Album Playing tonight: Twilight as Sung by the Twilight Singers.

I bought this book a while ago. It’s the third book by Hyperion that I’ve read, and so far I’m impressed. While Summoner was a good little ghost story, Thief with no Shadow is fairly less epic in its aim, though I think it is better written. Gee’s sentences are simple in style but with good color and depth. She spins a fairly simple plot that drew me in to its depths.

It reminded me of Caroline Stevermer’s When the King Comes Home, which was another simple book that had a lot of thought put into it. Thief is definitely more adult. I wouldn’t pass it along to my teenage daughter, though I was pleased with the distinct voice of the main character. The sexuality is still pretty minimal but not easy to digest. One of the things I think Gee did best was essentialist world-crafting: I got the right amount of detail to envision her locales but not so much that I got lost in boring details of customs or travelogue.

If you’ve noticed that I haven’t given you a plot summary, I should tell you that it’s on purpose. Pick this one up and discover by chance, like I did. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Like its main character, it will sneak up on you.