The Thief

"Do you mean," I squawked, "that we are out here in the dark looking for something from a fairy tale?"

In the genre of young adult fiction, one sometimes runs across a Newberry Honor book that is so overwhelmingly good, it makes one wonder why it did not win the Medal. Megan Whalen Turner's The

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Thief (1997) is one such book.

The thief of the title is Gen, a young pickpocket who has stolen the king of Sounis' seal and, after giving himself away by bragging about it, is now serving time in the royal prison. Gen boasts that he can steal anything, even himself out of prison, but he has not quite gotten around to doing so when he is summoned away by the king's magus, who is not so much a magician as a scribe and advisor. He offers him an opportunity for freedom, providing he make good on his boast, and steal that which no one else has yet found; but if he cannot make the theft or tries to run away, the king will give him cause to regret it. The idea flatters Gen's vanity and, so he sets out with the magus in quest of the mysterious object . Accompanying them are Ambiades, the magus' standoffish pupil, Sophos, an nobleman's son, and the warrior Pol. As they travel, the difficulties and conflicts of their journey are intermittently lightened by stories that the magus and Gen tell about the ancient gods, deities who have long been forgotten outside of their cultic rituals. The characters' minds, however, are firmly set on the trials ahead.

I had the most terrible attitude in approaching this book. Perhaps due to the overwhelming amount of praise I had heard showered upon it, I worried it would be a let-down. Even after the lovely opening description of light changing in the dark prison, I thought that this was going to be a typically dry YA book (a ridiculous notion, since for the most part I love YA). But after the setup of the first chapter I was intrigued by the central predicament, and soon the characters themselves began to win me over, Gen particularly. He is a humorous but flawed narrator, making both a multi-dimensional character and a spellbinding storyteller. I cannot recall laughing so much at a book since I read a P. G. Wodehouse novel last semester. Everyone else is similarly well-defined and -developed, though none are as they seem.

Though I had been forewarned about twists, I had not expected so many—and I would not have guessed the final one in a million years. When I read it, I blinked at the page and thought, Is she even allowed to do that? But it works. Trust me, there is nothing like it.

I read The Thief in one day, going late into the night in order to finish it, and when I was done I could not believe it had taken me so long to discover it. I turned around immediately and recommended it both to a preteen neighbor, who is an avid book lover, and my sixteen-year-old brother, who is not. This is a compliment I rarely pay, to urge others to read a book as soon as it's finished. The Thief is a treat for people all ages who love adventure and intrigue. Some mild swearing aside, there is no reason not to put this treasure on your family's bookshelf.

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A small group of adventurers set out to steal a hidden treasure.

In some ways, this was a very good book, but it took a long, long time to get going. Turner opens the book with a long travel sequence in which nothing much happens. We get a lot of little details here and there; while these do help

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set things up for the twists and turns that come later, the story didn't really come alive for me. I believe that a quieter beginning like this requires either a truly amazing cast of characters or an irresistible style to really work, and unfortunately this book didn't quite have either. The characters were interesting, yes, but none of them jumped off the page at me. Some of the stylistic choices were good, (I particularly liked the legends Turner included), and the setting was fairly creative, but neither really managed to carry the book.

So I was somewhat disappointed in the first half. It seemed to have potential, but it never really lived up to it.

Once I reached the halfway point, though, things started to perk up. A few more pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, and the character dynamics started to feel fully developed at long last. The story as a whole flowed very well. I was impressed with the twist near the end; it was nicely yet unobtrusively set up.

Overall, this was enjoyable, but that slow beginning segment put me off enough that it wasn't instantly a keeper. I've added it to my library mostly on the strength of the next two books, which are excellent. I highly recommend the series as a whole.

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I had heard such good things about The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. My roommate liked it. The Book Smugglers liked it. It sounded like a decent plot… having finished the book I have mixed feelings. First, I found it in the 10-14 year old section. Not the YA section. The next one down. Now while

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I myself have no problem with skulking around the pre-teen section of the book store… none of the reviews I had read sounded remotely like this book was an appropriate 10-14 year old book. Maybe 14. But not 10. There are some pretty intense moments of violence, and that’s all I’m saying on that. That being said, 11 year old me probably would have read it anyway.

The book has a big twist. Actually, by my count, it has 2 big twists (one I saw coming, one I did not). I’m torn. I can’t decide whether these twists are brilliant, or massive cop-outs full of intentional misdirection. I think a second read might be necessary. I’m also torn about how I feel about the novel’s main character, Gen. Not only does he lack all of those things mentioned in the blurb there– he also lacks the ability to care. No seriously. He hardly gives a sh*t about anything, except saving his own skin. I think that because he so resolutely doesn’t care about anything or anyone, it makes me less willing to care about him as a character.

And then there’s the twist. And now I’m conflicted, because now he’s much more interesting.

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So you know how in cartoons when a character needs to portray an air of innocence they slump their shoulders, shove their hands in their pockets and whistle?

Megan Whalen Turner’s ‘The Thief’ is pretty much the literary equivalent of the innocent whistle. It devotes great effort to convincing

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the reader that Gen, the titular thief, isn’t up to anything, and in the end is about as convincing as whistling cartoon character.

Any magician will tell you if you don’t want the audience to see what you’re doing, then give them something else to look at. Turner doesn’t do this, she just hides away Gen’s true plans and motivations which, considering this is a first person novel, doesn’t leave the reader with much to see inside of Gen’s head. He complains of being tired and hungry a lot, and he spends a lot of time describing the other characters and their interactions, but… that’s about it.

He makes no effort to escape or to change his situation, simply passively going along with what his captors tell him to do and passivity is rarely an interesting trait in a protagonist. And yes people who have finished the book are going to say, ‘but, but, Megan! (er, Megan as in me, not Megan as in the author...) Gen had a plan all along!’ To which I reply that that’s no excuse. Look at the Artemis Fowl books, for example. They’re aimed at a younger audience than this one, so that removes any silly age argument, and one of the coolest things about them is that the reader rarely knows what Artemis is really up to until the final reveal. Half the time the reader doesn’t even know he is up to something. Artemis Fowl is a world champion poker player next to The Thief's innocent whistle.

Another thing I like about the Artemis Fowl books (I’m a big fan, can you tell) is that Artemis is a genius and we actually get to see evidence of him being all smug and geniusy. Gen is supposedly a super awesome thief, and yet we see no evidence of his skills. Yes we see the results, occasionally throughout the book Gen will mention an object he apparently stole a few pages earlier but we never actually see him steal anything. Imagine if every time a character got into a tight spot the writer simply skipped the part where they got out of it? Or if Sherlock Holmes just announced that he knew who the bad guy was without ever explaining how he figured it out? How are we, the reader, supposed to believe in Gen’s skills when we never actually see them in play?

So not only are most of Gen’s thoughts hidden away, we never see any evidence of his supposedly awesome skills. Couple this with the fact that for much of the book nothing happens, and you can see why a reader might get a little frustrated. There’s only so many campfire stories and descriptions of olive trees that a girl can take!

Now you might think from all this negativity that I didn’t much like this book at all. But honestly, despite its flaws, it was a pretty fun and easy read. There were some pretty clever turns of phrase scattered throughout, and once things actually started to happen (nearly three quarters of the way in, mind you) things picked up dramatically.

I might eventually pick up the next books in this series, but I’m not in any huge hurry to do so.

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Gen’s boasts about being able to steal anything land him in the king of Sounis’ prison. But then the Sounisian king’s magus has a special job for Gen: to help steal Hamiathes’ Gift, a mythical stone that is said to give the person whom the thief hands it to the right to rule. Their journey

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is a long and interesting one, with an undetermined chance of success, but Gen’s namesake being Eugenides, the God of Thieves, means that he just might have some more luck, skill—and secrets—than your average everyday thief.

Every time I think of this series, I kick myself for not having started it when I was younger. Not exactly because I’d enjoy it more as a younger reader, but because I would have had more years to crush on Eugenides and the masterful storytelling that Megan Whalen Turner is capable of.

To be honest, in the beginning I wasn’t very impressed with THE THIEF. The story starts in prison, and Gen is sick and scrawny and cranky. Not quite the most endearing character at this point. Even when Gen, the magus, the magus’ two apprentices, and their guard set off on their journey to steal Hamiathes’ Gift, I was less than pleased by Gen and the apprentices constantly ragging on each other.

But gradually, my vision expanded beyond Gen’s pettiness and immaturity and began to appreciate the, shall we say, “surroundings.” The majority of THE THIEF is a quest, and I can’t pinpoint when I began to fall in love with these quarrelsome characters, but fall in love I did. As their personalities became clearer to me, I was often forced to revise my previous judgments on their character and even like them—or, in some characters’ case, feel more suspicious of them. Turner draws heavily upon the setting and stories of Ancient Greece for her story, and I could imagine the rolling landscapes, the endless olive trees, and the sunshine as I read.

THE THIEF proves extraordinary in the last third or so, as Gen attempts to figure out how to steal Hamiathes’ Gift. I have heard that Megan Whalen Turner is a master of surprising plot twists, and was so delighted at what was revealed to me in the end. (Which I’ll not spoil for you, no way.) There are few things in books as exciting as a well-executed plot twist—but they also run the risk of being unbelievable. Thankfully, in retrospect, you realize that Turner sets up her revelations excellently, subtly yet memorably.

THE THIEF is a fantasy adventure that should appeal to readers both young and old. Rich with Mediterranean influences, stories-within-stories, and characters whose hair you really, really want to ruffle, it is no wonder that this book has withstood the test of time. I will be returning to you, Gen, when I need another dose of your cleverness and snark!

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The story of Gen, an imprisoned thief since he bragged to everyone that he was the biggest thief in the world - in front of the King's spies. He is freed and forcibly enlisted by the King's Magus to travel to Attolia to steal a mythical object, one that can only taken by a masterful thief. The

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party includes the Magus' two apprentices and a bodyguard and they all must work together on the quest.

Honestly, the book was mediocre. Gen is a charming, charismatic thief (as he should be), but that's not enough to pull a novel along. I didn't care about the other characters and they seemed one-dimensional. The big "Thief Trial" was boring and didn't live up to the hype when Gen figures it out. There were some amusing twist and turns, but somehow this book is lacking that certain something. The person who told me about this series said that this book was only okay but you have to go through it to get to the next two, which are stellar.

The book also could have greatly benefited from the inclusion of a map. I was sorely confused most of the time since the party travels through three kingdoms, among numerous rivers and across fields and mountain ranges. The author often refers to these landmarks to describe where the party is travelling, and I don't have enough of a visual memory (or the patience) to keep track of these things in my head. If I can't, I don't know how many kids will be able to do it.

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After some of my recent reads that were more of the horror genre, I needed a change. I have heard many different things about this YA Fantasy Series for years. I've heard the first book was slow, that it was boring, that The Thief dragged on. You either love it or hate it. It was kind of like, in

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the Harry Potter series, The Chamber of Secrets was kind of slow (for me at least), but it educated the reader on things that would later become key to the entire series. Well, I guess I fall under the LOVE it. What a Fun-freak'n-tastic read!

The Thief is the first in a series, The Queen's Thief:
1996 The Thief
2000 The Queen of Attolia
2006 The King of Attolia
2010 A Conspiracy of Kings
2017 Thick as Thieves
2020 Return of the Thief

'The Thief's main character is Eugenides (AKA: Gen), the Queen’s thief. He can steal anything—or so he thinks. His arrogance lands him in prison, boasting of his thievery. The King’s Magus strongly suggests he take on a quest to steal a legendary object. Gen was in no position to refuse. The Magus thinks he has the right tool for the job, but Gen has plans of his own.

This book does have a slow start. But the leisurely pace pulls together the entire first half to the back half. Gen, our protagonist, is a witty, charismatic, whining, likable character that is fun to follow along his journey while he tells his story in the first-person narrative. Honestly, Gen is thoroughly winsome but thoroughly an arrogant, obnoxious, and contemptible person. Oh why, oh why do I love characters like this!? The scenery is set in a Greek or Romanesque world with lots of picturesque scenery. Plus, the unforeseen twist! Oh yes, there is a twist that is clever and not one that you see coming.

For being a YA, I found this 'The Thief' to be an easy, fun read and I'm looking forward to devouring and enjoying the rest of the series. This gets a solid 4.75-stars rating from me.

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Charming and surprising young adult fantasy fiction; I was drawn along gently at first and then with increasing interest, falling into complete absorption at the mid-way point. There’s more to this book than meets the eye.

Gen, self-proclaimed master thief is unimpressive… imprisoned, dirty,

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half starved and at the mercy of the King’s Magus, his boast that he can ‘steal anything’ is met by the reader with the same doubt as the characters in the Magus’ band of travellers; having no choice but to go along with the commission to steal an unnamed artefact from an unknown location, or be returned to prison to rot, his complaining and arguing form a bedrock of character that builds into something quite unexpected.

Gen isn’t the only cleverly built aspect of the story; Turner takes a cue from her thief, and steals the scenery and the atmosphere of religion from ancient Greece, weaving a delightful new tapestry with a distantly familiar feel; it’s a wonderful blend (having worked for David Gemmell, too) which stays comfortably short of confusing the reader into trying to match timelines and realities in search of a ‘speculative fiction’ aspect. The myths, geography and history are different, and yet the groundwork is immediately laid for an implicit ‘rightness’ to the feel of temples, the stories of the gods, and the landscape.

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This book is totally engrossing and I love it. The premise of the story isnt super interesting at first, but once you start it you get drawn in both by the setting and characters and you cant stop reading. The main character is one of my favorite fictional characters, he just feels very real to me

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and I got attached years ago the first time I read this book. Other characters are also very interesting with a variety of motivations and personalities. The setting is refreshing for a fantasy novel, Greek inspired instead the kinda British medival thing a lot of books have happening. I really like Greek mythology as well so it was fun to see this world inspired by that. While reading this it reminded my quite a bit of a Diana Wynne Jones book, and then in the authors notes at the end I learned that Megan Whalen Turner is actually a DWJ fan and even included a brief Howls Moving Castle quote within the book, which I thought was cool. :)

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A weirdly excellent book. I generally really dislike books where manipulators are featured - but somehow, in this one, it works. _Everyone_ is a manipulator - it was pretty obvious Gen had deeper plans, almost from the start, but I underestimated him. The magus, of course - though I wonder if he

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made it any easier to steal the king's seal? Probably not, that would actually work against his plans. Various rulers, not too surprisingly, also had plans - and everyone in the party had secrets. The traitor really surprised me, I didn't pick up on what Gen did at all. I like Sophos, and I almost like Pol - I don't know enough about him to really know, he's very much the strong silent type. I very much _disliked_ the magus at the beginning, but his reaction when he was outmaneuvered redeemed him in my eyes. The story itself is fascinating - both the action and the setting. The manipulations of the beginning and the politics of the middle got a bit annoying - but I still needed to know where the story went, and by the end I was enjoying it very much. I know a bit about ancient Greece and knew that's not where it was, but the author's afterword explaining how she'd taken things off on a different angle from reality very much helped. The afterword also gave me a large collection of book bullets - from her list, I know and love about half, so I need to look up all the rest of them...And I'm delighted to learn that there are sequels. Gimme!

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Re-reading after 10 years because the new sequels sound so good. The story is pretty short and simple, but for me the Thief is a more enjoyable read as an adult than it was as a child.

Gen, a thief in Sounis, brags that he can steal anything, a boast that lands him a bet to steal the king's seal. He does so, only to show it off in the wine shop to prove it, and lands in the king's jail. The king's magus comes to Gen with a proposition: steal something for me, and I'll set you

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free; fail to steal it, and you die.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. When I first read it about four years ago or so, I remember stopping every so often to look at how many pages left thinking, "What is this author doing? There are so many pages left, what on earth can happen?" Of course, as I kept reading, I realized how brilliantly Megan Whalen Turner had been spinning her story, surprising me while absolutely convincing me that she knew exactly what she was doing. Two rereads later, and the story has not lost its charm. Gen is a great character, and I love following his narrative and being in his head even when I remembered most of the story. The world-building of a whole pantheon, mythology, and politics of three countries, is just about perfect. This first book in the series, followed by Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia, is by far my favorite of the series, but I highly recommend them all.

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This is a brilliant book. The plot is very carefully laid out, the characters are incredibly lovable and I found myself wishing I could bring them all to life. The entire plot is unpredictable as well as interesting, with little twists and mysteries.

I would recommend ages 13 and up because I

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daresay anyone younger would not be interested in such a complex novel. And this is only the first of the series -- the other two (Queen of Attolia, and King of Attolia) are just as brilliant.

This = LOVE.

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A fun read, The Thief follows the journey of Gen from a cell in the King's prison to a journey after a mythical treasure. Gen is an interesting character, full of complaints about food and witty comments about gods. His companions, an advisor to the king, a soldier, and two young noble boys, liven

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up the narrative. One of the most interesting aspects of this story are the myths about the gods which the characters recount to each other. Clearly based on Ancient Greece, The Thief is a fascinating tale drawing on myth and good writing to make it shine.

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Not as spectacular as I expected based on reviews I've read elsewhere. But nevertheless, still somewhat entertaining. For it's target age group, this should indeed be an exciting adventure.

A grand rollercoaster of an adventure story with lots of twists and turns in the most unlikely places. The very fact that this is narrated in first person is in itself misleading since this tends to make readers assume that they're being told everything the protagonist does and thinks (yes, I know

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there are other exceptions- I've read some of them!).
Gen, an imprisoned thief, is recruited by the king to steal a mystical(and possibly nonexistent)artifact as the condition of his permanent
release.

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From the beginning, The Thief decieved me. From when I first saw the captivating cover jumping out at me from a YA table at Barnes & Noble up until the moment I picked it up at my local library I was convinced that it was the beginning of a new YA series, likely something high fantasy due to the

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cover. However, when I looked it up at the library, I found it odd that the book was stocked in the children's section, and even odder that it originally a a completely different, more "kid friendly" cover that touted its success as a 1997 Newberry honor book. Yeah, I know, totally not expecting that. So, just a warning that this is just a re-released, re-packing children's novel masquerading as a new YA series.

Once I got past the initial shock, I actually really enjoyed The Thief, it's a witty, fun adventure with a lush world that filled with exciting plot twists and thrilling action. It tells the story of the thief Gem, who is in prison for stealing the king's seal. Without trying, be comes involved in the king's magus' quest to find Hamiathes's Gift, said to be the creation of the gods that confers the right of rule on the wearer. Gen embarks on an exciting adventure that will make readers cheer for him.

Though The Thief pulls off the YA novel well, it is, at its heart, a charming, witty little children's novel.

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Gen’s successful career as a thief appears to come to an end when he’s arrested and thrown into the King’s prison. However, when the King’s top advisor needs the skills only Gen can offer he is released from prison to steal a stone. But not just any stone – a stone holding special power

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from the gods. Although nothing in the tale is historically accurate the tale is a clever spin off inspired by tales of Greek gods.

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An excellent novel for adults and children alike. It’s suspenseful, well written, and thought provoking. I loved the twist ending - totally didn’t see it coming. The characters stand out as unique, complex, and well drawn. I will definitely pick up the other books in this series, which I hope

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are just as deep, intelligent, and fun to read as The Thief.

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This is a classic tale of deception told in the first person by the main character, Gen. He is a whiny, braggart who claims he is such a great thief, he can steal anything. He then ends up in jail after stealing the king's seal. It is here in jail that he meets a man who wants to hire him to steal

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an artifact from a temple. Along the way, they are joined by some other characters, but Gen remains whiny and lazy. It is not until the final chapters that it is revealed how much deception there has been in the book, including how much he has deceived the reader about Gen himself.

This book had such a twist at the end, that I had to turn around and read it again. By itself, it is a good book, but what I love most is that it is the first in a series that just gets better and better. The second book is great and the third is the greatest.

I would recommend this book to older students. It is a good example of how prejudice can cloud one's judgment. The second book of the series has a scene where Gen's hand is cut off for stealing; the scene is unpleasant, but the book is still well worth reading. With that in mind, I would not recommend this series for younger students or ones who are squeamish.

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It did get better and better, but definitely not a read aloud.

Gen is a thief and a good one, with the small exception of getting caught and landing in the King’s prison for stealing and, bragging about, the King’s official seal. When the Magus, the King’s scholar, brings him out of the dungeon to his office he does it with the intention of extracting a

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promise. Gen can leave the prison and not return as along as he agrees to steal a mythical stone for the King. With no choice, he sets out with the Magus and a small group of travelers who make their way through the neighboring country into Attolia to steal the ancient treasure protected by the gods.

This book moved a little slow for me at first, but then, for whatever reason, I couldn't put it down. Gen --- who is annoying, complains often, and is constantly surly --- is hiding something and you want to know what his secret is. He’s over confident but somehow you know he’s more than capable of stealing the stone. One thing I did enjoy were the stories and tales of the gods that Gen and the Magus tell the other travelers along the way. They offer history and ground the story while providing a few hints as to what's to come.

The Thief is a good quick read and once I got into the story, I kept going without putting the book down. This is the first in a series and luckily my library has the next two: The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia. A fourth book, A Conspiracy of Kings, comes out later this year. I can see myself reading the entire series.

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Ah, okay. I get why so many people love this series now.

A young thief, thrown in jail after bragging too much about his latest success, is forced to become part of an expedition to find a legendary stone that will allow the country’s kingdom to unite with another. The thief is charming and his companions are nicely annoying and sympathetic by turns,

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recognizable as people. There are a couple of twists, at least one of which is pretty obvious, but overall it’s a charming adventure. I’m hoping for more palace intrigue in the next one.

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