accepts this job with the thought that the merchants are compeltely in the right... but the first encounter with Nate does lead him to question what exactly is going on. Who can Ethan trust and what is the truth? If you read A Plunder of Souls already you do know how the story will end but nevertheless A Spell of Vengeance adds a lot of flavour for the background story of the series and mainly for A Plunder of Souls because you do know what events actually transpired.
If you are new to the Thieftaker series A Spell of Vengeance is a great way to start as you get already a few glimpses of the universe that D.B. Jackson has created in the full length books, you learn the protagonist of the series Ethan Kaille and several of the other character that will pop up later on in the series. Furthermore you also get introduced to the conjuring bit of the series which is SO cool! And if you have already read the other stories, A Spell of Vengeance, will give you a few more details to the magnificent world and story that D.B. Jackson has created with the Thieftaker series. When I read about Keller, Fross and Ramsey, I couldn't get that smile away. High enjoyable and defnitely a recommendation. The SFF couldnt have kicked of with a better story!
A Spell of Vengeance was originally posted at Tor.com
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