Thick as Thieves (Turner novel)


Thick as Thieves is a 2017 young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner, published by Greenwillow Books. It is the fifth novel in the Queen's Thief series that Turner began with The Thief in 1996.

Setting

The novel is set in the fictional Mede Empire, a large domain that plots to swallow up the nearby countries of Attolia and Sounis.

Background

The novel was originally intended to be part of The King of Attolia. However, Turner decided it would be too long and wrote it as a separate book. According to Turner, Thick as Thieves was inspired by The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. Unlike in the original novel, Turner wanted to have the story told from the perspective of the slave character.

Plot summary

The book picks up after the events of The Queen of Attolia when the Medes failed to establish the Queen of Attolia as a puppet ruler. Nahuseresh, the Medean ambassador to Attolia, and his slave Kamet were forced to flee the country after the botched invasion. Due to his failure in Attolia, Nahuseresh has fallen out of favor with his powerful brother, the heir to the Medean throne.
As the secretary and slave to Nahuseresh, Kamet has the ambition and means of becoming one of the most powerful people in the Empire. However, after angering his master, Kamet is offered a risky opportunity escape slavery by a mysterious foreigner claiming he was sent by the King of Attolia. Kamet is reluctant to leave his prestigious position as head secretary to Nahuseresh, but when his fellow slave Laela warns him that their master has been poisoned, he believes left with little choice if he wants to live. Fleeing with the Attolian soldier across the desert, they must avoid the emperor's soldiers and Kamet must somehow prevent Costis from finding out that Nahuseresh is dead.