Megan Whalen Turner

I love the characters--both the amazingly gifted and probably equally annoying to live with, Gen, and the people who hate and love him. It's wonderful to experience their weaknesses and strengths and the way they are surprised by both. I love the story world and the way Turner makes us fall into it, even when you would think it would never work. [Who can quote fictional archaic epi poetry in the middle of a book and make me actually read it and enjoy it, instead of skipping over it? Okay, show more she doesn't do that in Return of the Thief.]

But if you want to appreciate twisty intricate plotting, complex and believeable character motivations and go away from this world for awhile, try this whole series. She's a master at work, so she makes it all look and feel so easy.

Readers of Jennifer A. Nielsen's smart and surprising series "The Ascendance" (begins with The False Prince) will enjoy these books too.

This series is young adult, both because the motivations of the characters require thoughtful puzzling out--one of the great pleasures of these books--and there is a violent, on-page scene in the second book that I can't tell you about, because it would be a spoiler. Of course, if you are reading this one now, you already know what that spoiler is. There are references to adult relationships, but again not on the page.

People often say that reading fiction "teaches" empathy. Without "teaching" at all, Megan Whalen Turner's books are like experiencing the world from all sides. I've read this three times at least, so it's about time I wrote a review! Books like these that I really like are hard to review. Mostly, I want to hand it to you and go away. show less

Caution: Spoilers for previous books in the series

Book Four of this series, A Conspiracy of Kings, again shifts perspective. This book is told from the point of view of Sophos, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Sounis. Sophis lacks self-esteem, has a fear of failure, and hates having expectations laid on his door. When he is captured and enslaved, he welcomes it and feels happy; he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone more than he thinks he can handle. He does feel guilty though for show more leaving the problems of his kingdom to others. And he thinks often of Helen, the Queen of Eddis whom he loves.

Sophos gets an opportunity for redemption when his father unexpectedly shows up for dinner at the house of the Baron in whose fields Sophos works, and Sophos learns about a plot to kill his father and his men at dinner. Sophos manages to sneak in as a server and warn his father, and they escape. But not for long. Sophos, who unbeknownst to him is now eligible to be king because of the death of his uncle, is recaptured, and must figure out how to grow up and grow into his role, with help from his friends.

Discussion: This fourth book, like the others, tells a heart-warming story with such winning characters that you won’t miss so much that Gen and Irene take a back-seat, albeit with revealing observations about Gen by Sophos. The characterizations, from Sophos’s fellow slaves to the self-serving, nefarious would-be advisors to the new heir, are excellent.

Evaluation: This is a terrific series. For those who fear the steep learning curve of many fantasies, these books won’t put you off at all. Most of the complexity is in the characterization and relationships. The writing and pacing are excellent, and there are plenty of twists that aren’t “artificial” but rather reflect the ongoing political machinations of the actors. Female characters tend to be stronger than the males, but the males won’t disappoint you. The romances are some of the most nuanced and realistic you’ll find in YA books. Prepare to have your heart stolen! show less

Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner is the 5th book in her Queen’s Thief series, but it could also be read as a stand alone story. Kamet is the slave-secretary to the former ambassador of Attolia, Nahuseresh. He enjoys his position, even though he must endure his masters moods. One day when a fellow slave tells him that his master has been poisoned, he joins forces with an Attolian soldier who has offered to help him get to Attolia. Since the slaves of a murdered master are put to show more death as a precaution, Kamet knows he needs to leave the Empire. Together they travel across the Mede empire looking for a way to fully escape all that are trailing after them.

This was a fun adventure story that was lighter in style than some of the previous books. Kamet and Costis, the Attolian soldier, make an interesting pair and as they bond and grow in friendship, the reader learns to care for these characters and to root for their success. The last third of the book comes full circle back to the political machinations of the King and Queen of Attolia and gives us a very satisfactory ending.

This is a superior YA fantasy series as the author takes great care to slowly build her characters and create relationships that feel real. The setting, world building and politics are crafted with care and the result is a complex, multilayered story that fully engages the reader. I am hopeful that there will be more books in this series. show less

At last, the fifth book in The Queen’s Thief series! While this book can theoretically be read independently, the previous books are good too so why not start with them? The series starts with The Thief, but the second book, The Queen of Attolia, remains my favorite.

After the debacle in Attolia, Kamet is glad to be back in Medes. As the slave of a powerful master, Kamet hopes to accumulate power and influence of his own. So when an Attolian solider offers to help him escape, Kamet show more laughingly dismisses him. Until he finds out that his master has been murdered and that he and the other slaves are to be put to death. Kamet and the Attolian solider (who is recognizable as Costis if you’ve read the other books) journey across the Mede empire, short on resources and constantly pursued.

Out of all the books in the series, Thick as Thieves is most reminiscent of the very first book: a first person account of a journey. However, Thick as Thieves for the first time moves the setting outside of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. I believe that each book in a series should expand the world in someway, and Thick as Thieves is wonderfully successful in this regard. Whereas the previous books in the series have add Greek mythology influences, Thick as Thieves expands the cultural lore to include elements similar to the Epic of Gilgamesh. That much I was able to perceive, although I’d guess there’s other elements of Babylonian and Sumerian culture and mythology that went over my head.

As I already noted, the plot structure is most similar to the first book in the series, which I’m not that thrilled about. The Thief was my least favorite book in the series, and I miss the third person political narratives of the other books. Oh, well. At least Turner’s writing is sublime and she does spin some characteristic plot twists that I failed to see coming.

Also characteristically, Turner’s character development is excellent. Kamet is a compelling first person narrator. His world has suddenly been upturned and he’s having to learn to think about it and himself in new ways. Plus, he’s for the first time developing an actual friendship, with someone who’s his equal.

And here lies a large topic of discussion I’ve seen among other reviewers: “Is the relationship between Costis and Kamet entirely platonic?” However, I’ll raise you another question: “Why is The Queen’s Thief series so heterosexual?”

Before reading Thick as Thieves (or even hearing the buzz about possible homoerotic subtext), I wanted the novel to add canonically queer characters. Their absence from the world Turner’s constructed is especially notable given that the series draws so heavily off of classical culture and mythology. And as someone who’s studied Latin for five years (including Catullus), let me tell you, the ancient world was not heteronormative.

It’s something I thought about when I read and reviewed the fourth book in the series back in fall 2015, but I didn’t mention it in my review. Instead, I saved my criticism for a vague tumblr post. I haven’t normally criticized books for failing to include queer characters, but I find myself less tolerant of this as time goes on. It’s sort of similar to growing dissatisfaction with narratives that don’t include women (who are also largely absent from Thick as Thieves as it happens).

With the previous books, it was easily excusable. But since the first book was published in 1996 and the fifth in 2015, children’s and young adult publishing has gone a long way towards becoming more inclusive. After all, it’s not like a Queen’s Thief book that included non-heterosexual characters wouldn’t find readers — the series already has a devoted fandom, and Rick Riordan has proved that an established series can add queer characters and still be successful.

When I heard other reviewers saying they saw queer subtext in Thick as Thieves, I was interested but wary. I want queer representation, but subtext isn’t representation. And to be frank, I’m tired of subtext.

Personally, I didn’t read any romantic undertones in the relationship between Costis and Kamet. I didn’t see any of the romantic or sexual language that I typically see when an author’s establishing a relationship as romantic. The closest Thick as Thieves comes is when a supporting character mistakes Costis and Kamet as lovers, which is the first acknowledgement from the series that queer people do exist. It’s also a type of scene that I’ve seen before and never been fond of. It basically feels like the author’s trying to position their work as queer inclusive… without ever actually including queer characters.

To all the people saying that men can have friendships without it being romantic: fair point. However, the Queen’s Thief series isn’t exactly lacking when it comes to depictions of male friendship (which is far more prevalent than the female equivalent), but it hasn’t included any romantic relationships between male characters. If Kamet and Costis were a romantic couple, it wouldn’t erase the friendship between Costis and Gen, Gen and Sophos, or any of the other positive relationships between male characters in the series.

While I personally didn’t see Costis and Kamet’s relationship as romantic, I’m not saying that readers who did aren’t onto something. I’ve always been terrible about telling the difference between romance and friendship (grey-aro here!), so I’m hardly the best person to judge here. I’ve seen some people saying they think Turner left the nature of Costis and Kamet’s relationship purposefully ambiguous. I really hope that’s not the case. It’s one thing for an author to accidentally write a relationship with perceived queer subtext, but it’s quite another to purposefully create an ambiguous, “are they/aren’t they” scenario. That would be queerbaiting. As the case stands, I don’t think Thick as Thieves can be called queerbaiting, but it’s a thought worth mentioning.

When I said that I wanted the series to include queer characters, I never meant the leads. Just some minor characters to show that queer people do have a place in the world Turner’s created. Yet subtext is not sufficient, and I’m not pleased that this ostensible subtext is being praised in some circles as progressive.

Thick as Thieves is a well written narrative which I found enthralling. I read this entire young adult novel in a single Sunday afternoon. Yet, at the same time, it’s a bit of a disappointment.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. show less