Reynwood’s Reviews: The King of Attolia

Title: The King of Attolia

Series: The Queen’s Thief, #3

Author: Megan Whalen Turner

My rating: 5 0f 5

By scheming and theft, the Thief of Eddis has become King of Attolia. Eugenides wanted the queen, not the crown, but he finds himself trapped in a web of his own making.

Then he drags a naive young guard into the center of the political maelstrom. Poor Costis knows he is the victim of the king’s caprice, but his contempt for Eugenides slowly turns to grudging respect. Though struggling against his fate, the newly crowned king is much more than he appears. Soon the corrupt Attolian court will learn that its subtle and dangerous intrigue is no match for Eugenides.

My thoughts:

This story is beautiful. It’s so unbelievably full from page one to the very last word, and Turner never ceases to amaze me with her ability to craft such a knotwork of events that seem individual at first, but then all culminate into one big episode with so many layers that I had to sit back and just marvel at her strategy.

Told from (largely, but not wholly) Costis’s point of view, we see what he sees and we know what he knows and we understand things the way he understands them ─ which isn’t always the way they are, which is a huge portion of the intrigue of this third volume. The characters are as loveable (and hateable) as always, with plenty of wit and comedy sprinkled throughout, which mostly originates from Eugenides, and yet it doesn’t detract at all from the real depth of these people. It actually highlights and accentuates just how real they are.

I loved this book from beginning to end.

Also, in honor of Megan Whalen Turner‘s new book, Thick as Thieves, coming out in May, there’s a giveaway on Goodreads for The King of Attolia, so enter for a chance to win a free copy of this awesomely amazing story that you’ll read over and over again, same as yours truly! Giveaway ends April 15th, so don’t wait!

And while we’re on the subject of giveaways, my own for The Momory Quest is still on, running until the 27th of this month, so don’t forget to enter, or tell your friends to, the more the merrier!