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    Museum of Thieves
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    Museum of Thieves
    Unavailable
    Museum of Thieves
    Audiobook6 hours

    Museum of Thieves

    Written by Lian Tanner

    Narrated by Claudia Black

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Welcome to the tyrannical city of Jewel, where impatience is a sin and boldness is a crime.
    Goldie Roth has lived in Jewel all her life. Like every child in the city, she wears a silver guardchain and is forced to obey the dreaded Blessed Guardians. She has never done anything by herself and won't be allowed out on the streets unchained until Separation Day.
    When Separation Day is canceled, Goldie, who has always been both impatient and bold, runs away, risking not only her own life but also the lives of those she has left behind. In the chaos that follows, she is lured to the mysterious Museum of Dunt, where she meets the boy Toadspit and discovers terrible secrets. Only the cunning mind of a thief can understand the museum's strange, shifting rooms. Fortunately, Goldie has a talent for thieving.
    Which is just as well, because the leader of the Blessed Guardians has his own plans for the museum-plans that threaten the lives of everyone Goldie loves. And it will take a daring thief to stop him. . . .
    Museum of Thieves is a thrilling tale of destiny and danger, and of a courageous girl who has never been allowed to grow up-until now.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 28, 2010
    ISBN9780307710826
    Unavailable
    Museum of Thieves
    Author

    Lian Tanner

    Lian Tanner is the author of the Keepers trilogy (Museum of Thieves, City of Lies, Path of Beasts), winner of numerous awards around the world, including the Aurealis Award for Children's Fiction. She lives in Australia.

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    Reviews for Museum of Thieves

    4/5

    127 ratings22 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A simple story not so simply told. It was delightful.
    • 4/5
      First book in a new series-will definitely be reading book two.
    • 4/5
      Not wildly original, but interesting premise that posits extreme societal overprotection of children, to the point where several revolt. In first book of series, tough to tell exact nature of magical elements, but fast-paced with well-imagined villains.
    • 4/5
      Themes: freedom vs. safety, deception, war, magic, dystopiaSetting: City of JewelThe first in a series (Just a side note - why so many series? Can't we ever wrap things up in one book any more?) about a miserable town where children are protected from absolutely everything just in case they might hurt themselves - it's for their own good - by chaining them to an adult until their Separation Day. But Goldie steals a pair of scissors and frees herself. She escapes to the Museum. There she discovers that the city is full of secrets and trouble is heading their way. Kind of a strange book, but I'm planning to read the next one. I think kids would like it.
    • 5/5
      Great book! A unique tale about a common topic, freedom from those in power and the fact that living in a place where all somewhat dangerous circumstances are eliminataed is not always best. This story is fast-paced and full of great characters, places, and adventures. Goldie, is the main character who is a strong-willed young girl who knows something is not right about the city where she lives and does something about it. She is surrounded by other wonderful characters who are there to guide her and help her along the way. My favorite character of the book being the Brizzlehound Broo, who is a cute and cuddly little dog that can also turn into a great big threatening and talking dog when he needs to. Overall a great read and I am excited for this to be a series too!
    • 3/5
      Tyrannical societies seem to be popular reading. The city of Jewel is run by a The Grand Protector, who is assisted by The Fugleman and a bunch of Blessed Guardians. Blessed Guardians watch over the kids when they are not with their parents. This society's main mission is to keep their children safe. So safe that they are always chained to some adult until they reach Separation Day. On Separation Day, they are unchained and allowed their "freedom".Goldie has a streak of rebellion and independent thought in her. She has had to wear punishment chains a number of times for not following the rules or speaking out of turn. On this very special day, Separation Day, she is wearing the punishment chains. The reader already knows from page one that Goldie is the character to watch. When an explosion rocks the Separation Day Ceremonies, Goldie takes the opportunity to steal a pair of scissors so she can cut off her chains made of ribbons and escape. She has no idea where she can hid and she ultimately finds herself in an old, moldy building that is passing for a Museum. What she does not know is that this Museum is extremely important to the safety of Jewel.Most of the characters are one dimensional but Goldie and Toadspit, another child who ran away last year, are complete entities. The keepers of the museum are very interesting eccentric characters. The two nonhuman characters are fanciful creatures that the readers will like. Broo, the last Brizzlehound and Morg, the Slaughterbird also help protect Jewel.There is a lot of action and one has to find both Goldie and Toadspit admirable and irritating. Just like real children, but they show their tenacity and bravery even though they have been so sheltered previously. Once again readers can identify with them. I think will want to read the next entry in this series. It was exciting and filled with action and surprises. I would recommend this so someone who is looking for a slightly different kind of heroic fantasy.
    • 4/5
      Rebel protagonist, girl-thief Goldie is paired with a sullen sidekick (Toadspit) and group of guardians with extraordinary power who band together to save their city from barbarians who are trapped in time in the old museum of Dunt, just waiting for the opportunity to escape and pillage. Fun, gripping, and all around enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Tanner's book is a fantasy. It primarily follows the activities of Goldie, a young girl who is always getting in trouble in the over-protective society she lives in. The adults in the community, frightened by all of the horrible things that can't really be explained but just exist (i.e., plague, children dying, etc.), have allowed their freedoms to be quashed in order to be protected.This book did a really good job of pointing out that kids need to be kids. That it's good for them to have enough freedom to find strength and have fun. That it's bad for them to feel like their life is in peril at every turn. For while bad things do occasionally happen, the good things don't often happen, either, if you only focus on protecting yourself.I liked the characters in this book. I liked the world that Tanner created. I liked the messages, and I had fun reading this book.
    • 4/5
      Goldie, an impulsive and bold twelve-year-old, escapes the oppressive city of Jewel, where children are required to wear guardchains for their protection, and finds refuge in the extraordinary Museum of Dunt, an ever-shifting world where she discovers a useful talent for thievery and mysterious secrets that threaten her city and everyone she loves.
    • 4/5
      Hurray for fantastic, middle-grade level adventures! I think the last book I read that I enjoyed this much was Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. Lian Tanner has created a fantastic world in Museum of Thieves and provided middle-schoolers with a strong, female lead character (and a strong, male secondary character), no romance (none needed!), a mysterious building and a world that could be so real it's frightening!Have you ever seen parents walking about with their children tied to them? Take that and magnify it 100 times and you have the basic idea behind this book. In Jewel, children are strapped to their parents until the age of separation. But Goldie, a 12 year old girl, decides this is not the life she wants to lead... and so she takes measures to change it.Enter an interesting crew of thieves (although.. I would have liked a bit more fleshing out of them). A building that, rather than using the Harry Potter-style of staircases, actually lives and moves about according to its moods. Caught your interest yet?Let me just say.. when this book came in I set it on the counter in the kitchen. The moment my 7 year old nephew (who is becoming quite the prolific reader) saw it he wanted to know what it is about. Then, his father stopped as he passed it and checked it out. I took it with me to babysit, and one of the adults of the house picked it up off the table when it was lying out. This is a book that inspires interest and, especially if you have a pre-teen reluctant reader, will beg to be read.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite books! I read it once when I was younger and just finished listening to it with my mom and we enjoyed it just as much
    • 4/5
      I really liked this, and am eager to read the next two!

      There's a city where they've gone to extensive lengths to protect the children--no animals in the city, the kids have to wear a chain/rope *all the time* in case of kid snatchers, and one girl cut herself at age 6 by accident, and she had a month of bedrest.

      There's a corrupt group of kidprotectors, of course.

      Man, teaching kids that adults will use "but what about the children!?!?" to justify corruption--this is good stuff.
    • 4/5
      Unexpectedly fun, yet solid fantastical adventure. It's creepy, and the fantastic elements are a mixture of a twisted social setting, plus some wondrous magic - none of the standard fantasy elements here. I liked the imaginativeness of what's going on, and the weird Museum is definitely something I feel the urge to explore more. I also enjoyed the characters and their arcs (a bit simplistic, but it IS a children's book!) and found the writing skipped along smoothly and plump with character.
    • 3/5
      A very satisfying read. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this tale, with its whimsical, fantastical feel. It reminded me rather of Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series. The world is delightfully easy to engulf oneself in and the characters are interesting and engaging. It ahs a few darker moments, but nothing serious and was overall a delightful and appealing read.
    • 3/5
      In the city of Jewel, children are kept chained to an adult at all times to keep them "safe". When the ceremony day finally arrives for Goldie Roth to get her freedom, a bomb explodes in the city and the release is canceled. Goldie, unable to bear the thought of more years of constrainment, takes advantage of the commotion and escapes on her own. She is led to the Museum of Dunt, an ever-changing place that holds many secrets of the past. In this mysterious atmosphere, Goldie learns what many children of old knew instinctively, how to be a leader. An interesting book appropriate for grades 4-8, this 312 page fantasy has unique features that should draw and hold boys as well as girls, after the slowish start.
    • 4/5
      Museum of Thieves is a great middle-grade to young adult novel, but can most definitely be enjoyed by all. I suppose it would technically fit into the category of dystopian fantasy, but while reading it I sensed more of a "magical" and "fairy-tale-like" vibe coming off from it. Our 12-year-old protagonist is Goldie Roth, who has lived in the tyrannical city of Jewel all her life. In a society obsessed with "protecting the children," she and all her peers are forced to wear silver guardchains and obey their overseers called the Blessed Guardians until they reach the age of Separation. When a bomb attack cancels Goldie's Separation Day, she runs away in a panic only to end up at the Museum of Dunt where she meets its mysterious caretakers and a boy named Toadspit. Together with her new friends, Goldie takes a stand against the Blessed Guardians and their leader whose diabolical plans won't just mean bad news for Goldie, but would threaten the lives of everyone in Jewel.Do yourselves a favor: if you ever get the choice between reading the book or listening to the audio version, choose the latter. Back when I was still an audiobook noob, I could never understand what the big deal was. So instead of reading the words off the paper, you're just listening to someone read them back to you. No huge difference, right?Except there is. Now that I've had more than a hundred audiobooks under my belt, I can understand how the choice of narrator can make or break a story. Claudia Black, the narrator for Museum of Thieves is probably best known to sci-fi fans for her role in the show Farscape, but I recognize her more from her voice work for video games like Dragon Age: Origins or Uncharted 2. And knowing her talent for voice acting, I guess I really shouldn't have been surprised what a brilliant narrating job she did here.Still, just because you have a seasoned actor doing the narrating, does not mean they will do a good job. In fact, I find that some of my favorite Hollywood actors and actresses have made for the absolute crappiest audiobook narrators. That talent they have on screen somehow doesn't translate well to this format. Because if the experience with audiobooks had taught me anything else, it's that, no, narrating a book is NOT just like reading back the words on paper out loud. You can easily screw it up.However, Claudia Black handles it all like the pro she is. She's got the different voices down with her use of tones and accents, so never once was I confused as to which character in the book was speaking. She's also great with other effects like infusing her voice with emotion or varying her volume. She's also got the most sensual voice, and even as a straight and happily married woman I must admit that listening to her always gives me pleasant tingly chills down my spine. I think I could listen to her read forever.But enough gushing about Claudia Black. Like I said, the book itself is a fantastic read, but this is one of the few cases where the audiobook narration makes it even better. Maybe it's the fact this book was meant for young audiences, but I just didn't find the characters to be that deep or well-constructed -- but again, one of those shortcomings that a good narrator can make up for. The setting is suitably fantastical, especially descriptions of the museum and all the wonderful treasures and places within. The story itself is fun and entertaining, even for adults, though its message of growing up and independence is admittedly more appropriate for younger readers.Seriously, though, if you're interested in this and can get your hands on the audiobook...do it. And be sure to also check out my fellow blog contributor Wendy's take on Museum of Thieves! I have her to thank for pointing this series out to me.
    • 5/5
      In Museum of Thieves, we meet twelve-year-old Goldie Roth. She's not a bad child, but she chafes at the restrictions placed on her. You see, in the City of Jewel, children are kept safe by being literally attached to an adult at all times -- either a parent, or one of the Blessed Guardians. The practice stems from the early days of the city, when there were dangers like slave traders, stagnant and disease-ridden pools of water, and feral dogs and cats all over the city. Now, hundereds of years after those dangers have been mostly mitigated, the children are still kept safe at the expense of any sort of personal freedom. Goldie looks forward to Separation Day, when she will at last be able to go without the silver chains she has worn all her life, and the constant companionship of the Blessed Guardians. But when Goldie's Separation Day is postponed due to a shocking tragedy, Goldie runs away. She manages to evade the Blessed Guardians and finds sanctuary in the Museum of Dunt, a mysterious little building that houses artifacts related to the history of the city, dating back to before the time the city was called Jewel. And, as Goldie will learn, the museum houses much more than just artifacts . . .This story has mystery and adventure and friendship, fantastical creatures and nefarious plots, music and magic. The writing is good and the audiobook narration is also excellent. I definitely recommend it to fans of juvenile fantasy!
    • 4/5
      The children of Dunt are well protected; too well protected. They all look forward to Separation Day, when they will be separated from the Blessed Guardians. They will be able to make their own way in the world. And no one looks forward to this day more than twelve year old Godlen Roth, who is full of life and boldness. When she makes a grand escape from Separation Day after something goes terribly wrong, she finds herself drawn by shadows to the Museum of Dunt, where she is taken in and promised protection…at least, protection from the Guardians and their evil plans. However, the Museum, as small as it may look on the outside, has much more to it than anyone could ever imagine on the inside. More secrets, more life, more terrifying discoveries. And to stay alive, Goldie must join Toadspit, Herro Dan, Olga Ciavolga, and Sinew in their quest to keep this museum under control, and away from prying eyes.______________When I find an original book amongst the many unoriginal books out there (some good, some not), it’s like receiving a trophy. I discovered this one, bought it, and my sister got to it first. It’s so good, Sierra, she kept telling me. It’s so original! Soon after I began reading it, I found that it truly was original. Now, I’ve read similar books, Incarceron by Catherine Fisher being one of them. However, what made it original was the air it gave off. I’ve never felt the way I did while reading it in any other book. Which brings me to my one-word description: strange. Yes, strange. This book is strange, in all the best kinds of ways. Strange ideas, strange buildings, strange world, strange characters – all to carry you away and make you a part of their story.Speaking of the characters, I do have a favorite character in this story. The Fugleman. But I won’t say anything else or I’ll spoil some surprises! However, while I did love the characters and wish the best for them, some of them, including the lead, were flat. Goldie, Herro Dan, and the Grand Protector lacked the life I wish they had. However, Olga Ciavolga, the Blessed Guardians, Toadspit, Sinew, and of course the Fugleman were all wonderful.And while I wasn’t as drawn to some of the characters as I’d hoped, it didn’t bother me one bit. I didn’t even notice it until the end, actually. The reason? The writing and story line. They were so amazing that the story didn’t need revolutionary characters to fill in. The story line twisted and turned and led me to exactly where I should be – waiting for the sequal, City of Lies, which I happily plan on reading as soon as it is released.
    • 4/5
      “Museum of Thieves” is the first installation in “The Keepers” series by Lian Tanner. The book features Goldie and Toadspit, two 12 year old runaways in the city of Jewel. Jewel is a city where nothing bad ever happens. There are no animals (because they cause disease), no crime, no war, and children are chained to their parents or a Blessed Guardian at all times to keep them safe. With nowhere else to go, the two runaways have both ended up at the Museum of Dunt, a strange place which houses all of the secrets and dangers that existed long before Jewel. Upheaval in the city is making the museum restless, and Goldie and Toadspit must make sure that nothing escapes its walls. This is a fun and imaginative adventure full of rich detail. There are a few slow spots, but for the most part the story moves quickly and smoothly. The book ends with a teaser for the next book in the series, which will leave you wanting more. Recommended for grades 5-8.
    • 5/5
      Goldie Roth lives in the city of Jewel. This is a city where the children are constantly chained to someone or something. The reason is to keep them safe. In years past children have been stolen and taken as slaves or drowned in the river. They must wear a silver guard chain that during the day is attached to a guardian. When at home they are attached to their parent by the same silver chain. Some parents even chain their child to the bed at night so they don’t accidentally wander off. However, when they turn 12 they are released through a public Separation Ceremony. Goldie can’t wait. The time has come. As she stands on stage the only thing that binds her is a ribbon connecting her to her mother. Her name is the first called. As the scissors are pulled out to separate her from her parents the Fugleman comes in and collapses. Bleeding he tells a terrible story about a bomb going off in his office and killing a child. He insists that things are not safe and they should postpone the Separation Ceremony. In the confusion, Goldie steals the scissors and separates herself from her parents and runs off. For having such a rebellious child her parents are put in the House of Repentance to pay for her deed.Goldie ends up at the Museum of Dunt where shifting rooms and exhibits carry their own secrets. There she becomes the fifth person to protect the museum. What does she need to protect it from? Is the threat inside or out? One thing is for sure, Goldie may be the person to stop the evil that is building.
    • 3/5
      I love dystopian stories, especially when they have a little bit of fantasy thrown in. (Or a lot!) This one is written for the middle grade age range and it would be pleasing to boys or girls. The main character is a girl, but she quickly teams up with a boy around her age as well. The Museum itself has magical properties and it can feel and change where rooms are located and where stairs will lead you to. There is an entirely different world once one goes to the right places within the museum.I was a bit lost as the story didn’t ever explain why those that worked at the Museum felt that Goldie (the main character) was needed there, a plot point that seemed to have been overlooked. But, as that didn’t really seem to matter in order to move the plot along, it wasn’t a major issue. The story did have good moral values, which is another plus for the younger readers and I expect that they will enjoy the powers of the Museum as well.