The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

“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. Attolia’s barons seethe with resentment, the Mede emperor is returning to the attack, and the kind is surrounded by the subtle and dangerous intrigue of the Attolian court. When a naïve young guard expresses his contempt for the king in no uncertain terms, he is dragged by Eugenides into the center of the political maelstrom. Like the king, he cannot escape the difficulties he makes for himself. Poor Costis knows he is the victim of the king’s caprice, but he discovers a reluctant sympathy for Eugenides as he watches the newly crowned king struggle against his fate.”

This was definitely my favorite in the series, so far. The other two seemed to have a slow start and then later picked up for me. This one had me hooked from the beginning. I liked hearing the story from Costis’ perspective. Eugenides is still the main character, and surprisingly, I loved learning about him and coming to love him all over again from a fresh point of view. Ever the romantic, I loved the few moments when Gen & Irene (Eugenides and Attolia) were able to be themselves and we see how deeply they love one another. Gen is so clever and not to be underestimated. I simply can’t wait to read the next book!

Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

“When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes’s Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eugenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered…she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge. Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times. When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph—and greatest loss—comes in capturing something the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago…”

Like the first book, this one was a bit slow moving for me. I enjoyed the story, and once I got around half way I didn’t want to stop reading. Eugenides is a great character! He is a cunning thief, has complex emotions with a lot of unknown motives. He is fiercely loyal, and is brilliant in his schemes. His portrayal in this book was great, he suffers greatly at the beginning and he neither overcame his difficulties too quickly, nor did he wallow in self-pity, at least not too much. I’m torn between Queen Attolia and Queen Eddis. Although Attolia comes across as cruel, the more we learn of her the more you grow to care for her and I felt sorry for her.

The “Gods” created in this book are great, and I love the mythology throughout the book. It adds another layer to the story and really brings the story to life. Things were wrapped up nicely in this book and wonder what will happen in The King of Attolia. I think the series would make a great movie, has one been made?

Book One: The Thief

Book Two: Queen of Attolia

Book Three: King of Attolia

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

“The kind’s scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king’s prison. The magus is interested only in the thief’s abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone’s guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.”

I’m not sure what to make of this book. I went into it with really high expectations, which usually is never a good thing. The first half the book kind of dragged for me, a lot of time was spent with the characters traveling to their destination. Once they finally arrived at their destination things started to pick up and I ended up really enjoying the story. The second half was much better and now that I know what happens I think it would be fun to re-read the beginning to see what clues I may have missed along the way. I think since this is the first book in a trilogy a lot of time was spent on back story, which will probably pay off in the next two books.

I might have missed it, but does it ever say how old Gen is? That was a little confusing for me, I probably just missed it, but it would have been nice to have an age to go on. Another small complaint is that there are no female characters in the whole book (expect the last couple chapters). I hear the next books are even better so I’m looking forward to reading them.

Book One: The Thief
Book Two: Queen of Attolia
Book Three: King of Attolia