4.5 Stars: Needs more Eugenides!
Megan Whalen Turner is a puzzle master of epic proportions. This time, I paid careful attention to any seemingly insignificant or unnecessary detail in the text hoping to catch Turner in the act, so to speak. Hell, I even read the damn thing super extra carefully (and stretched it out so long), and still I missed the biggest twist of all! I’m rather proud of myself for catching a few of the twists, but (as much as I like to fancy myself at least of average intelligence) I really think I got those only because I’d read all the books one after the other.
[Mild spoilers for the book.] Thick as Thieves is the story of poor Costis, the victim of Eugenides’ attention in [book:The King of Attolia|40159] and the rescue of Kamet, the head slave of the Mede ambassador to Attolia’s court. Hoping to avoid being implicated in the death of his master, Nahuseresh, a leery Kamet ends up trekking across the Mede empire with Costis, aiming for Attolia and the ‘weak, ineffectual’ Attolian kings’ court. On the way, while negotiating run-ins with slavers, Mede guards, lions, caravans, river boats, former slaves and city officials, Kamet and Costis develop a friendship that is filled with all the charm and subtly that Turner wields so effectively.
We do see a little bit of Eugenides towards the very end, though we hear of him and his doings on and off. While Eugenides’ appearance is as satisfactory as ever, I was definitely hoping to see a lot more of him. But then again, I don’t think I’m ever going to get enough of Eugenides.
This book has the same characteristics that make Turner’s books such a great ride – the subtly of the developing relationship between Kamet and Costis, the slow reveal of their characters and motivations, the humour, unexpected twists and insanely clever plotting. I’m really impressed by how much Turner can show by telling so very little – a couple of sentences, a scene or two here and there add a lot of depth to the story and the characters, and fill in some of the gaps between this book and Conspiracy of Kings. All in all, this book is a worthy addition to the world of The Thief, and I cannot wait to see what she does next! Advertisements Share this:
