The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Genre: Fantasy, Youth
Length: 280 pages

Reviewed by: Willow Locksley

“This is where you earn your reputation.”

Gen, in his own words, can steal anything. To prove it, he has snatched the king of Sounis’ seal ring out from under the nose of the king’s most trusted servant, the magus—only to be caught when he brags about it afterward. While Gen contemplates ways to steal himself out of prison, his enemy has plans to put the thief’s light-fingered skills to use. Gen finds himself in the custody of the magus and on his way to another land to steal a legendary treasure…never failing to carry out his own objectives along the way.

Gen is an amusing narrator as well as an outrageous liar, and readers are not exempt from his deceptions. The relationship of growing mutual respect between him and the magus is particularly entertaining, as is Gen’s grim sense of humor, as demonstrated when he sums up his stay in Sounis’ prison: “The days were all the same, except that as each one passed, I was dirtier than before.” Plot-wise, the pace is leisurely until chapter eight, when the story plunges headlong into flooding mazes, the threat of betrayal and the divine intervention of the half-heeded deities of Gen’s upbringing.

Gen’s world is best described as Ancient Greece-going-on-Renaissance, with guns and pocket watches being everyday items and a religion celebrating a myriad of gods and goddesses. In Gen’s universe, these deities are living, breathing personages with an active interest in the affairs of humans, and the patron god of thieves is no exception when it comes to meddling. The book contains some mild language, as the characters exalt and curse the gods by turns. Gen is a dangerous weapon in an age of political intrigue and espionage, and the consequences of stealing (which are frequent and severe) are considered a professional risk.

You’ll want to read this book a second – perhaps a third – time in order to catch the many nuances of the plot. Turner is a clever writer and a master of subtly. The Thief sets the stage for the following books in the series: The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, and A Conspiracy of Kings, wherein Turner transforms her cocky thief into a figure of legend.