The King of Attolia

Megan Whalen Turner

Sep 2009 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

Ignite your imagination with this immersive fantasy read!

Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed novel The Thief to the thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief. The epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief can be read in any order.

New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.

Eugenides, no stranger to desperate circumstances, has gotten himself into difficulties he can’t get out of. Used to being treated with a certain measure of wariness, if not respect, he suffers the pranks, insults, and intrigue of the Attolian court with dwindling patience. As usual, nothing is as it appears when he rescues a hot-headed young soldier in the Palace Guard. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. 

This edition of The King of Attolia includes “Wine Shop,” an exclusive story about Eugenides by Megan Whalen Turner, an introduction to the characters from the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief.

School Library Journal Best Book
Horn Book Fanfare
ALA Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

“The Queen’s Thief books awe and inspire me. They have the feel of a secret, discovered history of real but forgotten lands. The plot-craft is peerless, the revelations stunning, and the characters flawed, cunning, heartbreaking, exceptional. Megan Whalen Turner’s books have a permanent spot on my favorites shelf, with space waiting for more books to come.”—Laini Taylor, New York Times-bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone novels and Strange the Dreamer

"Unforgettable characters, plot twists that will make your head spin, a world rendered in elegant detail—you will fall in love with every page of these stories. Megan Whalen Turner writes vivid, immersive, heartbreaking fantasy that will leave you desperate to return to Attolia again and again."—Leigh Bardugo, New York Times-bestselling author of the The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows

“One of the most fascinating and original children’s fantasies to appear in years. . . . Rarely does one see a hero as psychologically knowing and irresistibly attractive as Turner’s Thief.”—The Horn Book (starred review)

“A winner.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Eugenides, the former Thief of Eddis, is back and just as clever as ever.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

Ratings and reviews

"The King of Attolia" was an amazing book. If you have missed any books in this series, then you have not read sincerely good literature. I can usually guess what the end will be, in many books I read, but this one was a mystery until the end. It was filled with a fantastic amount of endurance, hardship, and revenge. "Gen", the King of Attolia, or the "ex Thief of Eddis" who barely shows his true self, did not think he was fit to be king. This book shows not only his struggles, but also his amazing triupmphes. Anyone who would read this book, would think that he was just a pitiful figurehead, but in the end, it is clear that he is more then capable, and has amazing tactics to show that. When he is attacked by assasins he prevails, and even when his own guard, and all of the people of Attolia seem to hate him, he makes sure, with the help of faithful Costis, that he can do anything. With Megan Whalen Turner's third book, beginning with the "Thief" she has only stated the obvious that she is a talented writer, or at least she has proved that in this series. I would suggest this book to anyone above the age of ten, and from there, anyone would be able to read this book and enjoy it. This has been one of my favorite series, and I have read a lot of them.

Loved it, I was sad to see the main character being followed changed but the change wasn't bad and gen still was the major part of the book, the end was incredible :) I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a great series :)

Quite a few of the more negative reviews of this book are a result of people reading it out of order or without the context of the previous two books. This entire series and this book in particular is deceptively simple. What seems like a formulaic plot is turned completely upside down and this author is a master of subverting the expectations of her audience (though this is more true of the first two books). It is a credit to Turner's writing that she is able to show us that her characters are unfathomably deep without actually spilling all their secrets to us. Even more interesting is the way that the POV character in this book mirrors the readers' experiences in the previous two books as he slowly realizes that there is so much more to his inept foreign king than he imagined. Thus, there is really nothing new learned about the main character of the series, but we get to see him from a completely different angle and in a very new situation. You can never tell exactly what he's up to, and when he pulls all the strings together it is absolutely beautiful.

About the author

Megan Whalen Turner is the New York Times–bestselling and award-winning author of five stand-alone novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief. Return of the Thief marks her long-awaited conclusion to the epic and unforgettable story of the thief Eugenides—a story more than twenty years in the making. She has been awarded a Newbery Honor and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature. She has twice been a finalist for the Andre Norton Award and won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature.