Scan barcode
A review by ajparmentier
Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a fantastic wrap-up to the series. It's split into two "books", the first is much more similar in style and scope to the previous books, the second half is more keyed into wrapping up the whole series, though the two halves are still unified. I love Pheris. It was amazing seeing how a lot of the plot wrapped up and the themes and myths came back. It was a lot darker in tone, though it still had plenty of humor, and was quite emotional. It's written from a historian's perspective, so while it is the last book it is also probably the clearest look we have at all the characters and events of the past books. So much happened, I can't wait to go back and reread this book and the previous books to put the puzzles together.
There are a few things I do wish were different. I wish MWT was just a little more explicit about her queer ships. I don't think they're quite subtext, and certainly I think the one in this book is the most explicit she's been, but comparing the language she uses to talk about the heterosexual couples, it's just a little disappointing that she continues to use the word "friend" to describe the m/m couples, usually. (yes I know she finally used "lover" in this book, though she did still do it in a roundabout way.) I also wish in the later half of the book that Pheris wouldn't let himself bleed into the background in the narration quite so much. In the first half of the book it felt like he was there but just observing, whereas the second half felt like more of it was just a general 3rd person POV. Also there are some loose ends I wish she would've wrapped up, but hopefully she'll have some short stories about those characters and threads, since their inclusion wasn't really necessary to the ending of the book.
There are a few things I do wish were different. I wish MWT was just a little more explicit about her queer ships. I don't think they're quite subtext, and certainly I think the one in this book is the most explicit she's been, but comparing the language she uses to talk about the heterosexual couples, it's just a little disappointing that she continues to use the word "friend" to describe the m/m couples, usually. (yes I know she finally used "lover" in this book, though she did still do it in a roundabout way.) I also wish in the later half of the book that Pheris wouldn't let himself bleed into the background in the narration quite so much. In the first half of the book it felt like he was there but just observing, whereas the second half felt like more of it was just a general 3rd person POV. Also there are some loose ends I wish she would've wrapped up, but hopefully she'll have some short stories about those characters and threads, since their inclusion wasn't really necessary to the ending of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Miscarriage