The Queen's Thief

It's been a while since I've found such a great series that I just have to tear through the whole set.  

A few months ago, my sister and I were road tripping down to Moab, UT and she brought along a book that she thought I should read. She ended up reading out loud the first few chapters to me while we were driving and I loved it. Especially since she was reading aloud, I was immediately captured by the beautiful imagery and the great stylistic writing of Megan Whalen Turner in The Thief.

The Thief is all about Gen, a thief who claims he can steal anything. He is arrested and held in the King's prison until the King decides to send him on an impossible task to retrieve a mysterious stone from a  rivaled ruler's country. He is dragged across unbearable terrain by the magus--the king's scholar--and his guards. Gen isn't sure if maybe this time he's met his match.

The Thief is the first book in her Queen's Thief series. It took me a while to pick up the second (The Queen of Attolia) and then the third book (The King of Attolia) in the series but once I read that third book, I had to read the rest. So I quickly read the fourth (A Conspiracy of Kings) and fifth (Thick as Thieves) when I nabbed them from our school library. That now leaves me waiting until next month for the sixth and final book to be published. (Return of the Thief is out on October 6th) I cannot wait to see what happens to all of the characters.

The rest of the series is just as engaging as the first book as we delve even deeper into the political intrigue in the region. Megan Whalen Turner is the master of plot twists and revealing things slowly through masterful foreshadowing. The kingdoms in the book seem to be based off Ancient Greece and surrounding areas but are unique in their own little ways. 

Throughout the entire series, you grow attached to a set of characters that frustrate you and you feel emotionally invested in. Gen, as well as the many characters you meet along the way, show up in many different novels from different viewpoints which offers a more well-rounded view of the characters than you'd see perhaps if the series was told from only one perspective.

I highly recommend this book series to anyone who loves political intrigue, action, conspiracies, and overall great writing. This is a series that draws you in and digs its claws into you.