The King of Attolia
I just checked out The King of Attolia
by Megan Whalen Turner, as I hope to complete one of my chapters for the readaloud over at
sounis (note: you must be a member of the community to view the post). Anyway, I couldn't help re-reading parts of it today, despite the fact that I have tons of homework to do. While I was re-reading, I was reminded of just how much I LOVE this book. It's one of my favorite books of all time, though I admit that there are quite a few books in that category. (What can I say? As my LJ username suggests, I love to read!) In fact, I usually don't write book reviews, but this one deserved it, so I went over to several places and posted this review, which I'm now sharing here because it fits here better than on my usual blog:
*****
Ok, I'm going to try to give out as few spoilers as possible for any of the Attolia books! Let's see how this goes.
King of Attolia is by far my favorite of all the Attolia books! In fact, it's one of my favorite books of all time. Romance, humor, action, court intrigue...what else could you want? While it has less of the action and quests aspect of the first two books, I think it's much more interesting in terms of the relationships between the characters. (Still, if you haven't read The Thief
or Queen of Attolia
, I highly recommend you do so before reading this one!)
This book is told through the eyes of Costis, a young palace guard who hates his new king. And why shouldn't he? The king is one-handed, incapable, and disrespectful. He must have gotten the queen to marry him through cunning and deceit, because they obviously don't love each other. But when Costis loses his temper with the new king, his "punishment" is to serve the king more intimately. Against his will, he begins to respect and even love his lord as he discoveres there really is MUCH more to the king than meets the eye. But will the rest of the court ever see the king for who he really is, or will he continue to play the incompetent fool forever? And can the country afford to have a king who seems so incompetent?
Eugenides is as mischievous and lovable as ever, and though he's matured quite a bit over the course of the series, he can't quite shake off some of his older habits of the Thief. Therefore, as usual, it's hard to figure out at first exactly what he's up to and how much of his act is reality. Although Attolia becomes more likeable in the second book, I didn't truly love her until this one. Here, you see both her strengths and her weaknesses, and you find that she is not nearly as cold as many believe. In fact, she is a wonderful match for her new husband. Costis, Teleus, and Relius are all characters you come to appreciate and care about, despite their many faults. And while Eddis and the Magus unfortunately don't play much of a role in the story, readers of the previous books will be glad to hear that they make a few brief appearances! (The Minister of War, sadly, never actually appears.)
The ending of this book doesn't have the same surprising twist as the first two, but that doesn't make it any less powerful. And by no chance does it mean that there are any fewer layers of complexity. In fact, I would argue there are more. Out of the three books, this is the one I keep coming back to, and every time I discover something new.
There are lose ends to be tied up in The King of Attolia, though all the elements essential to the story have been wrapped up and it definitely doesn't feel like a cliffhanger. The author has confirmed that a fourth book is planned, though if the past books are any precedent, it may be awhile in coming. I can hardly wait!
by Megan Whalen Turner, as I hope to complete one of my chapters for the readaloud over at
sounis (note: you must be a member of the community to view the post). Anyway, I couldn't help re-reading parts of it today, despite the fact that I have tons of homework to do. While I was re-reading, I was reminded of just how much I LOVE this book. It's one of my favorite books of all time, though I admit that there are quite a few books in that category. (What can I say? As my LJ username suggests, I love to read!) In fact, I usually don't write book reviews, but this one deserved it, so I went over to several places and posted this review, which I'm now sharing here because it fits here better than on my usual blog:
*****
Ok, I'm going to try to give out as few spoilers as possible for any of the Attolia books! Let's see how this goes.
King of Attolia is by far my favorite of all the Attolia books! In fact, it's one of my favorite books of all time. Romance, humor, action, court intrigue...what else could you want? While it has less of the action and quests aspect of the first two books, I think it's much more interesting in terms of the relationships between the characters. (Still, if you haven't read The Thief
or Queen of Attolia
, I highly recommend you do so before reading this one!)
This book is told through the eyes of Costis, a young palace guard who hates his new king. And why shouldn't he? The king is one-handed, incapable, and disrespectful. He must have gotten the queen to marry him through cunning and deceit, because they obviously don't love each other. But when Costis loses his temper with the new king, his "punishment" is to serve the king more intimately. Against his will, he begins to respect and even love his lord as he discoveres there really is MUCH more to the king than meets the eye. But will the rest of the court ever see the king for who he really is, or will he continue to play the incompetent fool forever? And can the country afford to have a king who seems so incompetent?
Eugenides is as mischievous and lovable as ever, and though he's matured quite a bit over the course of the series, he can't quite shake off some of his older habits of the Thief. Therefore, as usual, it's hard to figure out at first exactly what he's up to and how much of his act is reality. Although Attolia becomes more likeable in the second book, I didn't truly love her until this one. Here, you see both her strengths and her weaknesses, and you find that she is not nearly as cold as many believe. In fact, she is a wonderful match for her new husband. Costis, Teleus, and Relius are all characters you come to appreciate and care about, despite their many faults. And while Eddis and the Magus unfortunately don't play much of a role in the story, readers of the previous books will be glad to hear that they make a few brief appearances! (The Minister of War, sadly, never actually appears.)
The ending of this book doesn't have the same surprising twist as the first two, but that doesn't make it any less powerful. And by no chance does it mean that there are any fewer layers of complexity. In fact, I would argue there are more. Out of the three books, this is the one I keep coming back to, and every time I discover something new.
There are lose ends to be tied up in The King of Attolia, though all the elements essential to the story have been wrapped up and it definitely doesn't feel like a cliffhanger. The author has confirmed that a fourth book is planned, though if the past books are any precedent, it may be awhile in coming. I can hardly wait!