Monday Musings: Circles are the Perfect Shape

And yes, that is a Tow'rs reference. Go listen.

I just finished rereading The Queen of Attolia (only a year after I reread The Thief in hopes of reading the whole series again before getting to Thick as Thieves). As I plotted out how to do this month's ThrowBook Thursday post (delayed from last week due to a sick Samwise, who's now on the mend), I realized that I'd already used QoA for last year's TBT in May.

I'm pretty sure I blinked. Then I laughed. Then I said, "What the heck, let's review it again anyway."

Everything I said last year remains true (minus me thinking QoA has multiple myths; it just has the one). But I want to add a few things that I appreciated even more on this, my third time through the book:

• Eugenides and his sass. "I'll stop shouting, but I won't sit down. I might need to throw more ink bottles."
• Attolia and everything we learn about her history
• Ruby earrings (if you've read the books, you'll get it; if not, watch for them)
• Gen's father and his appreciation for our Thief
• Eddis' blend of love and exasperation for Gen and his escapades
• Multiple heists and plot twists
• Moira's messages
• Gen's encounter at the end of the book. It reminded me of Strange near the end of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (and hopefully that's not a spoiler to anyone).

This book has got intrigue on a small scale (within Attolia's court) and a large (the international wars and rumors of wars). It fleshes out characters who were only mentioned in passing in the previous book and sets up events for what's likely to be the rest of the series. (The fiery vision from the end has yet to be addressed fully. Here's hoping that book 6, already in the works last year, will tie things together.)

Even if you haven't read The Thief, you'll probably enjoy The Queen of Attolia if you appreciate snark, court intrigue, and plot twists. This is one book I highly recommend.

But QoA isn't the only thing I was digging into this time last year. I also had an idea for a project called Swanlight that I've mentioned very briefly once or twice before. In fact, the other day I was doing some research on setting and atmosphere and thinking "Maybe I'll finally start this thing." The next day one of my Facebook memories was a post about the idea in its original form. Oh, and remember how I mentioned wanting to read Uprooted again? I read it in May last year. In fact, its take on magic partially inspired the magic system of Swanlight.

Maybe May is another creative peak season for me. I'll have to keep an eye on it. (And you can keep an eye out for Swanlight snippets/beta opportunities once I get going on it full-time.)

Have you read the Attolia books? Which one is your favorite? Do you think you'd enjoy having Gen over for dinner or would you prefer to keep your interactions with him limited to fiction? Let me know in the comments!