A Conspiracy of Kings audiobook

I’ve read five books of this now, so here’s a quick roundoff of my points:✔Megan Whalen Turner is so good at planting and payoff it makes me want to cry✔I have never seen an author follow through in such interesting ways✔anyway a romantic pairing that got set up in book ONE just got payed off✔all the scenes work individually but ALSO as callbacks to earlier plot points✔she keeps pulling the rug out from under us with some huge reveal that makes you want to scream✔so many different players✔so much character development✔so much dimensionality✔but usually in a very good way? I’m always delighted by her plot twists✔upsetting things happen but then the books as a whole are Happy And GoodThat's my full review. But also, here is a roundup of things that stood out in this book:✔Everyone showed up.✔No, really. Every single lead.Yes, I’ve gotten through three and a half reviews without doing a character roundup, so I just had to mention the current leads of this job:➽ Sophos the literal epitome of haha I want to die. I actually loved his character arc so much but he’s so much of a disaster. ➽ Eddis a queen and icon, but in such a dimensional way. she is not a ruthless power player like my favorite female character, but she still wields so much power in her own narrative. ➽ Irene still my favorite character, but she’s not showing up as much. and it is absolutely tragic and I think she deserves to be the lead character of the final book. ➽ Gen final side note: Gen and Irene: interact with Sophos for a secondme: personally, I love Sophos’ parentsAbsolutely the most hilarious protagonist I have ever come across.Basically, I love this complete disaster of a found family of ridiculous, extra characters, and this ridiculous series of political intrigue and plot twists. I cannot wait for book six to hurry up and release.Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

Update 3/10/2017 Sadly, after reading YA for almost a decade now, I see that Megan Whalen Turner still remains almost the only author who puts sophisticated political intrigue into her fantasy books for kids. BUT the wait for her next Thief book is almost over!Original reviewI love, love this series and I am now very sad that after reading this 4th book I must wait another 3-5 years for the next one to be published! I guess I will have to ease the pain of separation by re-reading all 4 installments some time soon. A Conspiracy of Kings is most and foremost Sophos's story. I will not give anything away by saying that it is a book about his ascend to the throne of Sounis. And of course, the road to power is hard and full of obstacles.The story is told primarily from Sophos's 1st person POV. He narrates the 1st and 3rd part of the story. The 2nd part is told in 3rd person. I just love how Megan Whalen Turner plays with POVs, always finding new interesting ways to show the events and relationships from different angles.A Conspiracy of Kings is absolutely on par with Turner's previous books - The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia. Many reviewers complain that this book is not as good because Eugenides is just a secondary character in it, but I disagree. I love Gen and his sneaky ways, but I enjoy the books because of the outstanding writing, skillful world-building and intricate political intrigues. All of it is present in A Conspiracy of Kings, plus another never-easy romance. And Sophos is an interesting narrator too. He is very unlike Eugenides and his insecurities and humbleness make his road to power ever so much more compelling. An excellent addition to The Queen's Thief series and a must read for all Megan Whalen Turner fans. I wonder what else she has in store for us. Will Eddis, Sounis and Attolia have to take on Mede? The danger of Mede invasion is always looming. And what is the fate of Eddis? Its future looks rather bleak at the moment...

4.5 ⭐️ (for that ending.)I love this series so damn much.But, needless to say, that at first, I was very reluctant and fearful to start this book because, well... how would you feel if told that the brilliant hero of one of your favourite series will take a back seat, so that others may step in? Because the fact is, Eugenides (Gen) MAKES this series. Of course, along with its brilliant writing. Every book with him in it is like an adventure you never want to end (I’m STILL melancholic from completing the King of Attolia). When he’s in his element - cunning, deceiving, brilliantly throwing everyone off their game and pulling the rug right from under them is seriously what makes me look forward to each of these books. So, do imagine my fear and reluctance. A Conspiracy of Kings is Sophos’ book. The focus of the story shifts from Eugenides to Sophos and literally tells his coming of age story. We were first introduced to Sophos, the reluctant heir to the kingdom of Sounis in The Thief and became Gen’s friend, only to disappear during the events of The Queen of Attolia. And in this book, we learn all about his journey and his many trials, as he goes from a soft-hearted, timid boy, to a slave, to King. In the space of one short book, Sophos goes through some serious character development as he learns the harsh realities of being an heir to a throne and the responsibilities it bears.plot-wise, it is still as politically driven as its predecessors with plenty of deceit, manipulative antics and lots of plots and counterplots. Structure-wise, the book is split into two narrative modes. The first and last parts of the story are told in the first person by Sophos and middle part in the third person by a narrator (The section which includes Gen). If you feel scepticism coming your way, ignore it because it all weaves in together beautifully, with a great sense of interconnectivity. All in all, as much as I loved Sophos, it was ultimately Gen who once again sucked me into the story as he still managed to craft one heck of a masterful plan without even having that much presence at all. Which really is a testament to Turner’s writing skills.

This is the fourth book in the fantastic THIEF historical fantasy series, but the first one in which Eugenides isn’t front and center, and Gen is sadly missed by both me and the main character, Sophos. Still, it’s an interesting and thoughtful tale with (of course) a few great twists up its sleeves.Sophos, a young man in the royal family of Sounis, is unexpectedly attacked in his villa, along with his family. He’s able to evade his attackers, but one thing leads to another and Sophos ends up being sold into slavery, which is at least better than being murdered. It’s a rough adjustment for the once-soft young man, though he’s actually happier without the pressures and expectations of royal life. Gradually he’s able to make friends among the slaves and finds himself reasonably contented with his new life. But life, or fate, or the gods, have more in mind for Sophos.It’s a solid coming-of-age story in an Ancient Greece-like setting. This one’s a soft 4 stars for me, but overall this is an amazingly good series that shouldn’t be missed.

Buddy Read with some series fanatics at Buddies Books & Baubles Every once and awhile I like to jump into some Middle Grade reading. They can be a lot of fun and full of great stories that I don’t have to really focus completely on to enjoy as an adult. This is one of those MG stories that I’ve read and thought I really would love it if this was an Adult Fantasy instead. It is written mostly about adults or young adults becoming more than they thought they could be, but I would have loved a more in depth adult version of this story just for the character interactions. All my life they had made choices for me, and I had resented it. Now the choice was mine, and once it was made, I would have no right to blame anyone else for the consequences. Loss of that privilege, to blame others, unexpectedly stung Sophos is the heir of Sounis and has known that his entire life. He has never wanted to be king, in fact he always believed he’d be happier as a poet or scholar. Sophos has been a disappointment to both his uncle the current King of Sounis and father most of his life. He has done all he can not to be heirlike for as long as he has been alive with small personal rebellions. But that was before, before the current king died and before the rebels stole him from his home intending to make him a puppet king. ”A lamb, they said. No more trouble than snatching up a little lamb.” But Sophos has spent time with the King of Attolia, the former Thief of Eddis and he is not so easy to puppet and will channel all the monarchs he has known to be able to thwart the plans they have in store for him.Even though this story focuses on Sophos I was so glad to see how Gen contributed to the story and how much he has taught and is teaching Sophos, even when Sophos isn’t aware that is what he is doing. Gen is still sneaky that way, you never really know what game he is playing. Even when Gen pretends to be weak he is still strong and plotting something extraordinary. I love the relationship between Gen and Sophos even though they are both Kings of different countries they care for each other greatly. Eddis did not say what she was thinking: that Sophos held Gen’s heart in his hand, that he was one of very few people who could destroy the king of Attolia, and that Attolia knew it. But beyond watching Sophos come into his own as a man and a king who is fighting to regain the reigns of his country I really liked the budding love story between Eddis and Sophos. How they had to figure out how to be the monarchs they are and still find a way to create a happy union between their two kingdoms. The romance is very subdued because of the Middle Gradeness of the story but it was still tender and sweet in spots.Overall The King Of Attolia was my favorite book of this series so far but I did enjoy this one nearly as much and look forward to what the next book in the story could be about.

God, I love this series.I think this is the weakest (so far, I still haven't read book 5), but that might also be because it's contrasted with what is, in my opinion, the strongest book in the series (A Conspiracy of Kings. This is told as from a new perspective, which once again reinvigorates the series. Whalen Turner is such a master at expanding her world without losing control of it, as is often the case with fantasy books. Honestly, I don't know what can be said about this series that hasn't already been said. It's just so good. GET TO IT ALREADY!!!!

There is nothing quite like a Megan Whalen Turner book. Her writing is so clear and lovely, and yet so different . . . they aren't historical fiction or fantasy . . . they just ARE. And this was no exception. Beautifully written, tense, funny, romantic, all good things. If you haven't discovered this series yet, you MUST read THE THIEF, and go on from there. Such a treat!Reread 2021: Rereading these in one go has really helped me follow the court intrigues much more closely, and I am loving it!

I figured we should start the new year out right. And what better way to do that than with a review of what is quite possibly my most anticipated title of 2010? Thanks to my lovely book fairy and the benevolent folks at Greenwillow, I was the giddy recipient of a coveted ARC of Megan Whalen Turner's upcoming A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS. For those not in the know, this is the fourth novel in the spectacular Queen's Thief series. The series that effectively robbed me of the ability to form coherent thoughts and/or sentences last February. The series that cast a complete spell over me and whose praises I have felt compelled to sing ever since. The series Ana and I had more than one spontaneous Twitter lovefest over. The series that was, hands down, my best discovery of 2009. So. Here we go.Sophos has had it rough since parting ways with his old friend Gen after the adventures of The Thief and their narrow escape from the Queen of Attolia's dungeon. In fact, things have gone rather downhill from there for the reluctant heir to the throne of Sounis. Having once again disappointed his father by preferring poetry and philosophy to politics and strategy, Sophos finds himself tutorless and packed off home in disgrace. But when an unidentified armed force storms his family's estate, his mother and sisters disappear and Sophos himself is abducted and sold into slavery. And suddenly the choice of whether or not to take up the mantle of his responsibilities is taken out of his hands and he is able to exist in blissful anonymity, doing manual labor building walls during the day and entertaining his fellow laborers with epic poems and tales around the fire at night. But life will not hold still for Sophos and even he can't fool himself into believing he can watch his country tear itself apart and not want to fight to save it. And so he chooses to fight and to step into the role he's been dreading his whole life. And when it comes to intrigue and subterfuge and playing a part, Sophos knows just the person he can call on.There is nothing like reading a Megan Whalen Turner book. I mean nothing. You open the book to that first page and you just feel so at peace. Don't get me wrong, you're filled with an almost unbearable paroxysm of anticipation, joy, and anxiety on behalf of these characters you've come to care about so much it's almost a surprise to remember they're not real and you've never met. But you feel at peace, secure in the knowledge that everything is going to play out so beautifully, so perfectly, so achingly subtle, that there's no fear on your part. It's an unmatched reading experience and one to be treasured and taken out on cold nights and experienced all over again. I knew I was going to fall in love with Sophos in this volume. He was clearly so full of potential in book one, a few tantalizing hints here and there, and then he disappeared so utterly that I knew when he did come back, he would come back with a vengeance. And so he does. And so does Gen. And they're all four there in their Sounisian, Eddisian, and Attolian individuality and awesomeness and I quite honestly found it difficult not to stand up and applaud after reading each scene where they're talking or plotting or just sending each other meaningful glances and thinly veiled threats. Which, of course, is kind of every five pages or so. And I tried, I tried to stay on top of things, marking who was scheming what and which hidden motivations belonged to whom. And still, still they all surprised me! Which, of course, is exactly the way I hoped it would be. And the ending? The ending is perfect. The kind of perfect that makes me smile and clasp the book to my chest. I fretted over which bit to quote for you here. I couldn't not select just one passage to give you a glimpse into what we're dealing with here with Sophos. And so I chose a small scene fairly early on that contains no spoilers except, perhaps, for The Thief. So if you haven't read the first book, definitely skip this bit, which is taken from the uncorrected ARC. Otherwise, enjoy. When we were adventuring after Hamiathes's Gift, I had watched the magus beat Eugenides. We'd thought he was no more than a common thief named Gen from Sounis's gutters, and had listened to him whine and complain for days. When food was missing, it was easy to blame him. The magus used a riding crop on his back, and holy sacrificial lambs, Gen had come up off the ground like he'd been catapulted. It was as if he was a different person, some stranger who'd manifested in Gen's body. He'd dumped Pol flat onto his back--something I never thought I'd see--and gone for the magus. If Pol hadn't been up again so quickly, the magus was ready to run and dignity be damned. Even with Pol between him and Gen, the magus had been wary. I thought later that this was the real Gen revealed, the person who'd been hiding behind a screen of complaints and needling humor. But I spent whole days with Eugenides after our adventures, and that Eugenides was exactly the Gen I had traveled with. Maybe I don't know which Gen is real. But I know there was nothing feigned about his emotions after he had been beaten. Where, I wondered, was my wounded pride? Where was my outrage? My self-respect? Nowhere, it seemed. My back hurt. I lay there on my pallet, hoping it would improve soon and wondering, in a distant, unreproachful sort of way, if I was any kind of man at all and decided that I probably wasn't.Oh, Sophos. You are so earnest and self-deprecating and you have a good heart. I loved making this journey with you.A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS is due out March 23rd.

This 4th book in Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series was not quite as good as the excellent third instalment of the series but it was still an enjoyable and worthwhile read in its own right. Like the rest of the books in this series this was an intelligent YA fantasy with a heavy focus on characters and intrigue. I liked the fact that this book told the story of Sophos, the heir of Sounis, who went missing in the third book in the series. I always liked the character so was delighted we finally got his story and ended up mostly happy with the way it played out. Turner always does an excellent job with the plots of these books and I love how even seemingly throwaway scenes always end up having some sort of significance! If this book had a flaw it was in the set up. A lot of this was Sophos telling his own story, which was good because it gave us his tale from his POV, but it was also an issue as the set-up of it meant we had two phases of the story where Sophos was telling someone his story. That flashback set-up killed a bit of the tension since we knew where Sophos ended up by the end of both parts of the story! I'd have preferred just a straight chronological tale from the point of view of Sophos as I feel like that would have added more tension and uncertainty to the tale. I love first person POV but am not keen on flashbacks as a storytelling tool as it almost always kills the tension. This story was enjoyable despite the fact that the set up hindered it a bit. As always some of the things the characters did annoyed me but by the time we reached the end of the tale I was left mostly satisfied as we eventually learned why the characters made the choices they did over the course of the story. The one other thing that annoyed me was Turner using time Sophos spent as a slave as a way to show he was enjoying a break from the life of the pressures and responsibilities of being the King's heir. I've had moments like this happen in a few of my books in the last year or two and it always annoys me and leaves me feeling the author comes from a privileged background and is completely detached from the true realities of a life of poverty and hardship. There are better ways to show a character is enjoying a break from the pressure of their old lives than painting slavery or homelessness as a fun break! I seems I've wrote a lot of negatives in this review but the weird thing is I was mostly happy with the story and did quite enjoy it. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.Rating: 3.5 stars. I'm rounding up as it was close to getting 4 stars anyway.Audio Note: As always Jeff Woodman did a great job with the audio. Pity he was not retained to read the rest of the books in the series as he always does an excellent job.

I am happy to say that A Conspiracy of Kings absolutely lives up to the promise of Megan Whalen Turner's earlier books. I felt confident that it would be a good story, but it even exceeded my wildest expectations of just how good it would be.No worries, I am not going to spoil this book in my review. I would sooner cut off my hand than spoil it for anyone. I will say, however, that the summary in the HarperCollins catalog is slightly misleading. There's so much more to this story than just the question of What Has Sophos Been Up To, gloriously so. There's the usual rich background, diverse cast of characters, byzantine political machinations (but they never get boring, and from someone as infamously apolitical as myself, that's saying something), flashes of wry humor, and unexpected wrenches at the heart. It's subtle and clever and outrageous and surprising and touching and thought-provoking, and all the things I've come to expect from Ms. Turner's writing -- plus some.And it made me love Sophos -- who never really made it onto my radar in The Thief, being so eclipsed in that book by the irrepressible Gen -- more than I ever imagined possible.I can't wait until April when everybody else can read this book. I don't want to overhype it (oh yeah, like I haven't already) to people who haven't read the series, because I am sure there will be readers out there (as with any book however brilliant) who don't connect to the story and the characters the way that I do. But I do feel confident in saying that if you have read the earlier books and are already a fan, A Conspiracy of Kings will definitely not let you down.

Original Review HEREI discovered the Queen’s Thief series last year and fell irrevocably in love with it – suffice to say that in a scale between 1 and 10 of book awesomeness, they are certainly … 11. A Conspiracy of Kings ,the fourth book in the series was easily my most anticipated read of 2010 , one which I waited for with fervour and passion hoping for another perfectly excellent read from Megan Whalen Turner. It is with the utmost enthusiasm that I report that yes, this is another GREAT ONE. The prologue alone, made me want to cry with happiness. I read it and I said to myself: YES, This. This is what I was waiting for.Before I go any further though, rest assured that I shan’t be spoiling this book or any other book in the series – these need to be read without the reader being spoiled for their surprises – but there will be some minor spoilers for book 1, The Thief. Overall though, this review will be more of an overlook of the book and its themes than an in-depth look at the details of plot for example (because again, this needs to remain unspoiled) .____________I will just start by saying: A Conspiracy of Kings is Sophos’ book. And I mean it: it is his book, his coming of age story, his story to tell. This means that Eugenides, the awesome, incredible protagonist of the other three books, is not as present as I am sure, most readers hoped for. This does not mean that he doesn’t have a central, important role, because he does. But he is a co-pilot to Sophos’ journey.Sophos, the reluctant heir to the kingdom of Sounis first appeared in The Thief and became Gen’s friend, only to disappear during the events of The Queen of Attolia . In this instalment we learn what has happened to Sophos, how he goes from a poetry-loving boy, to slave, to King and what does exactly his journey does to him, and what being the new Sounis means to the neighbouring countries of Attolia and Eddis.This is above all, a story about identity. Sophos could not be more different from Eugenides. He is as self-deprecating and self-doubting as Eugenides is daring and reckless. His journey to becoming a worthy King is not without hardship and heartbreak. It is about roles one has to play, about finding out who is friend and who is foe, how much you can rely on people, if you can really rely on them. Sophos has to make many difficult choices and once they are done, there is no turning back.Once he becomes Sounis, he is in an impossible situation – his country is nearly lost and to get it back is no easy task.When I reviewed the first three books in the series, I said that Eugenides stole several things throughout the books: a gift; a man; a woman; peace; a kingdom. This time around, Eugenides does something he’s never done before – he helps two other people to steal what they need. One character needs his country back and another needs her people’s safety and by helping them achieving that, Gen also aids them stealing each other’s hearts and finally, he aids his own side. If that is not another masterful plan, I don’t know what is.The fact that he does all that without even being in most pages, just proves to me what an amazing writer MWT is. She could have easily written another book with Eugenides as the protagonist, at the centre of the story, to appease and satisfy fans. But instead of being comfortable, she just takes a step further, distancing herself from her main, most beloved character to tell someone else’s story. That is a ballsy move and one that pays off. Nothing tells more of the growth of a writer than the attempt at doing something new and different. Even though I did miss Eugenides, I loved this mature, wonderful book for what it was and I cannot wish for something different when what I got was this heart-warming story.The fact that the protagonist is so different does not mean that the same quality of writing, the same amazing storytelling skills that include twists and subterfuge and all the subtle yet passionate feelings one can have for friends and loved ones are not present. They are. There are amazing romantic scenes in this book to rival those in Queen’s. It is in the narrative itself, it is in the way one friend holds the hand of another for example. And a letter that is rushed to be delivered and yet is never displayed to the reader’s eyes because it is so intimate. If you read the other books in the series you know who is Sophos’ lady and you also know what to expect from MWT when it comes to romance.Furthermore, in this book, MWT combines the two narrative modes that she so expertly mastered in the previous books as the story is half told in first person by Sophos and half in third person by an overseeing narrator. And the way the two narratives are woven together is amazing. Oh, and then there is this one moment when the reader realises what the author is doing, and whom to and why (oh, the why, it is so important) Sophos is narrating his story, that a-ha moment, it is awesome. As per usual.Character wise, the book is about identity but plot-wise A conspiracy of Kings is a very political book, in the vein of Queen of Attolia .The story has reached a point where the three countries must make hard choices or succumb to invasion to the Mede. It is a hard reality to appreciate and to endure especially because who these kings and queens are. But the end game is this: what exactly these three countries must do to ensure they remain Sounis, Eddis and Attolia. One of them does come out as the apparent winner and sovereign, but because I know and love that person so much, I am also sure of the reasons behind the intricate game that is played. I also know much will it cost the other two rulers to live up to what they must do.In the end, Sophos grows up and becomes a man. Granted, a man who is still capable of making an ass of himself (and the scene where he lays it all out, about what it means to know one can be stupid is so amazing and heart-warming) but still someone who is loyal and astute and can make decisions at the time of need.He also grew on me and I found a place in my heart for this character – that same heart that has been stolen by the Thief and remains his. The last pages of the book are of a perfection that I hardly ever see and which made me hug the book and beg for more, please.

The King of Attolia is still my favorite of the series, but this book is perfection.

On re-reading this, I'm not changing my star rating, because even though I liked it better this time, this book lacks the complexity of the earlier ones in the series. It's still very good. Sophos, who in The Thief was slightly gormless and in need of a spine, begins the story in much the same position: he loves to read, he's bad at sword fighting, and as his uncle's heir he knows he's pretty much just a placeholder until his uncle gets around to producing an heir of his body. But he's clever, and funny, and it's hard not to like him. When the action gets going, Sophos discovers there's more to him than just the poetry-loving placeholder he's been raised to be (despite his father's efforts to turn him into a martial man).I'm fond of the narrative conceit here, in which two major sections are Sophos telling his story to someone else (is this a spoiler? (view spoiler)[We don't learn he's talking to Eddis until nearly the end of the first section (hide spoiler)]) and the rest are a more traditional narrative. Sophos has an engaging voice, and despite my slight irritation at how long he spends sidelined in the beginning (view spoiler)[I realize his time as a slave made him grow, but it felt like it went on too long (hide spoiler)] I liked his take on things, particularly when I compared it to Gen's narrative in The Thief. There's some switching of viewpoints in the other sections, and I'm so impressed with how well Megan Whalen Turner knows what scenes should be told from what viewpoints. The brief scenes from Eddis's POV are particularly effective.The rest will go into spoiler territory: (view spoiler)[The fact that Eugenides is working toward becoming king over all three countries is both exciting and disturbing. It's been said all along that the Medes will eventually attack, and if Attolia, Sounis, and Eddis aren't unified to a degree, they will all be overwhelmed. But Sophos swearing allegiance to Eugenides as Attolis, even if he maintains sovereignty to a degree, still leaves me uncomfortable, and I'm not sure why. It might just be that I don't know that their friendship really could be maintained under those circumstances, despite the final scene. It might be that I'm still stuck on how very much Eugenides didn't want to be king, and this shows how well he's fallen into that role. And with Eddis having to swear to him as well in order for her to marry Sophos...it is interesting that Gen seems to have the same relationship to Attolia (the country) as he does to Sounis (the country), in that Irene does a lot of the ruling. Gen as annux has some interesting possibilities. (hide spoiler)]Overall, though, I love the ending, I love the gifts Irene and Gen give Sophos, and I love how he resolves his difficulty with regard to being king in his own right. Moving on to the next book!