Product Description

Winter has come early to Venice. Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city. Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys' new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54170 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Synopsis
Winter has come early to Venice. Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city. Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys' new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.

Customer Reviews

Two words; Pure magic!!!!,
The plot: two children have run away from their aunt and have been befriended by a gang of street kids and their leader, the Thief Lord, also known as Scipio. A detective, who has been hired by the aunt, is looking for the children. However, a mysterious comte asks them to steal something for him, something that can help to spin time!

When I read the book, the plot seemed to me to be a little bit like Oliver Twist, as Scipio is like Fagin and the Dodger rolled into one, and Prosper and Bo are like two Olivers.

If you like reading about drama, fantasy and magic, then this book is for you.

Overhyped or what?
Haven't read the book, but I've just watched the movie. What an absolute load of rubbish. Don't get me wrong...I enjoy fantasy, but I have just spent the past 90 minutes waiting for something exciting to happen...and it never arrived. I just can't understand how such a feeble story made it to the film stage.

Interesting ideas but over-long
Prosper and Bo are orphaned brothers who run away from their aunt to Venice and meet a group of street kids. Quickly accepted, they become part of the group, surviving on the profits made by goods stolen by a mysterious Thief Lord. However, the aunt has hired a private detective who is hot on the trail of the runaways, and soon he, the aunt, the kids, the Thief Lord and a magical roundabout are all tangled together in an exciting adventure.

This book was originally written in German, and there are some slightly strange phrases in the translated English. Perhaps that explains why it took me a while to finish this book - the chapters are short and I found it rather too easy to put down. I also counted well over twenty missing speech marks, which annoyed me! (this may have been corrected since my copy was published) I do feel that the book is rather too long - the plot seems to meander around before settling into the main theme. Having said all of that, the characters are excellently drawn and very vivid, and there are some really great sections, particularly the ones involving Victor, the detective. I wanted to be gripped by the book but I wasn't. I have a copy of the even larger 'Inkspell' by the same author to read, and I have to say I'm putting it off for the moment.