The Review

And not after all that anticipation I bring to you my very important opinion of the book Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whelan Turner.

It was great.

Oh, wait, you want more specifics? Are you sure about that you could be opening a never ending gush here. OK. Specifics it is. Without spoilers. O dear. I shall try.

As usual for Megan Whelan Turner there are a lot of things that aren't stated outright in the narration but are revealed later. For example that one significant detail in Sophos's dreams and what he plans to do at his final confrontation with his would be usurpers. Most of them are pretty easy to guess at though. There isn't any "OH MY GOD WHAT!?!!" moment of revelation but it is still fun to be kept on your toes and be left to figure things out for yourself.

Sophos's character was a very interesting perspective to see the story from. He's much more honest than Eugenides for one thing --though one might argue not quite as clever. But not to be underestimated either. In the space between this book and The Thief --the last time we saw Sophos (or should I be calling him Sounis?)--and even more during the course of Conspiracy of Kings he goes through a lot of changes. There is no mistaking him for the same boy who slept late and let Gen steal his food but he also becomes quite fierce. On more than one occasion he is called 'lion'. He still blushes. I love that he still blushes. It is a true mark of Turner's genius that she is able to grow him up without loosing that sweet self-conscious boy that he was. It is the extreme contrast of him being entirely one thing but also entirely the other that makes him such a multi-layered human being, struggling through different stages of his life. I think this contrast in identity is what makes all her characters seem so real instead of characterized plot points.

The book is partly told in first person and partly in third. I love how the voice is so different for both but also consistent for Sounis' (shall I call him Sounis now?) character. Turner is not afraid to play with the format but the switching of narrative isn't a gimmick either. It contours to the needs of the story. In the beginning if we have been reading the other books we want an immediate connection with Eugenides and even promise of the role he's going to play before we're ready to plunge into what has been happening to Sophos -sorry I mean Sounis-- all this time. There are also some things that need to be to be expressed from inside the minds of other characters toward the middle of the story. Having him relate where he has been to another character is the obvious solution.

The story is exciting and intriguing and it ends happily (oops is that a spoiler?) but even though Sophos gets everything he's after I'm left feeling a little sad for him. He's just so convenient to everybody. His dad, Eugenides, the magus, Edis. They don't ask him if he wants to do things for them. He does of course but they don't ask. I don't know what that will do to their relationships in the next books. (there are supposed to be two more but, alas Ms. Turner takes so long to write her books)

In conclusion. Read this book. It is fabulous.

One

One

Two

Two

Three

Three

Count Down: Eight Days. For real this time.

Eight Days left. Wait I've already been here haven't I? I was worried that some of my excitement was fizzling out but, as of yesterday I came across this

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbrowseinside.harpercollinschildrens.com%2Findex.aspx%3Fisbn13%3D9780061870934%26cm_mmc%3Del-_-atah-_-15254-_-201003kings&h=8cbfb616b794b056460814684cfe6482

six chapter excerpt. (sorry, I really don't know how to do links yet. One day I might take the time to figure it out. Then again maybe not) At any rate, on reading the prologue and first chapter, (which I did despite my dislike for e-books) my excitement has remounted and I now must pace myself in the next five chapters I have.

Somehow reviewing pieces of an unpublished book when I'm not an official reviewer doesn't fell right, but I will say that so far I am not disappointed. I love the way Megan Whelan Turner messes with style and format so much. You just never know what she's going to do.

"The King of Attolia" 15 Days.

15 days. This time I'm sure. I promise. March 23rd is the day. (the one good thing about not actually having any readers is I don't have to be embarrassed about counting almost all the way down to the wrong date.)

Its been almost a week since I finished The King of Attolia so some of my enthusiasm will have worn down. Sad but true. I do, however, think it was a fabulous book. The first time I read it I remember being frustrated that it was from Costis' point of view mostly instead of Eugenides but, maybe because I was forewarned this time around I liked it.
In the first book Turner tricks us by not telling major pieces of information about the character even though it is first person. As fabulous as that was she can only get away with it once. So, the Queen of Attolia is told in third person. All very well. That way you have more characters' heads to sort out and we are still surprised. Still, after those surprises we know more about those characters as well and can sort out what they'r really thinking much faster. It King of Attolia she needed another angle to come from because even if we aren't entirely surprised with all of Eugenides' escapades Costis is and we can enjoy his confusion. it also helped to show Gen proving himself --which is mostly what the plot is based around. If we were in his head the entire time we would never have seen him as the whinny little guy who doesn't want to be king and at the end, because so much of Eugenides' character is a mixture of extreme vulnerability and amazing prowess, we wouldn't have seen the strong leader that his guards learn to recognize him as.
That said, I don't think the book is quite as amazing as the first two. Don't get me wrong. It is good, and a necessary link between the Queen of Attolia and, I'm guessing, Conspiracy of Kings. We need to see how he gain the loyalty of his subjects, but most of the book is more antics than a heavy plot. Not to say for a moment that those antics aren't entertaining or that there is not plot at all. Still, it is not quite the riveting compilation of events that just fit together so perfectly by book's end that The Thief and The Queen of Attolia are.

The Thief. Countdown: 17 days

I finished The Thief last night. I forgot how good it was . . . or maybe I never actually realized that. I read it seven? years ago after my sister read it, sequel first, and thrust it upon me, proceeding to thrust it on two of my good friends at the time (also sequel first) and it became one of those things we were constantly talking about, posting "Eugenides is mine" all over our message boards, giving each other nick-names from the book (I got to be Attolia because I was the evilest even though I was the only one NOT in love with Eugenides) etc. so I've always loved it. Of course I loved it . . . without ever having paid that much attention to the book itself. I read so many books, so fast at that time that I seldom took the time to digest them.

The most obvious thing that sets this book apart is the surprise ending but I don't know if that is the most outstanding thing about it. It was well done to be sure, everything subtly in place, but I think there is also a lot to be said about the over all tone of the book, the unusual characters of both Eugenides and the magus, the mixture of invented Greek history and mythology that feels so legitimate. I've noticed an advent of a lot of mediocre YA fantasy lately and am glad to be reminded that there is actually some genius out there as well. It's just good. An adventure story with a little philosophical contemplation, a lot of character, a beautiful setting and brilliant ending. What's not to love?

Oh yes. And I may be guilty of being just a little --a little --in love with Eugenides this time.