Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

[foxing_gloves]

Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
Book #5 in The Queen’s Thief series
Year: 2017
Pages: 337
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Warnings: slavery, fantasy violence, mention of a miscarriage

Summary: Deep within the palace of the Mede emperor, in an alcove off the main room of his master’s apartments,. Kamet minds his master’s business and his own. Carefully keeping the accounts, and his own counsel, Kamet has accumulated a few possessions, a little money stored in the household’s cashbox, and a significant amount of personal power. As a slave, his fate is tied to his master’s. If Nahuseresh’s fortunes improve, so will Kamet’s, and Nahuseresh has been working diligently to promote his fortunes since the debacle in Attolia.

A soldier in the shadows offers escape, but Kamet won’t sacrifice his ambition for a meager and unreliable freedom; not until a whispered warning of poison and murder destroys all of his carefully laid plans. When Kamet flees for his life, he leaves behind everything—his past, his identity, his meticulously crafted defenses—and finds himself woefully unprepared for the journey that lies ahead.

Pursued across rivers, wastelands, salt plains, snowcapped mountains, and storm-tossed seas, Kamet is dead set on regaining control of his future and protecting himself at any cost. Friendships—new and long-forgotten—beckon, lethal enemies circle, secrets accumulate, and the fragile hopes of the little kingdoms of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis hang in the balance.

The Queen's Thief is one my favorite series of books. I feel like it's the best kept secret in the reading world where its fans are torn between keeping this perfect little batch of books to themselves and WANTING EVERYONE TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW.

The last book in the series, A Conspiracy of Kings, was published in 2010, so I along with everyone else have been eagerly anticipating the next book for roughly 7 YEARS. Megan Whalen Turner may take a long time to write, but if she keeps churning out awesome books like this, then she can take as long as she wants (although the waiting taxes my poor soul).

Thick as Thieves follows the perspective of a new character named Kamet, a slave in the Medes Empire. Well, I say new, but Kamet actually appeared as a minor character in Queen of Attolia. Understandably I saw a few folk worried that TaT wouldn't be as interesting without the familiar characters we've come to love. But honestly Megan Whalen Turner deserved the benefit of the doubt because she's been gradually moving away from a certain character's point of view for several books now and she hasn't let us down yet.

Kamet quickly becomes a compelling narrator because his story is that of a man who has painstakingly planned the best possible future for someone in his position which is that of a slave to a powerful man, only to have it all fall apart. So, yes, technically you could read Kamet's story as a standalone novel without any context from the previous books. But, ummmm, WHY WOULD YOU?

The joy of first reading The Queen's Thief is being surprised by all the clever twists and turns. The joy of reading it for a second time is catching all the clues you missed the first time around because you weren't in the know about a certain character's plotting ways. By this fifth book, I'm well aware of a certain character's tricks. Or, at least, I'm aware enough to keep an eye out for them. For example, when Kamet mentioned a mischievous kitchen boy, I KNEW. I KNEEEEEEEW.

I was thrilled to see Costis again, even if he was referred to as 'the Attolian' for most of the book. I was practically vibrating in anticipation for the moment when Kamet would finally say Costis' name. Let me tell you, the Costis/Kamet ship has sailed and I AM ONBOARD.

Am I able to review this without bias? Probably not. But I've gotta say, I was  happy to return to the world of The Queen's Thief. I was happy to see familiar characters and some new ones too. I was happy to read a story that left me satisfied but also wanting more.

Liked: EVERYTHING
Disliked: HOW LONG DO WE WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT BOOK
Rating: 4