The Thief is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner published in 1996 by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of William Morrow (later, of HarperCollins). It is the first in the Queen's Thief series, the sixth book of which was published in 2020.[1][3]
It was a runner-up for the 1997 Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor Book.[4]
In 2012, The Thief was ranked number 13 among the Top 1000 Chapter Books in a survey published by School Library Journal, a monthly with a primarily U.S. audience.[5]
The main character, a boy named Gen (short for Eugenides), is released from prison by the magus of the King of Sounis. Gen had been imprisoned for stealing the King's seal. The magus, whose name is not revealed, finds Gen to be filthy, uncouth, and insolent, but he values Gen's skills as a thief. Without telling Gen where they are going, he takes him out of the city. They are joined by the magus's two apprentices, Sophos and Ambiades, and by a soldier, Pol.
The travelers are strained by personal conflict, as well as the dangers present due to the political and secret nature of their mission. The magus reveals that the object he wants Gen to steal is a precious stone called Hamiathes's Gift in the country of Attolia. The magus' plan is to use the long lost tradition embedded within the stone in order to claim the country of Eddis for his king. In exchange, the magus offers Gen fame and threatens him with a bounty on his head if he tries to escape. Agreeing, Gen risks death in a daring attempt to steal the stone from an almost inaccessible temple, while the entire party is pursued by the Guard of Attolia. After Gen steals the stone, the temple is washed away by a river. While traveling back, the party is captured by the Attolian guard. Ambiades turns out to be a traitor, but is later killed by Pol, who pushes him off a cliff and then jumps after him holding two Attolian soldiers, killing them, but dying himself. After being questioned by the queen of Attolia, Gen, Sophos and the Magus escape and go to Eddis. There they are taken to the palace and Gen gives the stone to the queen. It is revealed that Gen is the Queen's Thief and Sophos is the heir to the kingdom of Sounis.
^ abcdeThe Thief title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2015-11-01. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
^ ab The thief" (first edition). LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2015-11-01.
thief, turner, novel, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, thief, turner, novel, news, newspapers, books,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Thief Turner novel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message The Thief is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner published in 1996 by Greenwillow Books an imprint of William Morrow later of HarperCollins It is the first in the Queen s Thief series the sixth book of which was published in 2020 1 3 The ThiefFirst editionAuthorMegan Whalen TurnerCover artistWalter Gaffney Kessell 1 CountryUnited StatesSeriesQueen s Thief 1 GenreYoung adult fantasyPublisherGreenwillow Books 1 2 Publication dateOctober 1 1996Media typePrint hardcover audiobookPages219 pp 1 ISBN0 688 14627 9OCLC33209215LC ClassPZ7 T85565 Th 1996 2 Followed byThe Queen of Attolia It was a runner up for the 1997 Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor Book 4 In 2012 The Thief was ranked number 13 among the Top 1000 Chapter Books in a survey published by School Library Journal a monthly with a primarily U S audience 5 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Queen s Thief series 3 References 4 External linksPlot summary editThe main character a boy named Gen short for Eugenides is released from prison by the magus of the King of Sounis Gen had been imprisoned for stealing the King s seal The magus whose name is not revealed finds Gen to be filthy uncouth and insolent but he values Gen s skills as a thief Without telling Gen where they are going he takes him out of the city They are joined by the magus s two apprentices Sophos and Ambiades and by a soldier Pol The travelers are strained by personal conflict as well as the dangers present due to the political and secret nature of their mission The magus reveals that the object he wants Gen to steal is a precious stone called Hamiathes s Gift in the country of Attolia The magus plan is to use the long lost tradition embedded within the stone in order to claim the country of Eddis for his king In exchange the magus offers Gen fame and threatens him with a bounty on his head if he tries to escape Agreeing Gen risks death in a daring attempt to steal the stone from an almost inaccessible temple while the entire party is pursued by the Guard of Attolia After Gen steals the stone the temple is washed away by a river While traveling back the party is captured by the Attolian guard Ambiades turns out to be a traitor but is later killed by Pol who pushes him off a cliff and then jumps after him holding two Attolian soldiers killing them but dying himself After being questioned by the queen of Attolia Gen Sophos and the Magus escape and go to Eddis There they are taken to the palace and Gen gives the stone to the queen It is revealed that Gen is the Queen s Thief and Sophos is the heir to the kingdom of Sounis Queen s Thief series edit1996 The Thief 2000 The Queen of Attolia 2006 The King of Attolia 2010 A Conspiracy of Kings 2017 Thick as Thieves 2020 Return of the ThiefReferences edit a b c d e The Thief title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Retrieved 2015 11 01 Select a particular edition title for more data at that level such as a front cover image or linked contents a b The thief first edition LC Online Catalog Library of Congress lccn loc gov Retrieved 2015 11 01 Megan Whalen turner at Fantastic Fiction ALSC Newbery Medal and Honor Books 1922 Present Bird Elizabeth July 7 2012 Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results A Fuse 8 Production Blog School Library Journal blog schoollibraryjournal com Retrieved 2015 11 01 External links edit nbsp Novels portal nbsp Children and Young Adult Literature portal nbsp Speculative fiction portal Megan Whalen Turner official Megan Whalen Turner at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Thief Turner novel amp oldid 1213289318, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
