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.