Summary: As I’ve written before, I thought the series ended there, a dark duology about dueling countries’ rulers and how a Thief becomes a king. The group is ambushed by Attolian soldiers, who had been made aware of their mission and location by Ambiades, who was an informant to the Attolian queen. Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.

The Thief Book Review | Common Sense Media The Thief Book Review | Common Sense Media

The biggest ones are from Costis’ perspective, as his view of the king becomes the readers’ (despite the information we already know), and so it almost seems as if Eugenides and Attolia do not actually love one another. Eugenides shows up in each, but so too do we learn more about the brutal and beautiful Attolia, the less-conventionally-attractive but kind and brilliant Eddis, and their various advisors, allies, and enemies. Even when Gen stumbles upon the gods’ court of living statues in Hephestia’s temple, the scene is presented in flashes of movement and hints of contact rather than explicit interactions.Neither accepted nor beloved, Eugenides is the uneasy linchpin of a truce on the Lesser Peninsula, where he has risen to be high king of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. This is especially tricky for a series like this because that choice will determine how Duffield and Disney approach adapting The Thief. Later, he strips down in the baths with the other guards, who finally see him not just as Attolia’s king, but as Annux, king of kings. If Attolia’s barons think that the king is just a figurehead, they’ll go back to their old plans of fighting one another for her hand and her throne.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner | Hachette UK

Gen and the Magus (the King’s right hand man) tell these stories about the Ancient Gods that I really loved for the pure amount of thought that went into them, and how much they contributed into building this world up. The lamp sputters and Gen begins to panic, unsure how much oil he has lost or what time he has left. When he is tempted to do so, only the actions of his slave-turned-friend stops him; though he perceives it as a failure, the goddess judges that he must be a good man, to have a friend who will look out for him so well. Instead of his former travel companion, however, Sounis finds the strangely impersonal Attolis, who talks to him as one king to another, as if they share no history. Not literally, but he’s forced to trail Eugenides all over the palace, from lessons in the Mede language to awkward encounters when courtiers sing Dite Erondites’ mocking song “The king’s Wedding Night” with its humiliating speculation as to what passed between this boy king and the icy Attolia.What will require even more nuance and sensitivity is Gen’s slow recovery and depression stemming from that traumatic event.