The Thief [Paperback]

Megan Whalen Turner (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin (1996)
• ASIN: B001TCRXC6
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (187 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,599,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Megan Whalen Turner is married to a professor and often relocates when he needs to do research. When they traveled to Greece one summer, she decided to use its landscape as the background of a book, but didn't write The Thief until she was spending a year in California, where the olive trees reminded her of the Greek mainland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ingeniously Hilarious, July 31, 2005

By 

Myra Schjelderup "Ignolopi" (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Thief (Mass Market Paperback)

It all starts when Gen the thief tells the kingdom of Sounis he can steal anything. To prove himself right he steals the king's seal, and then goes to brag about it in a wineshop. Soon after he is caught and thrown in the dungeon and kept there until the Magus (Sounis's most trusted advisor) wants to use him to steal something. Along with the Magus, his apprentices Ambiades and Sophos, and the soldier Pol, Gen goes on an adventure over the mountains of Eddis to the kingdom of Attolia to steal something that is said to be a myth. The Magus treats Gen like a prized tool, Ambiades treats him like scum, but Gen still manages to add wit to his story that will have you laughing out loud.
The book is good enough to read again and again, but the best time is the first time, because of the ending. You probably will never see it coming, and when all is revealed, it seems like the most clever book in the world.

There is some minor language, but otherwise this book is good for all ages over 8.
Once you read it, don't forget to read the sequel, the Queen of Attolia, which is more for older audiences because it's of a little darker and serious tone.
My sisters and I all are avid readers of fantasy, and we have all agreed that The Thief is one of the best books in the world, likely even the best.
Don't sit around waiting for Harry Potter 7 twiddling your thumbs (2 years of that would put a strain on your hands); read The Thief!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Thief, May 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Thief (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a student at a school and I don't like reading a lot but I liked the book The Thief. When I started reading it was because I was bord but then I noticed that I was reading it on my spare time when I would play video games or watch T.V. but I read instead. The book got me hooked when I started reading. When you read it seems like you are Gen on the adventure with the magus, Pol, and the other people. This book was so good that I am reading a lot more than I had before. So if you like advetnures you should read this book and be part of the adventure.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Thief Review, January 16, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Thief (Hardcover)

THE THIEF

"The Thief" is a thriller about a prisoner taken out of jail to steal a precious stone. The stone gives immortality to the holder. It is hidden away in an ancient cave that is only open four days in a year and is covered with a river for the rest of the time. Many surprising twists and turns in the plot take place along this journey as the characters' real identities spill out along the story with the "Thief's" large quantity of secrets and tricks and his constant complaining about just being a "tool." This book has a great deal of description and details included in the journey part of the story with a large amount of secrets that a reader is surprised at finding out. The book itself has a great deal of action and traveling mixed in with very well-made up myths and stories about gods taking place in a imaginary land a bit like Greece. I recommend this book to readers that love mystery, action, and many surprising details that slip out of the story, and to sixth graders and up because littler kids may not truly understand this book and would miss out on a great story.