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A Conspiracy of Kings  By  cover art

A Conspiracy of Kings

By: Megan Whalen Turner
Narrated by: Steve West
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Publisher's summary

Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed series launch The Thief to the thrilling, 20-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief.

New York Times best-selling author Megan Whalen Turner's entrancing and award-winning Queen's Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. The New York Times best seller A Conspiracy of Kings won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.

After an attempted assassination and kidnapping, Sophos, heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears. Those who care for him - including the thief Eugenides and the queen of Eddis - are left to wonder if he is alive and if they will ever see him again.

©2010 Megan Whalen Turner (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The Queen's Thief books awe and inspire me. They have the feel of a secret, discovered history of real but forgotten lands. The plot-craft is peerless, the revelations stunning, and the characters flawed, cunning, heartbreaking, exceptional. Megan Whalen Turner's books have a permanent spot on my favorites shelf, with space waiting for more books to come." (Laini Taylor, New York Times best-selling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone novels and Strange the Dreamer)
" A Conspiracy of Kings brings the sweetest, sharpest kind of reading pleasure. Megan Whalen Turner's books are pure joy." (Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medalist and New York Times best-selling author of When You Reach Me and Goodbye Stranger)

Featured Article: Roll for Initiative! 10+ Listens Worthy of Any Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer


With the release of the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the classic tabletop role-playing game (RPG) is being thrust into the forefront of culture yet again. D&D has been in our lives for more than 40 years, and millions of folks globally continue to explore new realms. But the franchise is not limited to dice, guidebooks, and miniatures—in addition to film, television, music, and beyond, D&D is a natural fit for the world of audio.

What listeners say about A Conspiracy of Kings

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Detour with the B-Team

This is not to be heard as a standalone. Book 1 is necessary for the background relationship between Eugenides and Sophos. Book 2 is necessary to understand the ruthless politics between the four realms of Sunnis, Eddis, Attolia and particularly Mede. Book 3’s timeline overlaps a bit with this book and somewhat explains Eugenide’s behavior towards Sophos when they reunite. If you haven’t listened to the prior books, or haven’t listened recently, best to go back to the beginning. This book is also necessary to setup the final two books, even if it is the weakest of the bunch for a few reasons.

First, whereas the prior books plotted the path of Eugenides from Queen’s Thief in Eddis to King of Attolia, this book tells Sophos’ story. Unfortunately, for most of this book, Sophos is still the earnest young prince. He reacts to circumstances, but isn’t nearly the clever, ruthless, or charismatic leader that we’ve seen in the King and Queens of Attolia and Eddis.

Second, the machinations and obfuscations felt very contrived and unrealistic in this book. Hiding motivations and not explaining the big plans is the author’s go-to method of story telling, yet it was like slamming a square peg repeatedly into a round hole. This is also yet another installment with huge battles where only redshirts die. Seriously, I don’t think any character with a name even gets injured. As a result, there was zero suspense or gravitas for me.

Third, the author’s writing style, while excellent in some respects, is frustratingly vague in others. Sophos gets a scar or two to season him up a bit, but I still have no clue what he actually looks like. At one point we’re told he and his companion stand out when traveling through Mede, but is that because he’s black? Or the Medes are like Spaniards? For the love of Pete, I needed the author to paint a better picture. Or the thing about never referring to the Queens by their names? It’s never Irene, Queen Irene, or Queen of Attolia… it’s just Attolia and Eddis and The Magis. Does this bother anyone else, or is it just me?

Speaking of writing tics, one of the more bizarre things is the author’s sudden switch, mid-book, to telling the story via Sophos reminiscing to Eddis, as if he were relaying the events by writing her a letter. It comes out of nowhere and then intermittently switches back to her normal writing style, only to come at the listener again with Sophos informing us “you will be surprised to hear, my dear, that xyz…” it adds nothing to the story but confusion.

Finally, Steve West was fantastic, per usual, but he was a bit shouty. I wonder if there was a lost opportunity to use dual narration for Sophos.

Nitpicks aside, this book does deliver a thrilling final two hours and ends with the board set and sides chosen for the ultimate conflict between realms. I am still captivated by the world and Eugenides and have no regrets with my purchase.

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Steve West is incredible!

Steve west is incredibly talented! He brings the book and characters to life. I don't know that I would have finished this book, without a bit of skimming, if it hadn't been for Mr. West. I am glad I finished it.

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Right After an Author can't think of what else to

This is more of a spin off then really a part of the main story line. None of the major characters appear until the last couple chapters. The book lacked the flair of the others - it wasn't predictable but I never was really rooting anyone. It was more a very very long chase without a good feel at the end.

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CONTRIVED AND TEDIOUS

Using Eugenides' coolness towards Soffos for dramatic conflict feels contrived & manipulative. Skip this one.

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A little slower but advances the story

I found this book slower going than the previous titles and more convoluted in terms of plot lines and resolution. I'm still puzzling over the disagreement between Eddis and Sounis in the last couple of chapters. With that said, however, I am confident that it all fits into the grand scheme of things and I am enjoying the consolidation of power under the Thief. On a technical note, I noticed several instances of the narration skipping several minutes of dialogue at three different junctures, which was frustrating.

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A Conspiracy of Kings

Steve West is Fantastic, very Talented. The only reason I tolerated this dump story was Steve West 's extraordinary performance. He can read a recipe. Author should be very grateful that her book had such a talented narrator.

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Mostly good but my least favorite of the series thus far.

This book fits in well with the rest of the series but too much war and strategy for my taste. It was a little hard to follow but maybe that's just because I'm not as interested in that aspect of the story. It is exceptional well tied together. As always I enjoy the intricacies of the relationships of the characters

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Not my favorite

I really like series, but I found this one a little hard to get in to. Especially on the heels of King of Attolia, which was so strong. Still a good listen. Really love Steve West. Just wish the end didn't have so many loose ends.

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Great performance

I’ve long loved this series - it has more twists than the road I grew up on, one of the curviest in the Appalachian mountains - and the narrator does an excellent job, including with the voices.

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Never a dull moment this book and the series

I thoroughly enjoyed this next book in this series. The author provides enough twist and turns in the plot with an engaging world that provides the perfect backdrop to this fantasy series. A great read.

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