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| Perma-Bound Edition ©2017 | -- |
| Publisher's Hardcover ©2006 | -- |
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Kings, queens, rulers, etc. Fiction.
Soldiers. Fiction.
Loyalty. Fiction.
Robbers and outlaws. Fiction.
Fans of the irascible Thief of Eddis will recall that Gen and his frosty nemesis, Attolia, exchanged vows of love in The Queen of Attolia (2000). This second follow-up to Turner's 1997 Newbery Honor Book, The Thief, follows the turbulent months just after their union, primarily from the perspective of Gen's reluctant personal assistant, Costis, who despises the goat-footed throne-stealing interloper as much as the rest of Attolia's insubordinate court. Gradually, though, Costis gleans that there is more to King Gen than his oafish, irascible behavior would suggest. Turner's wide-ranging, third-person narrative tantalizingly limits readers' access to Gen, leaving readers to sift truth from Gen-masterminded subterfuge and to weigh his detractors' prejudices undiluted. The challenge of internalizing so many new characters may halt some readers, and many will mourn the replacement of concrete, action-oriented exploits with this situation's more subtle courtly and diplomatic stratagems. Staunch fans of Turner's roguish hero, particularly those who enjoyed the middle-grade-friendly Thief several years ago and whose reading capabilities have ripened, will reap the greatest rewards here.
Horn BookThe former Thief of Eddis, now reluctant King of Attolia, is back. This time we see him from young soldier Costis's point of view. Remarkable for its impeccably realized setting in a pseudo-classical world and for the depth and subtlety of its characters and plot, this is one of the most fascinating and original YA fantasies to appear in years.
Kirkus ReviewsLike all loyal soldiers of Attolia, Costis hates Eugenides, his new king. Eugenides was an enemy until he forced the Queen of Attolia into marriage, and the oafish conqueror doesn't even have the grace to behave with majesty. But when Costis is ordered to guard Eugenides directly, he gains an unexpected sympathy for the young king. Through Costis's naive eyes, Eugenides appears weak, bumbling and a too-pathetic target for the pranks aimed at him. A knowledgeable reader of the series, however, will know that Eugenides is more than he appears, and can follow with delight as the king's clever schemes slowly become apparent to Costis. Ultimately, this unreliable narrator sees Eugenides transform from fool to larger-than-life hero, and never realizes that both are true at once. Well-constructed puzzles and intrigues keep this offering moving through Turner's characteristic secrets and subtle revelations to a wholly satisfying conclusion, while a few loose ends hint at more entries in this compelling series. Less emotionally powerful than Eugenides's earlier adventures, but still a winner. (Fiction. 12-15)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)Readers who fell for <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Thief and grieved over his devastating loss in <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Queen of Attolia will devour this account of how the "goat-footed, throne-stealing interloper" grows into his crown. The erstwhile Thief and newly crowned king chafes under his status as a homebody, even if the home in question is an opulent palace. Accustomed to a life of stealthy maneuvering, Eugenides is now shadowed everywhere by his armed Guard and a mostly malevolent audience of courtiers, many actively trying to sabotage his reign in retaliation for Gen having "stolen" their Queen in a politically convenient marriage. The backdrop continues to track the intricate relationships among the small, faux-Mediterranean nations of Attolia, Eddis and Sounis, and the menacing Mede empire, but the action here—including an assassination attempt—takes place within the palace walls. The plot turns on political intrigue, hidden motives, ploys and counterploys, as Gen slyly consolidates his power while solidifying his marriage to Irene. Turner assumes readers' familiarity with the vast canvas on which she's working, making this book best suited to those who read the first two, and who are familiar with the ample detail she has woven into this complex tapestry. Although some readers may ache for the old snide and sneaky Gen, they will likely understand why there is no theft involved in the prize he wins here. Gen has grown up and, this time, he earns his kingly respect. Ages 10-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)
School Library Journal (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)Gr 7 Up-Fans who've been waiting for six long years for the sequel to The Queen of Attolia (2000) and The Thief (1996, both HarperCollins) can finally rejoice. Eugenides, the former Thief of Eddis, is back and just as clever as ever. As King of Attolia after literally stealing and marrying the Queen, he must convince the rest of her court and her subjects that he deserves his title. The Attolians think he's an idiot who's being used by the Queen. They refuse to believe that he and Irene could honestly love one another, considering that she's responsible for having his hand cut off. His attendants and guards mock him behind his back and play pranks on him, all the while thinking that he's too spineless and incompetent to protest. That is, until a guard named Costis punches him in the face and knocks him down. Beheading is the usual penalty for such a transgression but Eugenides devises a better punishment. It is through Costis's eyes that readers see how he and the court consistently underestimate the shrewd young man. This third book in the series continues to involve political intrigue, espionage, and attempted assassination but is less concerned with the fighting between kingdoms that dominated the previous book. Instead, it explores the complex and very romantic relationship between the monarchs. Although it does stand alone, to appreciate the amazingly charismatic and beguiling character of Eugenides fully, it's best to read the titles in order.-Sharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Voice of Youth AdvocatesEugenides, the former Thief of Eddis, has married the Queen of Attolia, forging an uneasy peace between their lands. Ambivalent about his new role and despised by the Queen's court, Eugenides must thread his way through intrigues designed to humiliate, dethrone, or murder him in order to protect himself, his Queen, and their kingdoms. The story of this struggle is told through various viewpoints, primarily that of Costis, a loyal member of the Queen's Guard who reluctantly becomes the King's lieutenant. Readers of Turner's The Thief (Greenwillow, 1996/VOYA June 1996) and The Queen of Attolia (2000/VOYA August 2000) will recognize these mythical Mediterranean-like lands and their vivid inhabitants and be pleased to see old friends and enemies inhabiting the court. New characters fill out the story, and although each character is deftly drawn, there are so many figures scheming and strategizing here that some are given very little time in the spotlight, making it challenging to follow the maze of court politics. Readers of the first two books will have a head start in understanding the main characters, but even those who pick up with this volume can enjoy the twists and turns as each character reveals new depths and motivations. Turner has created a complete and intricate world for Eugenides and his Queen, and this book alludes to many other possible story lines within the kingdoms-hopefully to be explored in further volumes of this series.-Lorraine Squires.
School Library Journal Starred Review
ALA Booklist
ALA/YALSA Best Book For Young Adults
Horn Book
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Voice of Youth Advocates
Wilson's Children's Catalog
Wilson's Junior High Catalog
Chapter One
Costis sat in his room. On the table in front of him was a piece of paper meant to hold a report on the squad of men he directed. He'd scratched out the first few lines of the report and written underneath the beginnings of a letter to his father. It began, "Sir, I must explain my actions," and then stopped. Costis couldn't explain his actions. He rubbed his face with his hands and tried again to compose his anguished thoughts into cold words and orderly sentences.
He looked over the mess in his quarters. His small trunk of clothes was tipped out onto the floor. The tray that had sat in the top of it to hold his sleeve links and buttons and pins was thrown down by the bed. The links, the spare buttons, and the small image of his god were scattered everywhere. His books were gone. He'd had three. So, he assumed, was his wallet with what money he kept in his room. That was a pity. He would have given the money to his friend Aristogiton. His sword was gone from its rack on the wall. He would have given that to Aris as well.
The two soldiers who'd brought him back from the training ground, almost dragging him along by their grip at his elbows, had taken every sharp thing out of the room. They were veterans, who'd served in the Guard for most of their lives. They'd searched his small trunk and dragged the thin mattress, as well as the blanket, off the narrow bed frame. One had pulled down Costis's sword and swept up his knife from the windowsill while the other had collected his papers, crumpling them together in his fist. Without looking at him again, they'd gone. Costis had turned the stool upright on its three legs. They had left his cloak pins, his plain everyday one and his fancy one with the amber bead. He had been a little surprised. His good pin was fibula-shaped with a shaft four inches long and as thick as a cornstalk. It would be as effective as a sword, if Costis chose to use it. Even the smaller pin would do; two inches in the right place was all it took.
As Costis had considered, without any real motivation, the possibilities of the cloak pins, the curtain across his doorway had swept back and one of the soldiers had returned to kick his feet briskly through the detritus on the floor, quickly locating the cloak pins. After scooping them up, he had checked the floor again to see if there were more. He had seen the sandal straps and taken those. He'd looked Costis over once and shaken his head in contempt as he left.
Costis looked back at the letter in front of him. It was almost the only paper they'd left him. He shouldn't waste it, but he didn't know how he could explain his actions to his father when he couldn't explain them to himself. He'd broken a sacred oath, had destroyed his career, his life, and perhaps his family in one moment. It was unnatural to look back at events and be unable to believe that what you remembered could actually have happened.
It was afternoon. He'd made no progress on his letter since morning, when the sun had been slanting into the narrow window and filling the small room with light. The sun had climbed over the roof of the barracks and the room was grown dim, lit only indirectly by the sunlight falling into the narrow courtyard between barracks. Costis was waiting for the queen. She had left the palace for the first time since her marriage and had gone hunting. She was to eat at midday at one of the lodges and return sometime in the afternoon.
Costis got up from his stool and paced for the hundredth, the thousandth time across the room. He would be sentenced when she returned, almost certainly to death. Even worse than death would come if she thought that he had acted as part of a conspiracy or that even one member of his family had known of his actions in advance. If that happened, his family would have to leave the farm outside Pomea in the Gede Valley. Every single one of them, not just his father and his sister, but uncles, aunts, and cousins. Their property would be forfeit to the crown and they would be no longer members of the landowning class, but would be okloi -- merchants if they were lucky, beggars if they were not.
Of course, even he had had no foreknowledge of what was going to happen. He would never have guessed that he could so compound calamity with disaster, but the truth hardly mattered now. Costis thought of the papers they had taken away and tried to remember exactly what was in them that could be mistaken for plans of treason. The Secretary of the Archives could see treason in a single word. One hint of a plan and Costis would be put to torture instead of hanging in the morning. He knew that when torture began, Truth, which had mattered very little to begin with, soon mattered not at all.
He stepped to the window and looked out at the shadows falling on the barracks across from him. The midafternoon trumpets would be sounding soon and the watches would be changing. He was supposed to be on the palace walls. Behind him he heard the curtain rings sliding on the rod across his doorway. He turned to face the men who would take him to the palace.
There were no guards. Standing alone in the doorway was the king. The ruler, anointed by priests and priestesses, of all the lands of Attolia, the official father of the people, the lord of the barons who'd one by one sworn him their oaths of obedience, the undisputed, uncontested, and absolute sovereign of the land. The swollen discoloration by his mouth closely matched the elaborate purple embroidery on his collar.
King of Attolia, The EPB. Copyright © by Megan Turner . Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
Excerpted from The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed novel The Thief to the thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief. The epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief can be read in any order.
New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.
Eugenides, no stranger to desperate circumstances, has gotten himself into difficulties he can’t get out of. Used to being treated with a certain measure of wariness, if not respect, he suffers the pranks, insults, and intrigue of the Attolian court with dwindling patience. As usual, nothing is as it appears when he rescues a hot-headed young soldier in the Palace Guard. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.
This edition of The King of Attolia includes “Wineshop,” an exclusive story about Eugenides by Megan Whalen Turner, an introduction to the characters from the world of the Queen’s Thief, a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and an exclusive teaser to Thick as Thieves.
School Library Journal Best Book
Horn Book Fanfare
ALA Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
“The Queen’s Thief books awe and inspire me. They have the feel of a secret, discovered history of real but forgotten lands. The plot-craft is peerless, the revelations stunning, and the characters flawed, cunning, heartbreaking, exceptional. Megan Whalen Turner’s books have a permanent spot on my favorites shelf, with space waiting for more books to come.”—Laini Taylor, New York Times-bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone novels and Strange the Dreamer
"Unforgettable characters, plot twists that will make your head spin, a world rendered in elegant detail—you will fall in love with every page of these stories. Megan Whalen Turner writes vivid, immersive, heartbreaking fantasy that will leave you desperate to return to Attolia again and again."—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
“One of the most fascinating and original children’s fantasies to appear in years. . . . Rarely does one see a hero as psychologically knowing and irresistibly attractive as Turner’s Thief.”—The Horn Book (starred review)
“A winner.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Eugenides, the former Thief of Eddis, is back and just as clever as ever.”—School Library Journal (starred review)