Thief of Time

Its a good story, with deep interesting lore but it lacks ambition. its very slice-of-life, the short term plotlines dont tie into the main overarching story and are very small time, slice-of-life-ey. you may enjoy it for the lore and magic system (which is great) but the plot quickly changes from something cool, to lacking gravitas and is not epic at all. if you like slice-of-life youll enjoy this.

the good:

• The magic system is unique, amazing and enjoyable
• the system and skills leads to unique and interesting combinations and makes everyones skills feel important. 
• the MC's personality and occupation is enjoyable, and great to read
• him being so far out of his depth but also lucky and improving is great to read about
• the worlds characters are interesting and unique
• the MC outwitting his 'betters' is fun, smart & great
• the underdog, against all odd, genious master thief trying to chase his dream of immortality.

i ended up dropping it because the story diverges from the main plot and goes on tangents and short term adventures that pale in comparison to the amazing main plot for lenghty periods of time. the first 5 chapters are the best in the story. after that it goes into things that feel like "filler episodes"

• in short, the initial story about a masterthief with mysterious skills, who is a bit of a genius, and underdog, in an amazing world, full of interesting skills and characters, having to face things wayyy out of his league.... is abandoned for a much, much, lesser story.

this amazing, unique, fun, top trending level plot.....is completely ignored, the story ends up focusing on boring side-plots and story tangents that do not add to the main plot. its like a ferrari being ignored for a bicycle. it may get better as the plot continues. going to revisit this later because there is a lot of talent here and i think some of the authors later stories should be amazing.

if the whole story was like the first few chapters this couldve been a favourite, as i personally like epic stories. this is held back by a lack of ambition. murder mysteries and empire building is boring to me personally. if you are into slice of life, and empire building, this may be for you. 

First, the Good:

- The writing/editing is much more polished than the majority of the stuff published on RR. I appreciate authors who take the time to proofread their work. 

- I read a lot on RR, and sometimes, it can feel as if there isn't a lot of difference between characters across a lot of the stories here as the characters often have a sense of sameness in that they're blase and kind of jerks. The characters in this story standout as unique individuals.

The Somewhat Good/Somewhat Bad:

- The humor. I much prefer a light-hearted tale to grimdark, and the humor in this story definitely lightens the mood. On the other hand, the comedic aspects didn't really resonate with me, making parts of the story just seem silly. While I like light-hearted, I don't care for silly. Obviously, though, this is a big YMMV element. What I find annoying, you might find hilarious.

The Bad:

- LitRPG lite. If you come to RR looking for LitRPG, you're not going to find the elements in this story satisfying. There's little progression and the system is very minimalistic.

- Unfocused Story. While the characters have clearly defined goals, their plan for reaching their goals is very wishy washy. They switch focus from one thing to the next too easily, and it's not always clear how their current path is supposed to resolve the overall plot.

- Lack of Satisfying Moments. Again YMMV, but while I found the story readable, I didn't find it satisfying. Take for instance the end of the first arc. Another author might have chosen to have drawn out the protagonist's struggle against the Big Bad and really shown off the ingenuity and grit involved. Instead, the whole thing was resolved anticlimatically with a deus ex machina. As a reader, it just wasn't satisfying. To be honest, this type of situation is pretty common for webserials where the authors aren't known as meticulously plotting out ways to manipulate their readers' emotions. For most of the stories that I enjoy, though, I find the progression satisfying enough to keep reading. This story really had nothing for me.

Usually when I find a story to be readable, I reach the end of the posted chapters before making a decision whether to mark it as "Not Interested" or to continue reading later. I ended up stopping reading this one a few chapters early when I realized just how bored I was.

TL;DR - I found this a little too unsatisfying, but the writing is decent quality. Check it out; you may like it a lot more than I did.

This is a more of a [Comedy] story than a [Fantasy] story but is missing the [Comedy] tag. It starts off pretty good with a great opening chapter and after that drags down into boredom with very little action. The characters are...strange and weird and regularly make irrational decisions. The MC isn't really a [Master Thief] but a happy-go-lucky lifestone-stealing guy who mostly bumbles his way through things thanks to his [OP Skills]. Now His bacon is now being regularly saved by a [OP Magical Box] that also keeps upgrading him. I stopped reading after he and the female MC and her sidekicks suddenly decide to become  [Crime Bosses].

On the plus points, the writing is good. If you can suspend your disbelief and ignore all the strange actions and weirdness of the characters, you might enjoy the story.

I have given this story a middling score of three stars, because while it is sufficiently entertaining so that it kept boredom away as I read it for the day... it's not such that I feel at all compelled to continue. 
Not to say that I won't continue reading it if I get sufficiently bored enough again. I'm just really very "Meh.." about this one. 

The story and writing style were ok, though I should probably put under these categories, the fact that there were many small inconsistencies. Eg. Día says that she will give him the note book as soon as she gets it off her friends, only to produce it from her pocket to give to him later on in the same shopping trip, and not in a "I forgot I already had it" kind of way, but the author forgot that they already wrote that she didn't have it kind of way. (Many little moments like this) 

Grammer is fine for the most part, but could use some work to just refine the use of words (Not sure if that makes sense sorry, and I can't think of a specific example off the top of my head) Basically work on sentence structure and vocabulary. 

The characters are well thought out for the most part, but in some ways that just makers it more glaring when the are big inconsistencies to them. 

SPOILER
Such as the MC, who is frequently said to be 1, a survivalist, and 2, someone who will go to great lengths to avoid conflict and violence, just randomly agrees to take out the top mob bosses in the city, and become a mob boss himself..... also, another inconsistency in that scene, was the fact that Día was the one to make the proposition, but by the end, she was the one saying "We accept".. I think it was because he was the one who asked if her friends would join too, and she was speaking as a group, but in that case it should have been "They accepted" because Dia's participation was never the question. 

.... sorry if I rambled, I'm half asleep and going to go all the way asleep now. 

What we have is a world that is ruled by corrupt, power-hungry, egomaniacal, sadistic bastards. Dont even think about annoying one of them, let alone actually pissing one off. Dozens of innocents will die if some aristrocrat is in a bad mood while strolling through town. Its a harsh world. A bit unrealistic perhaps, but it is the perfect setting to make a first class felon look like a saint.

I love the characters. I mean sure, some side characters are rather single dimensional, but the main characters are awesome. Im absolutely cheering them on with every chapter. If i were to rate this novel based only on the interactions between the characters, then this would be hands-down first rate work. 

The story is good. Really good. Its clear the author has a talent for this sort of thing. Its mostly a drama broken up with some action and the authors quirky humor. He seems to be a natural at working with the tension to make the story flow.

When it comes down to the details of the plot there are a few issues. A couple of logical inconsistencies. A little forced in places. Some deus ex machina and one super convienent deus ex archa. Overall none of them stand out so much as to detract from the story, but they do exist.

There is a system, but its a super chill system. If youre not really into litRPGs then this might be doable for you. The main isnt the OP type and i seriously doubt there will be power creep issues later on. Its just not one of those stories.

The real travesty and why i say there is no justice is that this story isnt getting any attention. Trust me, it is far more worthy than many of those stories that are getting attention.

It is a must-read if you enjoy quirky main characters.MC  who mostly tries to avoid putting himself at ungodly risks(finally lead after my heart), little crazed fangirls, lethal bartenders, and more! 

the story itself has the funny tone and is self-aware about it. It is in stark contrast to various stories on the royalroad where mc is an idiot disguised as a genius protagonist with the whole world falling for him.

you should read the story if you want to try a different style.

ps-author please add some pirates in the mix,it would be legendary 

Great world-building. Every aspect is being fleshed out through character interaction and the eyes of the cast. There is no wall-of-text forced on the reader.
Both the locales, the ordinary people and the organizations that function there seem natural considering the effect of magic.

Characters, both the main two characters and the rest of the "named" cast, are very interesting.Their thought process and actions are consistent and natural. No forced stupidity to further the plot.
One of the reasons this novel shines is the knowing look it gives when it comes to the human psyche. The wry humor delivered through the dialogue reminds me of Terry Pratchett's diskworld series. Watered down and much less caustic but it's there.

When it comes to plot and pacing all i can give is praise. It's a constant flow  of new images of places and people. From fighting assassins to quiet dinners with friends to flying through the clouds, everything is presented at such a steady pace and "density" it's a real treat to read. No fluff or irrelevant stuff to pad the word count in this novel.
No forced encounters to further the plot or deus ex machina saviors (cute "box creature" included.It's not some kind of random character that just happens to save the MC).  It all makes sense considering the world-building and characters.

TLDR
There are a lot of other authors "couple swap" reviews for this novel. While usually that means the novel is some kind of vanity project for the author and a waste of time for the readers....there are exceptions. This was a real treat so far. Well done author. Keep up the good work.

Sub-title: Wait, no, you’re too badass to be Robin Hood

- Style:

The style is full of energy and quick-paced, description, dialogue and thoughts linked flawlessly for an exciting effect. The content of the descriptions, in particular, is very good, giving enough to the reader to immerse properly in the action without creating a flood that would slow the whole pace down.

Another very good point is that the author knows when to tell, when to show, and when to only imply things.

5 out of 5

- Grammar:

Nothing to say, zero, nada, niet, rien.

5 out of 5

- Story:

The plot kick in right away and the tension is properly managed, the lows and highs flowing just as well as the description supporting them, all with a logical structure without any apparent plotholes.

5 out of 5

- Characters:

The MC is described as a thief and, throughout what I read, the author does a great job at building and reinforcing this vision, using details or side thoughts of the character to build him in a natural, yet comprehensive, way.

The second MC, for the tiny amount I’ve read about her, look really promising, by her own character and the interaction she and the thief could create.

5 out of 5

- Overall:

A perfectly balanced mix of preparation and action, Thief of Time is a great novel about a master thief following in instinct and stealing life itself from the hand of corrupted nobles.

When even the title of your thief novel is stolen, you can be sure this will be a treat.

5 out of 5

- Stray thoughts :

Seriously, why is this so underrated? This just doesn't have the followers it deserves

I mean, it’s just better than my own novel that hit Trending. I really don’t understand.

Okay but, seriously, this has the exact same name as one of Terry Pratchett, , which really made me laugh when I realised this XD

Welp, that need a proper Romance alright (tho nearly any novel need a proper Romance imo, but this one even more since there's already a proper dynamic that could be grown between the MCs I think)

Overall, incredibly well written. The story currently follows a crafty, and intelligent protagonist who is escaping from what seems to have escalated from a petty theivery to nations most wanted for murder. But the way it is written makes the reader feel immersed in this world with magic, unique spells and litrpg setting. The litrpg is also excellent, there are no idiotic blue screens taking up half the page shoving down meaningless numbers down the readers throats. I am suspecting an idiotic romance along the way which I may have to knock some stars down for later especially if it takes away from the story. Each charecter is very well done , very 3D have their own motives and persona. Upto ch 20 thusfar it is a 5/5

AMAZING! That pretty much sums it up.

Style: Absolutely wonderful. I appreciate that this story is written with a strong sense of chronological order and the perspective stays consistent so it is easy to follow and you don't get lost along the way. The scenes flow together beautifully which makes for a delightful read. 

Grammar: The grammar is impecable, as the title of my review states, this is probably the best story I've ever read on this site. From the first sentence of the first chapter, I could already tell that this story was going to be a winner. I do not have any complaints about the grammar at all, in fact, I wish I was as half as good as this author at parsing out my sentences. 

Story: AMAZING, WONDERFUL, CAPITVATING. Need I say more? I was wonderfully surprised when I started reading, and before I knew it I had read like 12 chapters! The story sucks you in and paints such imagery in your mind, I can't wait to keep reading!

Character: Claud has a good foundation, we are able to get a good sense of his character and his morals right from the get-go. My favourite character though, is Dia. There is just something so intriguing about her, I feel like I can relate to her even though I have never been a bounty hunting ex-princess. She's just delightful and I am excited to see how her character develops. 

Overall, this story is worth the read! :)