The King of Attolia

Last updated
The King of Attolia
KoA cover image small.jpg
First edition cover [1]
Author Megan Whalen Turner
Cover artistVince Natale [1]
CountryUnited States
SeriesQueen's Thief [1]
Genre Young-adult fantasy, political fiction
PublisherGreenwillow Books/ HarperCollins [1]
Publication date
February 2006
Media typePrint, audiobook
Pages387 [1] [2]
ISBN 0-06-083577-X
OCLC 57754053
LC Class PZ7.T85565 Ki 2006 [2]
Preceded by The Queen of Attolia  
Followed by A Conspiracy of Kings  

The King of Attolia is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint of HarperCollins in 2006. It is the third novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with The Thief in 1996. [1]

Contents

Setting

The books are set in an imaginary, Byzantine-like landscape, reminiscent of ancient Greece and other territories around the Mediterranean. The action takes place in the countries of Eddis, Attolia and Sounis. The character's names are also Greek, and references are made to actual Greek authors. The gods of Turner's pantheon, ruled by the Great Goddess Hephestia, are her own, and her world possesses items such as guns and pocket watches.

Plot

Eugenides, is a former Thief of Eddis. He lost his one hand but he gets married to the Queen of Attolia. Through his marriage he unites two fighting countries and brings peace to his kingdom. Then he begins his new role as a king. He appears to sleep during important briefings, makes sloppy remarks, wears ridiculous clothes and refuses to be more than a figurehead, letting the Queen rule as she has always done. The Attolian court resents him as a young foreign upstart who appears to be an ineffectual fool.

The story is told largely from the point of view of Costis, a young soldier in the Queen's Guard. When the king insults Teleus, Captain of the Guard, Costis loses control and knocks the king down. He expects to be executed, but the king spares his life and makes him into a reluctant confidant. Costis finds the king obnoxious and conniving, but slowly begins to have some sympathy for him. Costis also sees the king as a young man far from his mountain home in Eddis, married to the beautiful but ruthless Queen.

The plot twists through an assassination attempt and political intrigues involving the traitorous Baron Erondites and his sons, Relius, the Queen’s master of spies, and Eugenides's old enemy, Nahuseresh of the (fictionalized) Mede Empire. Costis discovers there is more to the king and gains a clearer understanding of the young man’s abilities, motives, and relationship with the Queen. Costis finds his own life and reputation at risk, and the fate of three nations hinges on Eugenides internal struggles. Should Eugenides accepts his own destiny as the King of Attolia?

Reviews

The King of Attolia received starred reviews from School Library Journal , The Horn Book , Kirkus Reviews , and Library Media Connection, as well as positive reviews from other sources. It was a School Library Journal Best Book, an ALA Top 10 Best Book for Young Adults, [3] was on the Horn Book Fanfare list, the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list, and the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Masterlist.

Queen's Thief series

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Wynne Jones</span> British childrens fantasy writer (1934–2011)

Diana Wynne Jones was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually described as fantasy, some of her work also incorporates science fiction themes and elements of realism. Jones's work often explores themes of time travel and parallel or multiple universes. Some of her better-known works are the Chrestomanci series, the Dalemark series, the three Moving Castle novels, Dark Lord of Derkholm, and The Tough Guide to Fantasyland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey Eugenides</span> American novelist and short story writer

Jeffrey Kent Eugenides is an American author. He has written numerous short stories and essays, as well as three novels: The Virgin Suicides (1993), Middlesex (2002), and The Marriage Plot (2011). The Virgin Suicides served as the basis of a feature film, while Middlesex received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in addition to being a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the International Dublin Literary Award, and France's Prix Médicis.

<i>The Grey King</i> 1975 fantasy novel by Susan Cooper

The Grey King is a contemporary fantasy novel by Susan Cooper, published almost simultaneously by Chatto & Windus and Atheneum in 1975. It is the fourth of five books in her Arthurian fantasy series The Dark is Rising.

<i>Middlesex</i> (novel) 2002 novel by Jeffrey Eugenides

Middlesex is a Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Jeffrey Eugenides published in 2002. The book is a bestseller, with more than four million copies sold since its publication. Its characters and events are loosely based on aspects of Eugenides' life and observations of his Greek heritage. It is not an autobiography; unlike the protagonist, Eugenides is not intersex. The author decided to write Middlesex after reading the 1980 memoir Herculine Barbin and finding himself dissatisfied with its discussion of intersex anatomy and emotions.

Judy Blundell, pseudonym Jude Watson, is an American author of books for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers. She won the annual National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2008 for the young adult novel What I Saw and How I Lied, published under her real name by Scholastic Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. T. Anderson</span> American author

Matthew Tobin Anderson, is an American writer of children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. He won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006 for The Pox Party, the first of two "Octavian Nothing" books, which are historical novels set in Revolution-era Boston. Anderson is known for using wit and sarcasm in his stories, as well as advocating that young adults are capable of mature comprehension.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Whalen Turner</span> American childrens writer

Megan Whalen Turner is an American writer of fantasy fiction for young adults. She is best known for her novel The Thief and its five sequels. In 1997, The Thief was named a Newbery Honor book.

Elizabeth E. Wein is an American-born writer best known for her young adult historical fiction. She holds both American and British citizenship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firebird Books</span> Imprint of the Penguin Group USA since 2002

Firebird Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., publishing mainly paperback reprint editions of science fiction and fantasy for teenagers and adults.

Tim Wynne-Jones, is an English–Canadian author of children's literature, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.

<i>The Lightning Thief</i> American childrens novel, 2005, first in the Percy Jackson series

The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first young adult novel written by Rick Riordan in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It won the Adult Library Services Association Best Books for Young Adults, among other awards. The novel is followed by The Sea of Monsters and spawned two sequel series and the extended universe of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles.

<i>The Thief</i> (Turner novel)

The Thief is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner published in 1996 by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of William Morrow. It is the first in the Queen's Thief series, the sixth book of which was published in 2020.

<i>Firebirds</i> (anthology) 2003 short story collection

Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction is a collection of short stories for young adults written by authors associated with Firebird Books, released on that imprint in 2003. It was followed by a sequel anthology, Firebirds Rising, in 2006, which was a World Fantasy Award Finalist. A third anthology, Firebirds Soaring, was published in Spring 2009.

<i>The Queen of Attolia</i> 2000 young-adult historical fantasy novel

The Queen of Attolia is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint of William Morrow in 2000. It is the second novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with The Thief in 1996.

<i>A Conspiracy of Kings</i>

A Conspiracy of Kings is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint of HarperCollins in 2010. It is the fourth novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with The Thief in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. S. King</span> American writer

Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction. She is the recipient of the 2022 Margaret A. Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature."

Andrew Anselmo Smith is an American author and short story writer in the young adult fiction genre. He has written ten novels including Winger and Grasshopper Jungle, which is currently being adapted into a movie. Smith is known for his dark subject matter, and his randomized writing style.

<i>Thick as Thieves</i> (Turner novel) Book by Megan Whalen Turner

Thick as Thieves is a 2017 young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by Greenwillow Books. It is the fifth novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner began with The Thief in 1996.

<i>X</i> (young adult novel) 2015 novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon

X: A Novel is a young adult novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon, published January 6, 2015 by Candlewick Press.

Shaun David Hutchinson is an American author of young adult texts. His novels often "combine speculative elements with LGBT characters and themes."

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The King of Attolia title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2015-11-03. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
  2. 1 2 "The king of Attolia" (first edition). LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  3. American Library Association (2007). "2007 Best Books for Young Adults". Archived from the original on 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2011-02-03.