The wee competition we have going for Hild comps moves up a notch after a writer friend, Dennis Mahoney, sent me this: 

Hild is a marvelous blend of mystic wisdom and human savvy. It feels true. Hild’s transformation from reluctant ‘chosen one’ to world-shifting chooser is potent and convincing. Griffith’s prose frequently reminded me of Seamus Heaney. Her language has that clear, punchy strength that comes across as beauty instead of brutishness. It often sounds like what’s being described. This is the kind of broad, character-rich book you want to live with a while. It’s a saturating experience. I loved it.

So we’re now at ten comparisons. In addition to Hilary Mantel, Sigrid Undset, T.H. White, George R.R. Martin, Ellis Peters, Rosemary Sutcliff, J.R.R. Tolkien, whoever wrote Beowulf, and the person to whom we attribute the Arthur legends, we have Seamus Heaney.

That makes the count:

10 total: 2 undeclared, 3 women, 5 men

If you have a guess, append it to the comments on this post so we can keep them all together.

As a reminder, my guess was:

18 total: 3 undeclared, 8 women, 7 men

And the prize is still a signed, personalised copy of the finished Hild, mailed anywhere in the world.

All Hild reviews so far here.