The Thief

The Thief is a low fantasy novel, meaning that the fantasy elements, such as magic, are often small and can typically be explained with basic rationale. Gen’s dream in Chapter 8 is the first time that magic makes an appearance, and it is repeated when he has the dream again in Chapter 9. In Chapter 8, Gen initially thinks the waterfall is locked away through some sort of magic, but he soon realizes that the process is mechanical. However, no explanation is given as to why the water stops only a few nights a year, leaving it open to either a magical or nonmagical cause. Within the maze, doors that Gen wedges open close without warning, and the bones he finds are collected in one place, which seems unlikely given how the flood ravages the passageways at sunrise. Gen’s encounter with the court of the gods in Chapter 9 seems real, but Gen has nothing to prove it happened and was not simply a product of his panicked mind. Earlier, the magus explains that the ruler of Eddis is decided by the passing of Hamiathes’s Gift, which is fulfilled in Chapter 12, and while this leads to a new ruler and a potential alliance between Eddis and Sounis, there is nothing to suggest the stone’s mythical abilities are real or that they have anything to do with succession in Eddis. The only potentially supernatural occurrence that cannot be easily explained by basic rationale is the silence of the horse’s hooves, which suggests that magic is present, though perhaps not in the amounts the myths claim. Together, these instances build the world and lore of the novel and show that Gen is not the only unreliable aspect of the story, in that it is not always easy to distinguish when magic is occurring or how important it is to the events of the text.

The final three chapters bring how Loyalty Is a Relationship and How We Use One Another to a close and reveal any remaining secrets the characters keep from one another. For example, Gen not wanting to return to Sounis is another instance where he tells a partial truth: He does not want to risk going back to prison, both because it was an unpleasant experience and because he has a mission that he must return to Eddis to fulfill. However, Gen has grown to like the magus, Pol, and Sophos, which doesn’t allow him to simply ditch them, an act that gets him, Sophos, and the magus captured while Pol is killed. Gen’s emotions disrupt Ambiades’s betrayal by bringing about circumstances Ambiades’s didn’t plan for. By doing so, Gen becomes an unwitting tool for the group that allows them to thwart Ambiades even though they are still captured. Imprisoned in Attolia, Gen begins his final sequence of deception that ultimately brings him back to Eddis. Though freeing the magus and Sophos was not part of the plan, the relationship he has cultivated with each character prevents him from leaving them behind, and when they arrive in Eddis, Gen learns Sophos is a key player in an alliance between Eddis and Sounis. Together, these situations show how the characters are tools for others even when they aren’t trying or being forced into that role. Further, in a plot that centers around a seize of political power to prevent further fighting, the characters using each other to advance their own goals is not the most extreme of crimes. In presenting the characters as each having their own agendas, it makes it possible to understand the perspectives and motivations of the other characters; if they would act in service of a particular goal, it is less challenging to forgive a character who was simply doing the same.

In Chapter 11, Gen confesses that he became a thief to avoid the killing involved with being a soldier. Earlier in the chapter, he proves that he is skilled in combat, evidenced by how he is able to take down trained Attolian soldiers. Gen’s assertion that he hates killing despite being good at it demonstrates the importance of doing what we believe in rather than what we are capable of. Though Gen has the aptitude to be a soldier, he doesn’t agree with combat or killing, which makes the profession one he is unsuited for, despite his family roots in it. Whether he had a similar aptitude for stealing or developed it to get away from being a soldier doesn’t matter to his character or the plot: Gen chose who he wanted to be and took a stand about what he was willing to do, which shows that, despite his sulky nature and readiness to argue, he is a more complex character capable of integrity and maintaining personal morals. Though Gen lies or tells half-truths as it suits him, he doesn’t lie to himself. He knows who he wants to be, and he doesn’t let the pressure of others change his mind. This quality shows how Loyalty Is a Relationship within ourselves, and it explains how Gen is able to lie with such ease—he knows what he wants others to see and how to convince them that what he says is true.

Chapter 12 ties up remaining loose ends and hints at the future of the series. Gen escaping from Attolia and making a fuss out of going the wrong way is his last set of lies, and these bring him, Sophos, and the magus to Eddis, which changes the trajectory of their adventure. With the reveal that Sophos is heir to Sounis’s throne, the current king is rendered obsolete because Eddis’s queen and Sounis’s heir have formed a connection that can serve them both going forward. Gen is unsure of how he feels about destroying Hamiathes’s Gift because it is a crucial part of the tales and myths he believes in, as well as a key part of his namesake’s origin story. It is not said whether the stone is destroyed, and if Gen decides he won’t watch the stone be destroyed, he possesses the skill set to remove it from harm’s way, which offers additional insight into his character. From the beginning of the book, Gen has had the might of his skills behind every decision he made. If he didn’t like how a situation was unfolding, he could steal or lie his way into a more favorable situation, and his confidence shows how having a measure of control over one’s surroundings changes how one moves through the world. Unlike Gen, Ambiades felt powerless, hence his decision to betray the group in exchange for wealth and status. Further, unlike Gen, Ambiades lacked the confidence in his ability to successfully pull off his deception, which ultimately led to mistakes and failure. The theme of Beliefs Are Not Truth also applies to believing in ourselves, a distinction made evident in how Gen and Ambiades approach the actions they take and the lies they tell. Lastly, this ending offers some hope while leaving the circumstances open to future developments as part of a longer series; there is some resolution as relationships and alliances are formed while leaving plenty of uncertainty, whether in the fate of the three kingdoms or the status of Hamiathes’s Gift, from which the second installment can build.