Sham was once the daughter of the Captain of the Guards in Landsend and apprentice magician, but after the Southwood was conquered she became a thief. When her mentor is killed by a demon, Sham must use her talents to assist Landsend's current ruler to find and destroy the demon.
I enjoyed this, an entertaining fantasy novel set in the same world as some of Briggs' other novels, but I would have liked the romance to be fleshed out a bit more.

This takes place in the same world as "Steal the Dragon", but with different characters and locations. Our heroine, Sham, was noble-born, but since her country were conquored by another when she was a teen, she now makes her living as a more than decent thief, helped by her knowledge of magic. Her mentor, the former King's Wizard, is killed under mysterious circumstances, and she wants to find the murderer. The Reeve of the the city, Lord Kerim, wants to find who is murdering members of the court, under similar mysterious circumstances.

Kerim imports Sham to investigate, disguised as his mistress. The story very much feels like a romance novel setup, though it never quite has the romance novel payoff. It does, however, have a demon, and she finally figures out how to give it what it really wants, and also survive the solution. A better than average sword and sorcery tale, with a different solution than one might expect. ( )

fantasy, dark fantasy

Patricia Briggs has a remarkable ability to bring a world to life in only one or two short novels.

In this case, she brings a recently conquered and its inhabitants city to vibrant life in one shortish fantasy novel.

Southwood was taken only a few years ago by a foreign power which worships a cat god. The new comers were brutal when they took the country - and they do not believe that magic is real.

Sham, born the daughter of a Southwoods noble, has lived since the conquest on the streets as a mage and a thief. but her special abiliies are needed by the Reeve (ruler of the city) when a shape changing demon starts stalking and brutally murdering foreign born nobles in the castle.

The Reeve does not believe in demons - or in magic - but the evidnce for both is mounting in front of his eyes. And all of the indications are that the demon has some very special plans for him...

Briggs makes for a fascinating world, a solid plot, and some great characters. includign a potential romance that has more heat in afew kisses than many authors manage in explicit sex scenes.

Great little book. ( )

I knew that Patricia Briggs wrote fantasy as well as urban fantasy, but I haven’t actually seen any of her other books. While walking through the grocery store, I found When Demons Walk and I didn’t even think about not buying it. I love her Mercy Thompson series, so I had no doubts about this one.

Set in Southwood, Sham is a sorceress and a thief who is out for vengeance against those who crippled her master after the Cybellian invasion. Walking through the Purgatory after visiting one of her victims, she comes across Southwood’s Reeve and makes an impression. When trouble brews at the Reeve’s court, he sets out to gain her assistance in finding the culprit. What happens next is simple great storytelling.

Briggs weaves a tale involving characters who enthrall us and a world with so many intriguing aspects that you can’t help but want to know more. Even though this novel can stand alone (according to Briggs website), I can’t help to feel that I want more. What happens between Sham and the Reeve, how do the Southwood nobles and the Easterners get along. What happens next? The story leaves you wanting more. You develop so much empathy for the characters that you’re not satisfied when the story ends. In my opinion, this is a good thing.

Overall, I would recommend When Demons Walk to anyone who likes Briggs previous novels as well as anyone who has read Maria Snyder’s Study series. Between the descriptive storytelling and the imaginative characters, no one should walk away from this novel feeling like they’ve been cheated.

I’m already looking to see if this is part of a series or not, and I found out that it’s actually the third novel in the Sianim series, but it can actually stand alone as well. I’m am definitely going to try and get my hands on the other two novels in the series - Masques and Steal the Dragon.

http://www.literaryescapism.com/2008/... ( )

When Demons Walk was the first of Patricia Briggs' books I had ever read, and it instantly hooked me on the author. I've since reread it several times, and it has yet to get old for me. Like Briggs' other works, this book has a little bit of everything going for it: great chemistry between characters Sham and Kerim, plenty of magic, a little mystery, even a few chuckle-worthy moments. I also think this is a good book for introducing people to the fantasy genre, as it keeps one big toe a modern, realistic atmosphere. ( )