This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is books with ordinal numbers in the title, which took me some doing! But I got there in the end, by spelunking through past books read.

1. The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff.
   This was the first to jump to mind, as it’s a book I’ve loved for a long time. Sutcliff was great at writing historical fiction that was perfect for kids without being patronising and without skimping on detail. The germ of the story for this one is a Roman eagle that was found during an archaeological dig, along with the alleged disappearance of the Ninth Legion (though the status of the Hispana and how it ended are questioned more now, if I understand correctly). Despite that, it’s not meant as a history lesson, and I love Marcus, Esca and Cub, and the story of the Ninth Legion that Sutcliff imagined.
2. The Fourth Island, by Sarah Tolmie.
   Turns out I never posted my review of this book here, so I’ve added that to my list! I’ve loved several of Tolmie’s novellas, and remember enjoying this a lot — though it’s not a story that comes to many conclusions, but rather one that leaves you with all kinds of questions and things to ponder. As I recall, it’s beautifully written, too!
3. The Ninth Rain, by Jen Williams.
   This one’s stuck in my head for ages! I’ve been contemplating a reread of this as well, because this trilogy just felt so chewy. I don’t know if that makes sense to say, but there was a lot of worldbuilding, a lot of stuff going on, and I got really attached to some of the characters.
4. The Seventh Bride, by T. Kingfisher.
   And another one I’d really like to reread! It’s been quite a long time, but I remember finding this a really fun retelling, and there’s a hedgehog! I definitely remember the hedgehog.
5. The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin.
   I imagine this one is on a lot of fantasy and SF lovers’ lists, because there’s so much going on in this one. It’s hard not to spoiler, honestly, because so much of it should probably just be experienced without knowing, leaving you picking up the pieces… I need to finish the trilogy someday.
6. The First Ghosts, by Irving Finkel.
   This was a complete impulse read back when I picked it up, and I found it really fascinating. Finkel discusses the ancient sources that tell us what people in ancient Sumeria, Babylon and Assyria believed about ghosts, and digs into what he thinks that means. I felt somewhat differently about that part (which dinged the rating a touch), but I still found it really interesting.
7. The First Fossil Hunters, by Adrienne Mayor.
   I really enjoyed this one: Mayor digs into what the ancient Greeks and Romans thought about fossils, because obviously they did see fossils in the world and wonder about them and have stories about them. I think at times it goes beyond the evidence a bit, but it’s still really interesting.
8. The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert. 
   The sixth extinction is, of course, the one that’s happening now, with massive losses in biodiversity in pretty much every biome. Kolbert’s book is partly a discussion of that, and partly a celebration of biodiversity in hopes that people can be convinced to protect it. Definitely a worthy read.
9. Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs, by Camilla Townsend.
   This book attempts to look past the Spanish sources that are frequently used to understand the Aztec world, looking for sources written by indigenous people wherever possible and trying to dispell certain myths (like the idea that Moctezuma believed Hernán Cortés was a god). And it finally taught me to pronounce certain Nahautl words, as well; the pronunciation guides were really good.
10. Third Time Lucky, by Tanya Huff.
    Confession: I don’t really remember this collection, but I thought highly of it at the time, and Huff is a fun writer in general. So I’d probably stand by past-me’s recommendation!

See? I did it in the end!

Very curious to see others’ choices, and whether everyone struggled as much as I did!