REVIEW: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

I heard people rave about The Thief for years, and I kept meaning to read it, really. But I got it out of the library once or twice, read the first few pages, and just wasn't feeling it. I finally decided that that was ridiculous, that this time I was pushing through no matter what - it's just over 200 pages! - and let me tell you, I am so glad I did. Its slightly slow beginning notwithstanding, this is an astounding novel. It's about a thief named Gen who is taken out of prison to go on an Epic Quest with the king's magus to steal something on behalf of the king . . . and actually, I'm going to stop there. I thought the book had slightly less of an impact than it otherwise might have just because of some things I'd read in reviews, so I don't want to risk ruining that for anyone else. Let me just say that the writing was lovely, the plot was impressively well-constructed, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.