Title: A Conspiracy of Kings
Author: Megan Whalen Turner
Publisher: Green Willow Books (HarperCollins)
Length: 316 pages
Rating: 4/5
The forth book of The Queen’s Thief series is from the perspective of Sophos, a character who befriended Eugenides in the first book, The Thief, and who we learned was kidnapped and disappeared in the third book, The King of Attolia. This is his story. Unlike the other books which follow Eugenides from close and afar in what I deemed “limited first person omniscient,” this book is from Sophos’s first person point of view. This narration style is a little more traditional to Young Adult fiction, and a great fit for this book. Whereas Eugenides hides a lot from other characters and the reader, Sophos is open and naïve and still learning. The reader can therefore learn with him, as he goes from scholar nephew of the king, to slave, to a king fighting to get his kingdom back.
There’s a lot of strategizing going on in this book. If I ever need to take over a kingdom, I would study this book instead of Machiavelli’s The Prince. But surprisingly, I was never bored. I was invested in the characters, and I wanted them to succeed enough that I too began strategizing against those pesky Medes who keep trying to invade.
Even though this book was published more than ten years after The Thief, I could see definite foreshadowing and important themes from the first book carried out in this one. It’s amazing how interconnected everything is. And despite everything I learned reading the first three books, and my love for our hero, Eugenides, this book had me doubting him, because I also learned to love and admire Sophos. I guess it’s not easy ruling any kingdom! Amazing conclusion however- I could not have been happier.
I would highly recommend reading the entire series from start to finish.
As promised in my last post about the series, I did ask the editor about the inclusion of a map, but alas, there was no response. So instead, I will leave you with this book trailer preview:
Check out trailers for the others in the series at Megan Whalen Turner's website: http://meganwhalenturner.org/
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