The Queen of Attolia

Eugenides is a thief. Not just any thief. He’s the Thief of Eddis working for the Queen. He’s her friend and confidant, as well as her Thief, and it’s widely believed that Eugenides can steal anything when he sets his mind to it. But his skills can lead to dangers and he has made an enemy of the queen of Attolia, a rival state with whom Eddis maintains an uneasy relationship, when he stole a priceless relic from her.

Attolia is determined to get her revenge for the loss of face she suffered, so when Eugenides – Gen to his friends – is caught breaking into her stronghold again, she has no reason to show him any mercy. The punishment she orders is a harsh one and Eugenides wishes she’d simply had him killed, rather than delivering him back to Eddis, barely alive, to live with the consequences of his failure.

The Queen of Eddis is furious at the treatment of her Thief and exacts reparations on Attolian traders, and border skirmishes soon escalate to war. The mountain stronghold of Eddis is threatened both physically and politically, as her enemies circle like vultures, forming ever-shifting alliances, determined to exploit any weakness they find in Eddis’ defences.

Megan Whalan Turner’s world-building contains echoes of our own ancient world as she draws on the distant past around the eastern end of the Mediterranean and enriches this from her own imagination with a panoply of gods, every bit as capricious as those of the Greeks, Persians and others. The result is an engaging fantasy that reads like an alternative history where ancient civilisations use cannons alongside more conventional weapons like spears, crossbows and swords.

The two opposing queens face each other, manoeuvring their forces like pieces on a chessboard. I ended up liking them both, despite Attolia’s treatment of Eugenides. They are strong women, determined to rule their countries in their own right and in their own way. Attolia, unlike Eddis, is under pressure to take a husband, but if she does, he will become the ruler of her country, and that is not something she’s willing to countenance.

Eugenides first appeared in The Thief, published in 1996, so there’s been a long wait for his next turn, but it’s been worth it. I was immediately sucked in by the strong storytelling and fascinating main character. Eugenides is young, but wise beyond his years, and it’s unsurprising that Eddis (we only learn the Queen’s given name towards the end of the book) has come to rely on his counsel, so when Eugenides sinks into depression, things start to go badly for the mountain kingdom.

A map of the various countries would have been a help to those like me with a geographically challenged imagination, but that’s a minor niggle in a great story that kept me glued to its pages, as schemes within schemes unfolded, each more dangerous than the last. Megan Whalen Turner’s thoroughly grounded fantasy tale is one that will appeal to readers of all ages and I'm intending to gallop into the next one at speed. Patience might be a virtue, but I’m not feeling very virtuous at the moment!