Perhaps because I found The Thief so fun and heartfelt, and was enthralled by numerous others lavish praises on the sequels, that I had extremely high expectations for THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA. It pains me to say that I didnt like THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA as much as I did The Thief, but its still a good read in fantasy literature that will appeal across age ranges.
THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA is altogether different from The Thief. Its told in third-person instead of first. Eugenides seems older; the events and the premise of this book are a lot darker, dipping into the disturbing at times. THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA focuses a lot on the political tensions between the kingdoms, to the point where long sections of the book are dedicated entirely to dry accounts of political and military events. While I go gaga for books that are smart, yet interesting to read, I couldnt help but feel that all that information could have been presented to readers in a more engaging way.
Maybe this decision to report war news in such a dry way was a deliberate decision on Turners part. In any case, it also affected by connections I had with the characters. Which is to say, I felt that the characters saw me, but instead of coming over to chat, decided to head to another room on the other side of the soundproof glass, where they continued to be aloof and secretive and unfriendly. Not quite how I wish to interact with characters.
As for the romanceeh. Well. Its not as if there werent hints as to what would happen, and the turning point was kind of cute in a romantic-movie-swoon kind of way, but the characters aloofness throughout the story up to that point took away from the impact of that scene, at least for me. I hope theyll be good for one another, even though I cant quite see how that will happen from the rest of the book, but hey, it would go beyond my realm as reviewer to question the decisions of the characters and author, so Ill just leave them to do their thing.
THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA didnt sweep me off my feet as The Thief did, but perhaps I was in the wrong mindset when I read this book (ten years too late, perhaps?). Ill still continue with the series, though, since its gotten so many rave reviews from every reviewer I respect. Perhaps, however, by toning down my expectations, I will get more out of my reading experiences.
THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA is altogether different from The Thief. Its told in third-person instead of first. Eugenides seems older; the events and the premise of this book are a lot darker, dipping into the disturbing at times. THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA focuses a lot on the political tensions between the kingdoms, to the point where long sections of the book are dedicated entirely to dry accounts of political and military events. While I go gaga for books that are smart, yet interesting to read, I couldnt help but feel that all that information could have been presented to readers in a more engaging way.
Maybe this decision to report war news in such a dry way was a deliberate decision on Turners part. In any case, it also affected by connections I had with the characters. Which is to say, I felt that the characters saw me, but instead of coming over to chat, decided to head to another room on the other side of the soundproof glass, where they continued to be aloof and secretive and unfriendly. Not quite how I wish to interact with characters.
As for the romanceeh. Well. Its not as if there werent hints as to what would happen, and the turning point was kind of cute in a romantic-movie-swoon kind of way, but the characters aloofness throughout the story up to that point took away from the impact of that scene, at least for me. I hope theyll be good for one another, even though I cant quite see how that will happen from the rest of the book, but hey, it would go beyond my realm as reviewer to question the decisions of the characters and author, so Ill just leave them to do their thing.
THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA didnt sweep me off my feet as The Thief did, but perhaps I was in the wrong mindset when I read this book (ten years too late, perhaps?). Ill still continue with the series, though, since its gotten so many rave reviews from every reviewer I respect. Perhaps, however, by toning down my expectations, I will get more out of my reading experiences.
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