Re-Read: King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

So I did do a re-read, although it's not the one that I thought I would do for the challenge... but it doesn't matter, it's still a re-read, right?

The book I ended up re-reading was King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. This is the third book in The Queen's Thief series that I've discovered earlier this year. You can see my review of the series here.

To tell the truth, King of Attolia has become my new comfort read. Although I've first read it only in April, this is not my first re-read. I do that, discovering books and series that I've ended up loving so much that I will re-read a couple of times, especially when I start slumping. In 2007, my comfort reads were the Warland Chronicles series by Elizabeth Vaughan and Demon Angel by Meljean Brooks. Well this year, it's The Queen's Thief series and seriously, King of Attolia will definitively make my Top 3 Best books of the year :)

Here are my thoughts after my re-read...


King of Attolia
published by Harpercollins in January 2006

Standing alone in the doorway was the king. The ruler, anointed by priests and priestesses, of all the lands of Attolia, the official father of the people, the lord of the barons who'd one by one sworn him their oaths of obedience, the undisputed, uncontested, and absolute sovereign of the land. The swollen discoloration by his mouth closely matched the elaborated purple embroidery on his collar.

"Most people in your circumstances would kneel," said the king, and Costis, who had been staring transfixed, belatedly dropped to his knees.

Genre: Fantasy, YA
Series: Queen's Thief, book #3

My Opinion: I love this book to bits. Seriously. Although it's written for a younger audience, it is definitively not dumbed down. Actually, it is very cleverly written. A lot is left unsaid, you need to read between lines, remember the clues and hints... it seems that every time I read it, I discover some little things that I've missed and I go "Ahhhhh."

The story is very interesting and filled with intricacies. I love the court politics, the battle of wills between Eugenides and everyone else that wants him to assume his responsibilities as king. You'd think the book would be very serious, dealing with court intrigues, but no, there are a lot of LOL moments and you end up finishing the book with a huge smile on your face. So there is a good balance of everything in this book.

The great thing about this book is we keep discovering Eugenides' character. We've been witnessing his growth throughout the series and seriously, Eugenides grows into a great man. Yet, there's always a side of him that is unrevealed, making him mysterious, yet very, very lovable. Seeing his interactions with everyone is so fun :)

I also loved Ms Turner's approach in this book, having the readers witnessing Eugenides' ascension through the eyes of someone that did not know him. I thought it was very clever. At the same time, it was like having a private joke with Gen or the author... because readers know Gen... We all know the man, even with only one hand, is dangerous. All those Attolians thinking that he was a fool. Seriously?!? How do you think he became known and feared? Really!

All in all, I just love this book. Every single word LOL :) I just find it so clever and fun - and those two words rarely go together in my opinion :) I can't wait for March when the sequel will come out, Conspiracy of Kings. Having Eugenides teaming up with Sophos? Ohhh, terrible duo LOL :)

My Grade: It was previously an A, but I'm upgrading the grade to A+. That's how much I love this book :)