But by the first chapter of the second book, it's clear that Turner has made a giant leap in complexity and darkness.

The first book, while certainly enjoyable, does have a more upper middle grade/younger YA tone to it.

Yes, this is technically a Children's/YA book series. I'm sorry to be vague, but I truly do not want to spoil this series for anyone because these twists are one of the great delights of reading it.so you'll just have to take my word for it, I guess (and be very careful what reviews you read). Every book has at least one moment where the reader's perspective is shifted, as hidden motivations become clear and things that seemed innocuous gain new significance. It's well supported, but also entirely unexpected, and it totally blew my mind the first time through. On reread, all the clues are right there. But it's not a gratuitous 'shock for the sake of being shocked' type of plot twist. It seems like a (relatively) straightforward adventure tale, until the massive plot twist at the end that reframes actions and motivations in an entirely new light. So I'm here to try to change that, by sharing some reasons why I think this series is great!īook 1 in the series, The Thief, introduces us to Gen, a skilled thief, who is taken from the King of Sounis' prison by the king's magus (advisor) to steal an ancient, legendary treasure. Her Attolia series, which concluded this past year with its sixth and final volume, is a masterful piece of plotting and character development that too few people have experienced. When people ask about 'underrated' works of speculative fiction, Megan Whalen Turner is always the first author who comes to mind.

The thief of attolia