''A Conspiracy of Kings'' is a young adult fantasy novel by
Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books
imprint
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of HarperCollins in 2010. It is the fourth novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with ''
The Thief'' in 1996.
[
The first five chapters were released on the HarperCollins Children's Books site for previewing purposes. ''A Conspiracy of Kings'' (preview, chapters 1-5)]
Harper Collins Children's Books.
The
trade paper edition of August 2011 appends to the novel an original Queen's Thief short story, "Destruction", and several nonfiction items.
[
]
Setting
The books are set in a Byzantine-like imaginary landscape, reminiscent of ancient Greece and other territories around the Mediterranean. The action takes place in the countries of Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis. The characters' names are Greek, and references are made to actual Greek authors, but this is fantasy, not historical fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
. The gods of Turner's pantheon, ruled by the Great Goddess Hephestia, are her own, and her world possesses such items as guns and pocket watches.
Plot
Sophos, the Magus's once studious young protégé
Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
, finds himself out of his element as his family is ambushed in their villa in Sounis. Sophos at first succeeds in evading capture and hiding his mother and sisters, but is betrayed by the servants. Mistakenly sold into slavery, he finds himself content with manual labor and forms a camaraderie with the other slaves. However, when faced with a choice between a life of contentment or influence, he chooses the latter.
After a harrowing escape from the Baron who owned him, Sophos inherits the throne of Sounis. Not only is his country deadlocked in war with Attolia, it is also torn by a civil war. With neither the monetary resources nor manpower to secure his throne, Sophos is faced with several options, each with heavy consequences. Aided by the Magus, he turns to his old friend Eugenides, the former Thief of Eddis, with whom Sophos traveled years before and who is now the King of Attolia.
Queen's Thief series
* 1996 '' The Thief''
* 2000 ''The Queen of Attolia
''The Queen of Attolia'' is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint of William Morrow in 2000 (later, of HarperCollins). It is the second novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugu ...
''
* 2006 ''The King of Attolia
''The King of Attolia'' is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint of HarperCollins in 2006. It is the third novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with '' The Thief'' in 19 ...
''
* 2010 ''A Conspiracy of Kings''
* 2017 '' Thick as Thieves''
* 2020 ''Return of the Thief''
References
External links
Megan Whalen Turner
(official)
Sounis fan discussion of the series
at LiveJournal
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conspiracy Of Kings, A
2010 American novels
Young adult fantasy novels
American fantasy novels
American young adult novels
2010 fantasy novels
Novels about theft
Greenwillow Books books