The Thief (The Queen's Thief, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

May 21, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it it was amazing

Shelves: spell-out-september, favorites, fantasy, owned-copy, alternate-history, young-adult, gods-and-goddesses, unlikely-hero-or-heroine, antihero, greek-mythology

What do you do when you want to gain possession of something that's nearly impossible to obtain? You hire a thief who can steal just about anything.

Gen has no disillusions about his abilities as a thief. He's actually named after the god of thieves, Eugenides, as a matter of fact. While his father wanted him to be a soldier, he knew that was not the life for him. Instead, he honed his skills at stealing, until he was one of the best in the land. Too bad he did a little too much bragging about st What do you do when you want to gain possession of something that's nearly impossible to obtain? You hire a thief who can steal just about anything.

Gen has no disillusions about his abilities as a thief. He's actually named after the god of thieves, Eugenides, as a matter of fact. While his father wanted him to be a soldier, he knew that was not the life for him. Instead, he honed his skills at stealing, until he was one of the best in the land. Too bad he did a little too much bragging about stealing the King's seal and ended up in jail. He's approached by the King's magus and offered a proposition, steal something for the King, and he'll be released from jail. If he refuses, he'll simply disappear (not in a good way). It's not a proposition an intelligent young man would say no to. So begins this story.

Gen is one of those characters that I couldn't help but enjoy. His irreverent, jaundiced, but very insightful view of human nature insinuated him into my affections. I like that kind of humor, so I tend to gravitate towards main characters like Gen. From the beginning, I knew he was a thief, but that didn't make him unlikeable to me. Instead, I wanted to find out what made him tick, and I was rooting for him to come out of this story for the better. I liked that I saw some character growth in him as this story progressed.

The Thief is a story set in an alternate world in which various gods hold the devotion of the populace. I liked how part of the story was hearing the tales of the gods who made this world; and those stories are very smoothly integrated into the plot, playing a crucial role in the narration, characterization, and the unfolding of this story. Reading the extra material at the end of this novel revealed Ms. Turner's thought process. I could see a heavy Greek mythology influence, but there were unique elements about the pantheon and the story-telling that showed the author's specific vision. There are also aspects that surprised me, in that the gods actually play a real role in this story. I liked how the fantasy elements didn't dominate, but the focus is Gen's character and his quest to steal something that has the potential to affect three kingdoms in this novel.

There was an interesting twist towards the end that I was not expecting at all, and I always give my respect to an author who can do that, and surprise me. I'm not a jaded reader, by any means, but I read a lot, and I've seen a lot of common plot devices; so a writer who can throw me a curve ball is always appreciated.

I have to say that this Newbury Award Winner did impress me. It's one of those stories that doesn't try to go elaborate, but has a richness that won me over as a reader all the same. Fortunately, this is part of a series, so I can look forward to more adventures in this interesting world. ...more

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Feb 12, 2018 Meg rated it really liked it

Shelves: 20th-century

I somehow contrived to miss this YA fantasy series back when I was younger. I think it's because my sister had Queen of Attolia on her bookshelf, and the library did as well, but no copy of The Thief was ever forthcoming. It was against my reading code of honor to read book number two in a series ahead of number one. And so that's how my entire childhood was left devoid of Megan Whalen Turner's books.

I kind of want to grieve about it. If I was younger, I know I would've worshipped her books an ...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Hirondelle (not getting notifications) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-and-middle-grade, fantasy

I did reread it after all, some 20 odd years after the first time, maybe the 2nd or third reread. After the whole series is finished and I have some thoughts which are possibly spoilers for the whole series.

The tone is itself quite different from the rest of the series, which obviously makes sense. I could not quite imagine what would come next, no and it is a lot of credit to MWT that her style, her characterization would grow. I gave this 5 stars, on its own I think I would not have given it 5 ...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Gen is the best thief in the land--too bad he's also the most boastful. After stealing the king's seal and showing it off to his cronies in a wine shop, Gen is caught and throne in jail to rot. But eventually, the king realizes he has need of him. Gen is sent on a mission to steal something (what, he is not told) under the watchful eyes of the Magus, his two apprentices, and a soldier. As the quest gets more dangerous, bad luck and lies damage the tenuous friendships formed among the group.

Told ...more

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Mar 23, 2010 Nicky rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, children-s-and-ya

Quick to read, and enjoyable. Relatively typical fantasy -- nothing particularly new, in my experience -- and kind of fails to get me totally absorbed. The background world of the story is interesting and I was glad to learn about that, but I didn't feel an urgent need to keep reading it for the sake of the characters. I did like Pol and Sophos, but wasn't overly concerned about them, either.

I shouldn't have been surprised that a thief would be an unreliable narrator. It's interesting to think b ...more

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Dec 31, 2014 Nicky rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I remember feeling somewhat ambivalent about this book the first time I read it, but I was sure it wouldn’t be that way this time: over the course of the other books, I came to love Gen and appreciate the world. Well, I still do love Gen and I appreciate the world, the set up for the twist that comes near the end of the book, the way Gen’s voice works as a narrator. But I still wasn’t that in love with the world in this book; I still didn’t get that attached to the characters. This is a series w ...more

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Oct 19, 2007 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, youngadult, teen-books-adults-can-enjoy

Witty, funny, and it kept me guessing. The story of a loudmouth thief in an ancient mythology setting, where the gods really exist. I really enjoyed this book!

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May 23, 2011 Maree rated it it was amazing

These books are written almost strangely, and I like it for how it makes the world seem that much different. It's a distant third person, almost like you as the reader are one of the gods watching the plans of the mortals below. But you don't know very much for a god, so maybe not. Turner often leaves the reader out of the loop for plots and plans, so you don't know if everything is going perfectly or if everything has been ruined. You're forced to just sit and watch and wait to see how everythi ...more

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Jul 02, 2012 andrea rated it liked it

this book is somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.. i really enjoyed gen's voice, so distinctive and believable, but (view spoiler) ...more

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Jun 09, 2018 Jaimie rated it liked it · review of another edition

I would have given it a higher rating were it not for the journey to being so boring. Too much traveling and not enough going on, not even enough exposition. But once they got to where they were going through to the end, it was enjoyable.

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