Stealing Thunder

(Paperback)

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Description

A charming dragon fantasy novel where a trans girl named Razia runs away from home, finds a community of trans women known as hijras, falls in love, and steals back her dragon. By night, Razia Khan is one of the most sought-after dancing girls in the desert city of Bikampur. Later in the night, she is its most elusive thief. When Razia finds herself dancing for the maharaja's son, the handsome prince Arjun, she knows that she's playing with fire. As a trans girl, known as a hijra, she can never be a wife to any man, and as the former crown prince of the Sultanate of Nizam, she guards her identity carefully, lest her father's assassins find her. But in the dragon-riding prince of Bikampur, Razia sees not just a ticket out of the gutter, but a kindred spirit. As their romance blossoms, Razia finds herself once more thrust into the dangerous world of politics in Daryastan, and in order to survive, she will need the skills of a courtesan, a thief, and a warrior princess.

Reviews

Praise for STEALING THUNDER:

"STEALING THUNDERwas immersive from the very first page. Razia is everything you want in a protagonist."Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author

"This is an epic fantasy for our time, beautifully written, considerately composed, and very important in many ways. Highly recommended."Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author

"STEALING THUNDER draws you in with its richly-detailed worldbuilding and hooks you with gripping action and suspense, but the biggest appeal is the books themes of politics, family, and identity. This is the kind of book youll want to share with people, so buy multiple copies."Rob Hart, author of The Warehouse

"A breakout novel any way you choose to look at it, STEALING THUNDER features an appealing young dragon-loving heroine sure of who she is but still figuring out where she belongs. Between Razia's capers, romances, and political intrigues, Boyden weaves fantasy threads into a fascinating tapestry... I loved her fresh take on dragons and their riders."E.E. Knight, author of Novice Dragoneer

"This delightful debut is rich with detailed worldbuilding, political intrigue, and South Asian cultural references drawn from Boydens experience as a trans activist who has traveled in India and Pakistan. Boyden handles the story with a steady hand, and this first novel will delight romantic fantasy enthusiasts."Library Journal (starred review)

"Come for the vivid world, stay for the intrigue, the dialogue and the top-notch character design."BookPage

"In Razia you will find a heroine that is beautiful, strong, trustworthy, and above all resilient. Hers is a story worth reading no matter where you lie on the gender spectrum."Black Girl Nerds

Author Bio

Alina Boyden is a cultural anthropologist focused on organized communities of transgender women in Pakistan, known as khwaja siras, or more popularly as hijras, focusing on how they use their unique community organization to advance the fight for their rights at home and abroad-something which has inspired her, as a transgender woman, in her own battles for civil rights in the U.S. as she fought for transgender care in a major court case with the ACLU.