This was a really good book. A very good young adult fantasy book. So far there are three books in this series that I have seen called "The Queen's Thief" series. This is the first of the three.

In this book Gen is languishing in prison after bragging about stealing an important item from the king and getting caught. The King's magus comes to promise that he will free Gen if Gen can find and steal the magus a very important item.

This book is well-written and is written in a very straight forward, easy-to-read, style. It is definitely a fantasy adventure; the world the story is set in will remind of the middle ages a little bit with the exception of some additional bits of technology thrown in (guns, clocks, etc). This book is just a good book until you get to the end. The twists thrown at the reader at the end of the book are very well done and make this an exceptional book.

I was disappointed when the book ended...I really want to read more about Gen's adventures. Luckily there are two more books out there that I can read!

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This was suggested strongly to me and I'm so glad I took the advice! Gen is so hilarious and honest you can't help but fall in love with him through this entire book. The book has some historical attributes, but most contain no more than a small kernel of truth within an elaborate story. I think that this just adds to the believability of the story and charm. The characters other than Gen aren't described in detail, but this is in first person and almost makes the story easier to read rather than keeping track of facts. It is important to read the bits where there's a history lesson from the Magus about the countries and why they are that way as it plays a huge part later in the story. Fantastic book, with a bewildering (in a good way!!) twist at the end! Definitely worth the read and worth the full price purchase I made (too impatient to wait for it here on paperbackswap!). I suggest this book to anyone! Not so much fantasy, as no magic is involved, but captivating nonetheless! Full stars!

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Epic read with a fun ending.

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I had high expectations for this book after all the high reviews. Unfortunately it did not live up them. I didn't hate the book but it didn't sweep me away either. The characters and the last part of the story is what I enjoyed best. I least enjoyed the monotonous journey that they took. It seemed to take forever for them to get from point A to point B. The only reason (it seemed) for this long journey was for character development. But nothing much really seemed to happen around this time and I found myself very bored.
Not sure if I'll read the 2nd book or not. I might but it will probably be a while before I do.

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This book is easy to read. Five people in search of a stone. One magus, one soldier, 2 apprentices and one thief. The thief is the storyteller, however you don't get much info about him....not his age, which made it a bit confusing to understand if he is being a lazy hindrance or just immature. The whole story wraps up better in the last chapter. I liked this book, and I will read the second, because now I am curious to read the Thief's back story.

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Somehow I missed this wonderful YA fantasy when it came out in 1996. It won a Newberry Award! Really nice world-building, some snappy dialogue, a few great vocabulary words, and a very likable but unreliable narrator. The first part is just the group traveling to the action, but I didn't feel it was slow. Gen's snarky attitude made me wonder just how old he is and I thought the stories that were told would come into play later on. As for the rest of the group, the Magus is pretty much the only standout - I felt the two young men and Pol the soldier don't have much behind them. If I were a YA reading this, I'd probably have been delightedly shocked by the twist at the end, but as a well-read adult I figured I knew what was coming - it's practically telegraphed there in the book description. All in all, a very enjoyable and very quick read, and I will definitely be looking for the others in the series.

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I first read this book back in high school. I'm not in the habit of rereading leisure books, but I've reread this one at least three times in the years since. Megan Whalen Turner's characters are delightful, her plot lines are intriguing, and her books and just overall memorable and worth rereading. The Thief (and the subsequent books in the series) is one of my absolute favorite books of all time, in a list that is dominated by nonfiction. Very much worth the read!

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Engaging, exciting adventure for young readers. Gen (short for Eugenides) is an expert thief. At the beginning of the book, he is rescued from prison by the King's Magus to undertake a dangerous theft of a mythical object. Very exciting story, with a great twist at the end.

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It was a great book! All based with a Greek theme, with gods and goddesses. Be sure to read the other books Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia!

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this is the same book as the newer printing by Megan Whalen Turner. Its a fun book about a thief sent to steal a very important artifact from a temple god. Its very well written and the voice of Gen, the thief, is unique.

However, I feel I was the wrong age group for this book. This book appears to be appropriate for grades 5-8 and isn't really one of those YA novels that are enjoyed by the older masses. It takes about 150 pages (its only 214 pgs) for any action to even begin and even after that you still haven't really figured out where the story is going. Wasn't my cup of tea.

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