The Queen of Attolia (Thief Series #2)

The Queen of Attolia
By Megan Whalen Turner

Write up:

When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes's Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eudenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered...she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge.

Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times.

When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph--and his greatest loss--comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago...

Wow. I am really glad I decided to finally sit down and read this series...it only took a few years. In this continuation of Gen's story, he is captured while breaking into the castle of the Queen of Attolia, and from how he was captured...it is apparent that she knew he was going to be there. She is royally pissed of about not only the events in The Thief but but also about the fact the Gen seems to take sport in breaking into her castle and taunting her every chance he got with the knowledge that he was there....and she did not catch him. So she has lost face, and decides to punish him. The punishment is handed out and he is sent back to Eddis traumatized and like a broken man. So due to these events, war breaks out between the 3 kingdoms while Gen recovers, each country is fighting for dominance in the region and trying to take the other one over to expand their power. The Queen of Attolia is already in a bad position being a woman that rules in her own right, with bickering Barons that are always trying to rebel, and people always trying to undermine her throne and authority in various ways. So she trust no one and is always working to make sure she survives. She also has an Mede ambassador, a large foreign power, that is sowing seeds of discontent in her Kingdom. He views her as a weak female and wants to find any excuse to bring his army into her country to "protect" her....and then never leave. His goal is to make her into a puppet Queen and then take over the rest of the 3 Kingdoms for his King. And of course he thinks she suspects nothing....being a silly female of course. In all of this Gen finally breaks out of his traumatic stupor and decides to help his Queen and his country survive. He engineers some victories...which upon hearing about it, drives the Queen of Attolia eve madder than she has already become. After seeing that Eddis is in a difficult position regardless of who wins, Gen comes up with a plot to steal the Queen of Attolia in order to force her into a treaty, so Eddis and Attolia can combine forces to keep out the Mede who are a bigger threat...but we find out that his plan involves much more than that...and what is amazing...is that it makes so much sense, and you find yourself cheering in the end.

This installment of the book is much deeper that the first one. After Gen's traumatic experience we learn so much more about him, what drives him and how he views himself. The Queen of Attolia, in the first book and through a lot of this book, is shown as such a cold, cruel woman. And that is not really wrong, but as you read and learn more about her, the readers gets a good picture of why she is the way she is, and why it was necessary. And she becomes a very sympathetic character despite the horrible act she commits against Gen. She is in a horrible position, without much help from anyone and no one to really rely on, so she did anything and everything she had to to maintain the authority and position that she worked so hard for. Towards the end, I found myself cheering for her. And her relationship with Gen....oh my. From the start it was plainly hinted that there was much more behind her obsession with him than what was displayed on the surface. And there were hints that Gen's reaction to her hide more than just what is normally expected. I liked that the author does not feel she has to explain everything to the reader, but leaves certain things as surprises. Gen's full plan was such a surprise...but when it was revealed, it was so believable due to all the hints thrown around, and so delightful as well. But even in that important moment between the Thief and the Queen, there emotions towards each other and about each other is still so intense and a little frightening. The relationship is beautifully done. Now I look forward to the third installment to see just how Gen handles his new stolen prize and position.

Grade: A-