The Thief

By: Megan Whalen Turner

Narrated by: Steve West

Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed series launch The Thief to the thrilling, 20-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief.

New York Times best-selling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics. This first book in series introduces one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. The 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.

Eugenides, the queen's thief, can steal anything - or so he says. When his boasting lands him in prison and the king's magus invites him on a quest to steal a legendary object, he's in no position to refuse. The magus thinks he has the right tool for the job, but Gen has plans of his own.

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.

A Newbery Honor Book

An ALA Notable Book

A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults

A Horn Book Fanfare Book

A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

A Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Blue Ribbon Book

A Junior Library Guild Selection

“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 best-selling 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, number-one New York Times best-selling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom)

©1996 Megan Whalen Turner (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"In addition to its charismatic hero, this story possesses one of the most valuable treasures of all - a twinkling jewel of a surprise ending." ( Publishers Weekly)

"A literary journey that enriches both its characters and readers before it is over." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"A tantalizing, suspenseful, exceptionally clever novel." ( The Horn Book)

Took me half the book to fall in love

I struggled to get into this book but it grew on me and now it feels like family. I want a leather bound version now.

intermittent skipping

Intermittent skipping for anywhere from 2-6 seconds at a time, excessive in the the last 3 chapters. It was a good sorry otherwise.

Best narrator ever!

Rated PG... I would let my young teens read these. Mythical religion mentioned, Minimal cussing, and violence. I really like the intricate relationships between the characters, and the wit of the characters makes the story fun. The narrator, Steve West, is the absolute best! He really brings this book to life. My husband (not much of a reader) listened to these books during a trip and loved them.

Loved it!

Loving this series! can't wait to start next book in this series. adventurous journey

I tried to like it

I tried to like it. I really did. I ended up switching from the physical book to the audiobook to power through. (Btw the narrate, Steve West was amazing) It wasn’t that the writing was bad, because it wasn’t. I just hated the main character. He was so whiny and infuriating.

I did like the legends that were told during the novel but I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series. I would def try a different series by this author.

Really good story

It's almost more of a short story, but it's still really good. There's not much of a magic system to it, as far as fantasy goes, but it does go beyond the realm of normal human abilities in a way. It wrapped up so quickly and I'm interested to see if that expands in future stories. If you're a fan of adventure style fantasy, I'd highly recommend.

Fav Book Ever

Performance is great but I miss the old narrator😭 Bring Jeff Woodman back to audible please

Loved the Story & Narrator

It's rare for me to stumble upon a book that I really love, but this is one of them! Action, adventure, mystery all rolled into one story. The characters and plot movement took priority over stereotypical pitfalls that most books fall into. At first I really disliked Magnus' style of voice, but it got his first-impression character across quickly. Then I grew to like him as Gen did as well. Plus, a couple plot twists at the end! Very well done and can stand on it's own feet! I was confused as to the narrator's very aristocratic style for the first-person POV, but I think it all comes together in the end. :) Worth a credit or a purchase!

High marks for worldbuilding, light on plot

Reviews for the subsequent books indicate that the series improves with the sequels, so there is possibility that this is just the set-up to a great series. I have not finished the sequels though, so as it stands, this is an okay start. I'm not sure whether I will dive into the sequels (it isn't a high priority for me based on this one).

The worldbuilding is good and created a distinct mythos and culture for this universe. It did come at the cost of plot though. It is not a long book, so more could have been added without making the book overlong. In the last couple hours more does happen and it gets more interesting. However, the first half is so focused on mythology (even at the expense of character work) that I did not feel a vested interest in what happened to these characters.

I used a credit on this book because I read a different review that positively compared it to the Ascendance Trilogy (a.k.a. The False Prince) which I adore. This book is not at that level for me. This is fine, just nothing that blew me away. The narrator is a bit monotonous, but not awful. The book is a little slow, but not awful. That's basically the entire book for me. It's decent, but I'm not sure if I like it.

Voice actor skewed impression of characters

Everyone I told that I was reading this book raved about it, but the longer I listened the more I thought, "What's the fuss about?" I ended up liking it by the end, but I realized that I was getting the wrong impression from several of the characters because of how the narrator voiced them. One in particular came off as perpetually pompous and condescending when really he should be seen as a friend and confidant. I've listened to one other book with this voice actor and experienced a similar thing. His narration just isn't my style. But I would still recommend this story! If only to get to know the characters and better enjoy the next books in the series.