Review: Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

From Goodreads: Deep within the palace of the Mede emperor, in an alcove off the main room of his master’s apartments, Kamet minds his master’s business and his own. Carefully keeping the accounts, and his own counsel, Kamet has accumulated a few possessions, a little money stored in the household’s cashbox, and a significant amount of personal power. As a slave, his fate is tied to his master’s. If Nahuseresh’s fortunes improve, so will Kamet’s, and Nahuseresh has been working diligently to promote his fortunes since the debacle in Attolia. A soldier in the shadows offers escape, but Kamet won’t sacrifice his ambition for a meager and unreliable freedom; not until a whispered warning of poison and murder destroys all of his carefully laid plans. When Kamet flees for his life, he leaves behind everything - his past, his identity, his meticulously crafted defenses - and finds himself woefully unprepared for the journey that lies ahead. Pursued across rivers, wastelands, salt plains, snowcapped mountains, and storm-tossed seas, Kamet is dead set on regaining control of his future and protecting himself at any cost. Friendships - new and long-forgotten - beckon, lethal enemies circle, secrets accumulate, and the fragile hopes of the little kingdoms of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis hang in the balance. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner was a book that I had been waiting for for years – the previous book in The Queen’s Thief series, A Conspiracy of Kings, was released in 2010 – so when it came out, I put aside all the books I was reading to see what Eugenides was up to now. To my disappointment, there wasn’t much of Eugenides in Thick as Thieves. Instead, Thick as Thieves’ main character is Kamet, a Mede slave whose master, Nahuseresh, is the Mede ambassador to Attolia.

Though I liked Thick as Thieves because Turner continues to build her world and expand on little details from the other books in the series, I didn’t enjoy it as much as her previous novels. Kamet doesn’t hold a candle to Eugenides as a protagonist; and with two books now where Eugenides hasn’t been the main character, I’m really missing his perspective. In addition, the political machinations that made me fall in love with The Queen’s Thief series were more subtle in Thick as Thieves because the focus was on Kamet’s flight of safety from the Mede empire to Attolia, a country that he considers “more backward than anywhere [he] has ever known” (4% on my Kindle). Finally, while I loved the little stories about the gods of Eddis in The Thief for example, I wasn’t as enamoured by the story of the friendship between Immakuk and Ennikar (which seems to be inspired by the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu from the Epic of Gilgamesh) and ended up skimming those parts.

Thick as Thieves was released by Greenwillow Books in May 2017. 

Comments About the Cover: I miss the style of the old covers!

Review: A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

From Goodreads: Sophos, under the guidance of yet another tutor, practices his swordplay and strategizes escape scenarios should his father's villa come under attack. How would he save his mother? His sisters? Himself? Could he reach the horses in time? Where would he go? But nothing prepares him for the day armed men, silent as thieves, swarm the villa courtyard ready to kill, to capture, to kidnap. Sophos, the heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears without a trace. In Attolia, Eugenides, the new and unlikely king, has never stopped wondering what happened to Sophos. Nor has the Queen of Eddis. They send spies. They pay informants. They appeal to the gods. But as time goes by, it becomes less and less certain that they will ever see their friend alive again. Across the small peninsula battles are fought, bribes are offered, and conspiracies are set in motion. Darkening the horizon, the Mede Empire threatens, always, from across the sea. And Sophos, anonymous and alone, bides his time. Sophos, drawing on his memories of Gen, Pol, the Magus and Eddis, sets out on an adventure that will change all of their lives forever. 

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Whereas the previous books in The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner starred Eugenides, A Conspiracy of Kings is from the perspective of Sophos. This was unexpected; and meant that at least early on, I missed Eugenides.

But, I think Turner knew exactly what was necessary to broaden the scope of political intrigue in her series. Unlike Eugenides who you know would definitely have something up his sleeve, Sophos is a more vulnerable character; and so the series shifts its focus from the sly Eugenides’ ascent to power to the growing possibility of an invasion from the Mede Empire.

Since reading The Thief, I had liked the shy and scholarly Sophos. In A Conspiracy of Kings, you get to witness the suffering he endures – being kidnapped and sold into slavery – transform him from a naïve and idealistic character to one who is worthy of being a king. Although Sophos does his best to remain true to himself and to avoid bloodshed, he comes to realize that violence is sometimes unavoidable as a monarch. Some things are just worth fighting for!

And it’s not as if Eugenides isn’t around to help. While he can’t do anything outright because of his position, you know he’s machinating in the background with Attolia and Eddis.

The problem now is having an excruciatingly long wait for the next book in the series as there is still no date for when the fifth book is to be released. If only Turner would write faster!

A Conspiracy of Kings was released in March 2010 by Greenwillow Books. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the older look of all the covers in The Queen’s Thief series.

Review: The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

For the purposes of reducing the amount of spoilers from The Thief and The Queen of Attolia, this review may be a little vague, and where applicable, I’ve hidden anything that is spoilerish.  

From Back Cover: By scheming and theft, the Thief of Eddis has become King of Attolia. Eugenides wanted the queen, not the crown, but he finds himself trapped in a web of his own making. Then he drags a naive guard into the center of the political maelstrom. Poor Costis knows he is the victim of the king's caprice, but his contempt for Eugenides slowly turns to grudging respect. Though struggling against his fate, the newly crowned king is much more than he appears. Soon the corrupt Attolian court will learn that its subtle and dangerous intrigue is no match for Eugenides.

My Rating: 5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: The King of Attolia is the third book in Megan Whaler’s The Queen’s Thief series and it’s even better than The Thief and The Queen of Attolia, the first two books in the series. I finished it right after reading The Queen of Attolia – on the same day actually – but didn’t have a chance to write a review for it.

Anyway, the King of Attolia is mainly told through the perspective of Costis, a guard in the Queen’s Guard, who at the beginning of the novel is awaiting his fate for having punched Eugenides – now the king of Attolia. By some miracle, Costis is spared execution for treason and is forced to serve Eugenides as his personal lieutenant-at-large. Like pretty much all of the Attolians, Costis is full of disdain for his king who he believes has forced Attolia to accept him as her husband. On top of that, Eugenides not only doesn’t look like a king but also acts like a buffoon!

As much as Eugenides hates being in the public eye, those who have read the previous books in the series know that Eugenides isn’t a fool. He always has a scheme up his sleeve; and as poor Costis spends more time around Eugenides, he begins to realize that his king has secrets that he refuses to reveal. Slowly, the big picture will be unveiled and the Attolians will realize just how lucky they are to have a king like Eugenides!

Aside from loving the transformation of Eugenides from a clever young boy in The Thief to a man deserving of being a king, it was wonderful to see the romance continue to develop between Eugenides and the older and taller Attolia. Though they’re still haunted by what happened between them in the past, Turner also shows the reader that they love each other through their words and deeds.

The King of Attolia was released by Greenwillow Books in June 2007.

Comments About the Cover: Although you can't see Gen's face, I feel like he looks kind of young. I always imagined him a bit older. 

Review: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

From Back Cover: When his small mountainous country goes to war with the powerful nation of Attolia, Eugenides the thief is faced with his greatest challenge. He must steal a man, he must steal a queen, and he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph - as well as his greatest loss - can only come if he succeeds in capturing something the Queen of Attolia may have sacrificed long ago.

My Rating: 5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Before I begin my review, I going to warn you that I’ve tried to make it as vague as possible so that as few spoilers as possible from The Thief and The Queen of Attolia are revealed. 

The Queen of Attolia is the sequel to Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief, and it’s every bit as good - if not better - as the first book of the The Queen's Thief series. Usually, I tend to find that sequels aren’t as good as the first book of a series but this wasn’t the case with The Queen of Attolia.

The Queen of Attolia starts off with Eugenides, the Thief, sneaking around Attolia’s castle and getting caught. As punishment, Attolia – the monarchs’ names are changed to that of their country once they inherit the throne – initially decides to have him hanged, but then at the suggestion of the Mede ambassador changes her mind and chooses to punish Eugenides in the way thieves traditionally used to be before sending him home. Consequently, the tone of The Queen of Attolia is darker than that of The Thief because Eugenides can no longer pretend that he’s invulnerable and must acknowledge his constraints.

In retaliation for the way Eugenides was treated, the caravans of Attolia are seized by Eugenides' monarch and so Attolia declares war. Pretty soon though, the three countries of Sounis, Eddis and Attolia are all embroiled whereas in the distance, the country of Mede patiently waits for Attolia to ask for aid so that the Medes can take it over and expand beyond their borders.

Told from the third person view of Eugenides, the Queens of Eddis and Attolia, and the ambassador of Mede, The Queen of Attolia shows off the delicate machinations that go into planning a war and attempting to win it. While readers may sometimes know more than the individual characters, Turner still manages to provide surprises throughout the novel, including an unforeseen but brilliant romance.

The Queen of Attolia was released in January 2006 by Greenwillow Books.

    

Comments About the Cover: I love the cover! I mean, how wickedly gorgeous and dangerous does the contraption held by the Queen of Attolia look; and doesn’t it just want to make you read the book?!

Review: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

From Back Cover: "I can steal anything." After Gen's bragging lands him in the king's prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king's scholar, the magus, needs the thief's skill for a seemingly impossible task - to steal a hidden treasure from another land. To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.

My Rating: 5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Why, oh why has no one ever told me about The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner? Set in a world much like ancient Greece but not exactly (because there are things like guns), The Thief initially started slowly but had me hooked a few chapters in. It’s so hard to write a review for this novel because even the smallest details relate to the ending, which was surprising and yet in retrospect, wasn’t out of the blue.

Gen is such a fun character! He can’t seem to keep quiet, is cocky, and basically does whatever he wants. The supporting characters are also well-developed, and I hope to get to know them even better in The Queen of Attolia, the sequel to The Thief.

In addition, I really enjoyed reading about the stories of the old gods of Eddis that the magus and Gen (later on) would tell while the group was traveling. I always loved it when it was time to study Ancient Greece in elementary school, and Turner does a really good job of making the stories of Eddis' gods original while still allowing them to have a mythological feel.    

An engrossing novel that I’m sure I’ll re-read again sometime in the future, The Thief was released by Greenwillow Books in December 2005. 

Comments About the Cover: It has an old worldly air, and I really like that you can see the bruises on Gen’s arms and the dirt under his nails since he’s a thief who has just been released from prison. It’s also nice that Hamiathes’ Gift is featured because it plays an integral part in the novel.