Trickster's Choice

Tamora Pierce is at it again in the Trickster's series. This book is based on Aly, Alanna's only daughter.

Aly has the Sight from her father and a heavy dose of magical power from her mother. Unlike her mother, she has no inclination of being a knight of the realm, but instead wants to be a spy like her father. However, being the only girl in the family and knowing the world of spywork first hand, her parents keep her only in the back rooms transcribing notes and reports from spies in the field. Aly wants more. She wants an opportunity to prove herself. And, boy, does she get one.

While sailing north to get away from her mother's temper, her small dingy gets overtaken by slavers and she becomes sold into slavery in the Copper Isles--which is known for its crazy nobility. However, the family she is sold to has a God looking after it, her father's very own patron God, and has a touch of destiny about it. She makes a deal with the Trickster God: keep the children of the Balitang family alive throughout the summer and he will make sure she gets home to Tortall safely. How hard can keeping a bunch of high ranking nobility safe be right?

This is just not my favorite series of Tamora's, which is sad. I think it has great promise and if I remember correctly, the next one is really good. I hope it's really good. This is actually the first book I picked up from Tamora Pierce which my friend made me put down and pick up Alanna: The First Adventure instead. Don't read this if you haven't read the other books first. You will miss out on a lot of things and be very confused on many of those same things that are presented.

This series is a big change for Tamora and her writing. Here she is doing something very different from her past series. It is her first first-person-point-of-view novel as well as her first single book of such a length. Tamora has slowly been getting long, but this has more words in it than even Lady Knight. With this expense I feel she runs into some problems. I feel like she didn't do enough with the first person POV. There felt like very little emotion, that we normally get through that type of POV, wasn't there. There was very little internal dialog or thought that was conveyed which made it feel like Tamora had simply switched it from third to first by changing the "she"s to "I"s and kept writing. There is supposed to be more of an internal view when it comes to first person that I don't think she grasped here.

The other part I didn't so much like was the long periods of time where nothing seemed to really be happening. This is my second read through (though the first time I read it was probably fourteen years ago (yikes)) and from the time when I first read it to now, I could only recall a few things that happened. They were at the climax and at the very beginning. They were basics. Like crows turning human, the guys name is Nawat, and Aly was a slave. I didn't remember much from the first book at all like I do in other stories where I revisit these awesome moments in my mind over and over (I do this a lot with the Stormlight Archive or in The Immortals series.). I honestly didn't remember that she was a spy (until my friend commented on it and I was like "What? Really?"), because there wasn't much spyness to it. She could pick locks, she searched through people's stuff and waited. I guess that is a lot of what spies do. They wait. But in the need of an engaging novel, it didn't have very high stakes when she was spying. There was not a thought to her getting caught because she was just so good. There was never that tention or her needing to hide in a closet or behind curtains because someone came back to their rooms early. Most of the time I can bust out a Tamora Pierce series in a month, all four books, but this single book nearly took me a month to read by itself. I needed to grab some graphic novels while I was at it because Trickster's Choice was slow and I needed a pick-me-up.

I do also think that when it came to the "slave situation," things were over simplified. It was very much glossed over with "the Duke and Duchess were very kind to everyone" then the grand generalizations of "bad things happened to other slaves by other masters." There were one or two mentions of what 'bad things' were, but not enough to really compare and get a feel for the real world of the Copper Isles.

Now, Tamora's writing in it I think was lacking. It was slow and not as engaging as The Immortals series or Protector of the Small. But there were really good characters. There was a whole cast of different people with different personalities and different things they were good at. Dove and Sarai were dramatically different and very easy to tell apart--whereas sometimes in the past it is hard to tell sisters apart and they almost come in a set. This is not the case for them. The duke and duchess were very different from their peers in that they were kind to everyone in their household, servants, slaves, men-at-arms, etc. They were supposed to be different which made it easy for the reader to like them. I do wish we were given a reason as to why they were so kind to all, not just "because reasons" or "because plot," but something more solid. Kypiroth, the Trickster himself, was fantastic. Very much reminded me of my favorite George in manors and humor. Nawat was very sweet being a crow who turns human to help Aly (reasons are given, so although it's odd it's still valid). His constant talk of fledgelings, hawks, snakes, and mobbings alongside his devotion for her and his own quirkiness made him endearing and someone I really liked. I do wish the little raka committee that Aly becomes a part of differentiated the people a little bit more. The names got to be kind of obnoxious and it was hard to tell some of the men apart.

I do have another qualm with Aly, herself. She's too good at what she does. At the beginning when they are traveling to the outer estate and all is quiet in the woods, she knows better than the Duke's guards and people who are three times her age who had done this before she was born. Yet, she knows better. That rather irked me. She is smarter than practically everyone around her even people who are supposed to be veterans in one thing or another. There also isn't a time when she actually fails. She's perfect and doesn't do things wrong. There are people who die towards the end, but the characters were all prepared for that or plot for the second book needed to happen. I wanted to cry for them especially one character, but I didn't. Aly wasn't even there when the death happened. I wan't emotionally invested because Aly wasn't invested. I also think her Sight is a cop-out for description. There is no other use for it, really, except to describe things for the reader. Other than that it is almost completely unneeded. She doesn't use it for finding mages or looking into locks or something. She hardly uses it at anyway. I feel like she could have used it better.

I wish I liked it more. I will, of course, be reading the second book in Aly's series because it was better. Read on, readers. Read on.

Tortall: A Spy's Guide

This book is a compilation of guides and letters with relevancies to all of the series that Tamora Pierce has published set in Tortall. There are letters from George to Myles, reports from other members of the Tortallian spy network, guides on how to be spies, notes on immortals and killing devices, and more. Pretty basic.

For those who are initiated into the series already, pick it up from a library and check it out. If you want to go on a nostalgia trail without wanting to read all of the series again (which, why wouldn't you want that awesome journey?) this would be a good one to pick up. It's a really quick read.

 If you aren't initiated yet, there are technically no spoilers so it's safe to then go back, but I'd suggest starting out with Alanna: The First Adventure before you think of picking up anything else and start out the right way.

It was good for what it was. We got a little after story for Alanna and a few things about her kids, but there wasn't much gained in the story or plot of any previous series. In general there was no plot here at all. Mainly it was a recap of events that happened previously which you would have gotten if you read through the series in general. Part of it is supposed to be the "Cooper files" where I was expecting bits on Beka or more on Aly, but there was little to no information at all. Very much a put down.

I was hoping this would be "George's story" or some of the like while Alanna is out doing her daring dos. But there were only a few letters, mainly too him, instead of a story that he gives. *sigh*

The setting is obviously Tortall, but there are no land descriptions, only setting ones. The plot is pretty much non-existent on its own. The characters, while they are people we love, you have to really know them before stepping into this book. While new readers could probably guess-timate who they are and what is going on, I don't think they would enjoy this on its own just picking it up from the library or bookstore shelf. This is a series for the initiated as a work of nostalgia.

Part of me is also sad that it isn't just a Tamora Pierce book, but that there are three other writers that got in on it (it feels like they might have done a hardy portion of the work here). I could tell a difference, subtle though it was, between writing styles, which I could chalk up to "different people are writing different letters/guides, so it's okay." It was kind of a let down though.

For what it was, it was good. The set up and pros in it was cohesive and interesting to read. The guide to actual spying was pretty cool, but there were some parts what I willingly skipped because I knew about them well enough already. I very much like the overall timeline at the end of the book as well as young Thom's list of Tortallian Royalty, he's got humor that boy. The way it was presented was probably one of its biggest assets. Letter can be hard to write in a story, especially when that is all that the book compiled. There are little side comments on many of the documents from the Whisper Man or evidences of where wines were spilled or children got to important documents. Also, on documents from important people it has each of their seals, which is a fun little tidbits. The font is not the typical font style either, it has more of a cursive feel to it which makes the feel of the letters more authentic and letter-esque.

Would this be a book that I would buy for my collection? Probably not. (I'm kind of picky.) Does it add very much to the world? A little, but nothing I'd rave about.

Squire

Squire is the third book of the Protector of the Small series and is probably my favorite one so far. It has been years since I've read it and didn't remember a lot about it, so it was fun to read it almost as if for the first time.

Kel has survived being a page and has nearly mastered one of her greatest fears. She's been accepted by good old Raoul of Goldenlake (and something else). Lord Raoul is commander of the King's Own who go and assist everyone around the realm. They fight bandits, pirates, rogue immortals, and, when forced, show up for parties when the King demands it. Kel gets to do what she has always wanted, fight and help those around her who cannot help themselves. Through these fights and battles she starts to prove herself and when the Royal Progress occurs (letting the whole kingdom see the prince and his soon-to-be bride from the Yamani Isles) she gets to show off her skills in jousting as well. (I kept having flashbacks to A Knight's Tale and had a great time watching it again.)





Kel gets first hand experience of what it will be like to be a knight while following Raoul and those under his command. The glory and the woes. Kel has started to have feelings for a particular boy and there are complications with the match--the separation that comes with squirehood/knighthood and her trying to decide which she wants more, her shield and the knight life or to be at home the matriarch of her husband's estate which would eventually need looking after.

There are many things that are brought up in this series. Women's place in a "man's world." The need for reformed laws. Politics and how tippy-toe it has to be sometimes to get things accomplished. Accomplishing goals when the odds are against you. Gender and class equality. Fighting for those who can't do so for themselves, obviously. Having bad people, finally, get what's coming to them--which I forgot had happened. There is a lot that was said in this book toward cultural reform in many different avenues. I find this book very relevant for today and its debates as well as discussions of the past. It is a good series to start a discussion with the younger generations (and older) about many things, not only how Tamora Pierce presents it as ideals--as Kel is reminded through the books--but also on why it was a certain way in ages past as wells as how things can change for the better for all people.

Setting is a thing Tamora struggles with in these first three series, I've accepted that. I also know she does get better with her next group of books. So I'm content enough. Sad it wasn't fixed her, but I guess it worked.

The plot, though, was great. It was engaging and constantly moving. In The Song of the Lioness series, we didn't get much from Raoul. He and Gary always seemed so much alike, it was sometimes hard to tell them apart. As they grew older their differences became more apparent which is fantastic. I've learned to love him so much more. I was also so glad to get to know Buri more instead of having it just focus on Queen Thayet. These unappreciated characters got more love and attention here, which was fantastic. I also really enjoyed the way the story flowed. Adventures and love complications throughout the story, not too much love to bog us down, but enough to make it feel like they were real teenagers. Tamora Pierce does have a way with the characters she creates when she gives them enough time on the page, sadly there are some who do seem to fall by the wayside and get muddled amongst themselves and it's hard to remember who is who. For Raoul, she definitely redeemed herself.

This series, I'd recommend for older youth, at least fourteen or fifteen. There is a bit more gore and sex is talked about more thoroughly than I'd want my thirteen year old to read. In Alanna's books, it happened, but when I was younger I didn't know what was going on because they weren't getting as handsy like Kel does. This may be over shooting it and my opinions are different than others, but take my recommendation as you will, as you always have.

First Test

First Test is the first book in the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce. Taking place just a few years after the ending of The Immortals series, Keladry of Mindelan wants to be a lady knight just like Alanna the Lioness.

However there are problems, the training master doesn't want girls to be knights and convinces King Jonathan to have the girl go on probation, unlike any of the boys that train to be knights of the realm. This, obviously, rubs Kel the wrong way but she is persistent and determined to become a knight like her hero. Many of the boys in the castle don't think she should be there and there are many times she is beat up in fights she goes looking for. Her own code of chivalry outshines many of the older boys she is around.

This is a book that any feminist would love. I wouldn't classify myself as such, but I enjoy it anyway. Kel is a very bound and determined girl who won't take no crap from any of the boys. She is willing to stand up for anyone who can't/won't stand up for themselves. She's pretty cool.

I will say for the first time I read this, about a decade ago, I didn't like Kel. This series reminded me too much of the Song of the Lioness with dealing with bullies, going through the same things that Alanna did as a page, etc. But in this reread, I've started to like her more. There are differences between Alanna and Kel that I'm content. Kel was trained when she was young by the Yamani (Oriental stereotype equivalent) to be stone faced and show no emotion. She has plenty of emotion, just that she doesn't show it outwardly. Whereas Alanna had emotion burst at the seams as she punched people. This book also has immortals in it and Daine and Numair make appearances, alongside Alanna. So I've changed my original opinion and rather enjoy Kel.

Tamora Pierce still has the same problem in this series though as she did in her earlier two series: her setting. It always seems to be lacking. She says hall or forest or mess hall or classroom and most of the time gives us nothing else. Is it dark, are there torches lighting the way, firs or quaking aspens or pine trees, etc.? There are some many things that can make the world more lively that she loses because there is such a lack of setting. If we were to make a world out of just her descriptions a lot of it would be blank and empty. I know she gets better, but I, myself, really enjoy a lively world.

Read it and enjoy though. It's pretty good.