In Clifton Hill’s fantasy book titled Kip the Quick, we are introduced to a young character so adorable, you’ll forgive him for stealing your muffin. And your jewels. And maybe your heart. Told in a first person narrative, Kip, a young, rather self-centered thief moving his way up the ranks, introduces us to a city at the edge of a desert where politics and magic rarely mix with good results, criminal gangs vie for power and prominence in the nearby Stacks, and the people of Tander are caught in the middle.
After a brief introduction to Kip and his dearest friends, we soon find that Kip’s services are requested by none other than Rob the Con, head of the Stacks and the notorious gangs that operate at the edges of the desert canyon city. It seems like a relatively simple job. All Kip has to do is steal a small vial of Essence, magic that no one even thinks is real. But after shadowing the mark, Count Charles Irwell, Kip suspects the noble does indeed have something of extreme value based on the number of guards the count has at his disposal. Determined to succeed and fulfil Rob’s request, Kip goes about devising the greatest heist he has yet to do in his fifteen years on this world.
He knows this is his one chance, the chance of a lifetime even. He’ll either make enough money to retire and set himself up in another city, or he’ll fail utterly and go back to slowly starving and fleecing food from store windows. But as he gets further into the heist, he realizes he may lose more than he ever imagined. There’s Kay, the sister of his best friend, the street urchins he uses, as well as Gorgo himself, his best friend, the very home he has carved out for himself in the rafters of a local theater, and all his life’s savings. But in the end, it may not just be friends, home, and money he’ll lose. It just might be his life.
Kip the Quick is a fast paced action-heavy fantasy with some interesting world-building. While not completely unique, the city of Tander with its Trench and Stacks has an immediate feeling of place. I wish the author had included a map because I really wanted to follow along with Kip as he raced through the Avenue of Lords, across the rooftops, and into the steep hill to the Stacks. Though not a big part of the story, and not groundbreaking, I was glad to see the author’s attention to economic and racial diversity. This made for some stark comparisons and interesting commentary from Kip. In addition, this story world has its strange ashen (junkies), epic sand storms, and iron wains used to travel through the Sparelands that give this story a great setting for dangerous adventure.
However, though Kip is a great character and the story is engaging, this novel is not without its faults. There were some scene transitions that could have been smoother. And Kips motivations weren’t always clear. They seemed to waffle from one extreme to the other. That may have been intentional, he is a fifteen year old thief after all, but it made it feel as if the story lacked clear direction. But once the heist gets going, the clever way Kip employs the city’s geography had me tensely turning the pages, hoping against hope that Kip the Quick would pull this outrageous heist off – even if it might get him killed.
Another negative to the book is that the story ends on sort of a cliff-hanger. While this particular heist is resolved in this book, Kip’s story is definitely not over. All I can hope is that Mr. Hill will write the second book and bring Kip’s story to some sort of conclusion. I, for one, would like to read it.
If you are willing to overlook some minor structural flaws, this is a fun read. Kip will win your heart and make you wonder why such a smart kid isn’t doing something else better with his time. Maybe he will in the next book?
Recommended, with some reservations.
Kip the Quick by Clifton Hill
Kindle Edition
Published May 2016
N.E. White, August, 2016.
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C.H.Hill.
This sounds so much like the comments I shared with you on your earlier Hammerblood works in 2014-15.
I couldn’t help but smile broadly when the reviewer asked for the map which I felt was a necessity and not an option to go with your stories.
Hope your future work will reflect your taking this advice as constructive since it so closely matched my earlier input.
All best wishes, Auntie L.
Hi Lorraine, thanks for your comment. Maps are fun, they’ll come along one day. But when one is included I want it to be a quality map that offers detail, insight and a splash of art that can hint at more to come.
Regards,
Clifton