Well, that was wonderful.What am I supposed to do until the next book is released? I feel utterly lost. Leave it to me to love a series that takes forever for a new book to come out. Just wonderful. While I didn't love "a Conspiracy of Kings" quite as much as the previous two, I still really really loved this book and am so glad I read this series. This is probably my favorite fantasy series. Ever. In this story, Sophos is the main character and narrates the book in first and second person. I really love this trend of side characters narrating the story because it somehow makes me love Eugenides even more. I love seeing him from the perspective of others. It's refreshing. But, moving on, Sophos, the heir to Sounis, is kidnapped and goes through many days and nights as an unknown slave. Meanwhile, the Mede empire is as horrible as ever and threatening to overtake the lands.Plot: I'll admit, it took me a bit to really get into the story. For the first 100 pages, it's really just Sophos trying to survive when he gets taken from place to place as a slave. While I sympathized with him immensely, I didnt connect to him that much and there was very little dialogue. However, after the first third the narration changes to a grander scale and the story really started to pick up. I no longer could put the book down.Sophos really grew on me in this book. I liked having first and third person narration from him. At times, I missed Eugenides and wished for him to be narrating and not Sophos, but as in the last book, Ms. Turner somehow manages to make me love all her characters. Sophos was a lot different than Eugenides, but still just as brave. As for the others, I still loved just as much as before. I adore Eddis, Attolia, and even the Magus. But, Eugenides is still my favorite with his wit and humor. I really love where the story is heading and I'm so excited for the next book to come out. These books are filled with so much in such a small amount of pages. Cannot recommend enough. Well, I guess this completes the series in a satisfactory way, since we were left with the disappearance of Sophos in a previous book. Perhaps I was getting tired of the series, but this just didn't hold my interest very well. Yet another point of view - Sophos this time - but he is nowhere near the hero that Eugenides was in the first three books. In fact, there seems to be very little of him here at all. So unless you are dying to know what happened to Sophos, this book seems like just an afterthought to tie up the loose threads. There is none of the trickster quality that made Gen so endearing. Just a lot of political maneuvering. Sophos seems a bit plodding, and I'm not sure what Gen and the Queen of Eddis saw in him. It did pick up again toward the end when Sophos finally decides to fight for his right to rule Sounis.Book Description: Sophos, under the guidance of yet another tutor, practices his swordplay and strategizes escape scenarios should his father's villa come under attack. How would he save his mother? His sisters? Himself? Could he reach the horses in time? Where would he go? But nothing prepares him for the day armed men, silent as thieves, swarm the villa courtyard ready to kill, to capture, to kidnap. Sophos, the heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears without a trace. In Attolia, Eugenides, the new and unlikely king, has never stopped wondering what happened to Sophos. Nor has the Queen of Eddis. They send spies. They pay informants. They appeal to the gods. But as time goes by, it becomes less and less certain that they will ever see their friend alive again. Across the small peninsula battles are fought, bribes are offered, and conspiracies are set in motion. Darkening the horizon, the Mede Empire threatens, always, from across the sea. And Sophos, anonymous and alone, bides his time. Sophos, drawing on his memories of Gen, Pol, the magus—and Eddis—sets out on an adventure that will change all of their lives forever.Series info:Book 4 of The Queen's Thief series (see The Thief)
What do You think about Der Verschwörer (2012)?
This book continues the change of pace from the third book: more political intrigue and less action. I think it played it out well, though. This series is a nice refresher from so many other teen books. It's not a love story with a veneer of fantasy, but actually the real deal. My biggest complaint with this book, and, really, the whole series, is the cover design. Looking at these books instantly brings to mind "period piece." And, while I have watched my fair share of Jane Austin movies, it's not the first on my list of books to read. The reality is that the series is just good fantasy. Maybe they were specifically targeting young women with the design, but the book is the kind that guys can get behind, too, if they're willing to get past the cover. It was specifically because of the cover that I put off reading these books for so long despite my wife's raving reviews. Anyway, just my two cents. This book was good, just like the rest. Don't expect it to be a continuation of the other books, though - it's more like a spin off.
—masterchef
This 4th in this series kept me up till 3 a.m. Each of the characters in this series is so richly drawn, but in a paucity of words, a lifted eyebrow, a silence kept, mercy given, justice served, so that you come to know their generosity, ruthlessness, maturity, kindness, nobility in gradual glimpses, amid the pomp and splendor of the exchange of swords and thrones. Love. These. Books. Appropriate for everyone old enough to understand complexity of emotion -- you know your own children. Seriously Megan, how long do we have to wait for the next one?
—shokolo
Sooooo good. Thanks for these great books!
—115367
