The Thief possesses many of the elements necessary for a truly successful fantasy. Turner uses them to create a fresh, original story that allows readers to suspend their disbelief and accept the fantasy world as real. Gen and the magus undertake a quest in which, as in most moral tales, justice and good triumph over evil. Gen seems to be an unlikely hero at first, but he possesses a sense of honor and his own type of courage. There is even a friendship that develops between Gen and the magus after Hamiathes's Gift is found and then seemingly lost.

The world that Turner creates for the three kingdoms is consistently logical with just the right amount of reference to actual history to make the fantasy persuasive. The careful juxtaposition of and balance between the old and the new are also shown in her replacing the sorcerer...