The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Reviewed By Sarah
Start date: a couple weeks ago
Finish date: um, I think it was actually before I finished Dandelion Wine by a day or two. Hmmm.
Star Rating: 10 stars. Because Megan Whalen Turner is a GENIUS.
"Movie" Rating: PG-13, mostly for Chapter 3. And there is no such thing as an Edited Version--without Chapter 3, there is no book. Poor Gen.

Oh, and if any Sounisians run across this review, I'd appreciate it if you just pretended that you hadn't. Thanks.

Spoiler-Free review:
OH MY GOODNESS I'D FORGOTTEN HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS BOOK. I mean, KoA is my favorite quite simply because, not only is it awesome but it is also hilarious, but QoA.... oh, Gen.

If you don't mind a slightly meandering and "nothing is really going on right now but Gen is a funny guy" type plot, start with The Thief. If you are the type that needs to be grabbed on the first page, start here, with Queen of Attolia. Oh my goodness does it hit the ground running--I get all worked up and nervous in the first chapter (not to mention the second and third) even though I've read this book several times.

These books (The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia) are quite simply, marvellous, brilliant, wonderful, and My Favorite Ever (KoA in particular). Well plotted, well written, great characters, awesome romance, interesting setting, and the sneakiest foreshadowing ever. But if I keep talking I'll give stuff away, so I'll jump to the spoilery review.


SPOILERS BEGIN HERE. PLEASE DON'T READ ON UNLESS YOU HAVE a) already read the book or b) don't intend to ever read the book or c)want to completely spoil your reading experience.

Really, STOP READING if you haven't read these books yet. I'm completely serious.



About halfway through this re-read, I attended the Utah Thief-Con, which basically was 5+ hours of awesome chatting about wonderful books. I was with people I hadn't known at all before that night and within a couple minutes we were chatting comfortably and by the end of the night we were friends. Oh, books and the connections they can make for people.

But anyway, one of the Thief-Con attendees, in_my_niteshirt (hee, I love that part, must indulge myself now... "If you are feeling more yourself, there is a problem best addressed immidiately." "In my nightshirt?" "Your Attendants..." "Ah. They have seen me in my nightshirt.") showed us her marked books. Now, when I left AP English two years ago it was with the joyful knowledge that I would never, ever have to mark a book again. I didn't think I'd ever want to. But when I saw her marked books my first thought was, "Hey, how come I never thought of that?"

Because these books are so markable, from the Thief-Con on I was marking my book, mostly cross-referencing passages, etc. and I have to admit, as much as I hated it in my highschool English classes, it really did enrich my reading experience--though I will say that I've been marking different things than we were supposed to look for for English classes--I know that I know what a simile is, I dont need to mark it, thanks. Mostly I've been marking cross-references, and some themes and symbols. And I will be lazy and steal in_my_niteshirts chronology markings in September. I have now moved onto KoA and am marking that as well, and since I've been paying attention more closely I've caught things that I never saw in the many previous readings (or at least I'd forgotten noticing them) and I felt extremely stupid for having missed, such as these lines:

"I chose," Hespira said again, and Horreon believed her. QoA pg 145

Who was the Thief that she would love him? QoA pg 312

Which are echoed marvellously in the wonderful concluding lines of the book,

"You have spied on me for years?" she asked.
"Yes," Eugenides admitted.
"Watched me deal with my barons and my servants, loyalists, traitors, and enemies?" She thought of the hardness and the coldness she had cultivated over those years and wondered if they were the mask she wore or if the mask had become her self. If the longing inside her for kindness, for warmth, for compassion, was the last seed of hope for her, she didn't know how to nurture it or if it could live.
Unable to guess the answer, she asked, "Who am I, that you should love me?"
"You are My Queen," said Eugenides. She sat perfectly still, looking at him without moving as his words dropped like water into dry earth.
"Do you believe me?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"Do you love me?"
"Yes."
"I love you."
And she believed him.