Read History
2023 | Score: 9
I forgot this one somehow. Seaside. Enjoyed it a lot.
Format: Audible
Days: 35
Date: 8/6/2023 -> 9/10/2023
2026 | Score: 6.5
A bit weaker than I remember it. The cast of characters is still memorable and fun but it takes the absurdism a little too far in the back half. A fun, humorous heist story but I doubt I will continue the series.
Format: Kindle
Days: 5
Date: 7/17/2026 -> 7/22/2026
Summary (Spoilers)
The Palace Job
Patrick Weekes
Rogues of the Republic #1
The Palace Job Summary
Loch and Kail are Urujar army deserters who have been interred in The Cleaners, a notorious prison hanging off the bottom of the floating island Heaven’s Spire, where all the politics in the Republic are decided. With the help of another prisoner, they are able to outwit the bumbling Warden Orris and ride one of the massive crystals keeping the island aloft down to earth. They set about getting a crew to carry out a heist.
Justicar Pyvic is tasked with tracking down the escaped prisoners, and teams up with Warden Orris as he tries to make up for his failure, but Archvoyant Selistin secretly sends out his own assassins also.
Loch and Kail first recruit Tern, a safe-cracking gadget girl, and Icy (Indomitable Courteous Fist), an acrobat and multi-purpose Imperial to the team, and tell them to meet at a restaurant at a set time. Next they get a love priestess turned death priestess Desidora, who wields Ghylspwr, a hammer said to contain the soul of the last king of the Ancients. Next up is a unicorn Ululenia who is able to shapeshift and mess with people’s minds. Finally they get Hessler, an illusionist who got kicked out of wizard school, and his young acquaintance Dairy.
Unfortunately for them, the current crime boss in the area is an ex-squad mate of Loch and now hates her, so they face obstacles aside from Justicar Pyvic chasing them. They reach their destination and meet up with the full team, but Pyvic shows up right after and they have to flee, but were able to get a head start thanks to Warden Orris’ idiocy. Loch then frames her ex-squad mate (J - something) as herself, and they all disguise themselves as guards to help escort prisoner “Loch” back up to Heaven’s Spire with Pyvic. Unfortunately they get found out and most of the guards on the flying ship seem to be soulless zombies of some sort. They have a crash landing but all escape ok and head to Voyant Cevirt’s home.
Loch reveals herself to be Isafiera de Lochenville, an old friend of Cevirt. Loch and her army squad (including Kail), got set up by Selistin in the army and got trapped behind enemy lines, while he used the opportunity to kill her family, claim their resources, and adopt Loch’s younger sister Naria as his ward to seem like a good guy and get promoted to Archvoyant (governmental leader). Loch plans to steal back an elven manuscript he took and sell it to the elves for a ton of cash.
Pyvic figures out where they are hiding out and goes to tell the Archvoyant but Selistin is more concerned with political games, trying to get his Learned part a majority over the Skilled party. A bunch of Justicars, Warden Orris in big armor, and someone named Hunter Mirrkir show up at Cevirt place and the gang have to split. Loch pushes Orris off Heaven’s Spire, Mirrkir almost kills Ululenia since he has a thing for hunting down unicorns, and Silestin’s men kill some justicars, angering Pyvic.
They have to change their plan and sneak into the Victory Ball at Silestin’s home, using resources they spent the last weeks acquiring to disable much of his security. Silestin has been bartering with a Glimmer Man, Bi’ul, some sort of shadow demon magic thing for a while and Bi’ul and Mirrkir attack the group. They end up stealing the manuscript but Desidora gets killed by Mirrkir but then was still alive and almost kills him to save Kail and Tern, but then Icy actually kills him and then they try to run away but Icy goes back for Loch’s sister Naria, but she turns out to be on the Archvoyant’s side so Loch knocks her out and they run.
At the end of all the party chaos Bi’ul got dispelled once but is back, Mirrkir is dead, and Desidora and Tern are trapped and they all think Hessler got killed. Silestin’s secretary, the satyr Elkinsair, is planning to torture Desidora, Tern, and Ghylspwr, but Hessler uses illusions to disguise himself as Bi’ul and they kill the satyr and flee.
Meanwhile, the remaining crew members go to meet with an elf to sell the manuscript, but Silestin planned ahead for that got there first, he turns Kail into one of the zombie things and seems to have the upper hand, but then Pyvic changes sides since he has learned the truth about Silestin and helps them. Loch trades the manuscript in exchange for the elf helping get the rest of her team back here and some other stuff. Silestin, Pyvic, and Loch do battle in the Cleaners, while the rest of them fight Bi’ul. Dairy turns out to be Rybandaris, Champion of Dawn, a prophesied warrior and kills Bi’ul. Naria shows up and saves Loch from the Archvoyant after hearing him admit he killed their family.
The group reconvenes at Voyant Cevirt’s home and celebrates their victory, and Pyvic tells Loch she should become a Justicar.