I've only read the Riddlemaster Trilogy by Patricia McKillip. But I've been meaning to read more, so I'll definitely pick up Alphabet of Thorns some day.

It's amazing how you can hear a word, like terrible, see it described, even see it in the real world, *feel* it yourself, and yet when someone says the word, none of those things come back to you. But the word does have power; you just have to find it.

I'm glad this struck a chord with you--it's something that definitely helps me.