Mark of the Thief (Mark of the Thief, Book 1) (1)

In this story we follow along Nic's journey from being a slave in the mines to a free person. At first he appears to be a seemingly normal young man until his whole life is thrown for a loop when he is tasked with finding a special amulet. His journey is frought with many struggles and betrayal from those he might have trusted. Nic learns of the many horrors behind the true rulers in Rome and gets caught up in the fight to save himself and just possibly all of Rome! I was honestly a little worried how this book would approach some of the gritty history that was taking place in Rome around this time period, but she did a wonderful job or making it clear without becoming too grusome. Great book looking forward to reading the next book.

Review:Protagonist: Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is about to have is life changed forever. After finding a bulla that once belonged to Julius Ceaser himself, a bulla which seems to contain a strange power, he finds himself as the most wanted man in all of the Roman Empire. Nic is such a great character to read from. His character development is very tangible and it's was to see how he naturally changes over the course of the book. He starts off as a slightly disobedient slave but over the course of the book starts to not only see himself differently but the world in which he lives in a different light and starts to find his own place within it.Romance: Much like the first book in Nielsen's previous series, The Ascendance trilogy, this book puts no real focus on the romance, but instead only really hints at it coming and has the book focus so much more on the characters and plot. Though there does seem to be some more intense foreshadowing about the romance than there was in her previous series. The feelings between the characters in question are even addressed a few times over the course of the book, though nothing close to the amount that it probably would be if this were a YA novel instead.World-Building: While I wouldn't necessarily call this a mythology book, like I would a Rick Riordan book, Roman mythology does drive this story quite a bit. Though the mythology is focused more on the divine magic of the gods as opposed to the legends about gods and heroes. Everything in this book from characters, setting, and the plot is so richly described that there was not a single moment where I felt that the book even started to drag, it's fast paced and full of a lot of great action and adventure.Predictability: Once again Nielsen works her foreshadowing magic in feats of brilliance. While there were, of course, ​times that I would predict something, the moments I was shocked far outweighed the times when I knew what was coming. Sometimes the twist would come from outside forces, but sometimes, much like Nielsen's book The False Prince, out narrator, Nic, would hide something from the reader only to have it be revealed later and completely blow my mind.Ending: The ending of this book was magnificent. Everything came to a head in ways I never thought it would, especially not for this first installment. The twists at the end though were probably my favorite part. Though the final climax is full of magic and action, the twists sort of outshine that. As things were revealed everything sort of clicks into place and really reveals the brilliance of Nielsen's carefully crafted foreshadowing. The very end has a fairly large cliffhanger that has left me dying to read the next installmentRating:So, I said in my review of The Runaway King that Jennifer A. Nielsen had become one of my favorite authors, and while that may have been a bit premature considering I had only read two books, which were both from the same series, by her, this book is definitely a testament to that statement. I cannot wait to see what's next for this series.

Everyone (12 year old boy and mom and dad) likes this book. Nice tie in to Ancient Rome as well.

Very good. I would recommend this to all book lovers who like a book full of twists and turns. Amazing.

This book had a lot of potential. I liked the story line, but the characters were underdeveloped and there was virtually no world building.I am not a fan of books that are written in the first person for this very reason. It is harder to develop the characters. This means that you really don't get to know anyone very well other than NIc, the main protagonist. And even his character was all over the place.I love a little magic in my books, but in this case, the magic just didn't work for me, because like the characters, it was all over the place and nothing really made sense. I really struggled with this book and it took me a very long time to read it because I just wasn't that interested.The setting is in Ancient Rome, and you get a little history there, slavery, Kings, Julius Caesar, etc. but not enough to really make the book any better.There is quite a bit of action in the book to keep you from getting too bored. I think this book would be good for younger readers who aren't concerned with things the way an adult would be, but things need to make sense, and magic has to have laws and consequences, and this book was just all over the place with it. And the only way you really knew you were in Rome, was when it was mentioned. It was never "shown". Show me, don't tell me!

Speaking as a 14 year old who loves reading, this book is amazing. I am a huge fan of ancient history, especially Greek and Roman history, so this and the Percy Jackson series are some of my favorite books. Nielsen is an amazing writer, as evidenced by her Ascendance Trilogy, and the main character, Nic, is hugely reminiscent of Jaron from her previous series. The danger and compelling storytelling will keep the reader hooked throughout the whole book, and, while the setting is not fully explored, it does contain several components of Ancient Rome that will teach readers more about ancient history and maintain accuracy for readers who like everything concretely correct. The only complaint I'd have would be the fact that Nic and all the other characters are very fleshed out, the relationship between Caela and Nic, as well as Livia and Nic's relationship aren't very well shown even though they're really important. The surprise at the ending involving Livia and Nic is pretty good, but some parts of the 'in-between's' explanation seem a little forced .

easy read

fun

I like this book because the author is good and the plot is amazing... i like how i don't need to capitalize my writing yar! i am indian right mN? so funny yaar... i lowe these bpoks amd zofthat.

A good product at a fair price. Thank you.

i got a gud feeling when i read this book... the character was same as in false prince who was playful, disobedient and likely to the readers.. i suggest u to read this book.. really good