Author Megan Whalen Turner states she was inspired by Greece and used bits and pieces of Grecian history and geography to write The Thief. These basic blocks plus good character development and an intriguing plot with unexpected twists made The Thief an imaginative fantasy while avoiding a retelling of Grecian myths.
The plot features Gen, a braggart and thief currently imprisoned in the King’s royal prison in Sounis, a smallish state south of Eddis and west of Attolia. Gen made the mistake of bragging about stealing the king’s seal, then doing it and then getting caught, so he’s in chains and unable to escape. We can tell from the get-go that there is a lot more to Gen than these bare facts – anyone who reads fantasies will recognize the noble-born-but-pretending-to-be-common character. Turner doles out bits and pieces of hints to clue us into Gen’s real status but holds out the complete story until the end.
The king’s Magus retrieves Gen from jail to steal the Gift of Hamiathes, the stone that is the kingship symbol in Eddis. The king of Suonis wants to Gift to force the queen of Eddis to marry him. The magus has two younger men, Sophos and Ambiades and Sophos’ man Pol along on the journey to retrieve the Gift from its hiding spot.
So far this sounds like a normal quest fantasy, enlivened with humor and questions about Gen, and The Thief is a quest on the surface. It is more. The characters are well done, with betrayal, mystery, and a background of geopolitical reality that drives the magus on his hunt. If the magus is right then the three countries must ally to keep themselves whole. Turner left enough open to write several sequels but The Thief is a complete novel on its own.
Most of the libraries shelve The Thief under YA fantasy. The book will appeal to teens but it has enough complexity and interesting characters that adults can enjoy it too. It’s not long, about 220 pages, and a fast read without a ton of elaborate writing. The small number of characters, about 12 altogether, keeps it easy to follow, no hunting back and forth to remember who is who.
Turner so vividly describes the terrain with cliffs, ravines, arid volcanic residues, olive groves that you feel you would recognize the country if you saw it. A map would have been a plus.
Overall I enjoyed The Thief. The tension between Gen and the magus, Gen and the two young nobles, and finally between Gen and the goddess make the book lively and the rich characters make it an enjoyable, satisfying read. 4 Stars.
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