Douglas Hulick
432 pp. Roc. $7.99
Pub. Date: 4/5/2011
ISBN-13: 9780451463906
Thieves. Fictional ones rock. Don't believe me, ask anyone who salivates over "Reservoir Dogs" or "Heat". They'll let you in on how badass a thief can be. Only a few things are more interesting to people than fictional crooks. One of them is death. Put the two together and you have every piece of mobster mythology ever created. People will line up out the door for that, ten dollar popcorn in hand, Milk-Duds at the ready.
But the real criminals--they have a special place in hell waiting just for them. Anyone who has stood in front of their burglarized car or home, taking inventory of what was sticky-fingered away--Really? why would someone jack my miniature Russian nesting dolls, and my Blu-Ray copies of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Heat". Hopefully the irony trips them and they swallow a glass-encrusted pipe bomb--can attest loudly to this.
But the biggest difference between the real thieves and the fictional. The fictional ones have skills; their toolbox has more in it than smash-and-grab. They aren't just people, they're legends. They are usually cleverer than everybody else, always one step ahead, and they often have the muscle and fighting skills to overcome those they cannot outwit. They have serious advantages, making their play field far from level.
But what happens when you take away those advantages. You get a character like Drothe the Nose, the protagonist in Douglas Hulick's incredible debut "Among Thieves".
An aside: The cover above is the UK cover. Posting the American version is a crime against humanity and nature--it is that awful, looking like the dirty love child of a Harlequin romance and "Pirates of the Caribbean". A cover so bad, it makes you thankful for e-readers. It is targeted to the wrong audience, which is a tremendous shame because "Among Thieves" deserves a huge audience, not just the ones lured in expecting kinky criminal sex.
What makes "Among Thieves" such a fabulous debut is the way the legend of Drothe is built. He is not a super-thief, he is not blessed with advantages. He meets overwhelming challenges, and the reader constantly asks throughout the novel, "How will he overcome this?" That he does is a testament to Hulick's writing wizardry. It is an impressive accomplishment. Make no mistake, Drothe is a badass, but it is very subtle, and not a direction most writers would take.
"Among Thieves" is the best thief-centric novel since Scott Lynch's "The Lies of Locke Lamora". It is definitely more complex than Lynch's debut with criminal politics that are more reminiscent of "The Godfather" or one of Martin Scorsese's mobster films.
To call "Among Thieves" excellent would be an understatement. It is much better than that. It is a novel that would benefit from multiple readings. Easily the best debut so far of 2011.
Final Grade: 9 out of 10
1 comments:
This sounds terrific! And since you mentioned it, I had to go check out the US cover. WTH? You didn't tell us Drothe was a pirate! He's got a hoop earring and I'm pretty sure that's a sword! I would have given it a pass on the cover alone - I wonder if I can get the UK cover instead. Would be less embarrassing to be seen with.
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