Return of the Thief (Queen's Thief Series #6)

by Megan Whalen Turner

Overview

The thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion to the New York Times–bestselling Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.

The epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief can be read in any order.

This beloved and award-winning series began with the acclaimed novel The Thief. It and four more stand-alone volumes bring to life a world of epics, myths, and legends, and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Now more powerful and cunning than ever before, Eugenides must navigate a perilous future in this sweeping conclusion. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and Sarah J. Maas.

Neither accepted nor beloved, Eugenides is the uneasy linchpin of a truce on the Lesser Peninsula, where he has risen to be high king of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. As the treacherous Baron Erondites schemes anew and a prophecy appears to foretell the death of the king, the ruthless Mede empire prepares to strike.

The New York Times–bestselling Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations, divine intervention, dangerous journeys, battles lost and won, power, passion, and deception. Features a cast list of the characters in the Queen’s Thief novels, as well as two maps—a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map exclusive to this edition.

“The Queen’s Thief books awe and inspire me. They have the feel of a secret, discovered history of real but forgotten lands. The plot-craft is peerless, the revelations stunning, and the characters flawed, cunning, heartbreaking, exceptional. Megan Whalen Turner’s books have a permanent spot on my favorites shelf, with space waiting for more books to come.”—Laini Taylor, New York Times-bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone novels and Strange the Dreamer

"Unforgettable characters, plot twists that will make your head spin, a world rendered in elegant detail—you will fall in love with every page of these stories. Megan Whalen Turner writes vivid, immersive, heartbreaking fantasy that will leave you desperate to return to Attolia again and again."—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom

"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, prepare to have your life stolen from you until you finish them all." —Joelle Charbonneau, New York Times-bestselling author of the Testing trilogy

“Megan Whalen Turner's Queen’s Thief books are like the characters she creates: endlessly entertaining, deeply deceptive, and very, very clever.”—Garth Nix, New York Times–bestselling and award-winning author of the Old Kingdom, Keys to the Kingdom, and Seventh Tower series

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062874474
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Series:	Queen's Thief Series , #6
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	196,963
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.90(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Megan Whalen Turner is the New York Times–bestselling and award-winning author of five stand-alone novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief. Return of the Thief marks her long-awaited conclusion to the epic and unforgettable story of the thief Eugenides—a story more than twenty years in the making. She has been awarded a Newbery Honor and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature. She has twice been a finalist for the Andre Norton Award and won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature.

Editorial Reviews

10/19/2020

In the triumphal final volume of the Queen’s Thief series, more than 20 years after the publication of The Thief, Turner sticks her landing with aplomb. Dissent from within threatens to undo the delicate union of nations Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis under Eugenides, former Thief of Eddis. As the emperor of the massive Mede empire begins a full-scale invasion, the countries marshal their resources to defend a crucial territory, testing the allied nations’ bond. Narrator Pheris, an often mistreated nonverbal child, born “with the infirmity that ran in my family,” becomes Eugenides’s attendant. Through cautious, wily Pheris’s adept observations (“the less people want to see you, the easier it becomes to be invisible in plain sight”), Turner highlights Eugenides’s actions, personality—sometimes kind, often calculatingly brutal—and knack for the unexpected reversal. Building to a succession of stirring climactic scenes that twine long-standing thematic and narrative arcs, Turner offers a fulfilling conclusion that rewards knowledge of the previous books. Ages 13–up. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"With war looming, Eugenides has to work harder than ever to protect everyone he loves and make sure he does not offend the gods who have taken an interest in both the Little Peninsula and him since his early years as the Queen’s Thief. . . . As intricately plotted as it is utterly satisfying, this series finale has everything readers could hope for from a conclusion 20 years in the making." — School Library Journal (starred review)

“The long-brewing Mede invasion is imminent, and the countries of the Little Peninsula, united under Eugenides as high king, muster their resources and allies to preserve their sovereignty. . . . [Turner’s] great gift for combining point of view and plot in exquisite, impeccably timed reveals is on full display: a multitude of subtle twists reconfigure not just this book but the ones that came before it. . . . [Readers will] want to revisit the other volumes armed with new, deeper understanding of the Thief and his world.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

“Turner, true to form, tantalizingly draws readers in by forcing them to draw their own inferences about character and motivation from dialogue and exposition. The tightly crafted plot produces a series of dramatic climaxes, followed by a slow and satisfying denouement that has an elegiac quality. . . . As readers bid farewell to this acclaimed series and its beloved cast of characters, it’s clear that this concluding volume serves as the keystone, inextricably linking the preceding entries together in surprising yet inevitable ways; it’s a bravura performance by one of our finest writers.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“In the final volume of the Queen’s Thief series, more than 20 years in the making, dissent and war threaten to undo the delicate union of nations Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis under Eugenides, former Thief of Eddis. . . . Turner offers an immensely satisfying series conclusion.” — Publishers Weekly

“The best time to start a series is when the final book’s done, so reach for Megan Whalen Turner’s Return of the Thief, sixth and last of the epic, quasi-classical world “Queen’s Thief” novels. For devotees of guileful, daring and romantic Eugenides: this is a satisfying, triumphant conclusion. For those yet to discover him: what a great gift!” — thestar.com

From the Publisher

The best time to start a series is when the final book’s done, so reach for Megan Whalen Turner’s Return of the Thief, sixth and last of the epic, quasi-classical world “Queen’s Thief” novels. For devotees of guileful, daring and romantic Eugenides: this is a satisfying, triumphant conclusion. For those yet to discover him: what a great gift!

thestar.com

Turner, true to form, tantalizingly draws readers in by forcing them to draw their own inferences about character and motivation from dialogue and exposition. The tightly crafted plot produces a series of dramatic climaxes, followed by a slow and satisfying denouement that has an elegiac quality. . . . As readers bid farewell to this acclaimed series and its beloved cast of characters, it’s clear that this concluding volume serves as the keystone, inextricably linking the preceding entries together in surprising yet inevitable ways; it’s a bravura performance by one of our finest writers.

Horn Book (starred review)

The long-brewing Mede invasion is imminent, and the countries of the Little Peninsula, united under Eugenides as high king, muster their resources and allies to preserve their sovereignty. . . . [Turner’s] great gift for combining point of view and plot in exquisite, impeccably timed reveals is on full display: a multitude of subtle twists reconfigure not just this book but the ones that came before it. . . . [Readers will] want to revisit the other volumes armed with new, deeper understanding of the Thief and his world.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

★ 11/01/2020

Gr 9 Up—After being born with the infirmity that runs through his family and earning the nickname "monstrous" as a baby, Pheris Mostrus Erondites has grown up aware of his own limitations and vulnerabilities, from his bad leg and arm as well as his inability to communicate verbally. Pheris is as surprised as anyone when he is named Baron Erondites's heir and sent to the Attolian court to serve as an attendant to the king of Attolia, Eugenides. Years of fear and caution have taught Pheris how to play the fool and hide in plain sight, but even he can't escape Eugenides's notice as the Little Peninsula prepares for war. As the newly appointed high king of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis, Eugenides has united the three countries but that does not mean their people are ready—or willing—to fight the invading Mede empire. Pheris observes and recounts everything for readers as political maneuvers, personal dramas, and his grandfather's schemes unfold while creating an unlikely place for himself in the palace and in the hearts of some of its residents. With war looming, Eugenides has to work harder than ever to protect everyone he loves and make sure he does not offend the gods who have taken an interest in both the Little Peninsula and him since his early years as the Queen's Thief. A direct sequel to Thick as Thieves, this novel will be most rewarding to readers of the entire series with the resolution of many character arcs and nods to multiple events across the overlapping time lines of the previous books. The society is divided along class lines and race is largely undescribed. VERDICT As intricately plotted as it is utterly satisfying, this series finale has everything readers could hope for from a conclusion 20 years in the making.—Emma Carbone, Brooklyn P.L.

School Library Journal