This came highly recommended so I stuck with it despite not liking the main character much. It was, in the end, worth it, though I still have a gripe. This is a YA book and the first in a trilogy (at least) followed by 'The Queen of Attolia' and 'The King of Attolia.' Gen is a thief and when his stupid bragging lands him in the king's prison his only way out is to agree to steal a hidden treasure from another land. But all is not what it seems and random chance tends to be not so random after all and Gen travels with the magus, his mentor and guard on a dangerous mission.

It turns out that Gen has his own agenda and as a reader I was moderately irked by the fact that even though we are told the story in Gen's first person viewpoint he never lets his agenda or identity slip - even right at the end when he comes face to face with someone he knows and still conceals it from his first person narrative. All along he's concealed his own personality, identity, background, intelligence and education from his narrative. I hate it when information is deliberately withheld for the purpose of confusing or surprising the reader. I would have felt better if this had been told in the third person say from the viewpoint of Sophos, one of his companions on the quest, who was totally taken in by the deception.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner started very slowly, and I was a little bored during the first half but once the pace started to pick up, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to continuing this series in the near future.

Okay so this started off a little slow and confusing but once i got into it i ended up really enjoying it. And i am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

I had high hopes for this as it was talked about a lot on social media, but I also do sometimes find that a hype lessens my enthusiasm when reading. It was a pleasant story, though felt very classically fantasy which is not quite my thing. I was intrigued by the premise and the plot so I kept reading to the end, but I didn't feel overly connected to the events. It's also a journey narrative which was stated in the blurb, but I didn't expect most of the book to be just that, with the action only really starting in the second half. As a result I was interested, but not completely gripped.

The book starts with a slow and underwhelming beginning, but the second half redeems it with an engrossing plot and character development. The series shows great promise, keeping readers intrigued with rich world-building and a unique blend of thieves and mythological elements. The Thief, the protagonist, stands out as a complex and admirable character. The book has a timeless quality in its writing style, making it feel like a classic, despite being relatively recent. Readers will eagerly anticipate the sequel to continue exploring this captivating world.

Sadly, this isn’t for me. Which is annoying as I thought this book/series would be perfect for me.

The Thief felt very much like a first book in a series. Yes, I know it is, but it was a slog as there was a lot of world building and not much action. Not much happened in what I did read. I have heard the series gets better in book 2, but I don’t know if I want to finish this read in the hope it gets better.

I didn’t warm to the main characters in The Thief either. It was just little things - not liking the plot, the characters, the writing, the pacing.

Just not for me (even though I know many people who love this series and can’t wait for the final book to come out early next year).

For me this book is all about the main character Eugenides, he’s sharp and cunning and I just had so much fun reading about this character and his journey. This book is perfect for those that like character driven tales and every character within it, are well crafted and have such well formed personalities.

A very standard fantasy, all the tropes and overall vibes you would expect and actually a pretty good entry into the genre if you are just starting out, however not one that is particularly groundbreaking, especially if you read a lot of the genre.

A fantasical adventure! Megan Whalen Turner is a master of YA writing; this novel was engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. Anyone looking for great world-building and a fast-paced plot is sure to love this, with the added bonus of an interesting, hilarious narrator.

This was a great little adventure fantasy book that I really loved. It was short (coming up to about 280 pages) but the author managed to fill it with world building and mythology and history that I found so fascinating! I've heard that the later books in the series are even better by leaps and bounds, so I can't wait to get to them!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to formally announce that I have found the new love of my life, and that is Gen. I'm a sucker for the trickster Aladdin-type thief characters with a truck full of secrets, so I think Gen and I were just meant to be. He's like an even snarkier, trickier Han Alister. I can't wait to continue reading Gen's story and follow his future adventures!!

I adored how the setting was based in Greek mythology. Some of you might not know this but I am a fucking huge Greek mythology nerd (all stemming from my childhood full of Percy Jackson). The stories of the old gods were both familiar and unique, and I loved seeing where Megan Whalen Turner took Greek mythology and placed her own spin on it.

I've tried to read this book several times, and for whatever reason I can't seem to get into the writing style. I love that this throws you into its fantasy world - it hits the ground running and introduces you to some wit smart characters. However, it's just not holding my attention and the pacing is really slow. 50% in and I feel like nothing has moved forward. Especially Gen. I might come back to it one day, however for now I have no interest in what feels likes a very generic fantasy.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

The Thief originally came out in 1996, and I feel like if I'd read it then, I may have enjoyed it more.

For a book series that appears to be well known and loved by it's fans, I had never heard of it and was excited to see what this tale involved.

While this was an interesting read, I have to admit I nearly quit just because the start is pretty slow and the somewhat repetitive. I have seen it described as meandering, and that seems the best way of describing perhaps the first 65/70%. However, I almost never quit a book, and The Thief will reward those who perservere with some wonderful twists and turns, some of which you just don't see coming.

Overall, I'm glad I continued reading, I don't think, however, that the end is enough to make me want to read any more of the series.

I enjoyed this a lot. The humour and pace were good. A few twists but that's ok. I believe there is a sequel and I want to read that too.

I sadly couldn't get into this one. I'm not sure what it was about the book but I started it and just never wanted to pick it back up.

This might be one I pick up again in the future but at this moment in time it's a dnf.

So sorry!!

I must admit, I started this book and put it down. I found it hard to get into, however, a few weeks later I gave it another chance and really enjoyed it (this I must have been in a mood the first day!).

Also, I will say.. the twists in this, I just didn't see the twists coming! I really enjoyed this book!

A lush and gorgeous tale, Whale-Turner is a writing force to be reckoned with. I adored this book. She never fails to capture her reader and transport them.

I honestly don't know how to write a review for this book because did I like it? Yes.

But can I tell you what exactly I liked about it? Not really.

I finished this two weeks ago and I already can't remember any names except for our main character Gen. I also can't remember anything from the story except they were riding a lot and there was some kind of maze - that part I actually enjoyed the most - and then they were riding again. There just wasn't much going on in the book I think and the one thing that could have been a cool plot twist was pretty predictable I think but still - did I enjoy reading it? Yes, absolutely. I just really can't say why.

I think my main problem with this book was that it was hard to care for the characters or what was going on because it was told in such a… superficial way? I know that's not the right word I just don't know how to describe it. The story was about Gen and told by him and still it felt like he was very indifferent to most things that were happening and the other characters which made it hard to care about the story for me.

(Spoilers ahead. I tried to avoid anything explicit, but it’s impossible to review the book without them.)

The Thief (The Queen’s Thief 1) was originally published in 1996 and was well received with several awards and nominations. It’s now been reissued by a new publisher to reach a new generation of readers.

I belong to the generation that would’ve read the book when it originally came out, but I hadn’t. I think I would’ve loved it then. However, time has done its thing, and it hasn’t been altogether kind to it.

The book follows Gen, a thief who is made to join a mission to steal a piece out of mythology, located in an enemy kingdom. It’s either that or remain in the gaol, so off he goes with a nameless magus (if his name was ever given, it wasn’t used again), his two apprentices, and a man of arms.

They sneak into the enemy kingdom through mountains. It’s slow going and the narrative is slowed more by a bunch of completely unnecessary stories about gods. You can skip them all. With a great difficulty, they finally achieve their impossible task. And then things go wrong.

The book is narrated by Gen in the first-person point of view, and if I recall correctly, there weren’t many of those in fantasy back when the book first came out. It was a very odd choice for the story, and it wasn’t done very skilfully, especially when the story required other peoples’ point of view. The narrative was very impersonal, and in parts he just told what happened, even the dialogue. A brief sample of the next book at the end has a third person POV and it worked better.

Even though we spend the whole book with Gen, we learn absolutely nothing about him. I don’t know his age even. He has no inner monologue. He observes the others, but rarely comments and never in a meaningful way that would relate to him. Even when he is in charge, the reader isn’t with him, except for the brief part where he does the actual stealing.

The narrative is so impersonal, that for the entire book, I was convinced Gen is a woman. I know he was referred to as ‘he’ already at the beginning, but nothing about him made me believe it. He didn’t sound like a man inside his head. He didn’t even need to shave after having been in a gaol for a long time, even though a great show was made of washing him otherwise. I kept expecting the other shoe to drop, but it never did. Nevertheless, I think the story worked fine, if not better, with my version of him.

The reason for the odd narrative is revealed at the end when it turns out that the whole story is a lie. The reason Gen plays everything so close to his chest is because he lies not only to his companions but to the reader as well. And I hated it. It’s not the clever twist the author probably intended it to be. It’s just disgustingly lazy, aching to ‘it was just a dream’ ending. Nothing we learned about him is true (except the gender, apparently). So, in a way, it was good I wasn’t invested in him, and that I imagined him as a woman. My version was as true as what the readers got.

The stupid ending ruined the book, prompting me to give it two stars. However, since I was fairly entertained until that point, and liked most of the story, slow and old-fashioned though it was, I’m giving it three stars. But I won’t be reading the rest of the series.

The Thief is definitely a tricky book to get into. The beginning is very slow, however, if you persist it ends up being a complete whirlwind of a book with interesting characters and fantastic world-building. I actually think that the slow pace of the start allowed me to really grow to love the characters and it also allowed for more in-depth world-building that wasn't instant and info dump-y in order to make room for action. But the mid-point I really felt like I understood the world and the characters which allowed me to be shocked by the spectacular plot twists and action of the second half! Can't wait to read the next book.