Megan Whalen Turner’s first book, The Thief, was brilliant, and the rest of her series, while somewhat different, was equally tantalizing. The character development and plot twists were humorous and awe-inspiring, and the sense of anticipation rose steadily as we awaited her final book, Return of the Thief.
We expected a lot.
We didn’t get it.
The plot has always been Turner’s strong point, but it seems she was a little out of her depth for the necessarily most plot-based book in the series. The plot twists she is so well known for were in this case not as big as we would have liked and sometimes difficult to follow. The climaxes were awkwardly spaced, with several random ones thrown in too close to major climaxes and not supporting them. We award a half star.
The characters, another area of expertise for Turner, were disappointing. Although Turner had previously suggested that her final book would be from Gen’s perspective, this was not the case, and the introduction of Pheris, the new main character, was in our opinion a mistake, although he was believable. There was little or no development of the other main characters, with the exception of Gen, who seemed to have abruptly changed not only his goals but his empathetic and compassionate nature, apparently partially becoming the god Eugenides, with much of the power and none of the mercy. He came close to losing the endearing faults we love, and his lust for revenge was distressing. We award a half star.
The worldbuilding was consistent with Turner’s usual Greek-based style, with no contradictions, but it was confusing in that many places were added without warning in unnecessary scenes dealing with strategy. We award a full star.
The pace was good, with a tasteful balance of dialogue, description, and action, reminding us of Turner’s first book. We award a full star.
The dialogue was nearly as good as usual, but had less importance than in other books, and was not so witty as we might like. We award a full star.
The beginning was disappointing, without mention of old characters or even scenes in which we could begin to care about the new character. It was not immediately obvious that the book began somewhat before the ending of the previous novel, Thick as Thieves. The ending did not grant us hope or relief, instead leaving us wondering at the main characters’ cheerfulness after the deaths of so many of their friends and relatives (their reason for joy seemed contrived as well). Refusing us the satisfying gleefulness we’d come to expect, the book finished in a flourish of sentimental wordiness. There was also a large time skip, obviously necessary, but unwieldy in the final chapters. We award no star.
We were afforded a few moments of interest and pleasure, due to Turner’s inherent skill, but we would not read the book again. Turner’s usual editing was not apparent, and the overall bad writing frankly appalled us. Old problems that had been satisfyingly (and lightly, and interestingly) resolved were dredged up and examined again, now stale and rotting. We award no star.
One of the worst parts of the book was some quite obvious immorality, largely shown in one scene, that was not-so-subtly condoned in several randomly inserted sentences that neither furthered the plot nor came to fruition. There were also several mild insinuations. However, there was comparatively little vulgar humor and bad language. We award a half star.
While this book was memorable in parts, it was not at all consistent with the rest of the series, truth did not play a part in it, and the depth was, ironically, superficial. Additionally, the tone of the book was dark and depressing. We award no star.
There was no mention of spiders in the book. (Admittedly, this is not of the highest importance when judging good writing, but. . . we are spiders, after all.) We award no star.
There were some interesting moments of tension, especially where a major character gave an aside in a breathless pause, and the elephants were enjoyable, but the book was mostly dark, and the comic relief forced. We award a half star.
In conclusion, Megan Whalen Turner’s Return of the Thief earned 4Β½ + Β½ stars, putting it in the ‘Terrific’ category.
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