[Click here to see my review of book 1: The Thief, book 2: The Queen of Attolia, and book 3: The King of Attolia.]
Though finishing a series tends to be a tad bittersweet, one must admit that it brings a lovely feeling of accomplishment when you sit back, happily aware that you've read all there is to read when it comes to this particular storyline and these particular characters.
I deeply enjoyed the entire Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner and I finally brought myself around to reading the conclusion. For all my talk of the greatness of finishing a series, there's also a finality that makes me realize how much I'll miss these characters and these stories. I tend to put as much space between the second to last book and the final one as I can plausibly get away with.
When Sophos, heir to the throne of Sounis, and friend of both the queen of Eddis and the king of Attolia, is attacked in his own village and whisked away to an unknown destination, he manages to weasel his way out of the hands of his captors. However, he soon finds himself a slave on the lands of the very man who ordered his kidnapping. Rendered unrecognizable, he settles into this life, believing it would be best for him to leave the running of Sounis to his uncle. After all, Sophos had never been a very promising heir. He cared too much for his poetry and too little for strategy or battle.
Still, Sophos left much unfinished when he was taken from his home. His sisters and mother may have died in the attack, but there were others who held his heart and a rebellion rising that threatens to overthrow Sounis and leave it vulnerable to the Medes, a country that's been trying to get a foothold in Sounis (along with its neighboring countries) for a time now and is still licking its wounds from being so heartily deterred by Attolia.
When his father comes under attack in the very home that Sophos has been laboring under, Sophos brings himself out of obscurity to save his father and his men. But much has changed since the day that Sophos was taken and he is no longer heir to the throne, but is now king himself. It is his task to save his country and he's going to have to turn to an old friend if he will ever manage to accomplish it. But will the king of Attolia aid him in his quest to save his people, or will Gen prove to be more difficult than he's ever been before?
The most recent installment in what fans of the series are calling "The Queen's Thief" series, A Conspiracy of Kings was (as you can probably see from the summary) told from the perspective of Sophos. It's fun seeing the kid grow up and become and entity and a threat in his own right. Sophos is a fun character and one that the reader can really identify with. While Gen, the subject of the first three books, was always a joy to read, I loved how different Sophos was from him. He was much more afraid, less cunning, but just as clever. I really enjoyed getting to see Megan Whalen Turner write such a different character in this series while still making us love both of our main protagonists.
All of that said, I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I did the first three. Perhaps it was simply the way the tale played out. Most of this book was a sort of "leading up to" the main event, while in Gen's stories, they tended to be lots of little main events that led up to a big main event.
I greatly enjoyed the book, I just didn't enjoy it as much as its predecessors, I suppose. It's just not my favorite book in the series. I greatly look forward to the next book in this series. I want to know what happens to the dear friends we've been introduced to throughout these books. I have no doubts that Turner will blow us out of the water with the fifth installment (though we have no idea when it's coming out yet).
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
"He proved me wrong. Either because he can see what we can't or just because he demands the world conform to his own desires. I am never sure which it is that he does."
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