i like The Thief. 
 i've always love fantasy books, more so if there are kings and queens. so i was set on loving this book. 
 unfortunately, i can hardly see what made The Thief an award-winning book. well... until i reached the last few chapters of it. and i meant it - LAST. FEW. CHAPTERS. 
 i liked that the opening scene is with Gen already locked up in prison for bragging about stealing the King's... ??? gosh, even that i can't remember! so he ended up in the dungeon cells for quite some time. 
 when the Magus (advisor to the king) approached him offering freedom (sort of) in exchange of stealing something, Gen is more than happy to oblige. though he did not trust the Magus, the opportunity gave him to escape the prison walls. 
 together with the Magus and his apprentices (plus a bodyguard), Gen was more than dragged to an adventure he never dare to dreamed would be real. 
 3/4 of the book - slow. slow slow. 
 all did it for me was to help me keep on turning the pages so i can be rewarded with the slimmest of adventure the book promised me with. 
 Gen was the typical criminal. hates the Sounis King. hates the Magus. but i want to credit him for his dark humor. snippets of his wits and humor are given by the author and for that, i like him. 
 At the end, Gen was revealed in his true nature. the thing i loved the most about him is this: his replusion to killing. he'd rather steal than kill. no matter if he is only defending himself, he hated the act of killing. but that doesn't mean he can't fight. and ooh, he was very deceitful on that! i love that twist. 
 I was determined to hate the Magus, but as the story progresses, that hate turned into admiration. then awe. then acceptance. his character is what intrigued me the most. 
 After trudging the boredom that was almost three quarters of the book, i still think it's worth the read. The revelations of how and why things were, of who the people were, were shocking. and it was a GOOD shock. :) 
 I thought this book was in line with The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander (which is also a Newberry Honor awardee), but it doesn't come close to the adventures of Taran. 
 But i'll read The Queen of Attolia first. I'm also interested on the relationship between the Queen and her Thief. *wink* 
 Perhaps, The Queen's Thief series will measure up to the Prydain Chronicles i so love.