Scan barcode
A review by jackiehorne
A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
3.0
The book opens with a brief prologue in which two men appear to be on the verge of launching an assassination attempt against the King and/or Queen of Attolia. But when the weapon of choice turns out to be a pea-shooter, we realize that not is all it appears, the typical Turner plot twist. The shooter is Sophos, fleeing from imprisonment and civil war in Sounis, hoping to gain his friend Gen's support. Sophos and the magus are taken into custody, but Gen soon rescues them. But the news that Sophos's uncle had died, and that Sophos is now the ruler of Sounis, upsets Gen. The prologue is told in the third person, but not focalized through any one character.
The book then unfolds in four sections, switching point of view in a strange manner. The first section is an extended flashback, told in the person person by Sophos, relating his capture and enslavement at the hands of a rebel baron to an unnamed "you." While he mourns for a mother and sisters he believes have died in the attack, Sophos finds his situation strangely appealing; with no burdens he can't meet placed upon him, and the wary respect granted him by his fellow slaves and workers for his reputation as a "man-killer" and his storytelling abilities, Sophos is at peace for one of the first times in his life. The section ends by relating the events that lead Sophos to move away from his safe life as a slave, and his flight when he discovers that Sounis is dead and the Mede wish to make him a puppet ruler for their control. I wondered why Turner chose first person here -- the amusement of discovering who Sophos has been telling his story to isn't that great, and the first person, oddly enough, makes for a less than compelling plot. Sophos tells rather than shows what happens, just as he would if he were telling events to a friend, which gives the telling a distanced feeling, without the immediacy that a more novelistic telling would have achieved. Also, paradoxically, while I wanted less distance in the storytelling, I wanted more distance from Sophos and his emotional life than the first person could give. Sophos's embrace of the slave life isn't that heroic, and I think the third person would have allowed me to have more sympathy for him than the first person did. And enough about how you're not Gen, you can't do what Gen can -- yes, Gen is amazing, but Sophos can be interested in his own, different way; he doesn't have to be a Gen wannabe...
The next section shifts to third person. We're at the court of Attolia, where Sophos is discovering that Gen his thieving friend is far different than Gen the King of Attolia. Lots of political machinations here as the Attolian leaders force Sophos to surrender to them and pledge allegiance to the king. Also, we meet Eddis again, and the romance between Sophos and Eddis advances a bit. They agree to talk more about marriage after Sophos returns to Sounis to regain his country, with the help of a very small contingent of Attolian and Eddisian soldiers.
The third section switches again to Sophos's first person narration of events once he returns to Sounis. Captured almost immediately by a baron and the Mede ambassador, who hope to set him up as their puppet, or at least install a puppet regent over him, Sophos appears to be at their mercy. But after weeks pass, and the barons meet to decide who will rule, Sophos, taking advice from Attolia, kills his main rebel rival and wounds the Mede ambassador, forcing the barons to declare him ruler. More battles ensue, but with the arrival of additional troops from Attolia, Sounis and his forces kick the Mede out of the Peninsula once again.
In the final section, Sophos, weirdly, leaves his rather unstable kingdom for Eddis, then Attolia -- you'd think that after just quashing a rebellion, a king wouldn't leave the country so soon! But the marriage plot still needs to be resolved, so off Sophos goes. He and Eddis agree to marry, but when the still-innocent Sophos delightedly informs Gen and Attolia, they tell him that since he has pledged himself to Attolis, Attolis has the right to approve his marriage. And unless Eddis will also subject herself to Attolia, then such approval will not be forthcoming. Sophos and Eddis argue, and Sophos pisses Eddis off by telling her what she as a queen will and won't do. But then he admits his mistake, and they reconcile. All ends well, with everyone friends, but with the Mede still lurking on the horizon, will another volume follow?
Given how much I LOVE books 2 and 3 in this series, it's not surprising that this one didn't live up to my very high expectations. Not for the reason one might expect, though -- not because the book focuses on Sophos rather than Gen. I like Sophos, and wanted to hear his story, how he would function as a ruler with a personality so different from that of Gen's and Attolia's. But I found myself wanting more, or something different, on almost every front. I wanted a more intriguing plot; I wanted more surprises; I wanted a more active Eddis; I wanted more of a sense that Sophos was changing and growing; I wanted Sophos not to be just the dupe of Gen. I was also dissatisfied by the point of view changes (as mentioned above).
Finally, I found myself torn about the way that Sophos comes into his power -- granted, the world Turner writes about is not our modern globalized world, but to encourage readers to buy into an ideology that says "I know best, so I have the right to enforce my will through violence" strikes me as problematic. Somehow, I found this message less troubling when applied to Attolia in book 2, perhaps because I thought it was an isolated case. But if it is a general policy, I find myself more wary...
Looking forward to hearing what others think...
And at least Sophos didn't have to marry Berrone!
The book then unfolds in four sections, switching point of view in a strange manner. The first section is an extended flashback, told in the person person by Sophos, relating his capture and enslavement at the hands of a rebel baron to an unnamed "you." While he mourns for a mother and sisters he believes have died in the attack, Sophos finds his situation strangely appealing; with no burdens he can't meet placed upon him, and the wary respect granted him by his fellow slaves and workers for his reputation as a "man-killer" and his storytelling abilities, Sophos is at peace for one of the first times in his life. The section ends by relating the events that lead Sophos to move away from his safe life as a slave, and his flight when he discovers that Sounis is dead and the Mede wish to make him a puppet ruler for their control. I wondered why Turner chose first person here -- the amusement of discovering who Sophos has been telling his story to isn't that great, and the first person, oddly enough, makes for a less than compelling plot. Sophos tells rather than shows what happens, just as he would if he were telling events to a friend, which gives the telling a distanced feeling, without the immediacy that a more novelistic telling would have achieved. Also, paradoxically, while I wanted less distance in the storytelling, I wanted more distance from Sophos and his emotional life than the first person could give. Sophos's embrace of the slave life isn't that heroic, and I think the third person would have allowed me to have more sympathy for him than the first person did. And enough about how you're not Gen, you can't do what Gen can -- yes, Gen is amazing, but Sophos can be interested in his own, different way; he doesn't have to be a Gen wannabe...
The next section shifts to third person. We're at the court of Attolia, where Sophos is discovering that Gen his thieving friend is far different than Gen the King of Attolia. Lots of political machinations here as the Attolian leaders force Sophos to surrender to them and pledge allegiance to the king. Also, we meet Eddis again, and the romance between Sophos and Eddis advances a bit. They agree to talk more about marriage after Sophos returns to Sounis to regain his country, with the help of a very small contingent of Attolian and Eddisian soldiers.
The third section switches again to Sophos's first person narration of events once he returns to Sounis. Captured almost immediately by a baron and the Mede ambassador, who hope to set him up as their puppet, or at least install a puppet regent over him, Sophos appears to be at their mercy. But after weeks pass, and the barons meet to decide who will rule, Sophos, taking advice from Attolia, kills his main rebel rival and wounds the Mede ambassador, forcing the barons to declare him ruler. More battles ensue, but with the arrival of additional troops from Attolia, Sounis and his forces kick the Mede out of the Peninsula once again.
In the final section, Sophos, weirdly, leaves his rather unstable kingdom for Eddis, then Attolia -- you'd think that after just quashing a rebellion, a king wouldn't leave the country so soon! But the marriage plot still needs to be resolved, so off Sophos goes. He and Eddis agree to marry, but when the still-innocent Sophos delightedly informs Gen and Attolia, they tell him that since he has pledged himself to Attolis, Attolis has the right to approve his marriage. And unless Eddis will also subject herself to Attolia, then such approval will not be forthcoming. Sophos and Eddis argue, and Sophos pisses Eddis off by telling her what she as a queen will and won't do. But then he admits his mistake, and they reconcile. All ends well, with everyone friends, but with the Mede still lurking on the horizon, will another volume follow?
Given how much I LOVE books 2 and 3 in this series, it's not surprising that this one didn't live up to my very high expectations. Not for the reason one might expect, though -- not because the book focuses on Sophos rather than Gen. I like Sophos, and wanted to hear his story, how he would function as a ruler with a personality so different from that of Gen's and Attolia's. But I found myself wanting more, or something different, on almost every front. I wanted a more intriguing plot; I wanted more surprises; I wanted a more active Eddis; I wanted more of a sense that Sophos was changing and growing; I wanted Sophos not to be just the dupe of Gen. I was also dissatisfied by the point of view changes (as mentioned above).
Finally, I found myself torn about the way that Sophos comes into his power -- granted, the world Turner writes about is not our modern globalized world, but to encourage readers to buy into an ideology that says "I know best, so I have the right to enforce my will through violence" strikes me as problematic. Somehow, I found this message less troubling when applied to Attolia in book 2, perhaps because I thought it was an isolated case. But if it is a general policy, I find myself more wary...
Looking forward to hearing what others think...
And at least Sophos didn't have to marry Berrone!