The Thief Queen's Daughter

The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme #2

by Elizabeth Haydon

Long ago, in the Second Age of history, a young Nain explorer by the name of Ven Polypheme traveled much of the known and unknown world, recording his adventures. Recently discovered by archaeologists, a few fragments of his original journals are reproduced in this book. Great care has been taken to reconstruct the parts of the journal that did not survive, so that a whole story can be told…

On his first day on the job as Royal Reporter of the land of Serendair, King Vandemere sends young Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme--known as Ven--on a secret mission within the walls of the Gated City. His quest? To discover the origin of a mysterious artifact given to the king's father. The king warns Ven to take care--because once you enter the Gated City, you might never be allowed to leave.

Within its walls, all sorts of exotic merchandise not found anywhere else in the world can be bought or sold. But not only merchandise. Dreams, wishes, memories…even childhood…can be sold--or stolen. The Gated City is ruled by the powerful Raven's Guild, and the guild is ruled by the Queen of Thieves.

Ven and his friends enter the Gated City ready for adventure. But when one friend is kidnapped and it is revealed that they are traveling in the company of the runaway daughter of the Queen of Thieves herself, their adventure turns deadly. For the ruthless Thief Queen will stop at nothing to get her daughter back….

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Adventure, Fiction, Dragons, Childrens

320 pages, Hardcover

First published June 26, 2007

About the author

Elizabeth Haydon (* 1965 in Michigan) is a fantasy author, whose 1999 debut, Rhapsody: Child of Blood, garnered comparisons with Goodkind, Jordan, and even Tolkien. She has written two fantasy series set within the same universe, The fantasy/romance/whodunit fusion called The Symphony of Ages and the young adult series The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.

An herbalist, harpist, and madrigal singer, Elizabeth Haydon also enjoys anthropology and folklore. She lives on the East Coast of the United States.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabet...

Reviews

[Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my Booktube channel at: The Obsessive Bookseller

I love when robust fantasy authors tackle Middle Grade and YA.

Responsible for one of the most poignant fantasy series I’ve ever read – Symphony of Ages, Haydon continues to dazzle me with with her rich world-building, magical adventure, and interesting characters in this MG series set in the same world.

The first book, The Floating Island, was an experience. Easily one of the strongest books I’ve read in the MG market. And what made it fun was the traveling/adventure, fun companions, all the riddles and puzzles, and the unique composition of the book itself. Told as a reconstruction of recovered journals, it is a mix of journal entries, illustrations, and fill-in text to complete the story between the first-hand accounts. I loved every moment, and was especially eager to dive into this second book.

I didn’t find The Thief Queen’s Daughter quite as strong as the first book. It had a really interesting setting – a thief market, where the bulk of the story took place. While this cool new place was explored to my satisfaction, I missed the expansive settings from the first book a bit. The novelty of the place was awesome – so many cool magical shops and items. I think my younger self would be marveled at all the discoveries.

I’m kind of weird (as we’ve no doubt established) in that if I know anything about a story from diving in, I’m less likely to feel invested. The process of discovery is my main draw to reading, so if I come across any spoilers, it can completely wreck the experience for me. This is the reason why I don’t read book overviews. And why I’m no fun to buddy read things with. But no matter how careful I am, I can’t avoid seeing the freaking title of the book. So it’s exciting main reveal? Oooooohhhh, yeah I knew that already. This is a case where someone should’ve thought it through more. Rant over.

Recommendations: this is such a magical MG series that would be my pick to hand-sell to families looking for great, accessible stories to read together. It has something for everyone, and as an adult I’m enjoying every moment.

Thank you to my Patrons: Filipe, Dave, Sonja, and Staci! <3

Other books you might like:


Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com

[Cal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I remember really loving the first one, and my feelings about this one are "it's okay" so I don't know if my interest shifted, or it's really not as good.

Partly, Elizabeth Haydon's writing style was driving me up the wall. She adds so many "drama fragments" that I was getting ready to throw the book out the window with each new one. You know what they are....

"They ran through the door as quickly as possible.

Into pitch blackness."

That neither needs to be its own sentence let alone a new paragraph, but she somehow feels the need to use those 50 times per chapter. It really was getting very old, and instead of making it more dramatic, it just made me roll my eyes.

As for the actual story, I think it was lacking something. Well... Actually I know it was. There wasn't an organized structure. There was no climax. It's like suddenly they get captured and break out and run away and run into these people and suddenly they're free... it doesn't really feel like there's a build up, just a bunch of accidents that lead to this or that... which I realize is realistic, but doesn't make a very good storyboard. There wasn't really much foreshadowing to the actual plot points of this book, but rather just foreshadowing to plot points in books yet to come which are so obviously foreshadowing that it's not very skillfully weaved.

It wasn't a horrible book or anything... it just wasn't great.

[Alyssa Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thief Queen’s Daughter follows the adventures of Ven Polypheme and his friends, picking right up from where The Floating Island left off. This type of fantasy adventure story is what made me fall in love with fantasy in the first place. Thieves, danger, adventure friendship: this book has everything I love about a good fantasy. I’m beginning to absolutely fall in love with all the characters. The King is lovely and I can’t wait to read more about him and his quest for knowledge; Ven and his friends are absolutely fantastic. We learn a lot more about Ida, which I very much appreciated, and we get to learn a whole lot more about The Gated City, which was so much fun.

This isn’t quite as magical as the first book, but it’s still quite good. We see a lot less of magic and fantastical things and a lot more of pure adventure and thrills. With that, we also get a lot more character development. I still love the format of having this series be a “discovered journal” found on archaeological digs, and the illustrations perfectly complement the story. It looks like there’s some stuff being set up for an over-arching narrative that will reach through all the books in the series: the mysterious albatross is still in this book, for example, and seems to be watching Ven. I’m excited to see how that comes into play.

Overall, this is a wonderful middle grade fantasy that I’m so glad I picked up. The characters are great and the adventure is so, so much fun. Haydon is proving that she’s a master of the genre in both adult and middle grade. I’m excited to read the third book in this series.

Also posted on Purple People Readers.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Floating Island, we first met Ven Polypheme, an unusual specimen of the ancient Nain race. Unlike the typical Nain, whose idea of a good time is to dig ore out of a mountain's roots, Ven's family lives in a human city and specializes in building ships. Unlike other members of his large, practical family, Ven has the itchy feet of an explorer. And unlike practically anyone else in known history, Ven has survived an attack by the Fire Pirates. By the opening of this sequel, Ven has found his way to a wayside inn staffed by orphaned children. His friends include the cook's mate of a sailing ship, a pastor-in-training for a congregation of little people, a pickpocket named Ida No, and a quiet little Gwadd girl who shares her people's power to make things grow. These friends are ready to join Ven on his next adventure, when young King Vandemere sends him to the thieves' market to seek the origin of a mysterious, glowing stone.

You see, Vandemere has hired Ven to be his eyes and ears in the wide world, reporting on any real magic he may find. Only now, on a day when everything goes wrong, the king has also fired Ven. The young Nain is still resolved to go and find out what he can, even though the Gated City is such a dangerous place. This walled-off area within the port city of Kingston has long been home to charlatans, pickpockets, and worse. Visitors are only allowed once a week, on market days, and can only get in and out with the aid of tokens purchased at the gate. Anyone caught inside the Gated City's walls after the closing bell, will be stuck there at least until the next week's market day. And though some of the people who live there are decent folk, some are downright dangerous—especially within the keyhole-shaped gate that leads to the Inner Market, where the evil Thief Queen rules over her Raven Court.

When Ven and friends try their wits against Queen Felonia and her villains, trouble is bound to break out. And break out it does. First their most vulnerable companion disappears, stolen from under their noses. Then someone ransacks the shop of a weapons dealer who has shown them kindness. A scary fortune-teller lays a strange and perhaps costly gift on Ven, one he has no time to learn how to use just yet. And of course, the kids find themselves trapped between the Thief Queen and her hideous plans for her daughter. Only as they make their death-defying escape do they discover the good magic hidden within the walls of the bad city.

This is the second book in "The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme," a series that continues with The Dragon's Lair. A fourth book, titled The Tree of Water, will be published in October 2014. Elizabeth Haydon, whose dust-cover bio reads like the made-up credentials of a pseudonym like Lemony Snicket or Pseudonymous Bosch, is nevertheless also known for her (so far) seven-book "Symphony of Ages" series, running from Rhapsody: Child of Blood to her most recent title, The Merchant Emperor. In the present book, Haydon alternates between fragments from Ven's first-person journal and a third-person narrative that supposedly fills in the gaps. Is it original fiction or literary restoration? Answer: Yes. For in addition to her original characters and world-building, Haydon gives us lightly disguised retellings of such classic stories as Cinderella. Meanwhile, the tale-within-a-tale, explaining a certain Wonder revealed in this book, is a movingly beautiful imitation of traditional folklore. Ven's journey also includes a clever riddle and a valuable lesson about how to spot a true friend. And the young adventurers' thrilling escape reveals layer upon layer of danger and magic brooding beneath the surface of the Kingdom of Serendair.

[Genesis Takahashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first book of this series, Elizabeth creates a world filled with awe and wonder. Characters and settings. Beautiful story lines and creative legends. The book is followed by The Thief Queen's Daughter. In this adventure packed story, you learn more about the world of Ven Polypheme and his mismatched friends. Especially Ida, the lovable, troublesome, annoying, and rude yet loyal friend. It teaches you about the difference between friendliness and loyalty. People can be a lot of one but none of the other. You'll find that loyalty is the most rare, and those people that are loyal, you should keep close.

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun sequel that does what a good sequel should do which is move the story forward and expand the world and it does for the thief market has a lot of clever ideas with what can be stolen and sold. I also liked how it makes the Albatross actually part of the plot and it makes it relevant. Ida and Char also get developed more especially Ida who seems to becoming more important to the future plot. But yeah clever with a lot of cool ideas and I cannot wait to see what the next adventure will be like.

[Brok3n · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this ten years ago and no longer remember much about it. I do remember, however, that I enjoyed the series.

[Zuza Furtak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie była to zła książka niska ocena wynika z braku oryginalności i zbyt prostym rozwiązaniom zastosowanym przez autorkę. Rozumiem, że to książka kierowana do młodszych czytelników, jednak ucieczka z miejsc opisanych jako dobrze strzeżone a wręcz praktycznie niemożliwe do opuszczenia a bohaterowie wychodzą praktycznie od razu przy niewielkim wysiłku związanym z użyciem swoich magicznych mocy to chyba coś jest nie w porządku

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I gotta find the other books. Found this one randomly and didn't even look to see if it was part of a series. That's what I get for being distracted by dragons. The story was good obviously if I wasn't to read more of it.

[Ainsley Dennison-Farris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, like the last one. I wish that they hadn't told me the plot twist in the summary, but that doesn't really matter when the rest of the book holds up. I will admit that I did prefer the first book, and that this book did feel a little anticlimatic, but I like it nonetheless.

[Hannah Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t get enough of Ven’s adventures with his friends. So many interesting things and people and help in the unlikeliest of places. I just love this series.

[Landon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. It has an awesome progression and the plot is very exciting.

[Ramona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this teen series. The characters are interesting and well thought out. There is humor, mystery, suspense, a touch of fantasy, and royal intrigue.

[Lynn Coullard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good characters, engaging world, and well-woven storyline. I’d love to read more in this series.

[Jaida Wardley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a cute book. Lovely adventure with a group of friends. Is a YA book I would say, it gives Percy Jackson vibes. Second in a series of books (3) but I didn’t read the first one I only read this one and I wasn’t confused at any point.

[J.R. Dodson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise is interesting, although the follow-through wasn't quite there. I had difficulty pin-pointing why it wasn't "working" as it should, and here are a few takes:

-the narrative isn't as tight as it should be. It was a lot of "and then, and then, and then..." situations that didn't tie together very cohesively in the moment or even at the book's conclusion.
-Why is a 24 year old hanging out with a band of children? Yes, Ven is a different race (not really that different) but that seemed very strange to me, to have children basically be an adult's best friends, without any other adults in the picture. If Ven's race (Nain) is so slow to mature, it led me to think: at what age is he potty-trained? These are the important questions.
-the characters all blur together, and the book has a serious case of The Hobbit dwarfs. Don't have five primary characters if four of them are virtually indistinguishable and add nothing to the story.
-the Thief Queen's Daughter is an awesome name for a book, but she really has almost nothing to do with the story.

I liked Ven, the main character. However, we can't just be consistently told, "his curiosity is overwhelming" and have that explain away all of his actions. Similarly, the strangers he meets are likable, but for being in a town of thieves (or literally anywhere, for that matter) it takes away from any suspense when they're all completely trustworthy and they mostly just help the group out without any reasons for doing so.

So why three stars? Well, the pacing was good and it was a quick read. As I mentioned, many of the characters are likable and there is an interesting premise. It has it's flaws, but overall, The Thief Queen's Daughter is solidly average.

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hired, then fired, before he really got a chance to do anything, Ven still decides to check out the Market on the king's suggestion. He's supposed to see if he can learn more about an unlabeled coronation gift the king received, but those plans quickly fall apart. For all its magic and mystery, the Market is a deadly place. When it swallows one of his friends, Ven heads to the depths of the underworld.

The prose paints the Gated City very well, drawing out details in careful words. Ven's story continues to mix first-person journal fragments with the third-person narrative, which works well to zoom in and out on various pieces of plot. It's also fun to see the ways in which each of the children contribute to their little band of adventurers. It was also interesting to see the variety of races: this book showcases humans, Nain, Gwadd, Kith, Seren, Lirin, and merpeople.

Unsurprisingly, Ida takes more of a starring role. The title gives a bit too much away, but it was still a lot of fun to see how it all played out. It explains a lot about why Ida is the way she is, and who she's chosen to be. The summary at the end may tie it up a little too well, but there's plenty of room opening for another adventure.

Overall this is a solid followup to The Floating Island and does a lot to expand the world and the characters. The illustrations inside were also nice, although there weren't many and they tended to be simple sketches. It would have been nice to get more pictures, or more detailed pictures, particularly of some of the more interesting elements. I rate this book Recommended.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free review copy of this book. It’s obviously a continuation, but wasn’t too hard to get into. Things are minimally explained as necessary as they come up. I found it hard to tell the characters apart, aside from Ida (“the thief”), Saeli (“the quiet girl”), and the narrator. The others don’t seem to be well developed or memorable. Maybe they got their distinguishing moments in an earlier book? Here, for the most part, they seem to be unnecessary backdrops, generic placeholders needed to speak lines or be spoken to.
I liked that there are multiple races of beings, and this is an accepted fact, so they’re accepted as nothing unusual. There’s some worldbuilding present here, and it seems to be continuing from a prior volume. I couldn’t get a good idea of what anyone looks like, though, or how they differ from humans, due to a dearth of descriptive language. For instance, someone makes a remark midway through about the narrator being fat. Are they just being rude? I can’t tell!
The cover is deceptive – dragons may help sell books, but they don’t even get a mention here until the very end! I did like the helpful curriculum notes and discussion questions provided in the back of the book, though.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ven is given a task by the king to explore the inner city, a walled town where all the thieves are forced to live, but outsiders are allowed to visit once a week, to shop for magical goodies. The only problem is, if you don't get out by the time the gates close at the end of the day, you are locked in for the week with the thieves.

The king is hoping Ven can find the origin of a glowing stone that belonged, originally, to the king's father, but when Ven goes into the walled city with a group of his friends, he has trouble keeping them safe, let alone finding the time to answer the stone's mystery. Then disaster strikes, and one of the group goes missing, just as the gates are about to close.

This was an exciting and quick read, and followed well from the first book, which I also enjoyed.

I really don't have any complaints except for 2: the timeline was a bit squiffy. A couple times, it seems like something has taken weeks and weeks, but then it will say it's only been a day or so. Also, it looks like the next book in the series has dragons in it, but until then, they really need to keep the dragons off the cover, because it's false advertising!

[J.L. Burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big thumbs-up for this second book in the Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme series.

I'm getting really attached to this series, despite the fact that it's a bit sweeter and less humorous than what I usually like the most. I think the thing that I really like about the Ven books is that they are able to instill a sense of wonder and tell a compelling story with almost no violence whatsoever.

This book follows Ven and his friends into the Gated City, which is essentially a den of thieves. Their adventures there are fun and almost non-stop, with new challenges cropping up constantly. The plot is well-woven, with associations from earlier in the book coming up seamlessly. The main characters are fun (except for the 5th wheel Nick, who is unimportant and has no personality), and the various persons that they meet never fail to entertain.

I read this to my kids, age 10 and 12. We are looking forward to the third book in the series.

[Julia Jacewiak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ta książka leżała na mojej półce od dobrych kilku lat, w końcu postanowiłam po nią sięgnąć i niepotrzebnie straciłam czas. Kurcze naprawdę miałam nadzieję na ciekawą, wciągającą i pełną zwrotów akcji historie, jednak nie dostałam niczego takiego. Zamiast tego dostałam przewidującą, niekiedy nawet nudną bajeczkę. Myślę, że ta książka raczej była dedykowana młodszej społeczności i niepotrzebnie oczekiwałam od niej nie wiadomo czego. W połowie książki przestałam nawet te strony z pamiętnika Vena czytać, bo było to nudniejsze niż sama fabuła.
Pełno luk w fabule, dużo niewyjaśnionych rzeczy, miałam wrażenie, że autorka chciała tę książke napisać na szybko byle by napisać coś i to wydać. Bohaterowie słabo napisani, strasznie płytko. Wykreowany świat także pozostawiał wiele do życzenia. No cóż, zawiodłam się mocno.

[Clay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. This series is certainly for young readers but older readers will find it a nice entertaining light read if you are looking for something nice and simple.

Elizabeth Haydon once again brings us back to her fantasy world that she created with the Rhapsody series only this time told from the perspective of Young Ven Polypheme a Nain that has gone out on his own to try and quench his thirst for adventure.

This does not really have any ties to the Rhapsody series other than it is in the same world and has some of the same races.
But that is about were the similarities end.

This is the 2nd book in her new series. The first being The Floating Island.

I believe the 3rd installment is already published.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ven and his friends Char, Clemency, Saeli, Nick and Ida go into the Gated City, which is ruled by the Queen of Thieves. They enter on market day to try to find out about the glowing stone for the King of Serendair, Vandemere. But in the afternoon Saeli is missing - probably stolen - and the children can't leave until they find her. When they send Nick to tell Ida why they aren't meeting her outside the gates, she comes into the city to help them, but it turns out that she is the daughter of the Queen of Thieves and her mother imprisons them all, threatening to kill them if they try to escape before Ida's forced wedding, and planning to kill them after the wedding anyway.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ven’s adventures continue in the mysterious Gated City, a place where a person can buy anything they want—if they’re willing to risk being stolen from or worse. This is a fantastic adventure or would be if it didn’t promise more than it delivered. A couple of plot threads are left frustratingly unresolved, no doubt in an attempt to lure the reader into buying more books in the series. However, the descriptions of the Gated City itself are brilliant enough to dazzle. The real heart of this story lies, naturally, in the interaction between Ven and his friends, although the abrasive Ida is more than a little irritating.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet again, the series The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme is tragically under the radar. Although it is designed for children, it's Harry-Potter-like (well, early Harry-Potter-like) in the sense that it can be easily enjoyed by all ages.

The Thief Queen's Daughter doesn't have quite as much character growth as the first book in the series but is nonetheless enjoyable. Elizabeth Haydon writes in a way that causes me to share in Ven's itch of curiosity, scattering world-building information throughout the book yet always leaving me longing for more. I look forward to continuing this literary adventure!

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd book in the series (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme); The story is told from the journals of Ven, a Nain from a family of shipbuilders. In the first book Ven is lost at sea and rescued by a merrow, meets a sea captain and is sent to live with the sea captain's wife in a haunted inn. This book takes Ven and his friends from the first book and sends them into the gated market place to discover the secret of the glowing stone, given to Ven by the king. I will be looking out for the 3rd book!

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked up the first book, I was very impressed by the dynamic characters and well described setting. The plot was interesting as well, and all three of these things were done well in this book as well.

That being said, there were a few questions that i had that will probably be answered in the next books (what is Ida's real name? Is the Downworlders' story true? Who is Ida's father?) Also, I don't know how much of a roll the Downworlders play in the series. I would actually like to hear from them again!

[Tereska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ta książka tkwiła w moim domu na półce już wiele lat, ale jakoś nigdy do tej pory nie zdecydowałam się po nią sięgnąć. Cieszę się, że to w końcu zrobiłam. Nie jest to może jedna z moich ulubionych powieści, ale dość łatwo i przyjemnie mi się ją czytało. Niestety nie udało mi się "wczuć" w opisywane wydarzenia i nie przeżywałam tak silnie przygód razem z bohaterami. Mimo tego myślę, że jest to bardzo ciekawa książka z dobrze przemyślanym i wykreowanym fantastycznym światem. Jestem przekonana, że kiedyś jeszcze przynajmniej raz po nią sięgnę.

[Smaileh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series. The first one did a good job of introducing the situation and characters, and this one takes that introduction and runs with it. Ven remains a likable fellow, as does Char, who remains faithful to the captain's order to watch out for Ven. We learn a bit about Ida's background and she becomes a much more sympathetic character because of it. There's even some softening of her prickliness as she begins to learn that there is some value in making friends.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a little confusing at first but I really liked the plot. And the thief queen is a total bitch by the way. She even treats her own daughter like a piece of crap, and her daughter is the next Queen of thieves, and she's a little weird and she isn't friendly, but she's just as beautiful as her mother. its a really good read.