GREAT World Building // REVIEW: The Thief (The Queen's Thief #1) by Megan Whalen Turner

Title: The Thief (The Queen's Thief #1)
Author: Megan Whalen Turner
Publication Date: February 28th 2017
Publisher: Greenwillow Books // Harper Collins
Part of a Series?: Yes, Book 1/5 of The Queen's Thief Series
I Got A Copy Through: Harper Collins India
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Blurb Description: Discover the world of the Queen’s Thief
New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deceptionPerfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.
Eugenides, the queen’s thief, can steal anything—or so he says. When his boasting lands him in prison and the king’s magus invites him on a quest to steal a legendary object, he’s in no position to refuse. The magus thinks he has the right tool for the job, but Gen has plans of his own. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans, and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Discover and rediscover the stand-alone companions, The Queen of AttoliaThe King of Attolia, and A Conspiracy of Kings, all epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief.
This edition of The Thief includes an exclusive piece by Megan Whalen Turner about her inspiration for the setting of the story, an introduction to the characters from the world of the Queen’s Thief, a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and an exclusive teaser to Thick as Thieves.
A book about a master thief? SIGN ME UP.

When I saw that Harper Collins India was going to be publishing the first four books in Megan Whalen Turner’s The Thief series here in India with the GORGEOUS new covers, I was beyond excited. I only requested the first two, but being the awesome sauce humans that they are, they sent me all four books and now I’m going to have an amazing time bingeing through the series! #BingesAreTheBest

My thoughts about The Thief:

·         As I said before, I was VERY VERY excited about this book. Say the words ‘Master Thief’, and my mind automatically shifts to Kaz (aka Dirtyhands) in the Six of Crows duology. I couldn’t wait to experience Gen’s world, see the cunning thief that Gen promised to be and pretty much find myself a new favourite character.

·         The Thief was a very informative book. It had a lot of world building and introduction to the political climate. If I didn’t have the next three books to read right after, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much.


·         While this book had GREAT WORLD BUILDING, it had very little else. In Gen, I didn’t find a master thief or a skilled manipulator. Instead, rather than a Thief, I would call him a very skilled explorer.  For three quarters of the book, we saw him being taken out of prison, walking across countries and complaining about food. He seemed like a half acute observer, and until they reached the Temple, there was NO THIEVEING HAPPENING.

·         Honestly, if there was one thing I could have changed, it would have been to describe HOW Gen stole, or rather, made him more shrewd and cunning – something. Even as plot twists are revealed, it seemed like the entire book was based on an uncalculated risk and pure luck.

·         Obviously, Gen wasn’t ALL I wanted him to be, but that didn’t mean I didn’t like him anyway. His carefree attitude, how he admitted that he could be wrong, and the promise of who he would be from the next few books, all seemed promising, I just didn’t get it in book one.

·         I LOVED THE RELIGION AND THE STORIES. 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 Thief was a quick read, but it didn’t feel like a great book itself. It felt like a prequel – setting us up for the real adventure, which I am very excited to read about.

Do I recommend this series? Yes, but I would consider this book a prequel to it.

It’s a simple, quick and fun read that I’m hoping gets more complex as I dive in deeper. 3.5 stars.

Megan Whalen TurnerMegan Whalen Turner is the author of short stories and novels for children, teenagers and adults. She has won the LA Times Book Award for Young Adult LIterature, a Boston Globe/ Horn Book Honor and a Newbery Honor. She won the Mythopoeic Award and was shortlisted twice for the Andre Norton Award.
Have you had the chance to dive into Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief series?
Who are some of your favourite fictional thieves? 
If you had to form a Heist Crew, which fictional characters would you choose?

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