The Thief (Book 1, The Queen's Thief Series) by Megan Whalen Turner

"I can steal anything."

After Gen's bragging lands him in the king's prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king's scholar, the magus, needs the thief's skill for a seemingly impossible task -- to steal a hidden treasure from another land.

To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.

From Amazon.ca

My Thoughts:

I have been meaning to read this series for a really, really long time! It has been on my wish list, my buy next time I buy books list, and probably in both my virtual and physical shopping basket. I have just heard such great things about it and everyone has made the series seem like something I HAD to read. Well, I finally did! The fourth book has a release date, so people were talking about the series again. I finally decided to get it through the library and see what all the hype was about.

I wasn't sure in the beginning. I found it slow and I wasn't sure what I thought about the characters. I learned a valuable lesson, though! This is an example of why you should stick with a book even if you are not sure about it, because the ending made up for everything. Once you understand everything that you likely have missed, you will understand the brillance of the overall book. I was pretty impressed! Some I had figured out, but other stuff I missed entirely. It takes a lot to surprise me, so I am always excited when a book manages to throw a few things in that I wouldn't expect. In the end I also really liked the characters.

Gen is the main character. I get the impression he is the main character throughout the series, but that could wind up being wrong. He is not at all what you would expect, though. When the book opens he is wallowing in jail and you are starting to wonder if he really is great at what he does, but then his character starts to develop and you start to actually really like him. (I did, anyways!) Actually, I would think that Gen is going to grow on me and will grace a future list of favourite literary characters, but the jury is going to stay out until I read the rest of the books. I hate to make hasty decisions that I wind up regretting.

Part of my problem with writing this review is that in the time it has taken me to write it, I have read the sequel. That means that I might be talking more about how I feel about Gen from carrying on with the series than my impressions from the first book. You should probably keep that in mind. I am also suffering from 'I am really slow at reviewing books, so the books are not as clear in my mind as they should be'. I do know that even though this book grew on me by the end, I still wasn't really sure about the series. Then, I read the second book (which I will review soon) and I was even more impressed. If this keeps up I am going to love the third book!

Anyway, I should probably say a bit about what this book is about. In a nutshell it is the adventures of Gen. He claims he can steal anything, but he starts the book off in jail. Obviously, he is not as big a success as he claims! The kingdom where he is being held captive, though, seems to believe him even if they have caught him because they have big plans for him. Whether or not he can pull it off and be the great thief he is supposed to be is something you will have to read the book to find out. There might be a few surprises along the way, too. All in all, it was a fun book and I think the series does deserve the hype, even if I didn't love this book as much as others. I still think everyone should read it!

I am distracted today. This review took me FOREVER! I hope it makes sense and is worth it... Just one of those days where I have too much on my mind, I guess.

For example: I really want to learn how to ride a motorcycle. The cc bought one and I got to go for a ride with him last night. It was fun! Reminds me how much I want one...