Thick as Thieves (The Queen's Thief Series #5)

by Megan Whalen Turner

Overview

Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed novel The Thief to the thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief. The epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief can be read in any order.

Thick as Thieves is the fifth novel set in the world of the Queen’s Thief. New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.

Kamet, a secretary and slave to his Mede master, has the ambition and the means to become one of the most powerful people in the Empire. But with a whispered warning the future he envisioned is wrenched away, and he is forced onto a very different path. Set in the world of the Queen’s Thief, this epic adventure sees an ordinary hero take on an extraordinary mission. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans, and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Thick as Thieves includes two maps, a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map of Kamet’s journey.

“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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062568267
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/15/2018
Series:	Queen's Thief Series , #5
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	37,505
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 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

Turner is a mature and amazing writer. I love this book: new characters mixed with Eugenides the Thief and world building like no other! My favorite of 2017.

Judy Bulow

The stakes are high and peace uneasy...Turner builds suspense not with battles and gore but through strategizing and charged, subtle dialogue. ...remains as fresh as the latest headline.

Washington Post

Turner’s eagerly awaited fifth Queen’s Thief novel displays in full her many fortes: ingenious plotting, nuanced characterization, and a subtle slight of hand in the telling that promises to surprise even very astute readers. ...Thoroughly tricky, insightful, and satisfying.

Horn Book (starred review)

The complexity of Turner’s world combined with the suspense of her layered plot creates a story that will appeal to readers of all ages. The thrill of the chase is magnetic-as is Kamet’s budding and unlikely friendship with an Attolian...a spectacularly enchanted empire imagined by a master storyteller.

Shelf Awareness

The stakes are high and peace uneasy...Turner builds suspense not with battles and gore but through strategizing and charged, subtle dialogue. ...remains as fresh as the latest headline.

Washington Post

Turner is a criminally underrated writer, and this stand-alone novel from [the] “Queen’s Thief” [world] shows her again playing with narrative perspective, mixing history with fantasy to brilliant effect.

Boston Globe

Turner builds suspense not with battles and gore but through strategizing and charged, subtle dialogue. ...this stylishly written series, with its fractious leaders and fraught politics, remains as fresh as the latest headline.

Newsday

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

★ 03/06/2017
Even minor characters in Turner’s Queen’s Thief saga have fascinating stories to tell, as she proves in this fifth installment, seven years in the making. This volume centers on Kamet, head slave and secretary to the Emperor of Medes’s out-of-favor nephew, who left Attolia when his scheme to seize power failed. Kamet is relieved to be home until he gets word that his master has been poisoned. Before he can process what that means for him (probably death), he is kidnapped by a beefy Attolian guard. (The author’s stock-in-trade includes the suspenseful reveal, so the guard’s name is withheld until the end.) The journey back to Attolia poses challenges, including bounty hunters, slave catchers, bandits, near starvation, rugged terrain, and miserable weather. Kidnapper and victim come to know each other, overturning many of Kamet’s assumptions. As with the previous books, Turner writes with complete authority about her richly imagined landscape. Although this immersive treat is billed as a standalone, those who have read the previous books in the series will get the most from it, as Turner fills out and enriches the expansive canvas on which she stitches her epic tale. Ages 13–up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Turner is a criminally underrated writer, and this stand-alone novel from [the] “Queen’s Thief” [world] shows her again playing with narrative perspective, mixing history with fantasy to brilliant effect.

Nickolas Butler

Turner builds suspense not with battles and gore but through strategizing and charged, subtle dialogue. ...stylishly written . . . with its fractious leaders and fraught politics, remains as fresh as the latest headline.” %COMM_CONTRIB%Newsday

★ 04/01/2017
Gr 7 Up—Kamet is a slave poised to become one of the most powerful men in the Mede Empire thanks to his master's close relationship with the Emperor. While he knows the limitations of his life as a secretary and slave, Kamet is ambitious and eager for the chance to help shape the Empire and wield his influence until one whispered conversation changes everything. No longer safe, Kamet embarks on a journey that will take him farther than he once thought possible. Traveling away from the seat of the Mede Empire, Kamet finds an unlikely ally in an Attolian soldier far from home and realizes that sometimes choice and freedom can be much more important than power or influence. Turner returns to the "Queen's Thief" series in this fifth installment, which moves beyond the familiar borders of the countries of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis. This novel is filled with characters readers will learn to love, including several from earlier volumes. Kamet's transformation from a circumspect and scholarly secretary to a man in control of his own fate is immensely satisfying, as is the way his story intertwines with other threads from the series. His pragmatic first-person narration brings a fresh perspective to familiar places and people while expanding the world. This clever book is both a stand-alone introduction for those just discovering Turner's characters and a way to move the series forward to what promises to be a stirring conclusion for longtime fans. VERDICT Now is a great time to purchase the entire series for your library. A must for fantasy readers seeking titles rich with intrigue and politics.—Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library

School Library Journal

2017-03-06
A slave escapes across the wilderness and cities of the Mede empire with an enemy soldier.Kamet is proud to be the enslaved secretary to Nahuseresh, former ambassador to Attolia. He must endure his master's moods and is sometimes badly flogged, but he will one day belong to the emperor's heir and will become exceedingly powerful. Still, even a respected slave is no freeman; when a fellow slave tells Kamet that their master's been poisoned, he flees the household to avoid inevitable torture and slow death. He joins a young Attolian soldier who claims to be on a mission from his king and promises Kamet his freedom. Kamet has every intention of escaping from the Attolian, but a deep affection grows as they survive elite imperial forces, slavers, near starvation, and even aggressive dogs. Their journey and friendship parallel that of Immakuk and Ennikar, legendary Mede heroes who evoke Gilgamesh and Enkidu in this Persian-feeling empire. This series fifth can stand alone without reading the rest of the books, although brown-skinned Kamet and the light-skinned Attolian are previously introduced characters. Kamet's growth as this loyal slave develops self-reflection is first-rate. As with Turner's other Attolia books, this invites an older audience, but the perilous journey, character growth, and understated affection of shield brothers offer more teen appeal than the political drama of earlier Queen's Thief novels. A series stand-alone that won't disappoint Turner aficionados. (Fantasy. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews