This is Hannah. And I know, I've only (personally) done two posts since the last one. But it's been over a month. And Book Recommendations are fun and easy. So all I need to do is pick a subject.
Now Trinity will NOT be pleased if I do something big and epic, like, say, Lord Of The Rings, or Percy Jackson, so how 'bout I do something that I geek out more about that she does. Like...
Man, I can't decide. Coin flip, The Queen's Thief or Enola Holmes. Heads, Queen's Thief; tails, Enola.
Or I'll drop the coin and make it say heads. I'll flip again. Waaagh, tails. Okay, I'll only flip ONE more time.
HEADS TWICE! QUEEN'S THIEF!
This has been Real-Time Indecision with Hannah.
The Queen's Thief
by Megan Whalen Turner
Okay, The Queen's Thief. The series wasn't named the Queen's Thief by the author, Megan Whalen Turner, but was fan-named. Yes, it has fans - that means it's awesome.
The series begins with Gen. A dirty, insolent thief, rotting in one of King Sounis' dungeon cells. He's been there for weeks, having stolen the King's seal. In a wine shop, he flaunted his victory and bragged that he could steal anything. Anything but himself out of jail, it seems.
But when the king needs something stolen, he sends his magus to release the thief, with the mutual understanding that Gen is only free to help the magus on his quest - to find an ancient artifact that legend says will give anyone undisputed authority of the land of Eddis, another land that the King covets, along with Eddis' queen. Gen and the magus are paired with Pol, a soldier, and two young apprentices, Sophos and Ambiades.
Throughout the journey, the questers get on each other's nerves and a couple times even break out in fist fights. Gen, due to his light-fingered habits, is forced to learn that he is little more than a tool in the eyes of his "companions", and only gradually earns their respect, not without considerable pain. Eventually the questers find that the Thief is not quite what they originally took him for.
The problem with talking about series instead of single books is that you can only talk about book one, none of the later books, otherwise something will be given away, probably something big.
But as for the review part of it. If you like political-intrigue books, this series is awesome. I didn't think I liked that type of book, but The Queen's Thief made it fascinating. The setting is a historical, slightly fantasy world, based on the ancient Greeks, but with some liberties taken to add guns and pocket watches and stained glass, etcetera.
The plot lines are really genius. Once you read it, you almost have to go back and read it again to see how everything fits in to the respective conspiracies. Personally, my favorite book is The King Of Attolia. They're all very interesting, but I think The King Of Attolia is the peak of awesomeness.
It has been said... in this family... that The Thief is boring. Depends on your perspective. But it's really worth it, if not only for the sequels.
Also, if you have read The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, this series is a lot alike.
Now, for the Christian readers: this series has a lot to do with fictional gods and goddesses. For instance, Gen is named after the god of thieves, and he meets the messenger of the gods, Moira, several times throughout the books. Also, Gen does a bit of minor cursing, like "damn" and "gods". Nothing big, but not exactly child-friendly. Just a warning.
I'm going to borrow an idea from a fellow pinner on Pinterest, and rate these books.
Five stars is for spectacular, epic, awesome, fast-paced. The best. Books. Ever.
Four stars is for a good book or series. I'd read it twice, three times, and even geek out about it. Maybe a lot.
Three stars. A pretty fun book, informative or interesting, with a good cast of characters. I probably wouldn't care to look it up again, though.
Two stars is mediocre. Kind of bizarre. What was going on in the plot, I'm not quite sure. Not a book I'd be quick to recommend.
One star... um, no, don't read it. It's not good. Not that it's bad - well, it is bad - but it's not good, even. It's not well done, it's not a good story, just don't.
Keep in mind that this is a personal opinion. You may be of a COMPLETELY different mindset. These are just recommendations. As a matter of fact, the one star entries will probably not even appear on Book Recommendations.
So anyway, The Queen's Thief. The whole series:
It was a great series. It'd put you on the edge of your seat, and the books go by so fast. Not only that, but the dialogue is natural and hilarious. Gen is sarcastic, Sophos is awkward, the magus is grumpy, they all have their own unique personalities, and actually have stories behind them. Some are mysterious, others are obvious. The books are intriguing, fascinating, and again, hilarious.
I could rate each book separately, but frankly, I'm out of time.
Tell me what you think! If you've read the book, what's your opinion on it? If you haven't, maybe you should look it up and try it out.
That's all, folks, so I'm going to just awkwardly stop talking and post this.