The Philosopher Kings
core novel 2015 Thessaly
Record
| First published | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.93 (3,140 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765332677 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
Fifteen years after the events of The Just City, Athena's ambitious utopian experiment has splintered into five separate, mutually feuding cities scattered across their island, with a sixth breakaway faction having long since sailed away to parts unknown. Apollo, still living out his chosen mortal existence and now raising children of his own, sets out on an expedition across the Aegean alongside his sharp, perceptive teenage daughter Arete, accompanied by scholars, soldiers, and the elderly Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino, in search of the missing sixth group of citizens. The journey is complicated by a devastating personal loss that leaves Apollo consumed by grief and a dangerous hunger for revenge, a reaction so intense that even Arete recognizes her father, for all his divine nature, has become genuinely unbalanced by it.
Where it sits
- Universe: Thessaly
- Series: The Thessaly trilogy core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Jo Walton
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Thessaly trilogy: position 2 of 3: previous The Just City (2015) · next Necessity (2016)
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Just City
- Thessaly series bibliography (specialised series-tracking site)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Philosopher_Kings_(novel)
← Thessaly dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.