I Wish I’d Written: Liz Flanagan

Liz Flanagan, author of Eden Summer on a story of hope and revolution for our times.

The book I wish I’d written is Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce, the breathtakingly accomplished sequel to Trickster’s Choice.

Aly, the protagonist, is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, for her quick wit and resourcefulness. Spymaster’s daughter, captured by pirates and sold into slavery, she rises to become an unlikely mastermind of a revolution in the sprawling and divided kingdom of The Copper Isles.

There is so much to love in this magical universe: Kyprioth, the flamboyant trickster god who uses Aly’s skills to restore himself to power; the darkings, a set of tiny creatures ‘made of blood and magic’ who spy for Aly; and the beautiful kudarung, or flying horses, who become a symbol of hope as the corrupt regime finally begins to crumble.

In this concluding part, Pierce draws together a vast spider web of plot threads and a huge cast of characters, vivid and memorable, drawn from all sections of a complex and believable society. Serious issues of race and oppression are dramatized here with such imagination, generosity and humour that there is never a dull moment. I’ve had to buy a new edition because my ten-year-old read my beloved dog-eared copy so often that it fell apart.

Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce is published by Random House but currently unavailable

Liz Flanagan’s book, Eden Summer (978-1-9109-8908-1) is now available in paperback published by David Fickling Books, £7.99 pbk.