Take a Thief
core novel 2001 Valdemar
Record
| First published | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.16 (14,247 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| Page count | 435 |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-7564-0008-2 |
| First-edition date | 2001-10 |
Synopsis
A standalone Valdemar novel and prequel to Arrows of the Queen follows Skif, an orphan in Valdemar's capital who is taken under the wing of a pickpocket named Deke and, by the age of twelve, has become an accomplished cat burglar working the city's rooftops and streets. His life changes course when he sets his sights on what looks like an easy target: a white horse left unattended in the street. The horse proves to be a Companion, one of the mystical beings that Choose Valdemar's Heralds, and Skif's attempted theft becomes the moment he himself is claimed rather than the other way around, setting him on an unexpected path away from thievery and toward training as a Herald.
Where it sits
- Universe: Valdemar
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Mercedes Lackey
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within Valdemar (standalone work): position 25 of 60: previous Brightly Burning (2000) · next The Valdemar Companion (2001)
Sources
- Mercedes Lackey official site
- Valdemar Wiki (Fandom)
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey
- https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/take-a-thief-9781101118320/
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