About the Author

Megan Whalen Turner is the bestselling and award-winning author of four novels set in the world of the Queen's Thief. She has been awarded a Newbery Honor and a Horn Book-Boston Globe Honor and won the LA Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature. She has won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature and was a finalist for the Andre Norton Award. She worked as a bookseller for seven years before she started writing. Her first book was a collection of short stories called Instead of Three Wishes. She lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio. www.meganwhalenturner.org http://meganwhalenturner.tumblr.com/

Reviews

"Megan Whalen Turner has constructed a clever world filled with suspense and intrigue and characters that will never be forgotten. Once you dive into the world of the Queen's Thief [books], prepare to have your life stolen from you until you finish them all." -- Joelle Charbonneau, New York Times-bestselling author of the Testing trilogy "One of the most fascinating and original children's fantasies to appear in years ... Rarely does one see a hero as psychologically knowing and irresistibly attractive as Turner's Thief." (starred review) -- The Horn Book "Eugenides, the former Thief of Eddis, is back and just as clever as ever." -- School Library Journal (starred review) "A winner." (starred review) -- Kirkus Reviews

Readers who fell for The Thief and grieved over his devastating loss in The Queen of Attolia will devour this account of how the "goat-footed, throne-stealing interloper" grows into his crown. The erstwhile Thief and newly crowned king chafes under his status as a homebody, even if the home in question is an opulent palace. Accustomed to a life of stealthy maneuvering, Eugenides is now shadowed everywhere by his armed Guard and a mostly malevolent audience of courtiers, many actively trying to sabotage his reign in retaliation for Gen having "stolen" their Queen in a politically convenient marriage. The backdrop continues to track the intricate relationships among the small, faux-Mediterranean nations of Attolia, Eddis and Sounis, and the menacing Mede empire, but the action here-including an assassination attempt-takes place within the palace walls. The plot turns on political intrigue, hidden motives, ploys and counterploys, as Gen slyly consolidates his power while solidifying his marriage to Irene. Turner assumes readers' familiarity with the vast canvas on which she's working, making this book best suited to those who read the first two, and who are familiar with the ample detail she has woven into this complex tapestry. Although some readers may ache for the old snide and sneaky Gen, they will likely understand why there is no theft involved in the prize he wins here. Gen has grown up and, this time, he earns his kingly respect. Ages 10-up. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.