Favorite Book #7--The King of Attolia

First of all, readers, this book is the third in its series! I believe it is known as The Queen's Thief series, and it is written by Megan Whalen Turner. Book 1, The Thief was a fairly interesting book, although what made it wonderful was the unexpected ending. Book 2, The Queen of Attolia, followed a much more serious and utterly brilliant storyline that keeps you guessing at every turn until you're reeling with shock by the conclusion.

The series take place in a very realistic feeling country with a Byzantine flavor, and the action explodes in the rival countries of Eddis, Sounis, and Attolia. An uneasy peace dwells between these countries, always waiting to be broken. But they will have to come together if they are to defeat the great Mede Empire, which will swallow them whole if they stand alone...

Let me introduce you the ingenious main character of this series, the Thief Eugenides. In the first book we watched him as a boy cleverly weave through his problems before stunning everyone, including the reader, with his true colors. In book 2, he was a young man, and we saw how he struggled over physical trauma, depression, war, and unexpected love.

And now we have come to the greatest of them all...

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Image taken from Amazon.com

Eugenides, Queen's Thief of Eddis, has now become King of Attolia. His subjects are far from pleased. They believe him to be entirely incapable of ruling the country and are certain he has their beloved queen trapped in an unwanted marriage. The entire country hates him.

Costis, a young soldier, despises the new King like everyone else. Unlike everyone else, he punches the King in a fit of anger. In the unstable court of Attolia such a crime will result in beheading.

But the King has other plans.

Much to his relief and dismay, Costis is not executed, but is instead assigned to the King as his personal bodyguard! Forced to stay near the King, Costis observes firsthand the life of Eugenides. Slowly, he begins to develop a sympathy for the young King, who is trapped in a life he does not love, surrounded by people who hate him.

And then Costis begins to realize that everything he thought he knew about Eugenides is wrong...

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Seriously, if you have not read this book, you ought to. I personally believe each book in the series could be read alone, although they are best appreciated in order.  Megan Whalen Turner's writing style is brilliant, and she WILL shock you near the end of each book.

Be known, there is mild language, an array of gods, and though the corruption of the court is not expounded on, you know it's there. As for romantic content, Eugenides is a married man very much in love with his wife (which is a shock in itself considering their history), but everything is seen through the lenses of Costis, so I didn't find that area a problem.

Treachery, assassins, political upheaval, economy, war, love, faith, and truth permeate this brilliant tale set in a royal court. And believe me, after reading this series, I would not become a monarch for a million dollars! 

If you have read the first two books, and thought you knew Eugenides, be prepared to relearn him and discover how magnificent he is as the King of Attolia.