No Waiting Required

By DAPHNE LEE

From Tots to Teens, StarMag

DON'T you love it when you "discover" a series that has already been written and published? If you love the first book, the second, third and so on are ready to be  read. No waiting until the author completes the next instalment, and then for the paperback edition to be released (I'm cheap that way - I only buy hardbacks if they're remaindered or hugely discounted).

There have been times when a publisher or distributor gives me a review copy of the first book in a series but the other books, when they're published, are not sent for review and I've been (once again) too cheap to buy them. Or, I forget to look out for the sequels. That happened with Hilari Bell's Shield, Sword, and Crown trilogy. I enjoyed Shield of Stars (2007), but missed the release of Sword of Waters (2008). Crown of Earth (2009) was released this October.

Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games was so good that waiting for the sequel, Catching Fire, was sheer agony. And now that it's been published and I've read it, I have to wait until sometime next year (so I've heard) to read the final book in the trilogy. Woe is me!

Recently, my friend, Kit (the best book merchandiser in the universe) introduced me to Megan Whalen Turner's The Queen's Thief series. Three books are available (The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia) and a fourth (A Conspiracy of Kings) is due out in 2010. The books are mainly about the intrigues of royal courts of three neighbouring countries - Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia.

In the The Thief, a thief called Gen is taken from his jail cell by the magus of the King of Sounis. The magus wants Gen (who boasts that he can steal anything) to help find Hamiathes’s Gift, a stone of legend, said to be the gift of a goddess. According to tradition, he who owns the stone has the right to rule over Eddis. The magus wishes to use the stone to force the present Queen of Eddis into a political marriage with Sounis.

It's impossible to describe what happens in the second and third books without giving away The Thief's very surprising ending. Suffice to say that Megan Whalen Turner's characters are extremely complex and take a great many chapters (sometimes the whole book, sometimes nearly three whole books) to reveal themselves. What I really like is how I have mixed feelings about almost all of them. One moment they are annoying, cowardly or downright despicable. Them several chapters on, they provoke amusement, admiration and sympathy. At the end of The King of Attolia, you realise that these are some of the most fully fleshed-out characters ever created.

Plotwise, the unexpected happens at every turn and the unexpected is frequently painful, violent and dark. However, there are also moments of hilarity and beauty. I could have done without some of the rather sentimental scenes in the third book, but have to admit that they were necessary to the story.

Turner's description of the countries of Sounis, Eddis and Attolia, and their culture, religion and architecture bring to mind ancient Greece. However, as the author says, the presence of watches, window panes, cannons and telescopes place the story in the more modern era.

The worship of various Gods, and stories of their exploits are like the Roman and Greek myths we know. Turner has her characters tell some of the stories, and the  attitudes of the storytellers as well as the reaction of the listerners are very revealing of their personalities and background.

It seems that there is no end to the good books (old and new) out there - how comforting to know that I'll never run short of reading material. If you know of a series that you think I simply must read, do email the titles to me. Who knows, your recommendations may appear on this page!