Here is Clue #10 in the One Adjective to Rule Them All competition. Words from a review by Gary Wolfe in Locus (it’s a great review!). The background illustration is taken from one of Spear‘s interior artworks by Rovina Cai.
Image description: Square graphic in blue-grey showing a figure kneeling in the shallows of a river, leaning their weight on a sword. In the upper third of the image, the figure is framed by bleak, bare trees. Beneath her, under her knee and barely visible, there is the hint of another submerged figure. Below this is the figure’s reflection in the moving water—darker and sharper and violently spattered and streaked with loose brushstrokes that cascade down the rest of the image. Centred in white text, “Mesmeriszing… A lyrical bildungsroman drenched in the natural world. A marvelously concise epic entirely Griffith’s own.” And below that, in red-orange, “Gary Wolfe, Locus”
The competition is OPEN TO ANYONE IN THE WORLD, NO PURCHASE NECESSARY! The winner gets 3 prizes in one:
- A signed, personalised first edition first printing of Spear
- A luscious enamel pin specially designed by Forensics & Flowers
- A digital download of the audiobook, narrated by moi
For the rules, and how to enter, see One Adjective to Rule Them All. Please note that I’ve amended the rules so you can enter once a day—refining your guesses as the clues mount up!
DO CHECK OUT THE UPDATED LIST OF ADJECTIVES THAT HAVE BEEN USED MORE THAN FOUR TIMES! We have a couple more words that crossed the threshold…
Comments on this post are off because the only guesses that count are those on the original blog post or emailed directly to me.
Nicola Griffith 