I have only recently realised that I genuinely like heist books and while there aren’t many that I have actually read, this one is a latest favourite for sure! I might not have come across this book but for one of my favourite bookstagrammer gushing over this. I am so glad I looked up the book and got approved for the book by NetGalley and Orbit. I was sold by the time I heard heist, humour and a fun magic system.

So, let’s get into it.

Oh, wait, before we get into it, be aware that this might either turn out to be rambling review or just a gushing review. I can’t guarantee anything else at this point, so I am sorry if that’s not what you are here for. Oops?

Now, let’s get into it.

I have a type of fantasy that I love and it’s clear what kind it is if you look at my Goodreads or even my blog in general. I like big tomes wherein sometimes a lot happens or sometimes not a lot happens but still remains a very ‘active’ book, if you know what I mean. This one is a blend of both sometimes. All I want to say all the time about this book is that ‘Please, this book is so good, you have to read it if you like fantasy and heists because gods, this is like one of the best books I have read this year.’ I guess you get the point.

Let’s start with the world-building. This world feels lived in and very much like it could be real and just as messy. I absolutely loved the way the author went about establishing the world and its people. There’s places that follow one religion and there’s places where said religion is not quite the norm. There are dragons but not everywhere. The fact that the characters make the world more real is what made me fall harder for this book. The characters also feel very lived in and that really helped with immersion. There’s a sense of familiarity with the world and the cities and its systems and it’s shown in a way that makes it very easy to follow along with the main characters.

Let’s get to the characters because there’s a lot I want to talk about! First and foremost, Ardor Benn. He’s a fantastic character. Full of swagger and cocksure about things in life, he absolutely loves life and it shows. It’s the excitement of the ruse that makes this man live his life. He’s well known within this world as someone of dubious nature and very capable of pulling wool over people very easily. This is only made possible because of his best friend, Raekon ‘Short Fuse’ Dorrel, there’s nobody better at details than Raekon and their friendship is a thing of beauty. The endless but seamless banter made their friendship so lovely! One thing to absolutely note here, Tyler Whitesides clearly knows how to write dialogues because the banter and the general conversations are so well done, I am just…*chef’s kiss*

Then comes, Quarrah Khai, she’s a thief who prefers to work alone. However, for a new project Ardor has due to a priestly ‘person’, so she’s then added to the team despite Quarrah being very dubious about the whole deal. I love her character because she’s such a loner and it shows. She’s often confused and annoyed (mostly at Ardor) and wondering if this all is allowed within a group heist and it’s just brilliant to read because Quarrah makes it brilliant. Whether she wants it or not, she will be part of Ardor’s latest ruse. The secondary characters that truly left an impression on me were the disguise managers. Elbrig and Cinza were something else and it was so fascinating to read about them and how fast and how thorough they were with their jobs. Seriously, it’s awe-inspiring.

As far as magic system is concerned, it’s flintlock and it might not be my most favourite magic but this world makes it fascinating. So, the whole thing runs on Grit, depending on what the Grit is made of, there are different ways of using this magic. I am not entirely sure of it yet and I am very eager to learn it more because it involves dragons! That’s right! It has lots and lots of dragons and this world’s history has dragons. The process of making Grit is an interesting one and it’s something I will leave to you learn more of because it will not be what you expect to be. So, good luck with that.

I hope I haven’t forgotten anything important in the story and the things I haven’t mentioned would have been spoilers so…there’s that. I think Tyler Whitesides has a real talent of making a story very accessible to the masses simply due to the language he uses and the story he tells with that language. There’s tons of misdirection and there’s tons of shenanigans, there’s a conspiracy theory emerging that could affect a lot of people and how they view their way of life. There’s a sense of something huge unfolding right before your eyes while you are reading this and it is an absolutely amazing experience in my opinion. I am already blessed to have the e-ARC of the next book on my Kindle already so thanks NetGalley and Orbit for having faith in my abilities to read that much in so short a time. Be on the lookout for the review of the sequel either this month or the beginning of the next month!

Reviewed by my co-blogger, TS Chan, at Novel Notions

ARC received from the publisher, Orbit, in exchange for an honest review.

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn is a commendable adult fantasy debut, by Tyler Whitesides, that is fun, entertaining and has a unique magic system.

Firstly, this book caught my attention because it was tagged as "Perfect for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora, Eli Monpress and Theft of Swords." As these are some of my favourite titles, I simply cannot pass this up. Plus, I could never resist a heist-plot.

Ardor Benn is a ruse artist extraordinaire who enjoys trickery and mischief, and due to his legend was approached by the most unlikely employer who required his services to undertake the biggest and most audacious heist he had ever performed. And it was an extensive one, such that the story sometimes felt a bit too long.

The narrative follows the 3rd person limited point-of-view of three main characters - Ardor himself, a female thief named Quarrah Khai whom he had to employ to assist with this heist of his lifetime, and a significant man of religion, Isle Halavend (in this world, an Isle is akin to a priest). The character development was good enough that I was interested in each POV, even though my favourite is Ardor. That is not surprising as I've always had a soft spot for roguish characters with good hearts - a cliche that is well-used in stories like this, but one that I will not grow tired of anytime soon.

Aside from Quarrah, our ruse artist extraordinaire has a partner in crime who is also his best friend for many years, Raekon Dorrel. Ard is the master plotter while Raek is the master mixer who prepares all the necessary ingredients to pull off the former's ruses. What do I mean by mixer? Allow me to elucidate a bit about the magic system, which is hard rule-based magic like Allomancy from Mistborn, except it is detonated/ignited instead of consumed. The source of these magical ingredients called Grits is - wait for it - dragon poo. Depending on the material fed to the dragons, the resultant Grit from the processing of its excrement have different usages, such as Barrier, Blast, Drift, Light, Cold and Heat Grit. And there are Prolonging and Compounding Grits which can be combined with the others to extend its duration or enhance its effects. A detonation will result in a cloud which is spherical, and anything within it will be affected by the Grit's purpose. A master mixer such as Raek will be able to ascertain the weight of different Grits required to achieve the desired outcome. There is a glossary on the Grit system at the back of the book which is quite detailed. Admittedly, some of the action scenes are pretty darn cool with the inventive use of the different types of Grits.

On top of this rather complex magic system, another aspect of the worldbuilding also took me a while to get settled in. We have a religion called Wayfarist, and the faithful are those who have the Urges to keep progressing and advancing, while the faithless are called Settled or Landers. It is all rather quite strange, and I am still tottering as to how I feel about it.

There are times when I find the writing a bit clunky and perhaps a little less refined. Nonetheless, the book is easy to read, and I noticed the narrative improving as it progressed. Plotwise, it is to be expected that nothing will exactly go smoothly for Ard and his team. Regardless, there were a few cool revelations and plot directions which I did not anticipate. And for those who like having some element of romance in their stories, rest assured you will find it in Ardor Benn's debut story.

In short, this novel is an entertaining read for those who enjoy a fantasy heist that occasionally heads in unexpected directions. I'm definitely invested enough to continue with the rest of the trilogy.

You can purchase the book or pre-order the new cover release from Book Depository (Free Shipping) | Bookshop.Org (Support Independent Bookstores | Amazon US | Amazon UK

You can find this and my other reviews at Novel Notions.

Heists, dragons and poop magic? Count me in!!
This book was compared to Locke Lamora and it did live upto all my expectations with an impossible high stakes heist, one madcap adventure after another, hilariously witty characters and a found family trope.
Ardor Benn, ruse artist extraordinaire was charismatic and his brand of humor was on point and Raekon his best friend and genius Grit expert, Quarrah Khai, the methodical thief were all very memorable characters who left an impression.
The best part for me were the dragons and the magic system!! It definitely doesn’t get any kore unique or interesting than dragon poop magic!!
*SPOILERS*
.
.
.

My only complaint was that, Ardor who gets all these crazy ideas and just jumps into it pell mell without thinking of the consequences, never really got to pay for any of it. Like, he makes soo many mistakes and almost always puts everyone around him at risk and most often, they have to pay a price but never him. He just gets off with minimal consequences and that just didn’t seem fair to me.

Other than that, this book was very near perfect and is definitely a book I would recommend for fans of SoC and Lies of Locke Lamora!!

Rating : 4/5 stars

It reminded me of The Lies of Locke Lamora but then it was totally different and not in a good way.

The story lost its momentum in the middle, to finish with a rather unbelievable twist and time travel. Meh!

There were two female secondary characters which were written in the classical 'a man writes a female fantasy character' style. They were so cliché, it hurt.

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn is a commendable adult fantasy debut, by Tyler Whitesides, that is fun, entertaining and has a unique magic system.

Firstly, this book caught my attention because it was tagged as "Perfect for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora, Eli Monpress and Theft of Swords." As these are some of my favourite titles, I simply cannot pass this up. Plus, I could never resist a heist-plot.

Ardor Benn is a ruse artist extraordinaire who enjoys trickery and mischief, and due to his legend was approached by the most unlikely employer who required his services to undertake the biggest and most audacious heist he had ever performed. And it was an extensive one, such that the story sometimes felt a bit too long.

The narrative follows the 3rd person limited point-of-view of three main characters - Ardor himself, a female thief named Quarrah Khai whom he had to employ to assist with this heist of his lifetime, and a significant man of religion, Isle Halavend (in this world, an Isle is akin to a priest). The character development was good enough that I was interested in each POV, even though my favourite is Ardor. That is not surprising as I've always had a soft spot for roguish characters with good hearts - a cliche that is well-used in stories like this, but one that I will not grow tired of anytime soon.

Aside from Quarrah, our ruse artist extraordinaire has a partner in crime who is also his best friend for many years, Raekon Dorrel. Ard is the master plotter while Raek is the master mixer who prepares all the necessary ingredients to pull off the former's ruses. What do I mean by mixer? Allow me to elucidate a bit about the magic system, which is hard rule-based magic like Allomancy from Mistborn, except it is detonated/ignited instead of consumed. The source of these magical ingredients called Grits is - wait for it - the excrement of dragons. Depending on the material fed to the dragons, the resultant Grit can have different usages, such as Barrier, Blast, Drift, Light, Cold and Heat Grit. And there are Prolonging and Compounding Grits which can be combined with the others to extend its duration or enhance its effects. A detonation will result in a cloud which is spherical, and anything within it will be affected by the Grit's purpose. A master mixer such as Raek will be able to ascertain the weight of different Grits required to achieve the desired outcome. There is a glossary on the Grit system at the back of the book which is quite detailed. Admittedly, some of the action scenes are pretty darn cool with the inventive use of the different types of Grits.

On top of this rather complex magic system, another aspect of the worldbuilding also took me a while to get settled in. We have a religion called Wayfarist, and the faithful are those who have the Urges to keep progressing and advancing, while the faithless are called Settled or Landers. It is all rather quite strange, and I am still tottering as to how I feel about it.

There are times when I find the writing a bit clunky and perhaps a little less refined. Nonetheless, the book is easy to read, and I noticed the narrative improving as it progressed. Plotwise, it is to be expected that nothing will exactly go smoothly for Ard and his team. Regardless, there were a few cool revelations and plot directions which I did not anticipate. And for those who like having some element of romance in their stories, rest assured you will find it in Ardor Benn's debut story.

In short, this novel is an entertaining read for those who enjoy a fantasy heist that occasionally heads in unexpected directions. I'm definitely invested enough to continue with the rest of the trilogy.

The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn might just have overtaken The Lies of Locke Lamora as my favourite heist book and if you know me, you'll know this is big thing.
I picked up The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn because it sounded like it was written just for me - heists, dragons, and a hilarious protagonist. Little did I know it would end up being one of my favourite reads of this year!

Okay, so onto the things I liked:
- The characters: I liked every single character. YUP. ALL OF THEM. Ardor Benn - the ruse artist extraordinaire. Raekon Dorrel, best friend and the Grit expert. Quarrah Khai, thief and *potential love interest*. Even the side characters were so well-written. I was so heavily invested in all of them that certain deaths just got me so emotional!
The relationship between these characters is just *sigh*. Found families are my weakness.
- World-building: I don't really want to talk a lot about this a lot, cuz a few of the points I had with respect to geography are spoilers, but *whew*. Let me just say that any world with dragons has got to be the best.
- Magic-system: We have a hard magic system (one of my favourites), where the magic is derived from feeding the dragons certain materials and then processing the *cough* excrement. The material used determine the type of 'Grit' you end up with. We have Barrier grit for creating barriers (source material being metals), Drift Grit for creating a cloud of weightlessness (source material being bones) and so many more. It's fascinating, to say the least.

The plot never slowed down, and the writing had me hooked from start to finish. Oh boy, I never saw the plot twists coming either! I couldn't put the book down and even though it was a 780 page mammoth, I ended up finishing this in less than 2 days.

Did I also mention that this is hilarious? I laughed my way through this book. There is this scene that still makes me laugh every time I think about it.

Long story short, I AM OBSESSED! Now I won't rest, until everyone has read this as well.

I need the second book, pronto.