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Summary: Professional Reviews and Quotes
Review: "Beth Hilgartner's 'A Business of Ferrets' is billed as a story in the style of the 'Thieves' World' series, and this enjoyable romp lives up to that claim. Here a loose band of street urchins, led by journeyman thief Ferret, and Sharkbait, a longshoreman who is more than he seems, gets sucked into court intrigue; action flips between the slums and waterfront of Yrkhaffe, capital of Bharaghlaf, and the city's palace and temples.But the execution of Hilgartner's first adult fantasy (she's also written three young-adult fantasies, a historical novel and a picture book) is a little rough. Names, especially for the nobles, are masses of consonants and so similar they're hard to distinguish. The urchins' ages are never quite clear, and the youngest at times seem extremely young. Yet the forms of magic are interesting, the street scenes and the urchins' network are vivid and realistic, and Ferret and Sharkbait develop a satisfying relationship."-Talebones "An engaging cast of characters plunge into a deadly court intrigue that masks a supernatural intrigue more dangerous still. From the slum kids to the Scholar King, Hilgartner creates heroes both great and small that drew me into her tale."- Lois McMaster Bujold "A group of slum children take on scheming nobles in this entertaining fantasy thief adventure. Apprentice-thief Ferret has some pretty flexible ethics regarding property rights, but she firmly believes in loyalty to her friends. When pretty beggar-boy Owl is sold as a slave to scheming nobles, Ferret investigates, drawing in other friends and gaining allies that include a prince in disguise, an artistic urchin, seers, a high priest, and a goddess. They ultimately uncover and foil a plot against the new emperor, an idealistic scholar willing to entertain unusual notions about the rights of the lower classes. A fun, fast-paced romp full of delightfully distinctive characters."-Locus, April 2000
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: A great book! Strong fantasy, with wonderful characters - people you would have loved to know as a kid, and even more as an adult. Lots of action and intrigue, with enough depth and reality to kepp you glued to the pages. Strongly reccommended!
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Summary: More, please!
Review: A great book! Strong fantasy, with wonderful characters - people you would have loved to know as a kid, and even more as an adult. Lots of action and intrigue, with enough depth and reality to kepp you glued to the pages. Strongly reccommended!
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Summary: A Ruthless Game of Theif Against Noble
Review: A plucky young apprentice thief, a slave boy with eyes full of visions, a young street artist named Mouse-how can this motley group of slum-children hope to win against the scheming and politics of the nobility and save the Scholar King? With the help of some rather unusual allies, some divine intervention, and a whole lot of luck and courage! Ms. Hilgartner deftly weaves the lives of her vivid and delightful cast into a tale of high adventure. When a plot to kill the scholar king is uncovered by a plucky young thief named Ferret, she and her young friends soon find themselves unwittingly embroiled in a dangerous world of court politics, with enemies and suspicion at every turn. Each character has their part to play; their move to make in the intricate game that means their very survival. The author maintains a brisk pace, keeping the action moving and all of her characters vivid in the reader's minds. This is a pleasant, if not completely original, romp through an adventure fantasy and perfect for YA readers who enjoy a good story. Those looking for something breathtakingly new may find the plot and story elements all too familiar. Street thieves, beggar children and kings in danger are all fairly traditional elements, but they in no way make for a dull story, as Ms. Hilgartner does an exceptional job whisking us up into her world and her characters' adventure. Perhaps my main complaint with the book was that the central villain of the book was a little overdone, so that the result was more of a caricature than I think the author was aiming for. The villainy and cruelty is so over the top in a story where most of the characters have more complex motivations that I wished for a little more subtlety. The author's technique of maintaining a large cast of characters and jumping from character to character has its drawbacks in that the story never gives readers enough time or text to touch on the inner lives and emotions of cast. The reader is ever kept at one remove, and the emotional impact of the events is not as powerful as it otherwise could be. One last concern was the dizzying number of names to keep track of; most of them containing the letters y, z, or h in some combination and making it hard to remember who was who at times. Ms. Hilgartner's writing has only improved with time, and this book is one of her best to date. She is a fine storyteller with a real sense of pacing and energy as well as a skill of weaving her plot threads together into a satisfying whole. While epic fantasy fans may find A BUSINESS OF FERRETS a bit lightweight, it is an excellent, engaging tale and will likely appeal to those readers who enjoy Tamora Pierce and Mercedes Lackey. Don't miss the next book in this series; A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS. Happy Reading! ^_^ shanshad
Rating: 
Summary: A pleasant but unexceptional fantasy
Review: Empire of Bharaghlaf has been blessed with a thoughtful and kind Emperor. Alas, he is almost powerless, and the ruthles noble houses scheme and murder with little restraint. Meanwhile, the slums remain poor and deadly for their inhabitants. The book describes a group of children from the slums, when they become embroiled in noble schemes. It's written mostly for young adults; there are some intense scenes in the book, though. The most prominent character, Ferret, is interesting, but the viewpoints shifts constantly between different characters, leaving little room for engagement. Most of the action is streamlined, almost oversimplified; and the magic is fairly superficial. On the whole, a pleasant fantasy, but not gripping, original or intricate enought to stand out.
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Rating:
Summary: A pleasant but unexceptional fantasy
Review: Empire of Bharaghlaf has been blessed with a thoughtful and kind Emperor. Alas, he is almost powerless, and the ruthles noble houses scheme and murder with little restraint. Meanwhile, the slums remain poor and deadly for their inhabitants. The book describes a group of children from the slums, when they become embroiled in noble schemes. It's written mostly for young adults; there are some intense scenes in the book, though. The most prominent character, Ferret, is interesting, but the viewpoints shifts constantly between different characters, leaving little room for engagement. Most of the action is streamlined, almost oversimplified; and the magic is fairly superficial. On the whole, a pleasant fantasy, but not gripping, original or intricate enought to stand out.
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Rating:
Summary: A Business of Ferrets
Review: Ferret, Owl, Mouse, Kitten, Donkey, and Squirrel. They are all friends, and they all live on the streets - with the exception of Mouse, who owns a flower shop with her parents, and Donkey, who works in his uncle's tavern. Owl and Kitten are beggars, Squirrel a messenger boy, and Ferret is a thief. None have great lives, but they have routine and each other.
Until Owl is sold as a slave to a noble house, and their lives change in many ways.
I'm sorry this isn't a very good review, but I haven't read this book for a while. I've read it three times, though, and will read it again in time. It's a great book, and I recommend it to just about anyone.
Rating:
Summary: A page turner
Review: I read this book in one sitting, mesmerized by the great story and the great characters. The plotting was superb; there were enough twists and turns to keep me surprised, but at the same time everything seemed thoroughly believable. I loved the multiple levels of the plot(s), just who is pulling the puppet strings and how much autonomy do the puppets have? The minor characters were as interesting as the major ones and the villains were engaging too. My only quibble was that it took me a while to get used to the names of the people at court - all those k's and h's and y's!
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Summary: My comments will address why I wrote the book.
Review: I wrote _A Business of Ferrets_ because I wanted to explore in some depth the history of an imaginary country during a period of unrest and transition. While there are several young people in the book, this is NOT a children's book. This is, as a reader might guess, the start of a series of several volumes; many of the characters have roles to play in the unfolding action, so although they are young in this book, they rapidly grow up in subsequent stories. I chose to write _Ferrets_, and not another book for youngsters, because I wanted to tell the story without having to worry about the somewhat artificial restraints imposed by the juvenile fiction genre. I do think the story will appeal to highschool and adult readers, so don't be scared off it you are a YA reader!
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Summary: Book Description
Review: In the decadent Empire of Bharaghlaf, the Scholar King Khethyran sits uneasily on the throne, while in the Slums of his capital city an apprentice thief, Ferret, and her four young friends eke out a hand-to-mouth existence. When the beggar Owl disappears, Ferret and the others set out to learn his fate. Owl is to be the bait at the center of a complicated grab for power. But Owl, whose gifts as a Seer are just beginning to emerge, is far more than the helpless pawn he seems. As Ferret and her friends come closer to the truth, they too are inexorably drawn into the vicious intrigues of the Council Houses-and set out to beat the scheming nobles at their own ruthless game.
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