A shadow of light

A good thief barters in goods. A great one deals in shadows. A Shadow all of Light is a stylish, elegant, episodic fantasy novel by award-winning author and former poet laureate Fred Chappell. Falco, a young man from the country, arrives in the port city of Tardocco with the ambition of becoming an apprentice shadow thief. Falco's tests and adventures teach him to break through ingenious security traps and drop him among con men, monsters, pirates, and the King of Cats.