Monday Musings: My Least Favorite Attolia Isn't as Bad as I Remembered

I can remember when A Conspiracy of Kings was gearing up for release. Everyone I knew who'd read the first three Attolia books was on tenterhooks because we were finally getting Sophos back into the story after two books and lots of unhappy hints in The King of Attolia.

Sadly, this is the last of these beautiful covers, since Greenwillow changed the styles for Thick as Thieves.


Then the book came out, and we all felt a little let down by it. Not that the story wasn't good; it just felt a little flat after the brilliant intrigue novel that was KoA.

On this reading, I went in knowing that it was a slower book. A book that wasn't meant to be filled with court politics in the same way as its predecessor. Instead, ACoK is a character novel. Not a character novel in the sense of many "literary" novels that follow a character's "growth" and generally bore the public to tears (something they'd never admit to their book clubs). A character novel that focuses its action on the main character's internal journey as compared with his (or her) external journey.

A Conspiracy of Kings is the story of Sophos' growth from boy to man and from prince to king. His attempts to imitate Eugenides fail not because Eugenides is a poor role model (though he is in some ways) and not because Sophos isn't experienced enough to pull it off (which he generally isn't); Sophos fails to be Gen because he isn't Gen. And he can't be. Gen isn't the king the country of Sounis needs; Sophos is. Or at least, he will be by the time we're through.

There's a certain intimacy to the Attolia novels. The Thief is told from Gen's perspective and (even as he doesn't quite spell out everything for us) we feel close to him throughout the novel. The Queen of Attolia, despite the distant perspective of the omniscient narrator, allows us glimpses into the private chambers of queens, thieves, and ambassadors. The King of Attolia confines itself almost entirely to the court of Attolia and the perspective of Costis. In each of these stories, we feel entangled in the events playing out before us. A Conspiracy of Kings is no different. Though it switches up the narration yet again (with two large sections of first person narration by Sophos and two shorter omniscient sections), it maintains the intimate storytelling approach Megan Whalen Turner has accustomed us to.

It's no mistake that the first person sections are Sophos' narration to Eddis. Their courtship runs parallel to Sophos' development as a king (and a person). He is motivated to action for love of his country. He is motivated to speech for love of Eddis. By telling the story outside Sophos' head unless he is narrating to Eddis, Turner shows us how inextricably linked these two plotlines are. Sophos must succeed in both or fail altogether. If he can save his country, he will also be able to wed the woman he loves. If he cannot, then the Mede will have won and all their countries will fall.

In taking A Conspiracy of Kings on its own terms and not as a mere follow-up to The King of Attolia, I found it to be a solid entry in the series. I expect that it, like Thick as Thieves (which I'm still reading but have seen similarly mixed reactions to), will feel more integrated and important when the sixth and final book is released (I'm estimating sometime around 2021 if Turner's previous publication history is any indication [4 years between TT and QoA, then six till KoA, then 4 till ACoK, then 7 till TaT]), much as The Thief and The Queen of Attolia feed into The King of Attolia and make it feel like the payoff of the previous two books.

Have you read A Conspiracy of Kings? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!

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