Thief!

The Queen's Thief #0.5

by Megan Whalen Turner, Chad Cameron (Illustrator)

A short story about a younger Eugenides from the magazine Disney Adventures.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Young Adult, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade, Childrens

8 pages, ebook

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Megan Whalen Turner is the author of short stories and novels for children, teenagers and adults. She has won the LA Times Book Award for Young Adult LIterature, a Boston Globe/ Horn Book Honor and a Newbery Honor. She won the Mythopoeic Award and was shortlisted twice for the Andre Norton Award.

Reviews

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never written a proper review for any of the Queen's Thief books I have read (even though I love them so, however much portions of the story make my heart ache), but seeing and reading this short story inspired me a bit to give some of my impressions of this story and the main character, Eugenides. (Note: Here there be SPOILERS for the novels themselves, so read with caution if you have yet to read said novels for yourself.)

It's strange that I would come across this short story because, years and years ago, I actually read Disney Adventures (the monthly magazine in which this short story was first published) quite often -- but, if I did read this story back then, I sadly don't remember it. Of course, after reading this story now, I have some excuse: this prequel short story is best read and enjoyed if you have already followed Eugenides (the Queen's Thief of Eddis) in his novel adventures. Why? Well...you have more reason to understand (and admire) the kind of character (and thief) Gen is if you have known him prior. Just as this story illustrates, he is not a thief for personal gain: instead, he steals (and risks his safety and well-being) for the sake of others (or, in this case, to punish others) and his kingdom. Though that makes him a bit of a Robin Hood-esque thief, I am much more a Eugenides fan than a Robin Hood fan.

Oddly, my eyes cued in on this sentence even amid some of the wit and humor to be found in this short story:

[Gen] couldn't open the fingers on his right hand to achieve an entirely satisfying wave, and he had no sooner begun waving the fingers of the other hand when Stenides shook him hard and his hands dropped.

If you've read the second Queen's Thief novel, The Queen of Attolia (which, in the Author's Note of this story, Turner mentions had already been written when this story was originally published), then you might understand why this sentence -- so harmless in context -- caused a wave of grief to come over me as I read it. In just a few short years, Gen would no longer have that right hand to help him in his thieving exploits. If he had known that, would he have done things differently in his life as a thief, or would he have trudged on regardless? Because of who Gen is as a character, I like to think that the latter option -- however painful and arduous -- would have been his way because that's one thing Gen has never compromised on: he is who he is, and he doesn't let what fate or the gods might have in store define his own choices for himself...even if that may lead to repercussions and consequences on his end.

Needless to say, Eugenides is the type of character -- the type of hero -- I will gladly follow until the very end.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this short story about Gen's childhood, a prequel to the QUEEN'S THIEF series. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:

Readers who (like me) are fond of Megan Whalen Turner’s THE QUEEN’S THIEF fantasy series, and who mourn the length of time between publication of her novels, can ease their pain just a little with the short story “Thief!,” originally published in August 2000 in Disney Adventures Magazine and now posted on her website here. "Thief!" is a prequel to The Thief, the first book in this series. It’s a brief adventure in the life of young Gen, who begins to develop his thieving abilities at a young age. As readers of the series are aware, Gen’s childhood was marked by frequent run-ins with his numerous cousins. Young Gen has stolen some valuable gold, crystal, and onyx earrings from one of his girl cousins.

Her incensed brothers are determined to run Gen down and force him to return the earrings before Gen can put them on the altars of a temple, irrevocably dedicating them to a god or goddess. And if Gen ends up with a few bruises during the process, so much the better, from his cousins’ point of view. But Gen, as always, has a few unexpected tricks up his sleeve, and good reasons for every maddening action that he takes.

“Thief!” is a fairly simple story, written at a middle grade level, skewing rather younger than the rest of series. It doesn’t really break any new ground or offer any major new insights into the world or character of Eugenides. It does, however, give readers a glimpse of Gen’s childhood, his developing personality, and his relationships with his family, all in the course of a day’s adventure.

“Thief!” is a touching, enjoyable short story that fits in well with the overall series. Readers who aren’t already familiar with Gen are advised to start with The Thief rather than with this story, but for those who have read and liked at least that book, it’s worth the brief amount of time it takes to look up and read this short story. Thanks to Megan Whalen Turner for making this story available to fans who missed it in its original magazine publication!

[AMythicalBeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Megan Whalen Turner made this short story available online for us to read. Go HERE to read little Gen's story before he became The Queen's Thief.

If you haven't read The Queen's Thief series then treat this illustrated short story as a major spoiler (MAJOR), and avoid reading it if you can till you've at least finished the first book (The Thief).


If you have read the series (or at least The Thief), then you'll understand the undertone and sweetness of this story very well.

On it's own this story might get a highest of 3 stars at best, because it makes too many references to a world the reader wouldn't know much about unless they’re familiar with the series. But if you do know the worlds of Eddis, Sounis and Attolia the way I do, if you know Gen...then this story becomes a gift from Turner to her fans. It's a little glimpse into Gen's childhood and to us this is very valuable.

So from an emotional and totally biased stand point, this is a great short. And also because Turner has a way with words. I loved the illustrations but her descriptions were really enough for me.

[The below spoiler is for people who’ve read Book One at least. Trust me and don’t click it till you have.]

We know something of his childhood, of the loneliness and seclusion of being The Thief, of his love for his family and his adoration of his grandfather.

Gen often alluded to his adversarial relationship with most of his cousins, and it’s odd to read of them here when we know that years later they would all go to war to avenge him and not all of them would come back.

We also know that his mother died when Gen was ten years old, falling off the roof of the castle during a party, and I don’t think it had happened yet at the time of this tale.

Gen’s father wanted him to become a soldier like himself and let the title of King’s Thief (pretty much honorary by now) die out with Gen’s mother’s father. But Gen had other ideas and we can hear his brain whirring here.

We know of Gen’s habit of leaving stolen earrings at the God of Thieves, Eugenide’s alter and here we see how that started.

For the uninitiated, (and if you’re determined to read this short before committing to reading the series), this tale is more like a snippet from the life of a small boy who’d already begun to hone the thieving skills necessary to someday be a great Thief.

A group of boys chase Gen down the corridor of a castle; and just when he thinks he’s safely out of their reach his older brother catches up with him. Gen had stolen his cousin Breia’s golden earrings and her brothers were out to get them back. But what they didn’t know was why he’d stolen something of Breia’s. See, other members of his family might quarrel, might start feuds or decide to forever hold a grudge, but when someone wronged Gen, he got even quickly and effectively.

Anyway, I just want to thank M.W. Turner for letting me spend a few extra minutes with my favourite male character in all of modern fiction to tide me over till Book Five releases.

(Which if the Publishing Gods and Ms Turner please should surely happen before this decade ends at least.)

=D

[Carrot :3 (on a hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Just a short story on one of Gen’s thefts as a kid. Nothing special.

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about a 10-year-old boy who's named Eugenides, after the God of Thieves.
Eugenides' family calls him Gen and wishes he would grow up to be a soldier like most of the men in the country of Eddis. Gen would rather follow in his grandfather's footsteps and become the King's Thief.
One thousand years before this story takes place, a person could become the King's Thief by stealing a stone called Hamiathes' Gift (if he or she didn't die in the process). ...

http://read-free-online.blogspot.com/...

[Stephanie]

Cute.
I'll read anything by Megan Whalen Turner.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a Eugenides kick. Short and cute.

[Kogiopsis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Gen, you just never change, do you?
This is a very cute little short story - it doesn't add a lot to the actual books but Gen is just so much fun as a character that it's worth a read anyhow. Thanks to Megan Whalen Turner for putting it up online.

[fulano · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://meganwhalenturner.org/books/bk...

Had no idea that this was accessible to read without having bought the magazine so this was nice! Always nice to be with Gen.

[Rashika (is tired) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Gen with my whole heart and want so many more books of his adventures before he became A KING.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some books you wish would just shut up already, but there are some little pieces of writing you wish would just go on and on. This was one of them.

Reading about Eugenides all over again as a little kid just had that SQUEE factor, because isn't it lovely to revisit a series where everything is all nice and innocent and there are no more wars and no more politics and no more hatred? Reading about him now, knowing what he goes through later, is undoubtedly kinda sad, but at the same time I really want to know so much more about this kid pre-everythingthathappened. I missed his childishly daredevil and witty self a little more each day as the books progressed and it was just aww to see it again back when it was pure and unblemished :')

[Anggia · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find the story here http://meganwhalenturner.org/DisneyAd...

This is a snapshot about little Gen, that in the future will become Thief of Eddis

[Elevetha · Rating 4 out of 5]

BABY GEN.

I believe that is enough said.

[Nevergreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute little story about Gen. There was a part about inheritance that I wasn't too clear on but overall I enjoyed this and didn't realize he has a brother!

[Rikke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It's somewhat hard to rate a story this short, but I enjoyed reading it, and I did appreciate getting a glimpse of the childhood of Eugenides.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful short story for upper elementary age children. Just what I needed to get me started on a reread of the first 4 books and then onto the 5th and the 6th then in April.

[Victoria]

that's the cutest shit I've ever seen bro

[silky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a short short story about darling young Gen up to his antics as always. Enjoyed the read but it didn't add anything new to the characters or series we haven't seen before.

[Allison King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this short story about Gen as a tiny(er) thief. Such charming and engaging writing by MWT.

[Juny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well lets just say that if your obsessed with the series, like I am, then you should defiantly read this short story. Gen is 10 in here and you get a glimpse of his cousins but more we see his brother whom he actually likes :) I had no idea where to get this short story, but I have finally found a way, it's on Megan Whalen Turner's page.
I suggest reading it. I suggest not reading it before you've read the Thief and all the other wonderful books because it's a SPOILER!

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story about little Gen. Read it - you'll be glad you did.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is hands down one of my absolute favorites. I have been through a few sets of paperback copies because I read them so often they fall apart.

[Ameera Talal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick delightful insight into the world of Gen as a child, who's as witty and determined as we came to know him in The Thief.

[Nidofito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a nice short story. Loved to catch a glimpse of Gen in his youth.

[Neha Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story about Gen as a child...Just what I needed!

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thief! I 100% read this short story before I read The Thief (I'm pretty sure it's the reason I went out and bought the book in the first place), and it spoils the ending of that book. But really that reveal is only one small part of the story, and I 100% didn't mind when I read it as a kid.
 
Spoilers under the read more.
 
I haven't reread this short story since then. I vaguely remembered the details, but I found it confusing this time around (mainly the whole jumping the light well thing... The writing wasn't very clear about Gen's jumping/Sten's seeing).
 
Also it just made me sad because in KoA Gen mentions how most of his cousins are dead.
 
But it also made me a little happy because I remembered that there were new short stories published with the rerelease of the series so I'm going to try and read those over the next week or so.
 
ETA: All the characters are whitewashed* which is also disappointing.
 
*Fantasy world, race is a social construct, blah, blah, blah... the books make it pretty clear that people from Eddis (also Mede) are darker than the people from Sounis and Attolia. That's not reflected in the illustrations of Thief!

[Victoria Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cute short story prequel to the Queen's Thief series. It was originally published in a kids' magazine but is a satisfying read for all ages. The author has posted the story in its entirety on her website; don't read it before reading The Thief unless you want to have its main plot twist spoiled.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I haven't read The Queen's Thief series, so I don't have any context of what the characters are usually like (I actually thought this was published before the series, and the series might have been expanded off of this, but it turned out I was wrong). This was a cute story, but it didn't particularly peak my interest in the entire series. Reading this won't affect whether I will or will not read it in future.

[Brittany Bowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story about Eugenides, the main character of Whalen Turner's The Thief series.
Beyond letting readers see a glimpse of a young Gen and his relationships with his brother and some of his cousins, the overall series is not affected by this story.
This story was originally published in a children's magazine and as such seems written to a slightly younger audience then the rest of the series is. The story can now be found on the author's website.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short prequel to the “Queen’s Thief’ series relating a brief incident from Gen’s childhood. I found it on the author’s website.

While it’s an interesting story that explains some of how Gen became a Thief, it’s not exactly the right thing for impressionable kids to read in a Disney book. It’s makes stealing look like a fun, even good thing to do.

Fave part: the long jump.