Megan Whalen Turner: The King of Attolia (EBook, 2009, HarperCollins)
eBook
English language
Published Sept. 22, 2009 by HarperCollins.
By scheming and theft, the Thief of Eddis has become King of Attolia. Eugenides wanted the queen, not the crown, but he finds himself trapped in a web of his own making.Then he drags a naive young guard into the center of the political maelstrom. Poor Costis knows he is the victim of the king's caprice, but his contempt for Eugenides slowly turns to grudging respect. Though struggling against his fate, the newly crowned king is much more than he appears. Soon the corrupt Attolian court will learn that its subtle and dangerous intrigue is no match for Eugenides.
More of Attolia. The antagonists could have been smarter, but it was still a captvating read as so much happens. I read it in one go (which took me about 8 hours...)
Imagine narrating the main character's character development perfectly from the point of view of a minor character in almost 400 pages. simply an amazing 5/5 book for me
So good!
Having achieved his goal in the previous book, Eugenides now has to deal with his new home of Attolia... not a simple task since apparently every single citizen of the country hates him. The story is mostly told through the eyes of Costis, a member of the guard (who also hates Eugenides) who is detailed to keep the king safe. Mostly through Costis' perspective we slowly understand the complexities of Eugenides' relationship with the queen, the network of politics and betrayals that is the court of Attolia, and how Eugenides has to turn his skills at lying to the very serious business of uncovering and destroying the enemies of the queen before they can have him assassinated. If you enjoyed the first two books in the series then you'll love this one also (and if you didn't, then you won't).
Eugenides is an oddly likable character. You know he's a scoundrel, but you still want to love him. He's a bit like Han Solo to me, one of my very first crushes.
Eugenides, the infamous Thief of Eddis, is now the King of Attolia. He married the Queen, who he loves in some unexplainable way that still has me scratching my head from book 2 in the series. The Attolians do not respect him, or their union, and do their best to thwart him at every step--including those who should be protecting him, his King's Guard.
Lots of good political intrigue in this one. These books go much deeper than you would think from the cover. Another enjoyable installment in the series.
Damn, these books are fun. A little heavy on the court intrigue, but even so I just find myself enjoying the heck out of Turner's writing.
