The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Genre: Fantasy
Publishing year: 1996
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Series: The Queen's Thief #1
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:
Because of his bragging-and his great skill-Gen lands in the King's prison, shackled to the wall of his cell. After months of isolation, he is released by none other than the King's scholar, the Magus, who believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. The thief he needs for the long, dangerous journey is Gen. To the Magus, Gen is just a took. But Gen has some ideas of his own.

Review:
The second time I have read this book in less than a year and it still remains a resounding masterpiece in my mind. For once I am glad to read a book written in first person, it adds to the story in such a way that third person could never accomplish. Gen is able to surprise us over and over again because he is the only voice telling the story. He doesn't narrate every moment of every scene and leaves out minute details. However he leaves clues that get our brains whirling. He has a bump in his hair? The long hair he uses to hide objects he has stolen? We didn't read about him stealing anything did we? Oh yes, we did, Gen just didn't tell us, he showed us.

I thought Turner told this story in a brilliant fashion and I absolutely adore the world she set it in. So many resemblances to Greece and Greek mythology, I felt right at home. Of course having the gods become more than just mythological figures was a nice twist that unsettled me for a moment. It reminds me of the Percy Jackson series in a way.

One minor annoyance was the use of guns. In the setting and time period I envisioned there were no guns and I found myself having to adapt to their sudden appearance.

Without a doubt Eugenides is my favorite character. He is completely self-assured and confident of his abilities. But he has his flaws like all great characters do, from his swearing to his sulking he reminds us all that he is indeed human.

There are four books in this series, and I have read them all. But I plan to reread each so that I can review them here, so it shouldn't surprise anyone when my next review is of The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.