science fiction

The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!
Other books by
author Megan Whalen Turner

"The Thief"
Message Board
Megan Whalen Turner Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR: Swanny

SCHOLARS:
Michelle  Eugenia Huang  Monika Chitra  Liba  CAROLINE  
Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!
Review Summaries
"The book opens up with the thief Gen being locked in a prison. We are soon introduced to the Magus of Sounis, who proposes that Gen helps the King obtain the Hamiathe's Gift, a legendary stone with magical powers. The Magus's two students and one of the students' bodyguard come along. Although Gen is not liked in the beginning, eventually he makes friends with everyone but the older of the Magus's students. When the party reaches the river where the Magus thinks the Hamiathe's Gift is located, Gen needs three tries before he can bring back the stone to the surface. On the journey back, however, the protagonists are being hunted by a neighboring country. Soon Gen is back in a prison, but this time he plans to get out of there."
Monika Chitra, Resident Megan Whalen Turner Scholar

"Gen, a thief, brags about stealing the king's seal only to be dragged out of the Shadeoak Wineshop and put in prison. He is taken out by the king's scholar and told to steal an ancient artifact known to hold the power of immortality. Along the way he tells stories and encounters frequent painful episodes. Once he has stolen the artifact not once but twice he uses it to his own advantAge and not the ones you may think. "
Swanny, Resident Megan Whalen Turner Scholar

"Gen, travelling with the King's Magus of Sounis and his two apprentices (and a bodyguard), takes a "professional risk" (stupid plan) to find and steal the legendary Hamiathe's Gift in order to secure fame and fortune for himself."
sonia, Resident Megan Whalen Turner Scholar

"Gen is a great thief but, unfortunately, he bragged just a bit too much; he is languishing in prison in Sounis when he's offered a way out. He can help the king's Magus on his search for a magical stone called Hamiathes's Gift - which, among its other powers, will make the king of Sounis also the king of a neighboring country called Eddis. Gen agrees (what choice does he have?) and sets out with the Magus to do the near-impossible; no one has succeeded at this in the hundreds of years that people have been trying. This is a fun adventure story set in a world based closely on ancient Greece, but the best part is the twist at the end. "
Ivy, Resident Megan Whalen Turner Scholar


Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 40%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%




Tone of book - cynical or dry-wit
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Tech./$$$/Info hunt Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying - magical artifact
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - thief/con artist
Age: - a teen
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Mountains - Forests
Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a primitive/fantasy society
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Planet outside solar system? Yes
Not Earth, in Solar System? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment - moderately detailed references to deaths
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
The Black Cauldron - Prydain Chronicles 2 by Lloyd Alexander
A Darkness at Sethanon - Riftwar Saga 4 by Raymond E. Feist
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Voyage of the Shadowmoon by Sean McMullen
When Dragons Rage - DragonCrown War Cycle 2 by Michael A. Stackpole





Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here)
or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion


Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!


Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!


Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game


Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Charmed: Is Piper really a Halliwell? 11/13/2009 11:30:45 AM

Lord of the Rings: Why would Aragorn choose pig lips Arwen Evenstar over Eowyn? 11/12/2009 6:40:39 PM

Xena: 37 reasons why Xena and Gabrielle are... you know.... 11/12/2009 7:23:13 AM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 11/11/2009 11:48:16 PM

Battlestar Galactica: Was Battlestar Galactica politically conservative? 11/1/2009 9:51:45 AM

Battlestar Galactica: Why were the Cylons so slow and thinking impaired? 10/31/2009 8:36:52 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 10/22/2009 2:43:11 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 10/19/2009 2:48:46 PM

Charmed: If Piper Halliwell gets pregnant, can Leo give her an abortion? 10/3/2009 12:29:33 PM

Star Wars: Why did stormtroopers wear armor that didn't work against blasters? 9/30/2009 9:48:47 PM


Newest slaves:
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:31:13 AM
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) 5:20:58 AM
Jaime Sommers 5:18:31 AM
Steve Austin 5:17:55 AM
Kai 5:12:03 AM
Wonder Woman 5:11:45 AM
Mrs. Robinson Mark II 5:11:25 AM
Professor Robinson 5:07:22 AM
Slutty Sword Girl 5:00:31 AM
Octopussy 4:59:29 AM
All slaves
(click here)


Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)