A Conspiracy of Kings

A Conspiracy of Kings is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by the Greenwillow Books imprint of HarperCollins in 2010. It is the fourth novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner inaugurated with The Thief in 1996.[1]

A Conspiracy of Kings
First edition cover[1]
AuthorMegan Whalen Turner
Cover artistVince Natale[1]
CountryUnited States
SeriesQueen's Thief[1]
GenreYoung-adult fantasy, political fiction
PublisherGreenwillow Books/ HarperCollins[1]
Publication date
March 2010
Media typePrint (hardcover), e-book
Pages316 (print)[1][2]
ISBN0-06-187095-1
OCLC419854908
LC ClassPZ7.T85565 Co 2010[2]
Preceded byThe King of Attolia 
Followed byThick as Thieves 

The first five chapters were released on the HarperCollins Children's Books site for previewing purposes.[3]

The trade paper edition of August 2011 appends to the novel an original Queen's Thief short story, "Destruction", and several nonfiction items.[1]

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. 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.[4]

Plot

Sophos, the Magus's once studious young protégé, 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.[4]

Queen's Thief series

References
  1. A Conspiracy of Kings title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2015-11-02. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
  2. " (first edition). LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  3. A Conspiracy of Kings (preview, chapters 1-5). Harper Collins Children's Books.
  4. Turner, Megan Whalen (23 March 2010). A Conspiracy of Kings. New York, NY, USA: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins). ISBN 978-0-06-187095-8.
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