Twenty years ago, the people of Sevrin overthrew Eldreath, the sorcerer who'd ruled for as long as anyone could remember. A Council of Adepts--men who know the secrets of alchemy and build marvelous clockwork creations--now rules the land. The old ways are suppressed and magic is highly suspect.
Fox Winterborn, a young thief, is determined to see magic return to the land. His exploits strike a chord in the hearts of those who find the Adepts' regime repressive. Whispers of rebellion prompt Rhendish, the adept who rules the largest of Sevrin's islands, to find Fox and put a stop to his dreams.
But Fox has gathered several powerful allies: a young dwarf, an exiled fairy, an alchemist of great brilliance but dubious mental stability, and an elf named Honor.
Every member of his little band has secrets of his or her own. The person Fox is most inclined to trust--the elf who once saved his life--is bound to Rhendish in ways she herself does not fully understand.
HONOR AMONG THIEVES, the first book in the Thorn trilogy, is a short fantasy adventure novel filled with the quirky characters and offbeat humor readers have come to expect from Elaine Cunningham. Fans of Forgotten Realms denisons such as Elaith Craulnober, Arilyn Moonblade, Danilo Thann, and the dark elf "princess" Liriel Baenre will feel right at home on the islands of Sevrin--though they will soon find that Sevrin's elves, dwarves, and fey folk are not quite what they've come to expect.
Though written with long-time readers in mind, Honor's story is also appropriate for a second generation of readers. The next two books in the Thorn trilogy, HONOR BOUND and WORD OF HONOR, will be available in December and January, respectively.
At a little over 40,000 wwords, HONOR AMONG THIEVES is considered a short novel rather than a novella, and will provide the average reader with about 3-4 hours of reading.