The Sword Thief
Encyclopedia
The Sword Thief is the third book in The 39 Clues
series. It was written by Peter Lerangis
and was published by Scholastic on March 3, 2009. The Sword Thief follows the first two books in the series, The Maze of Bones
by Rick Riordan
and One False Note
by Gordon Korman
. The following book continues the plot in Beyond the Grave
airport. There, Ian and Natalie Kabra steal their plane tickets and board a plane where their au pair, Nellie Gomez, who is already on the plane. Amy and Dan are then forced to team up with Alistair Oh, their uncle, and fly with him on his private plane to Tokyo, Japan. Together they learn about Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, the greatest warrior in the history of Japan
, and the son of the first Tomas. The Holts kidnap Amy, Dan, and Alistair and threatened them into helping them find the next clue.
They are pulled into a room by Alistair after nearly being killed by the train. In this room, they find a haiku
, which tells them to use geometry
to find Hideyoshi's treasure. Later, they find some geometric shapes, but are chased by the Yakuza
and are once again nearly killed. They are rescued by Nellie, who has struck a deal with, and is accompanied by, the Kabras. When the Kabras give Amy and Dan a small coin of importance to the search, the two Cahills agree to join forces with the Kabras. They decode another message in the shapes, and some English letters. The message tells them to go to Korea
. And in other parts of the story after they meet the Kabras once again, Amy having a secret, but small, crush on Ian is introduced in this book. The author's writing (Peter Lerangis
) also gives a little hint away: Ian may like Amy as well. Dan suspects it as well.
In Korea, everyone goes to Alistair's house. There, they look at old books about the Cahill family in Alistair's secret library. By reading one of them, Amy and Dan figure out that the secret of the 39 Clues is the ability to make gold out of lead. They also figure out that they should go to a mountain called Pukhansan.
On the mountain, they find an entrance, and open it with the coin they have. Inside, they find all of Hideyoshi's treasure, and the third clue, gold. The Kabras have a plan, but little do they know that Dan also has a plan. He discovers an anagram and says the next location is Lake Tash, Kyrgyzstan. The Kabras then betray them and block them inside the cave. Dan then tells Amy that he tricked the Kabras into thinking that Lake Tash was the next location, and the two figure out that it's actually an anagram for the words, Al Sakhet and Alkahest, the alchemical word for the philosopher's stone. Dan and Amy make it out but Alistair appears to be crushed under falling rocks. They also see Bae Oh talking about this with The Man in Black. Upon returning to Alistair's estate, Dan sees Alistair's gloves (which he was wearing before the cave in), and realizes that he isn't dead. They also figure out that the next clue is in Egypt
. The adventure continues in Beyond the Grave.
The book ends with Bae Oh, sitting his office. He pages his secretary
but Alistair answers instead. Alistair threatens his uncle, and when Bae looks in his receiving room, no one is there.
The 39 Clues
The 39 Clues consists of two series of adventure books, The Clue Hunt and Cahills vs. Vespers, combining reading, online gaming, and card collecting...
series. It was written by Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis is an author of children's and young-adult fiction.-Career:Lerangis's work includes The Viper's Nest and The Sword Thief, two titles in the New York Times–bestselling children's-book series The 39 Clues, the historical novel Smiler's Bones, the YA dark comedy-adventure novel wtf,...
and was published by Scholastic on March 3, 2009. The Sword Thief follows the first two books in the series, The Maze of Bones
The Maze of Bones
The Maze of Bones was published by Scholastic on September 9, 2008. The story arc of the series has been established by Riordan, but a collaboration of six other authors will continue to write the story through the next nine books.-Plot introduction :...
by Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan
Richard Russell "Rick" Riordan, Jr. is an American author best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He also wrote the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults and helped to edit Demigods and Monsters, a collection of essays on the topic of his Percy Jackson series...
and One False Note
One False Note
One False Note is the second book in The 39 Clues series. It is written by Gordan Korman, and was published by Scholastic on December 2, 2008. Following the events of The Maze of Bones, the protagonists Amy and Dan Cahill learn about Mozart and travel to Vienna, Austria to search for the second...
by Gordon Korman
Gordon Korman
Gordon Korman is a Canadian author, primarily of novels for children and young adults. He lives in Long Island's Great Neck, New York, with his wife and three children....
. The following book continues the plot in Beyond the Grave
Beyond the Grave
Beyond the Grave is the fourth book in The 39 Clues series first published in June 2, 2009 and written by Jude Watson.Thematically the novel uses Biblical knowledge, prophecy, and spiritual topics to explore the afterlife. Amy and Dan Cahill, the protagonists, travel to Egypt because of a clue they...
Plot summary
The book starts with Dan and Amy in a VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
airport. There, Ian and Natalie Kabra steal their plane tickets and board a plane where their au pair, Nellie Gomez, who is already on the plane. Amy and Dan are then forced to team up with Alistair Oh, their uncle, and fly with him on his private plane to Tokyo, Japan. Together they learn about Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, the greatest warrior in the history of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and the son of the first Tomas. The Holts kidnap Amy, Dan, and Alistair and threatened them into helping them find the next clue.
They are pulled into a room by Alistair after nearly being killed by the train. In this room, they find a haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
, which tells them to use geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
to find Hideyoshi's treasure. Later, they find some geometric shapes, but are chased by the Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
and are once again nearly killed. They are rescued by Nellie, who has struck a deal with, and is accompanied by, the Kabras. When the Kabras give Amy and Dan a small coin of importance to the search, the two Cahills agree to join forces with the Kabras. They decode another message in the shapes, and some English letters. The message tells them to go to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. And in other parts of the story after they meet the Kabras once again, Amy having a secret, but small, crush on Ian is introduced in this book. The author's writing (Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis is an author of children's and young-adult fiction.-Career:Lerangis's work includes The Viper's Nest and The Sword Thief, two titles in the New York Times–bestselling children's-book series The 39 Clues, the historical novel Smiler's Bones, the YA dark comedy-adventure novel wtf,...
) also gives a little hint away: Ian may like Amy as well. Dan suspects it as well.
In Korea, everyone goes to Alistair's house. There, they look at old books about the Cahill family in Alistair's secret library. By reading one of them, Amy and Dan figure out that the secret of the 39 Clues is the ability to make gold out of lead. They also figure out that they should go to a mountain called Pukhansan.
On the mountain, they find an entrance, and open it with the coin they have. Inside, they find all of Hideyoshi's treasure, and the third clue, gold. The Kabras have a plan, but little do they know that Dan also has a plan. He discovers an anagram and says the next location is Lake Tash, Kyrgyzstan. The Kabras then betray them and block them inside the cave. Dan then tells Amy that he tricked the Kabras into thinking that Lake Tash was the next location, and the two figure out that it's actually an anagram for the words, Al Sakhet and Alkahest, the alchemical word for the philosopher's stone. Dan and Amy make it out but Alistair appears to be crushed under falling rocks. They also see Bae Oh talking about this with The Man in Black. Upon returning to Alistair's estate, Dan sees Alistair's gloves (which he was wearing before the cave in), and realizes that he isn't dead. They also figure out that the next clue is in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The adventure continues in Beyond the Grave.
The book ends with Bae Oh, sitting his office. He pages his secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
but Alistair answers instead. Alistair threatens his uncle, and when Bae looks in his receiving room, no one is there.
Page Number Code
In every book in the series, there is a code written in the page numbers. The one for this book is written in symbols, which reads "The Competition is about Hope". This may be a reference to the trading card called the hope diamond. It also might be a reference to Amy and Dan's mother, Hope Cahill.Hope Cahill is[was]Amy and Dan's mother who died from a fire, along with the kid's dad before aunt betrice took over.External links
- Scholastic 39 Clues books page
- The Sword Thief on the 39 Clues wiki.