The Thief

first book of my fave series. The twists and writing of this one are amazing. Adore it, love it, the best!!

何年か前に初めて読んだときは，人名や地名などの固有名詞が難しいことや，最初のほうではこれといった出来事が起こらないことから，なかなか物語の中に入っていくことができませんでした．繰り返し読んで，会話のやりとり等の細かいところの面白さに気づく余裕が出てきてからは，ずっと楽しめるようになりました．登場人物たちによって語られる，この世界独特の神話に関しても，最初は読みにくいと思っていたのがだんだん好きになっていきました．作中で語られる以上に詳しく知りたいと思ったほどです．続編に当たる"The Queen of Attolia"のほうが好きですが，その面白さもこちらを先に読んでこそだと思います．ただ，U.K.版のChapter6で話の流れがおかしいところがあり，U.S.版と比べたところ，段落が1つ抜けていました．これはミスだったのでしょうか．

I mainly find myself wanting to argue with the reviewers who found this boring and plotless. I fear it's a result of too many action films where there has to be an explosion or a fight on every second page. This book is an absolute gem, whether for a young adult or for an adult. The writing is subtle, and like any good mystery it plants little clues along the journey. The first section (which some reviewers found boring - 'they just walk') introduces the reader to the characters' personalities and backgrounds as well as skillfully building a picture of the geography and politics of the world without indulging in a clunky 'infodump'. A reader who is paying attention will begin to suspect the hidden levels of the story and I have rarely come across such a gem of a surprise ending. As mentioned by Lois McMaster Bujold in the reviews quoted in the description, it rewards reading and then reading, so you can marvel in the subtlety of the 'hidden' story.

I have been reading my way through the Attolia books. Started off with “The Thief”, how many books have you read that start off in a dungeon? Shelf loads. The book is certainly geared toward teens and it’s forever since i was one. It is quite nice and simple; the hero seems nice and a bit simple too. However, it gets better and better and better! Order the next book straight away, you can immerse yourself, then wish, please, for a good map. The writing is consistently good throughout; in fact it improves as the books progress through wars and loves, unusual plots, treacheries and friendships. The story continues, sort of, through the books, meandering amongst the protagonists, their lives and adventures. Skilfully brought to breathing life, struggling with their dilemmas, you must love them all and their differences. Fall from one book into the next, hope that Ms. Turner won’t stop writing. Nearly as strong on world and character building as Robin Hobb. Wonderful.....thank you! One gripe;-In the Author‘s Note of The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner says, quote "The gods and goddesses in my book are not those of the Greek or any other Pantheon. I made them up. The Mede Empire is also my own invention” unquote. I’ll now quote from the Collins English Dictionary, “ Mede n. A member of an Indo-European people of West Iranian speech who established an empire in SW Asia in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C.” unquote. And from Tom Holland’s panoramic book Persian Fire, ( Abacus 2005) I could quote many references, but to mind springs..... “A dark shadow had been caste over the Ionian imagination, and the memory of Harpagus’ coming would long serve to blacken even the most intimate moments of Joy: In winter, as you lie on a soft couch by the fire, Full of good food, munching on nuts and drinking sweet wine. Then you must ask questions such as these: ‘Where do you come from? Tell me: what is your age? How old were you when the Mede came? Xenophanes, Fragment 22. And this Quote, “In 610 BC, the Medes swept into northern Syria, burning and looting as they went. In 585, they went to war with the Lydians, a people based in what is now the west of Turkey” Unquote. And on it goes. Having said that, I love these books, they are so well written and the characters well defined, believable and lovable, having hopes and failings with which you can identify.

Eine Erzählung die nur aus der "Ich"-Perspektive geschrieben ist, gefällt mir selten, Wenn ich nicht eine Empfehlung zu diesem Buch bekommen hätte, wäre es wohl schon nach den ersten paar Seiten wieder im Regal gelandet. Jetzt, nachdem ich die komplette Serie gelesen habe, bin ich froh dies nicht getan zu haben. Der erste Band war für mich weitläufig der schwächste der Serie. Darum auch nur 4 Sterne. Was mir sehr gut gefällt: Für sehr aufmerksame Leser gibt es einige versteckte Informationen. Nicht entgehen lassen!