What do you think?
Rate this book
Shadow & Dagger #1
Shadow
Never trust an elf, a thief, or a woman. Shadow is all three... Shadow, a light-hearted (and light-fingered) elven thief, returns to her homeland after several centuries' absence only to find that a great human trade city has grown up next to the forest in which she was born. Now the elves and the humans maintain an uneasy alliance, but when Shadow steals a magical bracelet, she finds herself caught in the middle of a plot that may tear the city-and the alliance-apart forever.
172 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
5 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Shelved as 'wishlist'
October 17, 2020I hear this is about slutty elves and also some thieving and honestly, and this is the kind of content that has made me into the shameless fantasy gobbling whore who stands before you today
August 4, 2010
This was one of the books that we checked out of the library repeatedly when we were younger, then eventually *had* to buy a copy. I think we would have held onto the Shadow trilogy out of sheer sentimentalism at this point but wanted to read it and see how it held up compared to our memories.
I recommend reading Greendaughter, by the same author, before this book; the plot is entirely spoiled by Shadow. However, having read Greendaughter later ourselves, we can attest that it's still enjoyable even if you know what's going to happen.
We haven't really thought about it for ages but this was our first introduction to a sexuality that is open and warm but non-monogamous. The elves of Shadow's world consider sex to be recreation and a way of showing affection, not necessarily anything more...and it's portrayed as good and healthy. When we were just out of puberty, we appreciated the Shadow trilogy for having honest and positive depictions of sex but didn't really think about the polyamorous implications. Now, we appreciate it even more.
There are strong parallels between our Otherkin memories and the elvan culture in all of the Shadow-related books (also including Greendaughter and a book or two about Shadow's goddaughter, the latter of which never really did much for us). We can't tell how much is the book influencing and perhaps creating our memories, and how much is accurate portrayal of what's generally considered elf-type culture...the things that lead us to apply the label "elf" to ourselves. Yet more ambiguity to add to our identity-work, and a little unsettling to read after having forgotten some of the cultural details in the book(s).
The story still holds our interest - an elvan thief who wanders into town, steals the wrong magical bauble, and has to find her way out of trouble - but it's also definite YA fare. The kind of YA we want our kids to have.
It's also where we got the habit of writing "elvan" instead of "elven"; it just looks right to us.
-Shaynin
I recommend reading Greendaughter, by the same author, before this book; the plot is entirely spoiled by Shadow. However, having read Greendaughter later ourselves, we can attest that it's still enjoyable even if you know what's going to happen.
We haven't really thought about it for ages but this was our first introduction to a sexuality that is open and warm but non-monogamous. The elves of Shadow's world consider sex to be recreation and a way of showing affection, not necessarily anything more...and it's portrayed as good and healthy. When we were just out of puberty, we appreciated the Shadow trilogy for having honest and positive depictions of sex but didn't really think about the polyamorous implications. Now, we appreciate it even more.
There are strong parallels between our Otherkin memories and the elvan culture in all of the Shadow-related books (also including Greendaughter and a book or two about Shadow's goddaughter, the latter of which never really did much for us). We can't tell how much is the book influencing and perhaps creating our memories, and how much is accurate portrayal of what's generally considered elf-type culture...the things that lead us to apply the label "elf" to ourselves. Yet more ambiguity to add to our identity-work, and a little unsettling to read after having forgotten some of the cultural details in the book(s).
The story still holds our interest - an elvan thief who wanders into town, steals the wrong magical bauble, and has to find her way out of trouble - but it's also definite YA fare. The kind of YA we want our kids to have.
It's also where we got the habit of writing "elvan" instead of "elven"; it just looks right to us.
-Shaynin
June 5, 2007
This is my friend Anne's first book and she dedicated it to me! A delicious twist on Dungeons and Dragons-style medieval sword and sorcery.
May 9, 2012
Funny, fast-paced,and fresh. I don���t know what happened to this lovely lady (the author). After writing several novels, she seems to have dropped off the radar. COME BACK TO US, ANNE. COME BACK!! We need your sharp, well-plotted medieval fantasies surrounding the elf-thief Shadow and her friends.
May 23, 2010
Reread. Sexually active 500 plus year old female elf thief steals Mcguffin. Plot ensues.
Really good of its king of thing, nice to have available again. Always good for a reread. Wonder what Logston is up to these days.
Really good of its king of thing, nice to have available again. Always good for a reread. Wonder what Logston is up to these days.
June 22, 2024
Spending 3 years trying to find this book and not fully enjoying it has to be a crime. Ultimately I give this a 2.5 but I'm rounding it up to be nice.
The plot is extremely weak and randomly becomes present in this strange manner that left it feeling unfulfilling. For the longest time it felt like there was no plot aside from Shadow stealing and sleeping with every man she met. Then all of sudden there is this plot about a bracelet which ended up not being satisfying at all. I skipped 2 whole pages because why was 5 pages dedicated to her stealing some jewels, after the 3rd page in this whole scene I was thinking "why are we dragging this out" then I realized it because we never really see her steal anything, it was always "she swiped this or swiped that" Logston thought 5 pages being dedicated to one theft was the answer to never showing the others, the worst part about it, it wasn't even an elaborate theft, just dragged out. Then you get to the end of the story and nothing makes sense about WHY Shadow was at the center of it all, until she explains for like 3 pages worth how everything connects. Logston put zero effort into making these connections present throughout the story, everything with the plot is completely disjointed and unsatisfying.
Shadow is a fine character, not a favorite of mine, but I don't hate her. I was initially thrown off by the running theme of her sleeping with every man she felt like (only because I had no idea about it and wasn't expecting it). On one hand its a nice change and was probably considered progressive at the time considering it was done in a manner of it being just recreational fun as opposed to relationship based, and while all the scenes were fade to black, unfortunately after awhile I got annoyed by it, almost every chapter ended the same way, her going to bed with someone, and I was just like "okay I get it". Also everything came so easily for Shadow, and many of the problems she had were handled almost instantaneously which made it boring.
Outside of Shadow there are plenty of other characters but no one really leaves an impression. For me there isn't anything in this that makes me want to read it again, I didn't really find it fun, and since I have no great attachment to any of the characters there is no lingering interest.
I'll most likely read the 2nd one as I do own it and these are short but it did take me 4 days to read this one, so I don't know just yet.
The plot is extremely weak and randomly becomes present in this strange manner that left it feeling unfulfilling. For the longest time it felt like there was no plot aside from Shadow stealing and sleeping with every man she met. Then all of sudden there is this plot about a bracelet which ended up not being satisfying at all. I skipped 2 whole pages because why was 5 pages dedicated to her stealing some jewels, after the 3rd page in this whole scene I was thinking "why are we dragging this out" then I realized it because we never really see her steal anything, it was always "she swiped this or swiped that" Logston thought 5 pages being dedicated to one theft was the answer to never showing the others, the worst part about it, it wasn't even an elaborate theft, just dragged out. Then you get to the end of the story and nothing makes sense about WHY Shadow was at the center of it all, until she explains for like 3 pages worth how everything connects. Logston put zero effort into making these connections present throughout the story, everything with the plot is completely disjointed and unsatisfying.
Shadow is a fine character, not a favorite of mine, but I don't hate her. I was initially thrown off by the running theme of her sleeping with every man she felt like (only because I had no idea about it and wasn't expecting it). On one hand its a nice change and was probably considered progressive at the time considering it was done in a manner of it being just recreational fun as opposed to relationship based, and while all the scenes were fade to black, unfortunately after awhile I got annoyed by it, almost every chapter ended the same way, her going to bed with someone, and I was just like "okay I get it". Also everything came so easily for Shadow, and many of the problems she had were handled almost instantaneously which made it boring.
Outside of Shadow there are plenty of other characters but no one really leaves an impression. For me there isn't anything in this that makes me want to read it again, I didn't really find it fun, and since I have no great attachment to any of the characters there is no lingering interest.
I'll most likely read the 2nd one as I do own it and these are short but it did take me 4 days to read this one, so I don't know just yet.
August 9, 2021
Was great to finally get to the 1st book in the series (after reading the prequels, that I knew about years ago) and see where the inspiration for Greendaughter came from. Some details were a bit off, when they got to the story of Chyrie, from the actual prequels (names and character traits) but I am going to chalk it up to them being lost to history, since this is set hundreds of years later and no one seems to be 100% clear on how things came to be
September 17, 2018
Reads somewhat like the author was a huge D&D fan (who enjoyed the townie side of RPG life). The style reads like a spritely YA fantasy with a tactful dash of adult sex that told me the author enjoyed Fritz Leiber's work.
August 16, 2021
Trashy fun fantasy, a very quick read.
December 21, 2021
A solid, old-school fantasy romp.
November 19, 2024
I LOVE reading about Shadow’s adventures and look forward to many more. Definitely re-reading this one again and again!
December 26, 2024
I think I read this book about once a year. It's a favorite!
May 26, 2016
Shadow is a thief who steals a little more than she bargained for when she enters the city of Allanmere. Somehow the little magical bracelet she pickpocketed is the lynchpin of a much larger mystery. She'll need all her skills to figure out what's going on before the fallout gets her killed.
This is a bit of an odd one. Shadow herself is almost perpetually happy, as she goes around stealing whatever she can get her hands on and settling herself for a time in this new place. As an elf, she's naturally long-lived, and has had a lot of experience being a thief. She spends most of her time stealing, getting drunk, or getting high on dreamweed. And because elves are very rarely fertile, she also beds anyone who catches her fancy. (And although she mentions STDs at one point, thus showing they do exist in this world, she herself seems to have no concern about catching one, even though given her habits and her lifespan she surely must've bedded someone by this point who was infected with something.)
I liked her upbeat demeanor, but I found her constant thefts hard to believe. She's stealing (and spending) thousands---a level at which one might reasonably expect the offended parties to start hunting her down. But none of her marks really exists in the story except as a ready source of money, nor does the story really care about the probable consequences of redistributing such vast amounts of wealth in such a short timeframe.
The mystery works well enough, but I didn't really care for the conclusion. I was hoping for some better reason why a bracelet that could open any lock would be important. Instead it's just a tangle of human rivalries, where the most interesting bits of magic are more or less tangential. Read if you want, but I rate this book Neutral.
See my reviews and more at
This is a bit of an odd one. Shadow herself is almost perpetually happy, as she goes around stealing whatever she can get her hands on and settling herself for a time in this new place. As an elf, she's naturally long-lived, and has had a lot of experience being a thief. She spends most of her time stealing, getting drunk, or getting high on dreamweed. And because elves are very rarely fertile, she also beds anyone who catches her fancy. (And although she mentions STDs at one point, thus showing they do exist in this world, she herself seems to have no concern about catching one, even though given her habits and her lifespan she surely must've bedded someone by this point who was infected with something.)
I liked her upbeat demeanor, but I found her constant thefts hard to believe. She's stealing (and spending) thousands---a level at which one might reasonably expect the offended parties to start hunting her down. But none of her marks really exists in the story except as a ready source of money, nor does the story really care about the probable consequences of redistributing such vast amounts of wealth in such a short timeframe.
The mystery works well enough, but I didn't really care for the conclusion. I was hoping for some better reason why a bracelet that could open any lock would be important. Instead it's just a tangle of human rivalries, where the most interesting bits of magic are more or less tangential. Read if you want, but I rate this book Neutral.
See my reviews and more at
April 21, 2012
I didn't like the protagonist. Everything seems too easy for her - she's good at everything and never wants for anything as she just steals it without any consequences (or, in the case of the many male characters she beds, they fall into her lap). To me this just made the story feel like it lacked depth and reality.
March 10, 2024
I read this in high school and it still stands apart as one of my favorite books ever. This is the first in a series of three. Also there are two other series based on this novel out there. They are hard to find, but a great read!
July 26, 2010
I read this in Jr. high and had trouble fully comprehending the storyline (probably because it was bit mature for my innocent 12 year old mind), but I remember enjoying the female thief plot. I should probably re-read it. Age 14 up.
September 10, 2012
A light quick fantasy read featuring Shadow the elf, a quick-fingered thief constantly in pursuit of a good time. Nothing profound in this novel, and the characters are superficially developed. Read this when you don't want to think (you know, instead of watching television).
May 12, 2013
This is a fantastic, fast, and entertaining romp through the eyes of Shadow, an elven thief who really doesn't want to have anything to do with responsibility and gets it anyway. Classic light fantasy.
May 10, 2014
A light-hearted romp...er, read. Shadow is the kind of antiheroine you can't help but like and yet, just dastardly enough not to make her a heroine. Whimsical adventure and dangerous magic. A kushy ride and cozy fantasy.
January 7, 2016
This is my fourth or fifth time reading Shadow. I love this entire series so much! It's a quick read, but not dumb or unengaging - instead, its exciting and fun and easy to pick up or put down at any time.
May 3, 2016
I always loved this book and all the author's other stories. I wish she had written more books. Her characters are approachable and yet also wonderfully foreign. The land is just obscure enough to not be ours but also familiar enough to make it believable. I love her humor and her characterization.
March 3, 2007
Elves are very debaucherous creatures.
July 31, 2020
Fast paced, fun fantasy story. Guilds, secrets, assassins and thieves - I so loved this book.
September 17, 2008
I read this 3 book series while I was sick one weekend; pretty good story but fairly cheesy. It's one of those you don't put down because you have nothing else to do.
March 16, 2010
Quick and fun read.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.