Megan Whalen Turner

The gloves are off with this one. The stakes are higher, the secret plots are more intricate. Our characters are driven to their limits, and faced with impossible choices.

It's amazing watching them thread through the disasters, sweating hard grasping at small victories or even just a defeat that won't completely undo them. It's satisfying watching them hold everything together with twine and a prayer. And whenever they manage to turn the tide and plant their feet on solid ground, I want to stand up and cheer.… (meer)

I anticipate re-reading this series, and especially this book, many times. They're full of sweet and funny moments, broad political power struggles somehow made fascinating, and clever tricks whose foreshadowing is often sprinkled across several books.

In The King of Attolia specifically, I love the way that the characters slowly unfold themselves to each other, becoming more vulnerable and more dangerous at the same time. Costis is charmingly blunt and is a great way to see Gen from a new perspective. In many ways he's the opposite of our perspective character from the first two books, the Magis, but it's still so fun to watch him get to know the queen's thief.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I should probably leave it there. I'll just add that Attolia, Phresine, the gods, and Gen's cousins have a cozy space in my heart and I wish all of the books featured them as much as this one does.… (meer)

This book is really fun to reread because there are so many little throwaway lines that end up being foreshadows. Knowing what was coming next never made me bored, either - just excited to get to the next big moment.

I really appreciate the visceral description of Gen's hunger and exhaustion coming out of prison, and I really came to love all of the main characters (except Ambiades, whom I suppose I can manage to pity on a good day). Although not a lot happens plot-wise in the first half of the story, the dialogue and description keep me invested.… (meer)