The King of Attolia (Queen’s Thief, 3)

I was so excited when I learned that there would be a sequel to 'The Thief' and 'The Queen of Attolia'. I was filled with anticipation for months, and when I finally got my hands on a copy of 'The King of Attolia', I practically devoured the poor book. And I must say, it was well worth the wait. Megan Whalen Turner writes well, but her style will never be described as poetic or lush. Instead, her prose is matter of fact and to the point, describing settings without trailing on forever, and capturing moods skillfully. She excels at writing believable, humorous dialogue; some of it was so funny that I found myself laughing out loud. Ms. Turner's plots and characters are what make her books so wonderful. Just as the plot of 'The Queen of Attolia' was very different from the plot of 'The Thief', 'The King of Attolia' possesses new themes and characters, while continuing the main storyline. I have noticed that Ms. Turner is distancing herself from Eugenides with each book: 'The Thief' was from his point of view, 'The Queen of Attolia' was third-person, but often from his point of view, and 'The King of Attolia' is third-person, but from the point of view of his guard, Costis, who is in nearly every scene. This technique makes sense. In 'The King of Attolia', Eugenides is a married man, and deserves some privacy. The book mainly focuses on how Eugendies is perceived by the Attolians. Nearly all of them despise him. They love their queen, and they think that Eugenides is an undignified, unkingly idiot, who has humiliated Attolia by marrying her. Attolia wants Eugenides to step into his position of kingship, but Eugenides never wanted to be king, only to marry her, and he is digging in his heels and resisting her every effort. His attendents hate him, he is homesick, and, being Eugenides, he hasn't a chance of getting through the entire book (or even the first half of the book) physically and emotionally unscathed. Most of the story lines are neatly tied up by the end, but, I must warn you, some of them are left dangling, and I am already panting for another installment in the series. I appreciate the way Ms. Turner takes the time to think up unique plots for each of her books, so I will try to wait patiently, but it's already difficult. I love Ms. Turner's books the most because of the characters. Costis is interesting and conflicted, but nothing like Eugenides. Though he is in nearly every scene, he is by no means the main character. He serves as the witness through whose eyes the reader views the real main characters: Eugenides and Attolia. He sees more of their private life than most people, but we can only guess at what happens between the two of them when he is not watching. (Intriguing hints about their wedding night are sprinkled here and there, but nothing inappropriate for younger teens/adolescents.) Eugenides has matured a lot (and suffered a lot) since he first appeared in 'The Thief', but he remains the same marvelous, incorrigible, dangerous young man. His relationship with Attolia is fascinating. He loves her, but she frightens him; she loves him, but he frightens her. They are a surprisingly well-matched couple, and Ms. Turner protrays their complicated relationship beautifully. It's strange, unfathomable, and believable. I love Eugenides, but I love Attolia as well, and I really enjoyed the closer look at her. She is no spunky warrior queen of fantasy fiction. She is both feminine and tough, and can be both gentle and ruthless. It's what makes her frightening, but it's also a wonderful combination for female character. In no other book have I encountered a woman quite like her. She would do absolutely anything for her country, and most of her people would do absolutely anything for her. She too develops in surprising ways throughout the book, becoming even more human and accessible than she did in 'The Queen of Attolia'. She continues to have a rather unique sense of humor, and threatening Eugenides with bodily harm is (usually) her way of making a joke. Also, the court of Attolia is very, very different from the court of Eddis, and that was another factor I enjoyed in this book. Attolia and Eddis are both wonderful women, but they rule their kingdoms in completely different ways. If you liked Eddis striding around in trousers, being practical and understated, then you will almost certainly like Attolia sweeping through the halls in beautiful gowns, striking terror into the hearts of her subjects. To my slight disappointment, Eddis and the magus are only in two scenes, and the minister of war does not appear at all (though he is occasionally discussed). The ambassador of the Mede plays an important role in the story, but does not interact with anyone. Other characters take their places. Teleus, Relius, and Ornon are three secondary characters from earlier books who become complicated and interesting people in their own right. As soon as I finished 'The King of Attolia', I had to go back to reread my favorite scenes, and there were many. This book is excellent, and I eagerly await more!

The Thief The Queen of Attolia The King of Attolia A Conspiracy of Kings Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner This is one of those series of books that you really ought to read in order. While each book can and does stand alone, this is a tale that unfolds like a flower, one petal at a time, and you owe it to yourself to let yourself enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Take Humpty-Dumpty’s advice. Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, then stop — and then wish that there was more to the tale! So: Imagine a land that looks like Greece but isn’t, inhabited by a people with Greek sounding names, who worship gods with Greek sounding names, but who have pocket watches, window glass, and flintlocks. They speak a common language, worship common gods, but have divided themselves into three separate states: Sounis, Eddis and Attolia: The queendom* of Eddis is both protected and trapped within its mountainous geography. It is sandwiched between the kingdom of Sounis on one hand, and the queendom of Attolia on the other. The king of Sounis covets Attolia, Eddis, and especially Eddis’ queen. The Queen of Attolia is struggling to keep her throne and her power against the machinations of the large empire of Mede across the sea to the south. Like the wolf at the door, Mede is hungry to get a foothold on their shores by using intrigue and influence to gain control of all three states, and another powerful empire to the north of them is equally determined not to let this happen. The tale starts with The Thief, whose name is Gen, locked in the palace dungeons of the king of Sounis for being what he is, a thief. It’s a heist tale, suspenseful and exciting; it sets the stage for everything that comes after. By the end of it we have come to understand the where’s and why’s of the story, and have met all the important who’s but one. The second book continues the career of Gen the thief, and introduces us to the last of the key players, The Queen of Attolia, a woman who must walk a tightrope to stay one step ahead of the machinations of the Mede ambassador who already sees himself as Attolia’s next king. When Gen falls into her clutches, she takes something important from him, but he steals something much more important from her. In The King of Attolia, the third book, Attolia gets the king it needs but doesn’t want, and in order for Gen the thief to have the one thing he wants most, he also has to take what comes with it — which is the last thing he wants. Fate has put Gen where he is and has given him the role he needs to play. Somehow he has to find it within himself to do what he knows is right -- and not get caught doing it! It's a tale of deception and intrigue, and of how to deal with a man you hate and want to kill but can't. I think the story was originally supposed to end here, but I can see how Ms. Turner couldn’t let it go. There was still one person who needed to tell his story. In the fourth book, A Conspiracy of Kings, the chief advisor of Sounis’ young apprentice, whom we met in The Thief, gets to tell his tale. It is the story of how a boy becomes a man, how a man becomes a king, and how the young apprentice puts the heir of Sounis on his throne. I suspect that Ms. Turner succumbed to the plea that every story teller hopes to hear, “Just one more story! Please!” That “one more story” is Thick as Thieves. In it, the chief slave of the former Mede ambassador to the court of Attolia tells how Attolia’s king enacted his revenge on both master and slave. I was lucky that the first three books were already out when I started The Thief. I only had to wait two days for the second and third books to arrive from Amazon. I read them again when the fourth book came out, and have just finished reading them all again now that the fifth book is out. I know at some point I’ll want to read them all again. Yes, they are that good. By the end of the first chapter of The Thief, the characters had stepped off the page and into the miniseries that was playing in my head as I continued reading. As I said at the start of this, do yourself a favor and read the books in order. Just when you think you know how the tale is going to go, it takes an unexpected twist. Things are not what they seem, and people are not who you think they are. Oh, and did I mention the volcano? *Don’t tell me a queendom isn’t a thing. If a country ruled by a king is a kingdom, then a country ruled by a queen is a queendom. Sit down and hush.

I read fantasy, and although this book is classed as fantasy it is not typical of the genre. When I read the first book in this fabulous trilogy I wasn't at all sure if I wanted to read the two succeeding books as I would more acurately have described it as Historical Fiction rather than fantasy, but I was so utterly intrigued by the story and more especially by the wonderful characters, that I simply couldn't help but carry on and read the second and third books. The first book, "The Theif" introduces you to the character of Eugenides, the theif of the title, and explains that the title is not quite what it appears to be, but is more complex and interesting. The second book follows Eugenides to Attolia, an enemy country and relates his misadventures there. The third book has Eugenides as the King of Attolia and husband to the enemy Queen, but all is not what it seems again. The books are warm and intelligent and filled with a wonderful sense of mischief and humour. I won't give away any of the story as it would be unfair. DO DO DO read them. You won't be disappointed.

前作から６年…大好きなキャラクター達との久々の再会です！「盗人」から「国王」に肩書きが変わっても絶好調のエウジェニデスの活躍っぷりが素敵。無事結婚はしたけれど、新しい国王に宮廷貴族の陰謀が迫る。ターナーさんのストーリー展開は毎回ハラハラさせられます！見所はなんといってもエウジェニデスとイレーネのラブラブな新婚ぶり(幸せな二人を見るのは本当に嬉しい！)。ラストの爽快感が心地よい一冊です。

These books are very cleverly written to give the full story *without* having to be read in order! The protagonist is referred to by the diminutive version of his name ("Gen") once or maybe twice, and that is not explained, neither is the reason that he only has one hand - these are the only things better explained in earlier books - but you can easily discover that even if you read them later. There's a distinct mix of mythology, fantasy and castle intrigue that isn't much like other books, it's totally worth reading if any of those genres tickles your fancy.

Megan Whalen Turners Serie um den Meisterdieb Eugenides ist spannend, lustig, dramatisch... wunderbare, liebenswerte und vielschichtige Charaktere die ein mehrmaliges lesen der Bücher zum Vergnügen machen... Unbedingte Leseempfehlung!

Cuando crees que estos libros no se pueden poner mejor! Un excelente libro, con una forma de narrativa diferente a los anteriores pero que por esa misma razón te mantiene emocionado durante todo el libro. No puedo esperar para leer el siguiente.