September contest

It's Spring! Yay! Time for a new contest to go with the glorious (or rather soggy so far) turn of the season. Spring is my favourite time of year, so goodby winter! Hello blossoms and (hopefully) warmer days.

This month, we're taking a turn into YA. Well, kind of YA. This is one of those books that I think is classified as YA but really, if I didn't know that, I'd just call it fantasy. The hero is said to be young at the start but never definitely how young and given what he does, he can't be THAT young. But regardless of the classification, it's a fabulous book. Which is, by the way, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.



I'm not sure whether I first heard this book mentioned on Justine Larbalestier's blog or on Sarah Rees Brennan's blog (or twitter feed) but I do know it popped up several times in rapid succession in seemingly unrelated places in one of those weird moments of universal synchronicity some time last year. I didn't know much about the book but decided to check it out from the library. Then promptly went out and bought it and the next two in the series (The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia). I've since read all three several times, hooked my mother on them too and today am very happy because I just got Book 4 (A Conspiracy of Kings) from the library (which I will definitely be buying but not until it comes out in paperback...not because I wouldn't pay hardcover price for it but because I am weird and like my series to be all in the same format wherever possible and I have the other three in paper. Yes. I am strange. You should know this by now).

I love The Thief and the other books because they have one of the all time greatest ever trickster heros (Gen is so clever he's in danger of cutting himself) who is also remarkably human, it has a glorious difficult romance, some pretty ruthless politics and more twists and turns and surprises than one can poke the proverbial stick at. All written is a beautifully sparse style that somehow still manages to evoke the very unique world gorgeously. One of those series that makes you groan and bang your head on the desk because you'll never be quite so brilliant. So comment away on the blog posts this month to win (and if you don't, hie yourself to the nearest bookstore or library and get your hands on them).

I should also mention that Megan seems to have gotten herself some seriously good cover karma (or else an in with the good cover fairy) because the covers for the whole series are beautiful! If I was her I'd have probably died of happiness when I laid eyes on the first one. But luckily I'm not and so we have more than one book to enjoy!

As usual, explanation of why the contest is here.

Rules are simple, comment on any blog post this month to score an entry. Winner has one week after being announced here and on Twitter and Facebook to get back to me to claim the prize, after which I will re-draw.