i went on my spring vacation...

...and all I got was this pile of books. Which actually is my ideal spring break, even if it isn't other people's. (Also: knitting, new jeans, taxes, cooking, and testing whether you really can find Law and Order on at any time of day or night.)

I was going to tell you about A Conspiracy of Kings, but then I realized that I can't tell you about it without spoiling all the books that come before it - because one of the things that Megan Whalen Turner does that makes them so good (along with interesting worldbuilding, a fascinating mythology, likeable characters, and badass women) is talk around a critical piece of information until the very end, at which point you go "....oooooohhh" and the whole book changes, just a little bit. And then you go and read it again. But this does have the downside of being unable to talk about later books really at all without spoiling all of the things before, and they are better if you read them unspoiled.

But, you say, what are these books? They're set in a fantasy world sort of reminisent of Greece (except when it isn't), and focuses on three countries on a pennisula, sometimes at war with each other and always in the shadow of their larger, expanding neighbors. The first one, The Thief, is about a quest to steal an object out of legend, but the later books move more into politics and power and war.

Also (and this is the key point), they are awesome. Let me illustrate how badly I wanted this book: I knew it was coming out on the 23rd - that is, last Tuesday. I also knew that books not written by Rowling, Meyer, etc, often have flexible release dates - they end up on the shelves when the bookstores get their shipments in. However, the nifty feature on the B&N or Borders website that lets you check whether a book is in stock at a particular location is run by computers, which are not good with flexibility, so until the release dates they say "Not yet released." So last weekend I started calling bookstores. First I called my local B&N, who told me that it was on order and should arrive any day now, and that they'd be happy to set one aside for me. I then thought about calling all the other B&Ns in my area, but decided not to - but only because one chain probably all gets books at the same time. I next called Borders, who seemed to have no idea that this was a almost-released book, but offered to special order one for me. I declined, on the grounds that it wouldn't get there any faster.

The next day, I had an epiphany. Since MWT's books are classifed as children's books, for reasons beyond my comprehesnion, I could call my local independent children's bookstore to see if they had a copy. I was concerned when I was put on hold for a long time, but eventually they got back to me - it had taken a long time because they had to go through an unopened box, but, yes, they did have it, and would hold it for me. I thought about waiting til my mom got home from work (with the car), but instead I set off on foot in order to get it immediately. And it was worth every bit of ridiculous things I did to get it.

( Now, the actual review. spoilers for this book and all previous )

Other books:

( The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire, both by Stieg Larsson )

( Rosemary and Rue and A Local Habitation, both by Seanan McGuire )