science fiction

The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner Book Review

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Review Summary
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 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 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 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 Scholar


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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 to The Thief
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




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