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The final book of the Queen’s Thief series features another change in viewpoint. This time, we get Pheris, who is new for this book, instead of a returning secondary character.

Pheris is physically deformed, and is the grandson of Baron Erondites, who we have seen before. Pheris is viewed with suspicion as a ‘monster’ by the superstitious, and his nurse has taught him to play this up so that is all that is thought of him, even though he’s actually quite clever and cunning. The inciting incident of the novel is his uncomfortable stable life coming to an end when he is sent to the court of the new high king, Eugenides.

The idea was to get the heir of Erondites away from the current baron. Pheris isn’t expected to inherit anything, but he is the older brother. Gen, as ever, doesn’t take long to see there is more here than anyone else has realized, and Pheris is given a chance to be more than his cramped little life has allowed him.

As he starts realizing his own potential, internal and external politics heat up, and we are treated to the war that has threatened for some time. This is the final book, and many arcs from the rest of the series come to rest here. It can be hard to bring a series of books that can all be read independently to a proper conclusion, but Turner does it here. There are more things that could be said, and I would dearly like to see more of this world, but that would be as a separate series, different in place and time. For here, we have a good ending to a great series. I recommend people start with the first book, but also be aware that the themes of the series largely start with the second one.