#A Conspiracy of Kings

[antigonick]

In spite of my grief [...], I was happy. No one was angry at me, disappointed in me, burdened by me. I had nothing to do but sit in the warm sand and look at the sea.

—Megan Whalen Turner, A Conspiracy of Kings, in the Queen’s Thief Series

[formulaheart]

He's a thief. He's a prince. He speaks to the Gods. He's barely more than a child. He's killed a man. He misses his cousin. He's a manipulator. He stole a stone of immortality from the people who were trying to steal it. He didn't die all the way. He never wanted to fight. He just wants to lay in his library and read. He had his hand cut off. He's a politician. He's a drunk. He's never more trouble than he is worth. He loves her and he's telling the truth. He's a menace. He's a king. He can steal anything. He's a liar. He's conquered two countries. He's terrifying. He's shorter than all his friends. He's a father. He's always underestimated.

[vegetable-soup-wizard]

Since I can’t help myself-

The Queens Thief books as John Mulaney quotes:

The thief

The Queen of Attolia

The King of Attolia

A Conspiracy of Kings

Thick as Thieves

Return of the Thief

[saessenach]

a path, but not a plan

Sophos and Irene in A Conspiracy of Kings, a gift illustration I made for @alecjmarsh as part of the @hamiathesgiftexchange

[the-forest-library]

Well, I was going to wait to buy the beautiful British versions of these books, but they all aren’t going to be out until late 2024, and Book Outlet had five of them for $4 or less so here we are

[crocordile]

Irene and Sophos enjoying some time off, an illustration inside my gift fic 'Between the mountains and the sea' for @saessenach for the @hamiathesgiftexchange!

[hvacinth]

here is eugenides. the thief of eddis. king of attolia. he is genius. he is a fool. he is ruthless. he is a clown. he is full of spite. his heart is too big. he is loving and kind. he is utterly cold-blooded. he is stubborn as a mule. he is giving up too much. he is the butt of every joke. he remembers all. he is never where he needs to, and he is everywhere all at once. he is full of rage, he is full of hope. he is sad. he knows to recognise joy. he offends the gods. the gods love him. he is the hero of the story. you love him. if you don't, then you don't love him yet. you will love him.

[child-of-hurin]

Agape being onboard with marrying the volatile mess that is Eugenides in Queen of Attolia, and later, presumably, being just as onboard with marrying Sophos's uncle who is Sounis... Interpretations of her agency in those matches might vary, but if you assume she was only too willing to go ahead with them... Something very intimidating about how badly this woman wants a project

"(...)He was an astonishingly angry man, but he had many admirable qualities.” [the Magus] glanced up at Eddis and said, “He could be quite charming.” “Agape might have made something of him,” said Eddis.

Handing Agape problematic men like one hands a trainer problematic dogs dsbhujfdrf

[emerydraws]

sophos shoots a guy

[deadmomjokes]

Took a hot minute (switching brain meds no fun can we get an oof in the chat), but I'm BACK with the memes, this time for A Conspiracy of Kings!

Unfortunately, this is the book where my child started asking us to read sections aloud (we avoided the murdery parts), and Hakakatoes and Akrekeysmashnesh can go kick rocks

But anyway. Let me take you through a bit of my process when I started this book.

"Oh boy, my favorite side character from the first book is back! I wonder what he'll get up to!"

Trauma is what. Should have known.

Baby boy needs some therapy and a course on self esteem my gosh.

He's too cinnamon roll for this awful political hellscape he got dumped into. But when it comes down to it...

Bunny Boy came in clutch and it was glorious.

(Me too, Gen.)

As if he didn't feel guilty enough already. Give! My! Child! A! Break!

And a couple extras of two of my favorite moments between the kings.

Anyhoo, overall not my favorite book in the series so far (which pains me to say because Sophos is My Darling Child Whom I Love Very Much), but still an excellent read!

[meganwhalenturner]

Voila!

They are beautiful and I love them and I have no idea where I'm going to put them.

[antigonick]

All my life they had made choices for me, and I had resented it. Now the choice was mine, and once it was made, I would have no right to blame anyone else for the consequences. Loss of that privilege, to blame others, unexpectedly stung.

—Megan Whalen Turner, A Conspiracy of Kings, in the Queen’s Thief Series

[tenebrius-excellium]

Help the way Sophos literally saves Gen in A Conspiracy of Kings...

The way in which the thief in Eugenides didn't necessarily die, but the way in which Attolis slowly, excruciatingly strangled him and buried him alive because he thought Gen could never see the light of day again after he'd promised to be king...

The way Gen believed he would never get the chance to be his true, most favorite self again because he couldn't afford it... that he thought he could never laugh carefree because he'd have to be ruthless like Attolia and measured like a ruler at all times...

The way he was so afraid that he hardened himself against his former friends and family, in case he'd have to wage war against them in the future... the way Eugenides was dying unhappily, fading away, deeply withdrawing into a shell, and only the husk of Attolis remained.

In comes Sophos and calls him what he knows he is. "Gen". Just Gen.

It's Sophos who proves that one can trust some people in one's life, not Eugenides, despite the latter's efforts to restore people to himself earlier, such as Relius, Costis and Teleus, because he despises killing. But Eugenides isn't good with trust either. He's good with isolation, trickery and mistrust. His relationship with Attolia still seems fickle because they're both not used to trust. Their relationship is a thin, fragile fabric of an exception.

Sophos, however, trusts blindly. The conversation at the end of ACoK shows it. Eugenides is like "how did you know my reinforcements would be there?" and Sophos is like "because we're friends and I trusted what you said."

And Gen is surprised. Humbled. Eugenides might be the glue that keeps the triumvirat together, but Sophos becomes their rock, their reassurance of everyone's generally good intentions. Sophos is the opposite of a backstabber, and every ruler of the Little Peninsula needs his naive, kind, and innocent presence as their friend to keep believing that there's something good left in this world of theirs where they have to form a never-before-seen alliance against the Mede.

They need someone safe who they can all rely on, and that rock is Sophos. My heart weeps for Gen. He really doesn't have it easy, and he is so, so alone without someone who knows his full heart.

Without Sophos turned Sounis, Eugenides could not have been the proper king everyone needed him to be in the later books. Godgenides would have brought terror on the land because he would have lost his connection to where he came from and who his friends were. Eddis sold him. It was important to have someone else from his past there who meant well. It's also beautiful to see how Sophos causes Eddis and Attolia to slowly open up to one another, and how relaxed Attolia gets when the burden of wariness falls off her shoulders. They all shed some serious armor around Sophos.

So yes, Sophos saves Gen - him, but what's more, he saves all of them - and it's the most important thing.

"Maybe the real treasure is the friends we made along the way" but threatening as in "if we are not friends, our kingdoms will tumble" - what a twist to that trope...

[vioqueenofmushrooms]

Sophos in a conspiracy of kings is truly just like. WWGD (What would Gen do)?

He is always going "I thought about what Eugenides would do here" or "I did this thing as Eugenides would". His acting skills consist of emulate Gen

Tbf I too think what would Gen do sometimes

[mothsartart]

i’ve had this modern au in my head for a while so here’s a bit of it with librarian sophos

[cogentranting]

We came around the last curve in the road, and we saw them: rank after rank of men in the blue and gold of Attolia waiting for us, banging their weapons and yelling. “Attolis,” I gasped to my father. “He sent more men.”

I have that post bouncing around about how often the twist in Queen's Thief is that Gen is more good than expected, and that's exactly what this is here.

Throughout Conspiracy of Kings, Sophos keeps coming back to what Gen would do in any given situation. That's what he falls back on to keep him going. And when he has the chance, he goes straight to Gen for help and agrees to pledge his loyalty. At the same time, throughout the book there's a running argument against this from everyone around Sophos. They all tell him it's a bad idea, that Gen is Attolis now, not the friend he knew, that Gen can't or won't help him. Most of this is from untrustworthy characters, but not all. The Magus and Eddis both caution Sophos. Gen himself expresses uncertainty over how much he can be both Attolis and the friend Sophos knew, and for a chunk of the book distances himself because of it. That's the conflict that's introduced at the very start of the book, with Gen apologizing to Sophos because they will have to meet next as Attolis and Sounis. And because of this conflict, Sophos wrestles with doubts. That's his big character struggle that keeps him up at nights through the middle of the book while he's in Attolia-- is he making the right choice to swear loyalty to Attolis? And when he must convince the barons to trust him, that's the sticking point and they all think he's a fool.

And this moment, when Sophos and his father turn the corner and find Gen's army waiting to save the day, that's the vindication. That's the big twist.

For the audience, we know Gen, so it's less of a twist for us (though his ability to help might be a surprise, if not his willingness). But it's absolutely a twist for the characters-- for the barons, for the Medes, for Sophos's father this is shocking. It's completely at odds with their view of how the world works.

The twist is that Gen is exactly who Sophos thought he was from the very beginning, a good man and a good friend and a good king. The twist is that the barons and the medes with all their scheming and suspicion and distrust were wrong, and Sophos with his 'naivety' and idealism was right all along.

In a book about plots and traitors and conspiracies, the twist is that trust was the right choice.