Review: The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

 I almost didn’t read this book. If I didn’t already own it (I ordered it at the same time as The Queen of Attolia, I probably wouldn’t have. Because while I quite enjoyed the first book in this series, the second book didn’t live up to the hype by a long shot, and I was expecting this one to be even worse. One of my main problems with The Queen was how removed the reader is from the main characters, so when I found out that The King of Attolia is actually focused on the perspective of a new, somewhat peripheral character, I was less than enthusiastic to read it. I didn’t want to go through another book where I was even more cut off from the central characters and the heart of the story.

Luckily for me, I did already own this book, because I read it and I loved it. Having Costis, a secondary character for all intents and purposes, filter events through his interpretation and limited knowledge actually makes the removed nature of the narrative seen in the previous book work really effectively here. He’s close enough that you get a lot of Gen and even a decent amount of Attolia, but removed enough from the main plot that there are plenty of twists and the fact that there are twists is plausible. Whereas in The Queen (and even The Thief, to an extent) I found it difficult to stomach not having known important facets of the main character’s feelings and personality for the bulk of the story, it was much more palatable in The King to know as much as Costis, and learn information as he did. The reader is still very much a bystander, as in the previous books in the series, but here you are also immersed in the narrative via Costis.

I really liked Costis and his budding bromance with Gen. I was frustrated with Gen at first, but I should have known better. There's always more to him than meets the eye, the clever devil. He's such a brilliant character and definietly a highlight of this series. I also really like Irene as a character - she's so complex and interesting, and her relationship with Gen is fascinating and lovely. I wish there were more scenes between the two of them - we only really see what Costis sees - but what is there is amazing and powerful. It was worth reading this series for this book alone.

Rating: 5/5

Fine Print
Published: Greenwillow Books, 2006
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Review: The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

I don’t really know how to rate or review this book. I’m afraid I’ll be kicked out of the cool kid’s club* for not absolutely adoring The Queen of Attolia. I’m really upset that I didn’t, because I was expecting to. I had super high expectations. Pretty much everyone I know told me how amazing it is. How you only read the first book in the series to get to this one. But I have to say, I think I like The Thief more. It’s not that I didn’t like The Queen of Attolia. I did. I just didn’t love it, no matter how much I wanted to.

What I did like about it was the world, the characters and the plot overall. But I really didn’t like the frequent, tedious descriptions of politics and war maneuvers and meetings. Yaaawn. I also didn’t like the big “twist” towards the end. The plot point itself isn’t what bothered me, it’s that it wasn’t even alluded to beforehand. It was too much of a surprise and wasn’t plausible to me. Of course I thought the story was heading there eventually, I just didn’t expect it to have already happened behind the scenes (trying to be as clear as possible without being spoilery!). While I admire Turner’s capacity to intricately build a plot and surprise the reader, I don’t like that we end up so removed from the inner workings of the main characters. I read to be immersed in not only a different world but a different person, including their thoughts and feelings. One of my only reviewer friends to have given this book less than five stars, Steph Su, used the analogy that it feels like the characters are acting and talking behind soundproof glass, and this is exactly how I felt. It was as though I couldn’t quite get at the action and emotions. It was quite frustrating. The few times there was raw emotion on display and intimate interaction between the characters, it was stunningly rendered, making it even more frustrating to be cut off for the rest of the book.

I’m glad I had already bought The King of Attolia when I finished this, because I probably wouldn’t have continued with the series otherwise. That’s how disappointed I was. Thankfully I did have The King, so I read it and ended up loving it. It makes me think perhaps I should reread The Queen; I might get get more out of a second reading. As it is I feel like I missed something, because I didn’t love this anywhere near as much as pretty much everyone else. 

*Not that I was ever in it. 

Rating: 3/5

Spoilery Talking Point

-OK, as I alluded to above, I did think Eugenides and Attolia would fall in love. But after he kidnapped her. I did not expect him to already be in love with her. I could get behind it if the fact that, you know, she CUT OFF HIS HAND, was resolved. I felt like this wasn’t addressed enough, especially Eugenides' feelings about it. Surely he must have been conflicted and thinking twice about his love for her. It would have been good to see how he had managed to come to forgive her – if he did at all. You spend most of the book thinking he hates her, and then all of a sudden you’re supposed to believe he loved her all along? It just didn't make sense to me.

Review: The Thief By Megan Whalen Turner

I've been told by so many people that this series is amazing, but that the first book is kinda lackluster. I didn't know much more than that going into The Thief, and perhaps that's why I enjoyed it more than others seem to. Importantly, I didn't know there was a twist at the end and so I didn't see it coming and also didn't spend my time trying to figure out what it was. I just enjoyed the ride.

The Thief follows Gen, the eponymous trickster, as he is forced to journey through multiple countries with the king of Sounis' advisor and his apprentices to retrieve the mythical Hamiathe's Gift, said to bestow the right to rule Sounis' neighbouring kingdom of Eddis on whomever posseses it. The bulk of this book is taken up with the journey itself, and I've seen multiple reviewers complain of the slowness of the narrative as a result. Perhaps because I was using this book as a break from the snail's pace of Picnic at Hanging Rock, I actually didn't find it particularly slow. Sure, there's a lot of description of winding roads, meals of bread and cheese and a helluva lot of olive trees, but thanks to Megan Whalen Turner's strong writing, it all managed to maintain my interest.

The characters also helped negate the potential tediousness of the journey for me. Gen is an unreliable but compelling narrator. His voice is strong, and his cheeky arrogance is somehow endearing. His travelling companions are a curious bunch, each hiding their own secrets. I only wish there had been a girl or two as part of the party - it was very male-centric for most of the story. But at least this is somewhat balanced by the fact that the women who do appear are all very powerful.

Maybe I'm getting stupid, but as I already mentioned I didn't see the twist coming, and there are a few threads that left me a bit confused. Nevertheless, The Thief was an enjoyable read that has me excited for the rest of the series, especially as it apparently gets even better. Now excuse me while I go hunt down some olives and cheese. All that reading about them has made me hungry...

Rating: 4/5

Spoilery Talking Point

• The part I'm a little unsure about regarding the "twist" is how much Gen actually planned. Did he deliberately get caught because he knew the magus would use him to retrieve Hamiathe's Gift? Or was it a lucky coincidence? The magus mentioned he probably wanted to make a name for himself, but I wondered if it was more than that. Did his queen or his father send him to Sounis with that intention all along, or was he acting on his own? I would have liked more explanation. But like I said, maybe I'm just getting stupid.

Eye Candy
I'm a bit obsessed with Joe Demspie after watching Skins and Game of Thrones recently, so that's who I pictured as Gen.

 

Fine Print
Published: 2005, Greenwillow Books (first published 1996)
Get It: Book Depository