Oh, man, you totally have to ask for Julius Caesar/Nicomedes IV of Bithynia slash! OBVIOUSLY. Even if you don't get it, at least you will have tried! And who knows, there're probably ten people who do yuletide who could write it for you -- when you have a population that big, surely there's someone who read some interesting classical texts :)
The Steerswoman series is by Rosemary Kirstein -- the first two books have been released in omnibus edition (The Steerswoman's Road, encompassing The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret). The writing is not always great, but the characterization is awesome, and the world-building is amazing. Like, I love the world to pieces.
The basic premise: Steerswomen are knowledge-gatherers, and they wander around trying to figure things out, or they run archives, or they study math or whatever. And they always have to tell the truth, and answer any question; in return, any question they ask must be answered truthfully or people can be put under the steerswoman's ban, which means that they will never answer your questions. And a young, just out of training steerswoman (Rowan) starts asking questions about these jewels she sees in her travels, and then people start trying to kill her. And Bel is an outskirter who has a belt with the jewels in, and they become buddies, and travel together to figure things out, and Bel is amazing and awesome. You should totally check them out.
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Date: 2009-10-06 03:44 pm (UTC)The Steerswoman series is by Rosemary Kirstein -- the first two books have been released in omnibus edition (The Steerswoman's Road, encompassing The Steerswoman and The Outskirter's Secret). The writing is not always great, but the characterization is awesome, and the world-building is amazing. Like, I love the world to pieces.
The basic premise: Steerswomen are knowledge-gatherers, and they wander around trying to figure things out, or they run archives, or they study math or whatever. And they always have to tell the truth, and answer any question; in return, any question they ask must be answered truthfully or people can be put under the steerswoman's ban, which means that they will never answer your questions. And a young, just out of training steerswoman (Rowan) starts asking questions about these jewels she sees in her travels, and then people start trying to kill her. And Bel is an outskirter who has a belt with the jewels in, and they become buddies, and travel together to figure things out, and Bel is amazing and awesome. You should totally check them out.