Samhain Publishing, $3.50, ISBN 1-59998-865-8
Sci-fi Romance, 2008

Like a Thief in the Night is a novella, but while I’m reading it, it feels like a much longer story. It is only towards the rather rushed last few chapters that I remember that this is a novella, but for a long time, this is one cool read indeed.

This one has many twists and turns, probably a few too many for a story of its length, so I’ll just keep the synopsis simple so that readers can have fun discovering the twists for themselves. Set about 200 years in the future when everyone acts and dresses like they have watched The Matrix one time too many, we have Arden Black, an assassin, who garrotes the throat of her objective, one Sevastien Aniketos, only to learn too late that he can’t be killed and he’s out to get her. The chase is on.

Characterization is rather superficial here, but that is to be expected, I suppose, given the space constraints faced by Ms Sharpe. However, these characters are really cool. Their instantaneous attraction is believable to me because we have too not-exactly-ordinary freaks who are turned on by the chase and the danger. Due to the superficial characterization, this one makes a far more enjoyable adventure/thriller with a dash of erotic attraction rather than a romance. Which is to say, if you aren’t exclusively looking for a romance, you may have a good time here. Some people may not like this, so maybe I should warn them: there are some back-and-forth switches from past to present here and there.

I wonder what this author can do in a longer format. I think it’ll be crazy and grand. Like a Thief in the Night is pretty cool enough to make me a believer.