Here is Clue #9 in the One Adjective to Rule Them All competition. Words from a review in Kirkus. The background illustration is taken from one of Spear's interior artworks by Rovina Cai.

Image description: Square graphic in blue-grey showing a great, Celtic-style hanging bowl over the flames with smoke and steam fuming up, forming images of a woman in the woods, a fortified wall, a horse and rider, and more. Centred in white text, "Griffith mines the Matter f Britain while turning tropes upside down. A fresh, often lovely take on Arthurian legend." And below that, in red-orange, "Kirkus"

The competition is OPEN TO ANYONE IN THE WORLD, NO PURCHASE NECESSARY! The winner gets 3 prizes in one:

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.