Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The Kind of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

Oh, delicious, delicious! My faithful followers will know that I really liked the first two books in this series, The Thief and The Queen of Attolia. This book now confirms Eugenides as one of my favorite characters in children's literature.  The book starts, as the other two did, with someone in jail.  This time it is not Eugenides, but a young soldier, Costis.  He is in jail because he punched the new king of Attolia, Eugenides, in the face, and he knows he must die.  However, Eugenides pardons Costis and makes him his personal attendant. Costis soon discovers that the reprieve is only a partial one, as Eugenides finds endless ways to try Costis' patience and loyalty. Like all of Attolia, Costis hates the new king because they believe that he stole the crown and the queen. As Costis watches the new king as he blunders his way around the court, he begins to wonder if there is more to Eugenides than meets the eye.  Admitedly, this book starts a little slowly.  Costis is just not as interesting of a point of view character as Eugenides.  But it gets so wonderful in the middle.  There are some really priceless scenes that I savored in my mind for days afterward. Turner does a great job showing how Eugenides transforms from a man to a king, and how his love for the queen transforms her from a tyrant back into a woman. (387 p)

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