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The Queen Of Attolia
I first read The Queen of Attolia ten years ago when it first came out, not realizing it was a sequel to The Thief. I never went back and read the first book, or the subsequent third book, because while I was enthralled by the prose, I was also in a state of emotional shock from the intensity of a romance between the Machiavellian Queen and the thief who loved her even after she cut off his hand. At twelve, that was just a little too much to take. For ten years after one reading I clearly remembered Gen describing how he watched Attolia dance alone under the trees and the recounting of Attolia's rise to power; how she sat through her husband's last dinner with her lips numb from the poison that would kill him.
I recently reread the first three books of the series (both the second and third got blazed through in under twenty-four hours) and adored them. (I also discovered that my memory of Attolia doing paperwork every evening while Gen was tortured in the background was false.)
Anyway, I adore Attolia so much it's hard to be rational about these books. (As soon as I can, I am totally buying a copy for my own, with the badass paperback cover where she's holding a hook in her hands.) I was so thrilled that in The King of Attolia she was still stealing the book (in Queen, page-time-wise, she should almost be categorized instead as a supporting character) as the remote yet beloved queen who allowed people in her army to rise based on their merits and has the loyalty of many good men. I almost choked when she handed Gen her cup during a dinner, and I loved seeing their relationship continue as prickly as ever, and that Attolia lost none of her power by getting married.
I recently reread the first three books of the series (both the second and third got blazed through in under twenty-four hours) and adored them. (I also discovered that my memory of Attolia doing paperwork every evening while Gen was tortured in the background was false.)
Anyway, I adore Attolia so much it's hard to be rational about these books. (As soon as I can, I am totally buying a copy for my own, with the badass paperback cover where she's holding a hook in her hands.) I was so thrilled that in The King of Attolia she was still stealing the book (in Queen, page-time-wise, she should almost be categorized instead as a supporting character) as the remote yet beloved queen who allowed people in her army to rise based on their merits and has the loyalty of many good men. I almost choked when she handed Gen her cup during a dinner, and I loved seeing their relationship continue as prickly as ever, and that Attolia lost none of her power by getting married.