You know the thing where everyone (for a given value of the term) is rereading a series they love and gushing about it and it's going to be amazing or its been hit by the suck fairy and you missed your chance to read it while it was still good. And so you have to decide whether it's worth trying in case you're missing out on a gem...
I think The Thief holds us gloriously. I can tell it was written in the 90s (no I don't know how, something about the style and length and...whatever), but the story and plot and intriguing world absolutely hold up for me. I wish I'd read it when I was younger, but I'm glad to get to it now.