Turner, Megan Whalen - The King of Attolia
Tue, Feb. 21st, 2006 02:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterStand-alone sequel to The Thief and The Queen of Attolia. Insert standard warning here to not read either of the sequels until you've read The Thief, because one of the best parts about Turner is that she can pull off surprises like nothing else.
I almost don't want to write this up because it means I'm sort of putting the world away in my head, analyzing it and sifting through it. I've been living in Gen's world during the weekend, and I like it there a lot, and leaving makes me not just sad, but makes me want more in a way that is bittersweetly painful.
For people who haven't read Thief or Queen, this is a stand-alone sequel to the two (Thief comes first), but the other two are really good and it's so wonderful watching the characters develop in all the books that I'm just going to tell you to go read those before reading this one. Gen is a great character -- he's impulsive and vain and talented and clever and impossible to keep a handle on, and I love what he goes through and how he deals with it. Turner's created a fun world as well, rife with complex politics and intrigue, and oh, I'm sorry to leave it.
In case it wasn't clear, I loved this book. I got it on Sunday and finished it by the end of the day. Then I reread the good parts. Then I reread the good parts again on the BART on the way to meet up with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cofax7, which had me so engrossed in the book again that I totally missed my stop and had to go back.
Spoilers for Thief and Queen!
Gen is now King of Attolia, having stolen the Queen of Attolia and married her, but the people of Attolia think he's a useless fop of a king, and one with no hand to boot. Early on, Costis manages to get himself in trouble, and as punishment or the whim of the king, he's assigned as a special guard of the king. Of course, Gen being Gen, Costis soon finds out that the king isn't exactly who everyone thinks he is.
It's interesting seeing the progression to a narrative distance from Gen through the three books. The first book is pretty much entirely Gen's; it's told from his POV. The second is from third-person POV, but many of the chapters are still from Gen's POV, while others are from Attolia's or Eddis'. This book is almost solely from Costis' POV, and while I was a wee bit disappointed to hear that at first, Costis is so close to the center of the action that it's actually very fun. It also heightens the suspense of the book a bit, just because while we know Gen is a capable king, Costis doesn't. It's tantalizing to try and piece together what schemes Gen has going on and what things are accidents.
It's also interesting seeing Gen and Attolia's relationship from an outside POV, especially since a lot of the readers must have been wondering how in the world Gen could have fallen in love with her, after she cut off his hand. And it actually didn't end up feeling too distant, because I felt like I knew Gen and Attolia pretty well by the end of the other two books.
Again, I love how human Gen is, along with his cleverness and trickery. My favorite moments are the ones in which he's just Gen and not someone who is king. Also, I am a total sucker for the Gen and Attolia relationship. I love that it's somewhat messed up, that Attolia's older than him, that there's the opposite of the standard romance dynamic going on (i.e. Gen plays the role of the heroine who softens the tough hero up with the Power of Love). And I just love them as they are, because they understand each other.
This book has more court intrigue than Queen: all the action takes place in Attolia's court, and while there is war and other countries to think of, the largest challenge is getting Gen to be King of Attolia in action as well as in name.
I have to admit, I was slightly bristly at Gen having to be king, because I liked Attolia as queen, damnit, but Turner lays out good reasons why the country needs a king, no matter how good of a ruler Attolia is. And I liked being able to see Attolia's human side and her interactions with her most trusted people.
Also... in squee territory, all the intrigue-y stuff is just so cool!!!!!
Really desperately want to read more, and am very sad that there isn't any, beyond rereads.
ETA:
-buymeaclue's review
-minnow1212's review (spoilery)
-![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
rilina's review (spoilery)
-rachelmanija's review (no spoilers, possible spoilers in comments)
-shewhohashope's review
I almost don't want to write this up because it means I'm sort of putting the world away in my head, analyzing it and sifting through it. I've been living in Gen's world during the weekend, and I like it there a lot, and leaving makes me not just sad, but makes me want more in a way that is bittersweetly painful.
For people who haven't read Thief or Queen, this is a stand-alone sequel to the two (Thief comes first), but the other two are really good and it's so wonderful watching the characters develop in all the books that I'm just going to tell you to go read those before reading this one. Gen is a great character -- he's impulsive and vain and talented and clever and impossible to keep a handle on, and I love what he goes through and how he deals with it. Turner's created a fun world as well, rife with complex politics and intrigue, and oh, I'm sorry to leave it.
In case it wasn't clear, I loved this book. I got it on Sunday and finished it by the end of the day. Then I reread the good parts. Then I reread the good parts again on the BART on the way to meet up with
cofax7, which had me so engrossed in the book again that I totally missed my stop and had to go back.Spoilers for Thief and Queen!
Gen is now King of Attolia, having stolen the Queen of Attolia and married her, but the people of Attolia think he's a useless fop of a king, and one with no hand to boot. Early on, Costis manages to get himself in trouble, and as punishment or the whim of the king, he's assigned as a special guard of the king. Of course, Gen being Gen, Costis soon finds out that the king isn't exactly who everyone thinks he is.
It's interesting seeing the progression to a narrative distance from Gen through the three books. The first book is pretty much entirely Gen's; it's told from his POV. The second is from third-person POV, but many of the chapters are still from Gen's POV, while others are from Attolia's or Eddis'. This book is almost solely from Costis' POV, and while I was a wee bit disappointed to hear that at first, Costis is so close to the center of the action that it's actually very fun. It also heightens the suspense of the book a bit, just because while we know Gen is a capable king, Costis doesn't. It's tantalizing to try and piece together what schemes Gen has going on and what things are accidents.
It's also interesting seeing Gen and Attolia's relationship from an outside POV, especially since a lot of the readers must have been wondering how in the world Gen could have fallen in love with her, after she cut off his hand. And it actually didn't end up feeling too distant, because I felt like I knew Gen and Attolia pretty well by the end of the other two books.
Again, I love how human Gen is, along with his cleverness and trickery. My favorite moments are the ones in which he's just Gen and not someone who is king. Also, I am a total sucker for the Gen and Attolia relationship. I love that it's somewhat messed up, that Attolia's older than him, that there's the opposite of the standard romance dynamic going on (i.e. Gen plays the role of the heroine who softens the tough hero up with the Power of Love). And I just love them as they are, because they understand each other.
This book has more court intrigue than Queen: all the action takes place in Attolia's court, and while there is war and other countries to think of, the largest challenge is getting Gen to be King of Attolia in action as well as in name.
I have to admit, I was slightly bristly at Gen having to be king, because I liked Attolia as queen, damnit, but Turner lays out good reasons why the country needs a king, no matter how good of a ruler Attolia is. And I liked being able to see Attolia's human side and her interactions with her most trusted people.
Also... in squee territory, all the intrigue-y stuff is just so cool!!!!!
Really desperately want to read more, and am very sad that there isn't any, beyond rereads.
ETA:
-
buymeaclue's review-
minnow1212's review (spoilery)-
rilina's review (spoilery)-
rachelmanija's review (no spoilers, possible spoilers in comments)-
shewhohashope's review
(no subject)
Sun, Apr. 30th, 2006 03:28 am (UTC)Someone said in the comments to my post that over at
>i.e. Gen plays the role of the heroine who softens the tough hero up with the Power of Love<
Bwah! He totally does, doesn't he?
I reread all three books yesterday and today. Still undecided as to whether Queen or King is my favorite. Oh the indecision.
(no subject)
Mon, May. 1st, 2006 10:52 pm (UTC)I love Gen so much! I know, I still wibble between the two, just because of the bedside scenes and Gen kissing Irene in front of everyone.