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    The Thief
    The Thief
    The Thief
    Audiobook7 hours

    The Thief

    Written by Megan Whalen Turner

    Narrated by Steve West

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    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. This first book in series introduces one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. The 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, the queen’s thief, can steal anything—or so he says. When his boasting lands him in prison and the king’s magus invites him on a quest to steal a legendary object, he’s in no position to refuse. The magus thinks he has the right tool for the job, but Gen has plans of his own. 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. 

    A Newbery Honor Book

    An ALA Notable Book

    A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
    A Horn Book Fanfare Book
    A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
    A Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book
    A Junior Library Guild Selection

    “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

    “Trust me. Just read it. Then read it again, because it will not be the same river twice.”—Lois McMaster Bujold, acclaimed and Hugo Award-winning author of the Vorkosigan Saga, the Chalion Series, and the Sharing Knife series

    ""In addition to its charismatic hero, this story possesses one of the most valuable treasures of all—a twinkling jewel of a surprise ending."" —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    “To miss this thief’s story would be a crime.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

    “A literary journey that enriches both its characters and readers before it is over.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

    “A tantalizing, suspenseful, exceptionally clever novel.”—The Horn Book (starred review)

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 16, 2017
    ISBN9780062693815
    Author

    Megan Whalen Turner

    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.

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    Reviews for The Thief

    4/5

    1,757 ratings124 reviews

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    • 5/5
      what a great story! So refreshing to have a well written story unfold
    • 5/5
      So great loved it favorite book ever this is so
    • 5/5
      This book, is fantastic, and the narrator makes it even better. Holy moly.
    • 5/5
      I am obsessed with these books and they have become my all time favorite series. I hope they eventually turn the series into a movie or series. I am so sad that there are no more books for me to read!
    • 1/5
      Unbearably boring. We get it Gen, you are tired, you are hungry, you are an amazing thief. Good grief please stop.
    • 5/5
      Great book. I truly loved it! It was incredibly well read.
    • 3/5
      Quick to read, and enjoyable. Relatively typical fantasy -- nothing particularly new, in my experience -- and kind of fails to get me totally absorbed. The background world of the story is interesting and I was glad to learn about that, but I didn't feel an urgent need to keep reading it for the sake of the characters. I did like Pol and Sophos, but wasn't overly concerned about them, either.

      I shouldn't have been surprised that a thief would be an unreliable narrator. It's interesting to think back and see the clues embedded in the narrative.

      I wished there'd been more of the part in Eddis, really. That all felt like winding-down-the-story, not an interesting part in its own right, which was disappointing.

      Will probably read the other books: they're nice relaxing brain candy, if they're like this one.
    • 3/5
      Beth Revis said that there was a twist at the end, and I thought I'd predicted it.

      Which is true, but there were at least two twists I didn't see!

      I should reread it because I know I missed something in the writing.
    • 4/5
      Gen is the best thief in the land--too bad he's also the most boastful. After stealing the king's seal and showing it off to his cronies in a wine shop, Gen is caught and throne in jail to rot. But eventually, the king realizes he has need of him. Gen is sent on a mission to steal something (what, he is not told) under the watchful eyes of the Magus, his two apprentices, and a soldier. As the quest gets more dangerous, bad luck and lies damage the tenuous friendships formed among the group.

      Told in the first person, and masterfully done. The last few chapters felt a little weak compared to the tense, taut writing elsewhere.
    • 2/5
      I only made it halfway through the book and the only thing that has happened is the main character complains and whines for 8 chapters as they travel on a road... how many chapters do you need to write about riding a horse on a trail. I just can't listen anymore.
    • 3/5
      Liked enough to continue with the series
    • 3/5
      Twas sometimes fun, twas sometimes boring. Other than that, I don't have much to say about The Thief. Can't wait to read the next book in the series though!
    • 3/5
      More tolerable as an audio book. The story is compelling but the writing is sub-par and clunky. It seems like it takes 9 chapters for the action to pick up. That being said, the storytelling and myth building is fascinating.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      A young thief is offered a way out of prison - if he'll assist in a theft. This is a pretty formula start for what turns out to be an adventure that makes the tropes its own and owns every one. There are a few stutters in this first book that are left behind in later volumes, but if this one appeal the whole, long awaited saga is one of the best series reads in fantasy.
    • 4/5
      I love this, and I love the whole series: it's a perpetual comfort-read. The first time I read it I was frequently fooled by Gen's narration (and other characters' silences), which I loved, and re-reading it now I love spotting the moments of misdirection, as well as the foreshadowing for future novels. Just sheer fun.
    • 3/5
      It was alright, but having heard there was a twist, I considered what it (they?) was likely to be and was a little disappointed to be proven completely right. The quent was alright, but I was never very fond of the characters.
    • 5/5
      This book is totally engrossing and I love it. The premise of the story isnt super interesting at first, but once you start it you get drawn in both by the setting and characters and you cant stop reading. The main character is one of my favorite fictional characters, he just feels very real to me and I got attached years ago the first time I read this book. Other characters are also very interesting with a variety of motivations and personalities. The setting is refreshing for a fantasy novel, Greek inspired instead the kinda British medival thing a lot of books have happening. I really like Greek mythology as well so it was fun to see this world inspired by that. While reading this it reminded my quite a bit of a Diana Wynne Jones book, and then in the authors notes at the end I learned that Megan Whalen Turner is actually a DWJ fan and even included a brief Howls Moving Castle quote within the book, which I thought was cool. :)
    • 5/5
      In an almost-but-not-quite ancient Greek city-state, the magus is forcing Gen, the thief, to steal something from the gods (which the magus doesn’t believe in) for his kingdom; the thief does it for his own kingdom. Beware of gods.
    • 3/5
      Rating: 2.5/5

      I was mildly disappointed about my first read of 2014. I expected a little bit more of excitement and adventure and I ended up skimming the pages and waiting for the final page to be honest.

      Why the 3 stars you say? The little twist at the end was surprisingly good and stirred enough of my curiosity to push me pursuing the rest of the series; which according to the raving reviews, is much better than the first installment.

      Let's hope that's true!
    • 4/5
      This was my first foray into this series, and I enjoyed it very much. In fact, it was one of those books that I liked more and more as I went along. Turner somehow manages to keep you completely engaged and convinced you're following the story just fine while all the while building up to a wonderful reveal/twist. Gen, the main character, is fascinating and just gets more and more so as the story goes on. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.
    • 3/5
      I'm not sure if I actually listened. I was passively listening. I think it was a lot of world building. There were some sentences arranged a fair bit of dialogue.

      I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just saying I wasn't really listening. I was listening *for* Steve West. And *to* him. Just not really much about the story. I caught enough to read on, and will do so.
    • 1/5
      I read this book because I heard a lot of hype on the internet about it, but I ended up not liking it at all.

      The prose was smooth and engrossing, I'll give the author that. But emotionally the book was deeply unsatisfying. I rooted for Gen from the beginning because I sympathized with him as the underdog, a poor thief being used as a tool by nobles who cared nothing for him. He was mocked by the nobles around him for being uncouth gutter scum, and I was with him because I knew he was much cleverer than they gave him credit for.

      But then at the end we get a sudden reveal that Eugenides is actually upper-class himself, he was never an underdog, and was not being used by the nobility. This took away a lot of the feelings I'd built up for him from the beginning. It left an especially bad taste in my mouth given Eugenides's classist comments at the end, about how he hated chewing with his mouth open and how much he hated hanging out with lower class people in Sunis. So not only was Ambiodes mistaken when he made fun of Eugenides's low birth, but Eugenides actually agrees with Ambiodes that lower class people are gutter scum! I really hate that the narrative ultimately sides with that bully.
    • 4/5
      Re-reading after 10 years because the new sequels sound so good. The story is pretty short and simple, but for me the Thief is a more enjoyable read as an adult than it was as a child.
    • 4/5
      Gen has landed in prison. Drinking a little too much and bragging that he “could steal anything” is what got him locked up in the King’s prison. But soon that brag would send him on an unusual adventure with the King’s Magus.The Magus gets Gen released to his custody. Gen is to accompany him along with Pol, a soldier, Ambiades and Sophos who are apprentices to the Magus. They are on a mission to find an ancient treasure for the king. It will mean long travel and dangerous situations. The Magus considers Gen a tool to get the treasure, rather than a person. Gen is looking for a way to escape and gain his freedom.Set in ancient times in a place where 3 countries are next to each other and each wants to own and rule the others, there is plenty of action in the plot. Each character has their own story and reason to be on this trip, besides the Magus’ and King’s requirement.It is also interesting to see how the personalities and relationship evolve as the story goes on. A good read for kids and adults.
    • 3/5
      Gen is the best thief there's every been in Sounis. Just ask him. But after bragging once too often about his exploits, he's ended up in prison for his thievery. However, he's been recruited for a mission for the King which promises to cement his reputation as the best thief there's ever been.With riffs on Greek mythology, Gen's tale is a quiet quest novel. For a novel that's only a little over 200 pages, it takes quite a bit of time to get going narratively. I also spent over half the novel being thoroughly irritated by Gen who mostly just complains and is brattish. Not a bad novel but not one that blew me away.
    • 3/5
      A solid fantasy with a whiff of Greek mythology and a determined thief.
    • 5/5
      A well-crafted adventure built around a quest for a powerful artifact. It was easy to become engaged in the author's narrative with characterizations which were poignant and skilfully constructed. Novels that so successfully bring you into the story's reality are easy to forgive any tiny quibbles. While the audience for this novel might be the younger end of the YA genre, it was an excellent adult read and well-deserved earning the Newbery Honor medal.
    • 2/5
      My god, I could not get into this book. There's so much eating and sleeping in it...and passing out and waking up later. Or maybe I just wasn't able to focus well. For whatever reason I had a really difficult time concentrating on this one... I think I would have liked it more when I was younger.

      I have heard the sequels are great, though, so I may give the next one a try.
    • 5/5
      I had very little expectation going in, and it won me over very quickly. This is a textbook example of how to create character in the best way possible (I've read too many books where the inhabitants differ in name only), yet without labelling or telling, it's so skillful.

      The plot is pared down to its essentials--so great to read something so streamlined and perfect--and then she delivers a masterful, unpredicted turn-of-events near the end--it's just exquisite writing, from conception, character development, plot pacing, sentence structure, dialogue--I bow down.

      Complete unexpected treasure. (Thanks, Goodreads.com's recommendation engine, for recommending this one!)

      (Note: 5 stars = rare and amazing, 4 = quite good book, 3 = a decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. There are a lot of 4s and 3s in the world!)
    • 4/5
      A weirdly excellent book. I generally really dislike books where manipulators are featured - but somehow, in this one, it works. _Everyone_ is a manipulator - it was pretty obvious Gen had deeper plans, almost from the start, but I underestimated him. The magus, of course - though I wonder if he made it any easier to steal the king's seal? Probably not, that would actually work against his plans. Various rulers, not too surprisingly, also had plans - and everyone in the party had secrets. The traitor really surprised me, I didn't pick up on what Gen did at all. I like Sophos, and I almost like Pol - I don't know enough about him to really know, he's very much the strong silent type. I very much _disliked_ the magus at the beginning, but his reaction when he was outmaneuvered redeemed him in my eyes. The story itself is fascinating - both the action and the setting. The manipulations of the beginning and the politics of the middle got a bit annoying - but I still needed to know where the story went, and by the end I was enjoying it very much. I know a bit about ancient Greece and knew that's not where it was, but the author's afterword explaining how she'd taken things off on a different angle from reality very much helped. The afterword also gave me a large collection of book bullets - from her list, I know and love about half, so I need to look up all the rest of them...And I'm delighted to learn that there are sequels. Gimme!