Thursday Oldie: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Series: The Queen's Thief #1
Source: Bought paperback
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: January 1, 1996
Original Post: Feb 11, 2014
Age Genre: Young Adult

"I can steal anything."
After Gen's bragging lands him in the king's prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king's scholar, the magus, needs the thief's skill for a seemingly impossibly task--to steal a hidden treasure from another land.
To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.

This may not be a five-star rating, but this book deserves the McGonagall clap. When I decided to read The Thief, it was because one of my favorite bloggers, Christina, talked about the whole series in such a favorable light. I was further encouraged when I saw a few other bloggers talking about its greatness a few weeks later. 

It just sounded so effing good, you know? Like it was right up my alley. I didn't jump into it quickly, though. Frankly, I was afraid. I had built it up in my mind so high due to all those reviews. Will it follow through? 

The Thief is a solid book . It's got everything - action, an interesting, unique--and flawed!-- main character, mystery, twists and turns, and a refreshing storyline. It reads almost as an historical for the most part, but it also has gods and some very cool magical touches. The mythology of this word Turner created was just fascinating, and the supporting characters were great, varied and all served a purpose. 

The journey was captivating, even when there wasn't much action. Usually, I have issues with too much journey. Like, there've been plenty of books where I grew tired of the constant travel. But here, I loved watching them grow into a sort of companionship. I loved seeing Gen's opinion change on each person of the group as they traveled. I loved how they grew to care for one another, captive and captors. 

And because of all that, I was okay with the lack of romance, even though I usually need at least a hint of it, A ship I could sink into (lol, puns), to be satisfied with a book. 

My only complaint? That it's so freaking short! At first, that seems like a plus. It was why I decided to pick the book up the day I got it. I was like "well, this looks short and quick", and I was horribly behind on my reading, so it seemed perfect. But when I reached page 200, I suddenly found myself extremely sad that it was so short. I wanted more! 

  Nitzan★