Book Review: The Queen's Thief

“If I am the pawn of the gods, it is because they know me so well, not because they make my mind up for me.” 

Since it is summer, I am able to read a lot more than I usually do.  I have a whole stack of books that I've always wanted to read, but have never had time.  I am quite excited to read them, but that means that you will all be inundated with my reviews thereof.  And, of course, you, as always, are free to not read.

I have a roommate that really likes this series, and my mom does and so does my brother, Caleb.  The series doesn't actually have a name, but fans have taken to calling them the "Queen's Thief" books.  They are, in order, The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and A Conspiracy of Kings.  It is rumored that a fifth book will be written, and it kind of has an ending that would imply that, too.

    

  

I tend to review children's lit.  Today, I am going a bit away from this to something more appropriate to young adults.  The first book is probably all fine and dandy with children, but later books have more violence, a bit more swearing (though it keeps it to PG-level swearing), and though there isn't sex, there is some innuendo (admittedly, between a married couple).

So now that we have gotten that out of the way, the review.  It is a difficult series to review, because the very plots of the later books completely spoil the first book.  So, I will keep it to very, very, very general statements. 

I quite enjoyed them.  The main character, Gen (who is a boy), has a frank, biting sense of humor, which I love.  I will, however, say that he officially has the worst innate anatomical immune system, but apparently the best adaptive immune system.  If he gets injured, it's a probable 12-7 (as they say in Guys and Dolls) that he will become septic.  But live.  I don't think that's spoiling much, as we kind of all knew he would live.  He's the main character.

The author, Megan Whalen Turner, has an almost impossible ability to make minor characters memorable and real.  Characters that have really only been mentioned once or twice and never really openly developed are as real as the day is long.  For example, there's a character, Kamet, who has little to nothing to do with the story, and probably mentioned by name a grand total of two times.  But, I feel like I know him.

The story is set in a Byzantine-style world; it's kind of the world that might be if Classical Greece had continued into the Byzantine-era and Persia still existed.  They have a polytheistic religion, but the myths and gods are not those of Greece.  They are however, stylistically similar.  

Another thing that I will say about the series is that you really have no idea what is going to happen.  Gen is one step ahead of everyone, and even when he is the narrator (which he is in the first book), you think you know what is going on, but you really don't until the end.  As one character says, "Gen lies.  He always lies.  He lies to himself.  If he talked in his sleep, he'd be lying then, too." And it's completely true.  I am not the best at predicting endings--the rest of my family is and teases me mercilessly about it--but I usually have a sense of what will happen.  This one completely blew me out of the water.  Most every book, in fact.

On the romance scale, this is the best non-romance romance I've seen in a long time.  It's a couple that I would have NEVER put together.  Not in a million years.  But one of the best couples I've seen yet.  They are, frankly, adorable together.  Another couple is not really as adorable, but I'm hoping they will become adorable when we really see their romance.

Some of the books come with a very good main moral; all of them have at least smaller ideas and morals throughout.  I think the most powerful moral is in The Queen of Attolia, where the moral is, "You think that god (or the gods, for them) have forgotten you and forsaken you, but your trials are for the best."    The romance also has some good marriage and relationship tips, when you really think about them: understanding, forgiveness, sacrifice for your partner, unconditional love, keeping in perspective where your spouse comes from and their past.

I highly recommend the series.  They are masterfully crafted, and brilliantly written.  A Conspiracy of Kings was the least enjoyable, probably because the main focus kind of shifts characters a bit, and I didn't really like the new main character as much.  They don't get rid of the old main character--he is very, very much so intertwined and involved, but it follows someone else.

So, if you like fantasy-esque (no open magic--theistic powers only), adventure-esque (the first is travel-logy, the second is political/war-adventure-y, the third is royal-intrigue-y, and the fourth is political/war-adventure-y), then this is a good series for you.


You will probably get the honor of more book reviews before I start my internship in July.  Brace yourselves.