--- product_id: 8247893 title: "The Thief (The Queen's Thief, Book 1)" price: "£8.51" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8247893-the-thief-the-queens-thief-book-1 store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # The Thief (The Queen's Thief, Book 1) **Price:** £8.51 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Thief (The Queen's Thief, Book 1) - **How much does it cost?** £8.51 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8247893-the-thief-the-queens-thief-book-1) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed novel The Thief to the thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief . The epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief can be read in any order. New York Times- bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics. This first book in series introduces one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. The Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception . Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin. Eugenides, the queen’s thief, can steal anything—or so he says. When his boasting lands him in prison and the king’s magus invites him on a quest to steal a legendary object, he’s in no position to refuse. The magus thinks he has the right tool for the job, but Gen has plans of his own. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans, and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. A Newbery Honor Book An ALA Notable Book A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults A Horn Book Fanfare Book A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age A Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book A Junior Library Guild Selection “The Queen’s Thief books awe and inspire me. They have the feel of a secret, discovered history of real but forgotten lands. The plot-craft is peerless, the revelations stunning, and the characters flawed, cunning, heartbreaking, exceptional. Megan Whalen Turner’s books have a permanent spot on my favorites shelf, with space waiting for more books to come.”—Laini Taylor, New York Times -bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone novels and Strange the Dreamer "Unforgettable characters, plot twists that will make your head spin, a world rendered in elegant detail—you will fall in love with every page of these stories. Megan Whalen Turner writes vivid, immersive, heartbreaking fantasy that will leave you desperate to return to Attolia again and again.”—Leigh Bardugo, New York Times- bestselling author of the The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows “Trust me. Just read it. Then read it again, because it will not be the same river twice.”—Lois McMaster Bujold, acclaimed and Hugo Award-winning author of the Vorkosigan Saga, the Chalion Series, and the Sharing Knife series "In addition to its charismatic hero, this story possesses one of the most valuable treasures of all—a twinkling jewel of a surprise ending." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “To miss this thief’s story would be a crime.”— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) “A literary journey that enriches both its characters and readers before it is over.”— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A tantalizing, suspenseful, exceptionally clever novel.”— The Horn Book (starred review) Review: this is a tale that unfolds like a flower - The Thief The Queen of Attolia The King of Attolia A Conspiracy of Kings Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner This is one of those series of books that you really ought to read in order. While each book can and does stand alone, this is a tale that unfolds like a flower, one petal at a time, and you owe it to yourself to let yourself enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Take Humpty-Dumpty’s advice. Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, then stop — and then wish that there was more to the tale! So: Imagine a land that looks like Greece but isn’t, inhabited by a people with Greek sounding names, who worship gods with Greek sounding names, but who have pocket watches, window glass, and flintlocks. They speak a common language, worship common gods, but have divided themselves into three separate states: Sounis, Eddis and Attolia: The queendom* of Eddis is both protected and trapped within its mountainous geography. It is sandwiched between the kingdom of Sounis on one hand, and the queendom of Attolia on the other. The king of Sounis covets Attolia, Eddis, and especially Eddis’ queen. The Queen of Attolia is struggling to keep her throne and her power against the machinations of the large empire of Mede across the sea to the south. Like the wolf at the door, Mede is hungry to get a foothold on their shores by using intrigue and influence to gain control of all three states, and another powerful empire to the north of them is equally determined not to let this happen. This is the book that begins the tale of Gen the thief, one of the most interesting and engaging characters I've run across in a long time. As the story opens, he has been locked in the palace dungeons of the king of Sounis for being what he is, a thief. It’s a heist tale, suspenseful and exciting; it sets the stage for everything that comes after. By the end of it you will understand the where’s and why’s of the story, and have met all the important who’s but one. The second book continues the career of Gen the thief, and introduces us to the last of the key players, The Queen of Attolia, a woman who must walk a tightrope to stay one step ahead of the machinations of the Mede ambassador who already sees himself as Attolia’s next king. When Gen falls into her clutches, she takes something important from him, but he steals something much more important from her. In The King of Attolia, the third book, Attolia gets the king it needs but doesn’t want, and in order for Gen the thief to obtain the one thing he wants most, he also has to take what comes with it — which is the last thing he wants I think the story was originally supposed to end here, but I can see how Ms. Turner couldn’t let it go. There was still one person who needed to tell his story. In the fourth book, A Conspiracy of Kings, the chief advisor of Sounis’ young apprentice, whom we met in The Thief, gets to tell his tale. It is the story of how a boy becomes a man, how a man becomes a king, and how the young apprentice puts the heir of Sounis on his throne. I suspect that Ms. Turner succumbed to the plea that every story teller hopes to hear, “Just one more story! Please!” That “one more story” is Thick as Thieves. In it, the chief slave of the former Mede ambassador to the court of Attolia tells how Attolia’s king enacted his revenge on both master and slave. I was lucky that the first three books were already out when I started The Thief. I only had to wait two days for the second and third books to arrive from desertcart. I read them again when the fourth book came out, and have just finished reading them all again now that the fifth book is out. I know at some point I’ll want to read them all again. Yes, they are that good. By the end of the first chapter of The Thief, the characters had stepped off the page and into the miniseries that was playing in my head as I continued reading. As I said at the start of this, do yourself a favor and read the books in order. Just when you think you know how the tale is going to go, the tale takes an unexpected twist. Things are not what they seem, and people are not who you think they are. Oh, and did I mention the volcano? *Don’t tell me a queendom isn’t a thing. If a country ruled by a king is a kingdom, then a country ruled by a queen is a queendom. Sit down and hush. Review: Definite Potential - Ten Likes/Dislikes: 1. (+) Gen, the protagonist - By far, the best part of this book for me was Gen, his witty comments, resourcefulness, cleverness, determination, and more, though I'm not keen on revealing much about him so that I don't ruin the story for you. It's no secret that Gen has a lot of secrets. His perspective is not really what you'd associate with "distant" nowadays, but it does feel slightly off, slightly distant, the same sort of trickster and wily humor that you might expect of a thief, and that you see in his interactions with the other characters, embedded into how he describes situations, as if he's laying clues out for you to understand his motives, his personality, his background. And he's one of the most well-drawn, fascinating protagonists in YA literature that I've read. 2. (+) World-building - If you are a world-building person, you will love this novel. There are so many details to appreciate. The details of the land during their journey across Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia. The way the land reflects political leanings. The different accents and specialties of each country. The histories, wars and invasions and diseases alike. The ancient Greek inspired culture, with peplos and related mythology stories, though with some historically inaccurate elements like guns, windows with glass panes, pocket watches, and printed books. The details of the treasure hunt itself and the history behind that particular item and how important it is to a certain culture. The details of Gen's thievery and the King's prison and the magus's duties along with the duties of other soldiers and land owners. The customs for the various religions. etc. etc. In some ways, it seemed like The Thief was set-up for the rest of the series because of the very well established world that would later, I bet, have more political intrigue. 3. (+) Stories within stories - What I really liked was the way Megan Whalen Turner created her own mythology within an ancient Greek mythology/culture based world (plus some other details like guns) and factored that into the story. The synopsis refers to the tales of "old gods and goddesses," and I couldn't help but think a bit of Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights as Gen and the magus inform us and the other boys of creation and thievery myths. 4. (+) Characters - Personally, I guessed a majority of the secrets and plot twists, but I don't think that makes the character cast any less worthy of admiration. It's clear that each character's motivations and backgrounds are well-drawn and shown in every action that they take, and the interactions between the guys are complex things in themselves. You're with the guys for a majority of the novel, but even the other characters who get very little time in comparison have ulterior motives and personalities that will certainly intrigue as they did to me. 5. (--) The Beginning - The beginning pages are reminiscent of some other books that I've read lately that also haven't eased me into the fantasy world as well as I'd have liked. Just last week, I'd given up on a book for the same reason, but where this book succeeded was in the writing style, which I'll get to later. Still, even with the engaging writing, the info-dumps nearly turned me away. 6. (+/-) Plot - Because I was bored for some parts of the novel. Because the plot was clearly fashioned with the series in mind. For about half the novel, the characters are traveling, the details of the countryside astounding but not hiding the fact that there was very little actually going on, no matter the twists that you uncover later. The devil is certainly in the details in this book, and while I loved that and that the book was showing me that I needed to pay close attention, I still wanted a bit more *excitement.* 7. (+/-) That Special Spark - So, that's a really general topic, but for me, this book lacked that special spark that makes me want to return to it days later, that makes me continue to think of the book hours after I finish it. Why? Well, although the characters were well-rounded, the only one who I felt at all connected to was Gen, and that happened a lot later, when he really started to pull the guns out, so to speak. And as for the world? Well, it's certainly fascinating and well-drawn, but I probably missed a good deal of it with the beginning info-dumps and unless I actually *care* about the characters a lot, then I'll probably not feel too invested in the world either. So that's all to say, while I sense a great deal of potential in Megan Whalen Turner and the world and characters she's drawn, this book hasn't quite *sold* me on the series yet. I plan on continuing, yes, but it's not a need-it-now kind of priority (though I have been warned that this book is not the best of the series). 8. (+) Writing - This prose is simplistic but not sparse. It's beautiful, textured, and evocative with all the details that Ms. Turner adds in to make the setting come alive and to add complexity to Gen's narrative and the mythology that she incorporates into the plot and world. 9. (+/-) Pacing - I mentioned that the beginning had a lot of info-dumps and that they're traveling for a good deal of the time. The book doesn't really pick up until about 6/10ths of the way through, and even then, there are a few lulling moments. Still, I can't completely fault the pacing because I honestly don't know what else could have been done, besides maybe adding more plot to this book and cutting back in that first half. 10. (+) The Cover - Yes for the treasure. Yes for Gen's dirty hands. Yes for the symmetry and elaborate design. (Though I do wish they'd done something to evoke the ancient Greek culture feel.) This book was recommended to me because I like Shadow and Bone, Graceling, and Grave Mercy. I agree with these comparisons: it's clear that the political machinations of each are echoed in this story, the mention of gods and religion somewhat reminiscent of that in GM, and the simplistic but textured and detailed writing style very similar to Kristin Cashore's style. I would also recommend this book to those who were fans of Throne of Glass but who also wanted that story's focus to be less oriented on the ball/fairy-tale/romantic aspect. The Thief is a promising start to a series full of political intrigue and complex characters that I will be following into the sequel. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #27,555 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #79 in Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Romance #86 in Teen & Young Adult Epic Fantasy #108 in Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Action & Adventure | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 4,231 Reviews | ## Images ![The Thief (The Queen's Thief, Book 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71fqfRwkpAL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ this is a tale that unfolds like a flower *by T***D on June 30, 2017* The Thief The Queen of Attolia The King of Attolia A Conspiracy of Kings Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner This is one of those series of books that you really ought to read in order. While each book can and does stand alone, this is a tale that unfolds like a flower, one petal at a time, and you owe it to yourself to let yourself enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Take Humpty-Dumpty’s advice. Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, then stop — and then wish that there was more to the tale! So: Imagine a land that looks like Greece but isn’t, inhabited by a people with Greek sounding names, who worship gods with Greek sounding names, but who have pocket watches, window glass, and flintlocks. They speak a common language, worship common gods, but have divided themselves into three separate states: Sounis, Eddis and Attolia: The queendom* of Eddis is both protected and trapped within its mountainous geography. It is sandwiched between the kingdom of Sounis on one hand, and the queendom of Attolia on the other. The king of Sounis covets Attolia, Eddis, and especially Eddis’ queen. The Queen of Attolia is struggling to keep her throne and her power against the machinations of the large empire of Mede across the sea to the south. Like the wolf at the door, Mede is hungry to get a foothold on their shores by using intrigue and influence to gain control of all three states, and another powerful empire to the north of them is equally determined not to let this happen. This is the book that begins the tale of Gen the thief, one of the most interesting and engaging characters I've run across in a long time. As the story opens, he has been locked in the palace dungeons of the king of Sounis for being what he is, a thief. It’s a heist tale, suspenseful and exciting; it sets the stage for everything that comes after. By the end of it you will understand the where’s and why’s of the story, and have met all the important who’s but one. The second book continues the career of Gen the thief, and introduces us to the last of the key players, The Queen of Attolia, a woman who must walk a tightrope to stay one step ahead of the machinations of the Mede ambassador who already sees himself as Attolia’s next king. When Gen falls into her clutches, she takes something important from him, but he steals something much more important from her. In The King of Attolia, the third book, Attolia gets the king it needs but doesn’t want, and in order for Gen the thief to obtain the one thing he wants most, he also has to take what comes with it — which is the last thing he wants I think the story was originally supposed to end here, but I can see how Ms. Turner couldn’t let it go. There was still one person who needed to tell his story. In the fourth book, A Conspiracy of Kings, the chief advisor of Sounis’ young apprentice, whom we met in The Thief, gets to tell his tale. It is the story of how a boy becomes a man, how a man becomes a king, and how the young apprentice puts the heir of Sounis on his throne. I suspect that Ms. Turner succumbed to the plea that every story teller hopes to hear, “Just one more story! Please!” That “one more story” is Thick as Thieves. In it, the chief slave of the former Mede ambassador to the court of Attolia tells how Attolia’s king enacted his revenge on both master and slave. I was lucky that the first three books were already out when I started The Thief. I only had to wait two days for the second and third books to arrive from Amazon. I read them again when the fourth book came out, and have just finished reading them all again now that the fifth book is out. I know at some point I’ll want to read them all again. Yes, they are that good. By the end of the first chapter of The Thief, the characters had stepped off the page and into the miniseries that was playing in my head as I continued reading. As I said at the start of this, do yourself a favor and read the books in order. Just when you think you know how the tale is going to go, the tale takes an unexpected twist. Things are not what they seem, and people are not who you think they are. Oh, and did I mention the volcano? *Don’t tell me a queendom isn’t a thing. If a country ruled by a king is a kingdom, then a country ruled by a queen is a queendom. Sit down and hush. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Definite Potential *by C***A on August 6, 2013* Ten Likes/Dislikes: 1. (+) Gen, the protagonist - By far, the best part of this book for me was Gen, his witty comments, resourcefulness, cleverness, determination, and more, though I'm not keen on revealing much about him so that I don't ruin the story for you. It's no secret that Gen has a lot of secrets. His perspective is not really what you'd associate with "distant" nowadays, but it does feel slightly off, slightly distant, the same sort of trickster and wily humor that you might expect of a thief, and that you see in his interactions with the other characters, embedded into how he describes situations, as if he's laying clues out for you to understand his motives, his personality, his background. And he's one of the most well-drawn, fascinating protagonists in YA literature that I've read. 2. (+) World-building - If you are a world-building person, you will love this novel. There are so many details to appreciate. The details of the land during their journey across Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia. The way the land reflects political leanings. The different accents and specialties of each country. The histories, wars and invasions and diseases alike. The ancient Greek inspired culture, with peplos and related mythology stories, though with some historically inaccurate elements like guns, windows with glass panes, pocket watches, and printed books. The details of the treasure hunt itself and the history behind that particular item and how important it is to a certain culture. The details of Gen's thievery and the King's prison and the magus's duties along with the duties of other soldiers and land owners. The customs for the various religions. etc. etc. In some ways, it seemed like The Thief was set-up for the rest of the series because of the very well established world that would later, I bet, have more political intrigue. 3. (+) Stories within stories - What I really liked was the way Megan Whalen Turner created her own mythology within an ancient Greek mythology/culture based world (plus some other details like guns) and factored that into the story. The synopsis refers to the tales of "old gods and goddesses," and I couldn't help but think a bit of Scheherazade and One Thousand and One Nights as Gen and the magus inform us and the other boys of creation and thievery myths. 4. (+) Characters - Personally, I guessed a majority of the secrets and plot twists, but I don't think that makes the character cast any less worthy of admiration. It's clear that each character's motivations and backgrounds are well-drawn and shown in every action that they take, and the interactions between the guys are complex things in themselves. You're with the guys for a majority of the novel, but even the other characters who get very little time in comparison have ulterior motives and personalities that will certainly intrigue as they did to me. 5. (--) The Beginning - The beginning pages are reminiscent of some other books that I've read lately that also haven't eased me into the fantasy world as well as I'd have liked. Just last week, I'd given up on a book for the same reason, but where this book succeeded was in the writing style, which I'll get to later. Still, even with the engaging writing, the info-dumps nearly turned me away. 6. (+/-) Plot - Because I was bored for some parts of the novel. Because the plot was clearly fashioned with the series in mind. For about half the novel, the characters are traveling, the details of the countryside astounding but not hiding the fact that there was very little actually going on, no matter the twists that you uncover later. The devil is certainly in the details in this book, and while I loved that and that the book was showing me that I needed to pay close attention, I still wanted a bit more *excitement.* 7. (+/-) That Special Spark - So, that's a really general topic, but for me, this book lacked that special spark that makes me want to return to it days later, that makes me continue to think of the book hours after I finish it. Why? Well, although the characters were well-rounded, the only one who I felt at all connected to was Gen, and that happened a lot later, when he really started to pull the guns out, so to speak. And as for the world? Well, it's certainly fascinating and well-drawn, but I probably missed a good deal of it with the beginning info-dumps and unless I actually *care* about the characters a lot, then I'll probably not feel too invested in the world either. So that's all to say, while I sense a great deal of potential in Megan Whalen Turner and the world and characters she's drawn, this book hasn't quite *sold* me on the series yet. I plan on continuing, yes, but it's not a need-it-now kind of priority (though I have been warned that this book is not the best of the series). 8. (+) Writing - This prose is simplistic but not sparse. It's beautiful, textured, and evocative with all the details that Ms. Turner adds in to make the setting come alive and to add complexity to Gen's narrative and the mythology that she incorporates into the plot and world. 9. (+/-) Pacing - I mentioned that the beginning had a lot of info-dumps and that they're traveling for a good deal of the time. The book doesn't really pick up until about 6/10ths of the way through, and even then, there are a few lulling moments. Still, I can't completely fault the pacing because I honestly don't know what else could have been done, besides maybe adding more plot to this book and cutting back in that first half. 10. (+) The Cover - Yes for the treasure. Yes for Gen's dirty hands. Yes for the symmetry and elaborate design. (Though I do wish they'd done something to evoke the ancient Greek culture feel.) This book was recommended to me because I like Shadow and Bone, Graceling, and Grave Mercy. I agree with these comparisons: it's clear that the political machinations of each are echoed in this story, the mention of gods and religion somewhat reminiscent of that in GM, and the simplistic but textured and detailed writing style very similar to Kristin Cashore's style. I would also recommend this book to those who were fans of Throne of Glass but who also wanted that story's focus to be less oriented on the ball/fairy-tale/romantic aspect. The Thief is a promising start to a series full of political intrigue and complex characters that I will be following into the sequel. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Thief *by J***S on February 1, 2007* When I learned of Megan Whalen Turner's The King of Attolia during this year's Newbery buzz, I thought it sounded intriguing. To fully appreciate it however, I was advised to start at the beginning of her tale with The Thief. Boy, am I glad I did. The story follows Eugenides, or Gen, a cocky thief living in ancient Greece. Because of his constant bragging (he can steal anything) he is captured and locked away in the King's prison. Months later, the King's scholar, the Magus approaches Gen with an opportunity. The Magus believes he knows the location of Hamiathe's Gift, an ancient treasure hidden away by the gods themselves. While many have tried, no one has ever successfully stolen Hamiathe's Gift and Gen is just cocky enough to think he can. He accepts the Magus' offer and sets off across the ancient Greece landscape (beautifully described by Whalen Turner) with the Magus, his two students Ambiades and Sophos, and a bodyguard, Pol. I have to say, I'm a sucker for big epic tales of adventure and I have a feeling that The Thief is just the beginning of a great one. The world that Whalen Turner has created is well thought out and very complex. You'll want to pay attention when the Magus and Gen are discussing the politics that govern their world. It may seem like small talk between the two but trust me, it plays a very key role in the resolution of this story. Adding extra layers to this journey are the rich, three-dimensional characters. Gen is of course, the star. He's devilishly clever and full of snotty retorts that put the Magus in his place. While I found myself siding with Gen throughout the story, I cannot say he'd be someone I would want to become friends with. The Magus is the boss. What he says, the group does and in the beginning of the story, you'll find yourself laughing out loud as Gen lays into him. But Whalen Turner is a master storyteller and she hasn't quite shown all there is to see. Sophos is the youngest. He is naïve and eager to learn all he can. Pol is Sophos' bodyguard and will stop at nothing to see to it that he returns home unharmed. Ambiades, Sophos' older brother, is the most boring character, coming off as jealous and deceitful right from the beginning. The Thief is labeled "young adult" and as a fifth grade teacher, let me tell you, this book would go straight over the top of many of my students' heads. If you enjoy a quick read that requires little to no thinking, this probably isn't the book for you. If you enjoy slow moving, but well-written and complex historical pieces, look no further. There are scenes of great action, but they are not written for "action's" sake. They just add to the broad depth of writing Whalen Turner has on display. The characters and their relationships are what drive this story and in the end, if you have been paying close attention, you'll be rewarded with a surprise ending, more precious than Hamiathe's Gift. I for one, am hooked and can't get my hands on The Queen of Attolia fast enough. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Thief - The Queen of Attolia: The second book in the Queen's Thief series - Greenwillow Books The King of Attolia --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8247893-the-thief-the-queens-thief-book-1](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/8247893-the-thief-the-queens-thief-book-1) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-05-22*