The Queen of Attolia

Starred review from May 1, 2000
This spellbinder of a sequel to the Newbery Honor-winning The Thief is every bit as devilishly well plotted and grandly conceived. As it opens, Eugenides the thief has fallen into the clutches of the queen of Attolia, who still seethes from his besting of her (relayed in The Thief). Unwilling to execute him, lest she start a war with the queen of Eddis (Eugenides's cousin and ruler), she orders his hand cut off. The drama is high, and the action grows only more engrossing. As Eugenides tries to reconcile himself to the amputation, war breaks out, involving Attolia, Eddis and Sounis, tiny countries modeled on ancient Greece and other Mediterranean nations. For the most part, Turner eschews battle scenes, although she executes these with flair. Instead, she emphasizes strategy, with brilliant, ever-deceptive Eugenides a match for Odysseus in his wiliness and daring, perpetually catching readers by surprise. When, fairly late in the novel, Eugenides decides that he must wed the fearsome queen of Attolia in order to achieve a more lasting peace--and that he loves her--it requires a certain leap of faith to accept that his terror of her coexists with desire. But Turner's storytelling is so sure that readers will want to go along with her--and discover whatever it is that Eugenides will do next. Ages 10-up.

March 2, 2009
Eugenides ("Gen") is a royal thief in the service of his cousin, the Queen of Eddis. Since his youth, he has felt something close to obsession for the powerful queen of the neighboring kingdom, Attolia. This sequel to the Newbery Honor book The Thief (1997) takes the story of the kingdoms of Eddis, Sounis, and Attolia in an unexpected direction. In the opening scene, the Queen of Attolia exacts a high price from Gen, whom she has caught sneaking around her palace. She has her royal guard cut off his hand. Admittedly, the title of the third book in the series, The King of Attolia (ISBN 978-0-06-083577-4. 2006), offers a clue to this story's conclusion. For fans of Mr. & Mrs. Smith (starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, 2005). Why It Is for Us: These political rivals are strong on the outside and damaged within. Gen's continued pursuit of a woman who would punish him in such a way is more than a little twisted. Is he after her heart or her throne? Does it matter so long as we get to watch? [The hardcover was published in 2000.]

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2000
Gr 6-10-This sequel to The Thief (Greenwillow, 1996) begins promisingly enough. Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, is caught spying on the Queen of Attolia. She orders his right hand cut off and sends him home fever-ridden and near death. However, Attolia's decision not to hang the Thief comes back to haunt her. Aside from the young man's personal travails, the story involves several kingdoms, all trying to gain ascendancy in the territory, and willing to go to war to do so. It is here that the exciting plot slows to a crawl, with lengthy and tedious descriptions of battle plans and strategic maneuverings. What evolves, very slowly, is a plan for Eugenides to steal the Queen of Attolia and take her to Eddis. It almost works; meanwhile, readers learn that Eugenides is hopelessly in love with her. His rival for her affections is a foreign minister of a kingdom that plans to conquer the entire area. However, Attolia sees through the ambassador's ruse and makes short work of him. It is the question of whether she can possibly return Eugenides's affections that will keep readers turning the pages. Attolia is the ultimate strong-willed, self-sufficient young woman. Eugenides is less strong and self-assured than he was in The Thief, which is understandable given his ordeal. His obsession with Attolia is less believable. He knows her mostly from distant observations and she is responsible for his dismemberment. In the end, this is a story of love and war in which love wins out. It is sure to find readers among admirers of the first book.-Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2000
Those readers already attached to Gen from "The Thief" may suffer with him through his painful recovery (the ruthless Queen of Attolia has his hand chopped off) but will never doubt it; newcomers will soon be engaged by this complex young man as they follow him through the fictional Mediterranean landscape, stage for a complicated web of political intrigue, military strategy, and star-crossed love.

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 15, 2000
Gr. 5^-8. Gen, the likable, slippery rogue of "The Thief" (1997), is back gliding easily through the secret passages and back rooms of the queen of Attolia's palace. This time, to his amazement and dismay, he is caught because Attolia's guards seem to know his escape route as well as he does. Badly beaten and flung into a dank dungeon, he awaits his fate. Meanwhile, the queen of Eddis cuts off the flow of water to Attolia, demanding the safe return of her thief. When Gen is returned alive but minus his right hand, the queen of Eddis releases the water but orders her border troops to confiscate the goods of the next 10 Attolian traders. Thus, war escalates between the two kingdoms, egged on by the unctuous, manipulative Mede ambassador to the Attolian court, whose nation covets both Attolia and Eddis. There's a great deal of political maneuvering and battling as well as individual angst on the part of the two queens and Gen, until Gen finally emerges from his self-imposed isolation to take part in resolving the conflict--by stealing the queen of Attolia herself. Turner maintains her well-created world and believable characterizations in a tale (once again including only the slightest touch of magic) that is best suited to readers of the earlier book. ((Reviewed April 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)