Now, I've jumped in the middle of the story, and that's something that I don't do to often. I jumped in because that's how Turner writes. When we meet Gen, he's in prison. It's only later that we learn of his past and how he set himself up to go on this adventure. Eugenides, which is a name as much as a title, is the Queen's Thief of the country of Eddis. It's a title and a position at court. He is also the cousin of the queen. The magus drags Gen through the country with Pol, a soldier, and his two apprentices, Ambiades and Sophos. They are traveling to a small temple built in the middle of a river to steal Hamiathes' Gift, a stone given to the Eddisian king Hamiathes by the Great Goddess as a symbol of his right to rule. In Eddis, having the gift means that you are the true ruler of Eddis. The magus of Sounis wants it for his king. While Gen may or may not be successful (I'll let you find out for yourself), on the way back to Sounis, they are captured by the Attolians. This leads to our first introduction to the Queen of Attolia.
The Queen of Attolia is definitely more. Eugenides is captured early in the book and he suffers from an ancient punishment for theivery--His right hand is cut off. When he is returned to his cousin, Eddis, she declares war. The war is an important piece of the background as Eugenides gets back on his feet and rediscovers who he is. In the second half of the book, he is actively taking part in the war, but not in a way that all of Eddis's ministers know about, but a secret, spy-like way. This book also introduces the Mede Empire. Definitely by this point a readier is getting Mediterranean vibes--Greek city states, Persian Empire, and all that jazz, but in a fantasy, updated fasion. Guns and cannons do exist. Eventually, Eugenides steals peace by getting the Queen of Attolia to marry him.
The King of Attolia is about Eugenides becoming the king that he is meant to be. To do this, he really has to step out of the shadows and become a force in his own right. He is one in secret already--he sneaks through the palace at night and knows seemingly everything that is going on, but in public he acts like a bored child. He is impossible to force into the open until he is ready, but when he does he has played every piece in exactly the right fasion to awe the people around him. He becomes a king who has the potential to be a king above kings. For many years, I thought the series ended after this third book, but I recently discovered that there was a fourth book, called A Conspiracy of Kings. I don't like this book as much, because it doesn't focus on a main character that I'm that interested in. The first three books focous on Eugenides. This fourth book focuses on Sophos, the heir of the king of Sounis. For some reason, it makes this book much harder to get into for me. To be honest, I'm still reading it, and I've discovered there is a stand-alone book as well called Thick As Theives. Maybe I'll like these by the time I'm done, but I really like Eugenides, and sometimes it's a character that draws you to the series. When I finish these last two books, I'll have to make sure to review them on their own!
One think that is particularly interesting is teh way that Turner changes her point of view between The Thief and The Queen of Attolia. The thief is told from Eugenides point of view and in first person. The Queen and The King are both told in third person. It makes it feel that, as Eugenides becomes more aware of the greater world around him and his place in it, the books become more aware as well. Another thing to note is that Eugenides is young. If I had to guess, in The King, I would say that he is maybe 18. But he is very, very smart.
Anyway. I'm off to read about conspiracies, so start with these three and ENJOY!
No comments:
Post a Comment