The King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, Book 3)
The King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, Book 3) book cover

The King of Attolia (The Queen's Thief, Book 3)

Hardcover – January 24, 2006

by
Price
$17.99
Format
Hardcover
Pages
400
Publisher
Greenwillow Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0060835774
Dimensions
5.5 x 1.25 x 8.25 inches
Weight
1.03 pounds

Description

From School Library Journal Starred Review. Grade 7 Up–Fans whove 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 hes an idiot whos being used by the Queen. They refuse to believe that he and Irene could honestly love one another, considering that shes 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 hes 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 Costiss 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, its best to read the titles in order. –Sharon Rawlins, NJ Library for the Blind and Handicapped, Trenton Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Gr. 8-11. 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. Jennifer Mattson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Megan Whalen Turner has constructed a clever world filled with suspense and intrigue and characters that will never be forgotten. Once you dive into the world of the Queen’s Thief [books], prepare to have your life stolen from you until you finish them all.” — Joelle Charbonneau, New York Times-bestselling author of the Testing trilogy “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.” (starred review) — The Horn Book “Eugenides, the former Thief of Eddis, is back and just as clever as ever.” — School Library Journal (starred review) “A winner.” (starred review) — Kirkus Reviews 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 king is surrounded by the subtle and dangerous intrigue of the Attolian court. When a naive 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. Fans of the Newbery Honor Book The Thief and The Queen of Attolia will recognize Megan Whalen Turner's signature plot twists and turns in the third exquisitely crafted tale about Eugenides. Megan Whalen Turner is the New York Times– bestselling and award-winning author of five stand-alone novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief. Return of the Thief marks her long-awaited conclusion to the epic and unforgettable story of the thief Eugenides—a story more than twenty years in the making. She has been awarded a Newbery Honor and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature. She has twice been a finalist for the Andre Norton Award and won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • 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.
  • School Library Journal
  • Best Book
  • Horn Book
  • FanfareALA Top 10 Best Book for Young AdultsNew 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,
  • New York Times
  • -bestselling author of the The Grisha Trilogy and
  • Six of Crows
  • “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)

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(823)
★★★★
25%
(343)
★★★
15%
(206)
★★
7%
(96)
★
-7%
(-97)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Excellent! Worth the wait!

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!
72 people found this helpful
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I'm speechless (well, almost)

I loved The Queen of Attolia, so much so that I was both thrilled and apprehensive when I heard about The King Of Attolia -- thrilled at the prospect of reading more about Eugenides and Attolia, but at the same time apprehensive that it wouldn't live up to the wonderful QoA.

Well, me of little faith. The King of Attolia is even better -- so much so that it felt like a series of little gifts, each more surprising and wondrous and heart-stopping than the next. Turner is now neck-and-neck with Diana Wynne Jones as my favorite writer ever. This book is unbelievably great, and in it, Eugenides becomes a character for the ages, and not just in YA fiction. I don't know if Turner plans to tell more of his story (and Attolia's, and Eddis's, and that of the wonderful Costis), but I wish she would! I want to know if Eugenides fulfills Teleus' prediction -- and I want to know about his and Attolia's children! Surely this is the mark of a great series -- leaving the reader wanting - no, craving -- to know more.
32 people found this helpful
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Gen is Back!

Gen from The Thief is back, with all his bravado and brilliance; his complaints, manipulations, and hidden kindnesses. But Eugenides has matured in this third book of his adventures. He is now king and husband, although his guards despise him, his attendants mock him, and the queen...well, no one is sure how the queen feels.

Megan Whelan Turner again shows her brilliance by introducing a new character as narrator. Costis is a stoic, ethical and unsophisticated guard who resents the upstart king and believes him weak and inept. Eugenides, as usual, keeps his true nature hidden, while we (readers who know Gen well) gleefully wait for the delicious come-uppance we know will come to all who cross him.

What Ms. Turner does really well is unfold events in a way that require us to interpret the characters' actions, often necessitating a second reading. We must fill in blanks with our own guesses as to the significance of events. At first, the merest glimpses into Eugenides' relationship with the queen leave us wanting more. We begin to see the tenderness between them, and their fears are slowly exposed. He is not ashamed to admit that he is still afraid of his wife for what she has done to him and may yet do. She is afraid, too, not of him, but for him, as he takes unnecessary risks with little care for himself. The queen's character subtly changes as Eugenides' love, and trust in her goodness, help her learn to rule with mercy and wisdom rather than cruelty. Eugenides has changed, too, and is more empathic after his terrible stay in Attolia's dungeon, and when a character is tortured because of his treachery, Eugenides is there to comfort him and ease his recovery.

The gods playfully show their presence, and people who appeared briefly in The Queen of Attolia are fully fleshed out. In typical fashion, no one is quite what he or she seems. As seen through Costis' eyes, Eugenides is almost supernaturally gifted with cleverness and physical agility, and we begin to see a quality of true greatness in him. Although he resists it as long as he can, he is eventually forced into a decision that may change the course of history.

Filled with humor and emotion, this book does not stand on its own quite as well as the first two, but it is wholly satisfying to those of us who have clamored for more. The uncertainty of a much-loved character's fate and the threat of invasion give us hints of more yet to come. The climactic sword-fighting at the end of the book has us cheering for Eugenides, and for his decision. Long live the King of Attolia!
18 people found this helpful
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Utter Satisfaction from Gen's Third Story

I have been an enthusiastic fan of Megan Whalen Turner's stories about Eugenides since the first page of The Thief. It and The Queen of Attolia demonstrate Turner's keen plots, full-fleshed characters, and delicious control of language. It was exciting to learn that there was to be a third book--with optimism that it could measure up to its predecessors.

There is no need to fear disappointment from this book. Every line was sheer pleasure, but for knowing it brought the end a line nearer. Eugenides and his Queen are written with satisfying complexity and understanding, measuring up to and perhaps surpassing their characters in previous books. Other well-known characters--Sounis' Magus, Eddis, and references to an endangered Sophos--draw away from the fairly intimate main setting of the Attolian court and are welcome reminders of old friends.

The new central character Costis is a genuinely good man whose slow coming around to the king leaves the reader saying, "Yes, NOW you understand why you have to like him; he's GEN." It is particularly interesting to note his and others' views on subjects which the readers have previously experienced through other eyes; for example, one soldier comments that it was probably Eddis' idea that Gen marry Attolia--although we know she was in fact violently oppossed.

For those who prefer the political and personal intrigues of the stories there is also nothing to fear; the same complexity demonstrated in Gen and Attolia is practiced in the plot, which unravels with Turner's trademark precision.

All of my hopes were more than lived up to, and this may very well be my favorite of the three. Not only that, but it simply shouts sequel--so here's hoping a fourth is forthcoming, as soon as possible and as good as this.
10 people found this helpful
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Good book, but not up to par with The Thief

The Thief was an amazingly well written, entertaining trip of a book. The Queen of Attolia, I liked almost as much - even with the parts that were darker and less amusing. Gen had a lot of strength, even if it was tied up in fighting his new life. The King of Attolia picks up where Queen left off, yet it was missing some heart. It was a subtle book, with subtle moves. Most of the book was arranged like a slow dance, rather than an action book. While this might be ok on its own, it felt a lot like Ocean's 12 (the movie) - At the end, they tie together pieces that people wouldn't have known / guessed, and said "Here it is, isn't this clever!?" At the end of this, I didn't feel amused (as at the end of The Thief), or sad (as in King). I just went "Hrm, ok." I believe that this book series is trying to hit a rather difficult market. It's dark enough for adult fiction, but it's not engaging enough to survive there. It's well-written prose, and the writer obviously has talent - I was just disappointed in the about-face in storytelling. There was no flow from book to book, as there were with the first two.
9 people found this helpful
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I hope my overenthusiasm doesn't scare you...

How is it humanly possible that the vast majority of the population has never heard of Megan Whalen Turner?? How?? It boggles the mind!! It defies perception!! The people must be told!!

She creates multidimensional worlds and characters that you can't help but love- with the single exception the queen of Attolia. She's just scary, because she's so enigmatic, but I have confidence that we'll see more of her soon. It will just take time, just like sawing through a log with a butterknife takes a while. Anyway, back on to the subject of Turner's brilliance. She blew me away with Queen of Attolia. Every time I reread it, I find some new nuance in the storyline. While The King doesn't quite achieve that level of delicious complexity, it more than earns the five star rating. Even a reader who's new to Gen can appreciate him and his absolute awesomeness, but I recommend that you read the first two prior to this one, because when you know Gen better, you can see into his world and understand him and his issues far better. My only complaint is that it isn't as grand in scale as The Queen, but once you read the ending, it doesn't seem to matter, because you see that The King is just a superb series filler, and that greater things will soon come.

One last thing. I shall simply wither away from pure, uncut misery and boredom if I have to wait for six years for the next book. But, if it just so happens that it does take six years for true quality, take your sweet time Mrs. Turner, because I would rather spend my years withering and waiting for true quality than just having the sequel be a plain old book.
9 people found this helpful
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Couldn't put it down...

... and had to re-read it right away to pick up on all the subtle clues I missed the first time through. (I finally figured out just what Hiero was telling the king about during their meeting, and why it was important). Although it is marketed as a YA book, I hope it receives a wider audience. There are too many good scenes to list them all (the attempted assassination and its immediate aftermath were particularly well done, and I absolutely loved the dance scene. The sparring scene at the end was marvellous, and I wanted to stand up and cheer at its finale. The characters were more well-developed and complex than anything I've read in memory (which is quite a bit, since I'm a librarian). Read the first two books in the series before this one -- they are worth it and will bring you a much richer understanding of the story.
7 people found this helpful
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Wow! A must read!

This book is amazing. First of all, I like the fact that it was from someone else's view because you really don't know a person until you can see how they are judged by others. It was so funny listening to Costis' point of view because of the way he reacted to everything. I wanted to shout at him, I wanted to laugh at him; I wanted to cry with him, he was a character that you could instantly connect to. Plus the fact that Costis didn't know Gen as a thief, didn't know him as a person, he just saw a guy who stole the Queen and forced her to marry him. He thinks Gen is a 'jumped-up barbarian goatfoot who has no right to be king' as he says on one of the first pages.

It isn't until about 150 or so pages into the book that Costis really sees Eugenides as more than what he thought. When Costis promised 10 gold cups to a goddess just for Gen's safety, you can see that. We already know Eugenides' character from the first two books, we know how he feels and works and I personally can say that I love his sense of humor, which continued in this book to make me smile and laugh out loud while reading. Gen is one piece of work; he is a mystery that no one can really figure out, not even in the end of book, where he surprises them again.

I personally loved Attolia, (or Irene, which is her real name) she has always been one of my favorite characters because she is like a warrior queen, who never shows any weaknesses. She is a very stubborn person, I have to say, but that aids her character especially when Eugenides comes into the picture because they contrast each other and they help each other to be stronger in every aspect of their life. I was a little disappointed in their relationship because you only see them romantically interact a couple of times, though you know they love each other very much.

I cheered for Eugenides when he shows the court up exactly who he is and is always one step ahead of them. The book showed another side of his character, though, for awhile when Gen refused to take the King position seriously, he wasn't acting like a king and did things that showed his weak side, for Gen is mainly a strong, stubborn and wild character who always seems to slip out of bad situations. I also liked when they showed Attolia (Irene) fainting when Eugenides gets injured badly showing her weak side and how much she cares for him, which she doesn't show a lot.

Overall, this was an amazing book, I was constantly turning the pages as quickly as I could, awaiting the next thing. I don't think I ever was bored with this book, I think you've got to be nuts not to like this book. It is a bit long (though not compared to the Harry Potter Series or other really long 700+ page books) at 400 some pages and took me a couple days to finish it, but it was worth the wait. I would recommend it to anyone who likes long, engrossing books that you can't put down.
7 people found this helpful
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mesmerizing, even profound

Every so often, a book comes along, published for young people, that I find myself pressing on all those folk I know who love bokks but don't spend their professional time toiling in the vineyards of children's and teen literature.

This is one of them. Elegantly constructed, doling out information to its readers in small shards, with a captivating hero and heroine and a regular guy/guard, from whose perspective we see most of what goes on.

There are wheels within wheels, glancing insights into truth and falsehood, perception and reality, love and loyalty, but all of this happens in the midst of a completely absorbing story. Wow.
6 people found this helpful
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Turner gets better with every book

What a delicious read 'The King of Attolia' is. Eugenedes grows up at last, without losing any of his boyish charm. The world Turner has created is intriging, and the characters believable and likable. I don't know what makes this a children's book, per se, instead of adult fantasy. It isn't in any way a childish book.
5 people found this helpful

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