The Thief

While talking to a co-worker about how much I enjoyed The False Prince series, she recommended to me a book called The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. She told me it was the same genre, so I decided to give it a try. Overall I liked the book. I don't think it is on the same level of The False Prince, but it was still very enjoyable.

The story is about a thief named Gen, short for Eugenides. He was named after the god of thieves. Claiming he could steal anything, he steals the king's ring and ends up imprisoned after bragging about it. He is released months later by the king's magus in order to steal an object buried in myths and legends. Skeptical about the reality of the ancients gods, Gen has no choice but to join the expedition or be killed. His comrades are a magus-in-training, a son of a duke, a seasoned soldier, and the magus himself.

Traveling into enemy territory to find a mysterious artifact that has been lost for centuries may be daunting enough, but Gen knows that if he can't find someway to outwit his companions, his very neck may be on the line. And then there are the strange recurring dreams he has of a beautiful woman in an ancient temple. Perhaps the ancients gods aren't mere myths after all. And if they aren't, does he really dare take an artifact out of one of their temples?

The story contains some fun twists and surprises and Gen is a very likeable character. The story starts a little slow, but by the end I was involved in the story and could hardly wait to see what would happen next. My biggest complaint with this book is that there is some swearing. It is mild PG swearing, but it is there nonetheless.