The Thief Megan Whalen Turner Review Story Elements
Welcome to guest dare! For those new to the characteristic, our Guest Cartel is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a volume totally exterior of their comfort zone. You can read all previous Cartel posts HERE
This month's daree is Fantasy author Sam Sykes, author of the recently released Tome of the Undergates. This cartel happened as many things do these days, on Twitter when an unsuspecting Sam asked Ana which book she was reading when she posted "OMG this book is AWESOME". The book was A Conspiracy of Kings fourth book in the serial that starts with The Thief and i of Ana's ALL Fourth dimension favorites. Sam showed some involvement and here we are: DARED!
Let'south see what Sam thought of The Thief:
Title: The Thief
Author: Megan Whalen Turner
Genre: YA/Fantasyl
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: This edition – 2005 (1st ed. 1996)
Paperback: 304 pages
Stand up solitary or series: First book in the Queen's Thief series
The male monarch'south scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To accomplish it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the rex'south prison. The magus is interested only in the theif's abilities. What Gen is interested in is anyone's judge. Their journey toward the treasure is both unsafe and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly past the tales they tell of the quondam gods and goddesses.
Why did we recommend this book: This is quite possibly, Ana's favorite book serial of all fourth dimension.
Sam Sykes' Review:
The Thief
Megan Whalen Turner
Review by Sam Sykes
I tin sum upwardly The Thief in the post-obit phrase: if this book was a girl, it'd be ane of those pretty girls that wears frumpy wearing apparel and doesn't bathe.
To go a little deeper: I started this volume two months ago and only finished it 2 nights agone. It is two hundred and fourscore pages long.
If that'southward not enough for you: The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, is a hugely puzzling book. Information technology's a expert book with some really bad parts. It'southward an excellent story cursed by some really dull moments.
It's a unique earth and I found my enjoyment of it marred past the fact that the author really, really loves olive trees (read the book, yous'll see what I mean).
The Thief is basically exactly what it sounds like: a thief. Namely, Gen, a thief talented plenty to steal the royal ring of the King of Sounis and dumb plenty to boast about it to anybody, landing himself in prison. The King's magus (he never gets a name; allow that exist a alarm to you lot who plan to pursue administrative careers…in a fantasy world) comes forward and offers him a deal: a stay of execution in exchange for putting his talents to utilize for the good of Sounis.
This deed, apparently, is to steal Hamiathes' Gift: a rock that is said to confer immortality and, more importantly, exist used as a token of binding marriage between Sounis and a rival metropolis, thus securing more land and treaties for the kingdom. Gen reluctantly agrees and is spirited off with three fairly unimpressive characters who remain pretty unimpressive throughout the story.
The Thief's issues become quite articulate off the bat: absolutely nada happens for ane hundred 50 pages. This is an exaggeration, just not a big one. Autonomously from Gen accepting the deal (which takes nigh twenty pages), the only thing that the characters practice for one hundred fifty pages is consume, walk and tell stories. That'southward it.
Remember my comparison of this book to a girl who doesn't bathe? This is about the fourth dimension you showtime to odour her. The get-go is astonishingly deadening. I can see that in that location are attempts to set the scene and that there are efforts to establish the characters, just there's a problem with this: the characters are pretty unremarkable and the scene is olive trees. Nothing only olive trees for nearly half the book.
The main characters are the magus (grumpy dude), Sophos (immature dude who whines), Ambiades (older dude who whines) and Pol (soldier dude who…I think he cooks a chicken at one bespeak). And Gen, of grade. Gen is a lot more remarkable than these characters, but simply in the same mode that a glass of three-twenty-four hours-old wine is a lot more remarkable than a drinking glass of three-calendar week-old Diet Coke. He's witty, he'southward charming, he'due south clever…merely never in a really impressive way like you might expect from the standards set by many rogues in fantasy and YA literature. He'due south watered-down a lot and tends to merely resign himself to the situation at mitt.
Every bit a issue of this, the quest goes very expectedly. Admittedly everything goes as planned.
Until the final third of the book.
Then, my friends, shit gets real.
I'thou not going to spoil the ending. I'm not even going to spoil the climax. And while it may be supremely unsatisfying for y'all to hear this: they do get Hamiathes' Gift and the plot takes a couple of very absurd turns that I was really impressed to see happen.
From there, the book but ramps upwards until it's about set to accident. By the end, it's very impressive and I was left with the feeling that I actually wanted to meet more of Gen and this world.
However, this only adds to the puzzlement of the whole affair.
Turner is apparently a supremely talented writer. She's got a business firm grasp on her main character (arguably a firm grasp on the other ones, if only with her little finger), she's got a pretty vivid imagination, she clearly knows what makes a scene work and, while her prose didn't move me to tears, it's very fluid and makes the volume a swift read.
So why is the beginning so freaking boring? Why is Gen then watered-down? Why are the other characters substantially pointless? What's going on here?
"Ah-hah," you might say, "you big dope, Sam. Didn't you know that in that location is a twist? Surely, yous ugly son of a bitch, it explains everything! Your short-sightedness and literary lack of marvel make me sick. I have your website on another tab in my browser and as soon as I am done typing this, I will click over to it and SPIT ON YOUR GODDAMN WEBSITE, PTOOIE!"
First of all: ow.
Second: yes, there is a twist. Twists are tricky things, though, as noted cinematic Lucifer 1000. Nighttime Shyamalan has proved with every movie he's ever made, ever.
A twist cannot really explicate abroad things. It tin't excuse wooden characters, a boring opening or other failed plot devices. Those are notwithstanding failures and just because they happened that style to fulfill the twist doesn't actually excuse them. Ideally, a twist is just a clever little icing on the cake, a moment which actually tops off a book that we really liked. It can't be the plot itself.
A good twist makes an audition gasp. A bad twist makes an audience groan.This item twist made me go "oh, hey" in the same soft, gentle tone I once used to tell someone they peed themselves.
In the end, The Thief cleans up pretty dainty: she takes a shower and mayhap puts on some nicer clothes and when she farts she tells you about it so you can open a window and maybe you want to leave with her once again one-time.
All in all, a very skillful book that left me wanting more than, even if the commencement wanted me leaving less.
A huge cheers to Sam for accepting to be dared. We (reads: Ana) hope that you will pick up the next book in the series!
Side by side on the Guest Cartel, is't Erika from Jawas Read Too, reading of one our fave reads of 2010 and then far:
Until May!
Source: https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2010/04/guest-dare-the-thief-by-megan-whale-turner.html