The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

The prose is not beautifully written, more to the point than flashy, but Turner excels at weaving a story that is simply told yet elaborate. While I very much enjoyed it and wanted the next book after finishing it, it didn’t have me rereading and savoring every word the same way as The Queen of Attolia did – but like the previous book it did leave me very impressed with Megan Whalen Turner’s storytelling ability.

The King of Attolia is smaller scale and mostly focused on individuals and political scheming.

It remains my favorite in the series since it had the most emotional resonance with me, and so much of the wording was just perfect – the way it could have double meanings and kept me guessing about which one was correct. The next book, The Queen of Attolia, has more complexity as it deals with both nations and individuals while leaving so much open to interpretation until the end. The Thief, which won the Newbery Honor Award in 1997, seems like a straightforward quest fantasy until the twist ending and is the simplest of the three books. Reading the second or third book first would completely spoil the first book, which is a good story although it takes reading to the end to fully appreciate it. I’d recommend reading the books in order even though the second and third books in the Queen’s Thief series are far more mature and better crafted than the first. The King of Attolia picks up shortly after the end of the second book. This review is going to be at least a little vague to try to avoid spoilers. Since it’s better to know less about the plot when reading these books, I’m going to skip the usual plot description and just move right on to thoughts on this book and how it compares to the rest of the books in the series. According to Goodreads, a fifth book is planned but it has no title listed and I haven’t been able to find any further details on it. A Conspiracy of Kings, the fourth book, came out in hardcover earlier this year. The first two books in this YA fantasy series are The Thief and The Queen of Attolia, respectively. The King of Attolia is the third book in the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner