posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_dala at 01:50pm on 04/01/2005
the_dala at 01:50pm on 04/01/2005Finished Trickster's Queen
*SPLAT*
That sound was me running into the wall from excitement.
The epilogue first -- OMG DAINE NAMED THE NEW BABY RIKASH SQUEEEEEE. I was literally sitting there forty pages ago and thinking how Rikash was my absolute favorite character from the Immortals. Well, Rikash and Cloud. I don't really have a favorite from PotS and Trickster yet; they're too recent. George, of course, is my favorite from the Lioness. George might just be my favorite character in anything ever. He's just...gahhhhh GEORGE.
Speaking of which, Aly and the "I want you to pull all your agents outta my Isles, Da" and then the EYEBROW-RAISING FIGHT. And I loved the reunion between Aly and Alanna. No big sappy teary hugs, just...mother and child understanding each other at last. Plus the mention of Alanna's scarred hands = best detail EVAR. And then, and then, BABY ::pokes Aly's belly::
Rest of the ending: the riot/battle was excellent. Reminded me a bit of the final battle in Lioness Rampant. Tamora Pierce is really good at that sort of thing. Sadness for the fighters lost, with Ulasim's final words possibly the most affecting thing I've read in a Tamora book since Faithful ("Time to go home!" gets me on every. Single. Reread). The total non-reaction to Aly's confession of her parentage was perfectly in-character for all involved, and cracked me up. I loved that they heard from Sarai. It would have been so easy to make that character despicable, but never once did I hate or even really dislike her.
An immensely satisfying read, both for the eternal ten-year-old and the contemporary Dala. I have nothing negative to say. How could I possibly criticize a Tortall book? I will say that I think this set had better villains and political sideplot than PotS, but that's partially due to the kind of heroine Aly is as opposed to Kel (and I am equally fond of them both).
And now it looks like time to start the whole cycle over again. Let's see, I believe I redid the Kel books and Trickster's Choice over the summer, which means I handled Alanna and Daine last spring, which puts me pretty much on schedule. Maybe a little bit behind; I know I reread them all at a faster rater than one a year. On the other hand, there are more now.
I have no idea how many times I've reread these books -- the Lioness series, more accurately, because they've been around the longest. I lost count back at eight, and that was sometime in middle school. And it's always a big production because I have to read them in order, and I have to start at the beginning, and I have to read Realms of the Gods even though it's the weakest of the...what are we up to now? Three quartets and a duology; that's fourteen. I was never able to get into the Circle of Magic books. They're...well, they're not Tortall.
I wonder what she'll cook up next. The way the current series were laid out is really pretty neat. You have the original Lioness set, then enough time for Alanna and Jonathan to get settled down and start familes, then Daine comes along (with that fabulous scene at Pirates Swoop). Kel's adventures start not too long after the Immortals War; Aly gets interesting just about when that's wrapped up, because I remember that Alanna was stuck in Scanra at the start of TC. I was wary of the child of an established character set-up (it seemed so cheesy at first), but Aly completely won me over. I don't care who stars in the next series, although someone in the royal family would be interesting. Any setting -- Tortall, the Yamani Islands, Carthak, Tyra (I don't think we've ever actually been to Tyra), Scanra, anything. Anywhere. Anybody.
As long as there is at least one George cameo.
*SPLAT*
That sound was me running into the wall from excitement.
The epilogue first -- OMG DAINE NAMED THE NEW BABY RIKASH SQUEEEEEE. I was literally sitting there forty pages ago and thinking how Rikash was my absolute favorite character from the Immortals. Well, Rikash and Cloud. I don't really have a favorite from PotS and Trickster yet; they're too recent. George, of course, is my favorite from the Lioness. George might just be my favorite character in anything ever. He's just...gahhhhh GEORGE.
Speaking of which, Aly and the "I want you to pull all your agents outta my Isles, Da" and then the EYEBROW-RAISING FIGHT. And I loved the reunion between Aly and Alanna. No big sappy teary hugs, just...mother and child understanding each other at last. Plus the mention of Alanna's scarred hands = best detail EVAR. And then, and then, BABY ::pokes Aly's belly::
Rest of the ending: the riot/battle was excellent. Reminded me a bit of the final battle in Lioness Rampant. Tamora Pierce is really good at that sort of thing. Sadness for the fighters lost, with Ulasim's final words possibly the most affecting thing I've read in a Tamora book since Faithful ("Time to go home!" gets me on every. Single. Reread). The total non-reaction to Aly's confession of her parentage was perfectly in-character for all involved, and cracked me up. I loved that they heard from Sarai. It would have been so easy to make that character despicable, but never once did I hate or even really dislike her.
An immensely satisfying read, both for the eternal ten-year-old and the contemporary Dala. I have nothing negative to say. How could I possibly criticize a Tortall book? I will say that I think this set had better villains and political sideplot than PotS, but that's partially due to the kind of heroine Aly is as opposed to Kel (and I am equally fond of them both).
And now it looks like time to start the whole cycle over again. Let's see, I believe I redid the Kel books and Trickster's Choice over the summer, which means I handled Alanna and Daine last spring, which puts me pretty much on schedule. Maybe a little bit behind; I know I reread them all at a faster rater than one a year. On the other hand, there are more now.
I have no idea how many times I've reread these books -- the Lioness series, more accurately, because they've been around the longest. I lost count back at eight, and that was sometime in middle school. And it's always a big production because I have to read them in order, and I have to start at the beginning, and I have to read Realms of the Gods even though it's the weakest of the...what are we up to now? Three quartets and a duology; that's fourteen. I was never able to get into the Circle of Magic books. They're...well, they're not Tortall.
I wonder what she'll cook up next. The way the current series were laid out is really pretty neat. You have the original Lioness set, then enough time for Alanna and Jonathan to get settled down and start familes, then Daine comes along (with that fabulous scene at Pirates Swoop). Kel's adventures start not too long after the Immortals War; Aly gets interesting just about when that's wrapped up, because I remember that Alanna was stuck in Scanra at the start of TC. I was wary of the child of an established character set-up (it seemed so cheesy at first), but Aly completely won me over. I don't care who stars in the next series, although someone in the royal family would be interesting. Any setting -- Tortall, the Yamani Islands, Carthak, Tyra (I don't think we've ever actually been to Tyra), Scanra, anything. Anywhere. Anybody.
As long as there is at least one George cameo.
geeky
(no subject)
I love that line. Oh, Josiane was a despicable, despicable character. And Alanna's grieving over Thom? Wah! Thom. WAH. I liked Thom after. When he was powerful and very flawed. And I liked Roger. I don't know why. I loved that little nod and wink towards the Cat constellation. And Aly not believing that her mother knew the Cat.
Although, you really should read Circle of Magic. The first ones are the same as Alanna, in terms of Emelan-verse -- her first books, tentative steps, you know? But once you get past the first Circle of Magic quartet and hit Circle Opens, you start going wow, this is Pierce at her best, this is the "Lioness Rampant" Pierce, this is the "Squire" Pierce, this is the "Trickster's Queen" Pierce.
Although, Circle of Magic/Circle Opens are more magic-centric. They have neat characters -- Niko, man, I am in love with him. And Frostpine is so, so cool. And they have some pretty nice places, too. You have a more Hindi sort of, exotic, ish, and then you have something like a Canada AU, where the river freezes over and everyone lives in log houses. *GRIN*
I loved Aly and her George-like way of thinking. And I love Thom (Aly's bro, not Thom-Thom) and how he's like... well, Thom! And I love that Alan was a little older when he started for his knighthood. I'd like to know more about Thom and Alan, actually.
I want to know more about all the characters.
I wonder, though, since you mention it. We've been to the Yamani Islands, peripherally (via Kel) and Scanra in Lady Knight and of course Tortall, and we've been to, oh, where are Thayet and Buri from... Saren? Something. And we've been to the Roof of the World and such (I for one would like to know more about the Doi tribesmen and the Shang warriors) but we've not visited Tyra or Galla (I think) or Tusaine (unless you count that one knight that Alanna duelled against in Hand of the Goddess).
I could discuss Tamora Pierce ALL DAY LONG. Swear. :D *is geek*
(no subject)
I did like the wide range of settings in the Circle books. It's interesting that you saw it as a Canada type setting - I thought of it more like a Venice/Scandanavian inspired place. Although I can see the similarities. I really liked it, though - I would love to skate around. I guess the cold and darkness would kind've suck though...
(no subject)
Not if you're used to it, like us Canucks.
(no subject)
(no subject)
Ahm, I love the Tamora Pierce Books, but here in Germany only the first two quartets and two books from Circle of Magic are available (as far as I know).
I loved George from the beginning, but Rikash is my favorite. And I would really like to know which baby Daine named after him.
After reading this I think I really need to get the other books.
(no subject)
I'm replying to both your posts here, so:
Although I've come to terms with the Daine/Numair relationship, I would have been severely squicked by any sex written into the Immortals, because I'm fairly certain she was only sixteen in the last one. [...] And Kel...I wouldn't have been opposed to Kel-sex, I guess, but it didn't seem to fit into the focus of her story.
I must admit to still being not entirely sold on the whole Daine/Numair thing. I have to go re-read them, because I've forgotten quite a bit of them, but they're the only ones I don't own. (Although I did like the Stormwings). And Kel sex would have been wrong - I wasn't excited by her dating either. I think it was partially because she was such a stong and determined character and then she was so... passive, almost. That's not quite the right word. But for Ally? Just perfect. And Nawat is so cool!
Sari's elopement did work very well. And I fangirl Dove massively. And George, and Alanna, and Taybur (who I would really like to read more about), and now that I come to think about it I love them all. That was one of the things I really loved about this book - the large range of other characters who weren't just cardboard cutouts but were interesting in their own right.
I was never able to get into the Circle of Magic books.
I really liked them - they were her first books that I read. The first two of the next series weren't as good, but the others were excellent, and the sequal to them sounds good too.
As for what's up next, on her website she's got a list of her future books - she's got books lined up until 2010 (!) which is interesting to peruse, but I don't know if I quite like having all that information - it spoils the surprise. But hey. Up next is TERRIER, book one of The Provost's Dog trilogy, three books which detail the adventures of a street girl raised to be a manhunter by Tortall's Lord Provost, set 200 years before ALANNA: THE FIRST ADVENTURE, in Random House hardcover in the U.S. and Canada--September, which sounds cool, although sadly no George.