Megan Whalen Turner - The Queen's Thief

A friend recently told me she liked Eugenides from Turner's The Queen's Thief series so much she would marry him.  Now, after having read the first two books in the (so far) four book series, The Thief and The Queen of Attolia I would not go that far, but he is admirable. 

I bought The Thief at a used book store almost a year ago.  It was a Newbery Honor book, so I figured it would be good even if i did not love it.   This book was published in 1996 when I was in a YA literature slump...basically I had no idea there was such a section in the bookstore/library.  Now I find myself having to catch up on all the fantastic books I missed.  Recently-ish there has been all sorts of uproar from fans of the series because the 4th book, A Conspiracy of Kings was released (March 2010).  Rumor has it there may be more books on the way.

I have both The King of Attolia and A Conspiracy of Kings available to read (I checked them out of my own library for the summer.), but I am going to take a break after the first two.  As much as I like to be able to stay immersed in a world by reading all the books in a series right in a row, I think there is also something to be said for spacing out the enjoyment. 

Enough of my rambling.  With Turner we again have an author who trusts in the intelligence of her readers.  These books are complicated in their plotting with lots of political maneuvering and royal machinations.  (I was determined to get that word in here...it is one of my favorites.  It is fun to say, try it.) A reader really has to pay attention to keep up with the twists and turns.  Each of the main characters is well drawn and even in only two books I feel like I am beginning to understand them.  Watching the various rulers and their advisers plot and plan is fascinating, I would clearly be no good at ruling a country.  Because of the various plot intricacies, I would not necessarily recommend this series for young kids.  Tweens, teens, and adults who like this type of intrigue along with a dash of fantasy and romance are the best audience.