Title: Decent story, poor execution
Review: I picked up the Thief Lord after hearing so many comparisons to it and to Harry Potter. After finishing it though, I realized that the two books/series could not be further apart. Harry Potter books are successful because the characters and relationships are so well thought out and, while the magic may be fantasy, the relationships seem real. In this book, the story almost never strays from real life into fantasy, except in the development of the actual characters. The main character, Victor, is almost a characature of a dumb detective, and is never even believable as that. His relationship with the kids who are the focus of the book borders on the rediculous and later development of a "relationship" between him and a female characer comes from nowhere, with no build up. No one is really believable as a real life character.I give it 2 stars though because the most central character, the city of Venice, was described and included so well in the story.
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