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The Immortals #1
Wild Magic
Thirteen-year-old Daine has always had a knack with animals, but it's not until she's forced to leave home that she realizes it's more than a knack -- it's magic. With this wild magic, not only can Daine speak to animals, but also she can make them obey her. Daine takes a job handling horses for the Queen's Riders, where she meets the master mage Numair and becomes his student.
Under Numair's guidance, Daine explores the scope of her magic. But she begins to sense other beings too: immortals. These bloodthirsty monsters have been imprisoned in the Divine Realms for the past four hundred years, but now someone has broken the barrier. It's up to Daine and her friends to defend their world from an immortal attack.
226 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
867 people are currently reading
39150 people want to read
About the author
Tamora Pierce
100 books85.2k followersHey, folks! I just discovered that apparently I have given some very popular books single-star ratings--except I haven't. How do I know I haven't? Because I haven't read those books at all. So before you go getting all hacked off at me for trashing your favorites, know that I've written GoodReads to find out what's going on.
I return to my regularly scheduled profile:
Though I would love to join groups, I'm going to turn them all down. I just don't have the time to take part, so please don't be offended if I don't join your group or accept an invitation. I'm not snooty--I'm just up to my eyeballs in work and appearances!
Also, don't be alarmed by the number of books I've read. When I get bored, I go through the different lists and rediscover books I've read in the past. It's a very evil way to use up time when I should be doing other things. Obviously, I've read a lot of books in 54 years!
I was born in South Connellsville, PA. My mother wanted to name me "Tamara" but the nurse who filled out my birth certificate misspelled it as "Tamora". When I was 8 my family moved to California, where we lived for 6 years on both sides of the San Francisco peninsula.
I started writing stories in 6th grade. My interest in fantasy and science fiction began when I was introduced to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ by J. R. R. Tolkien and so I started to write the kind of books that I was reading. After my parents divorced, my mother took my sisters and me back to Pennsylvania in 1969. There I went to Albert Gallatin Senior High for 2 years and Uniontown Area Senior High School for my senior year.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, I wrote the book that became The Song of the Lioness fantasy quartet. I sold some articles and 2 short stories and wrote reviews for a martial arts movie magazine. At last the first book of the quartet, Alanna: The First Adventure was published by Atheneum Books in 1983.
Tim Liebe, who became my Spouse-Creature, and I lived in New York City with assorted cats and two parakeets from 1982 - 2006. In 2006 we moved to Syracuse, New York, where we live now with assorted cats, a number of squirrels, birds, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and woodchucks visiting our very small yard. As of 2011, I have 27 novels in print, one short story collection, one comic book arc ("White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion") co-written with Tim, and a short story anthology co-editing credit. There's more to come, including a companion book to the Tortall `verse. So stay tuned!
I return to my regularly scheduled profile:
Though I would love to join groups, I'm going to turn them all down. I just don't have the time to take part, so please don't be offended if I don't join your group or accept an invitation. I'm not snooty--I'm just up to my eyeballs in work and appearances!
Also, don't be alarmed by the number of books I've read. When I get bored, I go through the different lists and rediscover books I've read in the past. It's a very evil way to use up time when I should be doing other things. Obviously, I've read a lot of books in 54 years!
I was born in South Connellsville, PA. My mother wanted to name me "Tamara" but the nurse who filled out my birth certificate misspelled it as "Tamora". When I was 8 my family moved to California, where we lived for 6 years on both sides of the San Francisco peninsula.
I started writing stories in 6th grade. My interest in fantasy and science fiction began when I was introduced to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ by J. R. R. Tolkien and so I started to write the kind of books that I was reading. After my parents divorced, my mother took my sisters and me back to Pennsylvania in 1969. There I went to Albert Gallatin Senior High for 2 years and Uniontown Area Senior High School for my senior year.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, I wrote the book that became The Song of the Lioness fantasy quartet. I sold some articles and 2 short stories and wrote reviews for a martial arts movie magazine. At last the first book of the quartet, Alanna: The First Adventure was published by Atheneum Books in 1983.
Tim Liebe, who became my Spouse-Creature, and I lived in New York City with assorted cats and two parakeets from 1982 - 2006. In 2006 we moved to Syracuse, New York, where we live now with assorted cats, a number of squirrels, birds, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and woodchucks visiting our very small yard. As of 2011, I have 27 novels in print, one short story collection, one comic book arc ("White Tiger: A Hero's Compulsion") co-written with Tim, and a short story anthology co-editing credit. There's more to come, including a companion book to the Tortall `verse. So stay tuned!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,695 reviews
May 11, 2011
I literally don't remember when I read my first Tamora Pierce book. All I can tell you is that it was Alanna: The First Adventure and it was probably an audiobook that my parents checked out for one of our infinite family road trips. I can't have been much older than, say, third grade at a stretch. After that first one, needless to say, I was addicted. (Yes, I read Lioness Rampant in elementary school. It was... educational. Then again, I was already into Pern by then, so...)
I also don't remember the first time I read this book. I do, however, have the vague inkling that it was the third Tortall quartet I picked up. No, actually, that's for sure, because I read the Protector of the Small books early enough that I asked for a Kel haircut the first time I went from long locks to short... and I would have been ten-ish at the time, I think? I literally brought in my copy of Squire and said "I want my hair that length".
Anyhow. Needless to say, I've read this one a lot. Actually, that's an understatement. The only book on my shelves that I bought new that looks this old is another perennial favorite, Mariel of Redwall. Many, if not quite most, of my books are in good condition. I have read the hell out of this series, poor beloved things.
Why?
This book is a classic of growing up, to me. You see, if you take out all the magical elements, it's about a girl deciding to be an adult, to make the hard choices and accept responsibility for her actions. The whole quartet is Daine's coming of age. This book is her choosing to take the first step. As such, it never gets old. When I was Daine's age, thirteen and feeling odd finally being a 'teenager', I identified with her. Now I'm seventeen, practically holding my breath as I prepare too take the next step towards adulthood. Daine and I don't have magic in common, but we have something else: we both have wonderful friends that make the transition easier. I don't think I'll ever grow out of identifying with Daine.
Okay, so that's the personal bit. Now you know why I love to read these books. Let's talk about why you should read them.
First, there's the world of Tortall. Okay, I admit: It's one of the most improbable medieval-esque worlds you'll ever encounter. It's not gritty. It's not exceedingly realistic. It's still dangerous, but mostly it seems like a really happy place to be. And I promise you, it is a liberal's paradise. (Well, under Jon and Thayet's rule, at least.) There are free schools everywhere. There's an elite female corps in the military. Women can become knights and one of them is the King's Champion. People of all races come and go freely and encounter virtually no discrimination. The king is literally tied to the land, so there's your environmentalism covered. And as we find out in one of the Protector of the Small books, while there may be some homophobia present in Tortall itself, its allies are not so conservative; in the Yamani Islands it's just 'some men prefer men, some women prefer women'. (FYI, the Yamanis totally remind me of the Kyoshi Warriors.)
Forget Hogwarts; if I got to pick a fictional world to live in, I want it to be this one.
Second, there's the character of Daine herself. She dances on the line of Mary-Sueness. I admit it. She's incredibly powerful, fairly good looking, innocent; she has secrets but she also has determination and skill with a weapon. (There's one or two other things that might make her even more Sueish, but that would be spoiling.) Despite all this, she never once gets on my nerves. I have consistently felt like her trust issues were well-portrayed, that even her incredible magical gifts required a logical amount of work to really use, that she never really got out of something without effort or consequences. And she loves learning - my kind of girl. I find her innocence endearing, her enthusiasm honest and charming, and her development as a character convincing and very real.
Third, there's the supporting cast: the Queen's Riders, the Queen, Alanna, George, Onua, Buri, Sarge - every last one of them strongly characterized and genuine good people. I mean, of course Alanna is my favorite of that list, but none of the others are weak. Even the Rider trainees, who don't appear too frequently, are solidly drawn and interesting. (Miri is my favorite of them.) The more I read this book, the more I understand their characterizations, and the more I appreciate it. There is no one who makes me roll my eyes when I see their name on the page.
Fourth, there's the Immortals who give their collective name to this quartet. Some of them (Griffins, dragons, winged horses, undines) are creatures out of traditional mythology. Some of them (spidrens, stormwings) are, as far as I know, made up out of whole cloth. (Aside to BB: Man, you thought the Stormwings were creative in this book, wait till you get to the explanation of their origins in the fourth book.) Can I just say here that spidrens are FREAKING CREEPY AS ALL HELL? Again, this comes in part from reading the Protector of the Small books first, since the first of that series opens with a spidren eating kittens out of a sack like potato chips, but still. DO NOT LIKE. But really appreciate the writing that went into making me not like them. As for the Stormwings... my lips are sealed for fear of spoilers.
Fifth, there's the depiction of Daine's magic and its pitfalls and advantages. I can't say too much, once more for fear of spoilers, but she has some kickass abilities and gets really good at using them as time goes on. What I loved in this book, though, was that getting to the point where she was even functional accessing her power took a lot of work and personal growth. And it was tied intimately to her overcoming her trust issues, meaning that the several plots of the book were actually all linked.
Sixth, there's Numair. Oh yes, I bet you were wondering why he didn't make the list of secondary characters? Because he's a main, but also because he's SO WONDERFUL he gets his own entry here.
Oh goodness, where do I begin?
Numair is a nice guy to the point where it's almost ridiculous, except it stops short of that and is just fabulous instead. Example: at one point Daine wakes him up in the middle of the night and he's not crabby at all. He's just all "Oh, how can I help?" And when she falls asleep after fixing that problem, he wraps her up in blankets and leaves her there. When she wakes up the next morning, his first question is about how she's feeling. There is one time he gets angry in this book and it is anger that springs from fear. (And he's funny when he's angry. Really, really, really funny. I laugh at that scene every single time.)
Thank goodness for Numair. He's a breath of fresh air. On this side, we have the sadly common love interest of today, who's creepy, homicidal, stalkerish, rude, and sexist. On the other side, we have this gem of a wizard from 1992: kind, charming, earnestly sweet, caring, and determined to help Daine learn and grow as a person. I know which one I would pick in half a heartbeat. Oh, and did I mention he's one of the seven most powerful wizards in the world? Icing on the freaking cake there. As if he needed it.
In the (unlikely) event that I ever have children, or the (more likely) event that I become a godmother, I'm raising those kids, especially the girls, on Tamora Pierce. They will grow up not with Barbie and Ken but with Alanna the Lioness and Kel and Daine and Beka and all Pierce's other strong heroines. They will, as I did, hear not that girls are supposed to cook and sew and care about fashion but that girls can do anything they want to, that they are strong and brave and wonderful. They will learn from Alanna that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. They will learn from Daine that growing up may be scary, but it is worth the trip. They will learn from Kel that no one needs to have a man, and that there is nothing more important than doing what is right. I forget what they'll learn from Beka because it's been a while since I read Terrier, but I do recall that she kicked ass in the usual spectacular Piercian fashion.
That being said, I'd probably start children with this series, unless they're spectacularly mature. This book will appeal to the horse-crazy in most young girls and introduce them to Tortall. From there, I'd let them roam free. I was going to suggest a reading order, but then I realized that would sound silly and stupid.
Final note: Tell me I'm not the only marine biology freak who almost cried when Daine heard forty blue whales. Please tell me I'm not alone. I would give up half my limbs for that kind of opportunity. It's rare enough in this world to see one or two blue whales. A pod of forty would give most marine biologists heart attacks of sheer joy. Yet another reason I would love to live in Tortall... sigh.
I also don't remember the first time I read this book. I do, however, have the vague inkling that it was the third Tortall quartet I picked up. No, actually, that's for sure, because I read the Protector of the Small books early enough that I asked for a Kel haircut the first time I went from long locks to short... and I would have been ten-ish at the time, I think? I literally brought in my copy of Squire and said "I want my hair that length".
Anyhow. Needless to say, I've read this one a lot. Actually, that's an understatement. The only book on my shelves that I bought new that looks this old is another perennial favorite, Mariel of Redwall. Many, if not quite most, of my books are in good condition. I have read the hell out of this series, poor beloved things.
Why?
This book is a classic of growing up, to me. You see, if you take out all the magical elements, it's about a girl deciding to be an adult, to make the hard choices and accept responsibility for her actions. The whole quartet is Daine's coming of age. This book is her choosing to take the first step. As such, it never gets old. When I was Daine's age, thirteen and feeling odd finally being a 'teenager', I identified with her. Now I'm seventeen, practically holding my breath as I prepare too take the next step towards adulthood. Daine and I don't have magic in common, but we have something else: we both have wonderful friends that make the transition easier. I don't think I'll ever grow out of identifying with Daine.
Okay, so that's the personal bit. Now you know why I love to read these books. Let's talk about why you should read them.
First, there's the world of Tortall. Okay, I admit: It's one of the most improbable medieval-esque worlds you'll ever encounter. It's not gritty. It's not exceedingly realistic. It's still dangerous, but mostly it seems like a really happy place to be. And I promise you, it is a liberal's paradise. (Well, under Jon and Thayet's rule, at least.) There are free schools everywhere. There's an elite female corps in the military. Women can become knights and one of them is the King's Champion. People of all races come and go freely and encounter virtually no discrimination. The king is literally tied to the land, so there's your environmentalism covered. And as we find out in one of the Protector of the Small books, while there may be some homophobia present in Tortall itself, its allies are not so conservative; in the Yamani Islands it's just 'some men prefer men, some women prefer women'. (FYI, the Yamanis totally remind me of the Kyoshi Warriors.)
Forget Hogwarts; if I got to pick a fictional world to live in, I want it to be this one.
Second, there's the character of Daine herself. She dances on the line of Mary-Sueness. I admit it. She's incredibly powerful, fairly good looking, innocent; she has secrets but she also has determination and skill with a weapon. (There's one or two other things that might make her even more Sueish, but that would be spoiling.) Despite all this, she never once gets on my nerves. I have consistently felt like her trust issues were well-portrayed, that even her incredible magical gifts required a logical amount of work to really use, that she never really got out of something without effort or consequences. And she loves learning - my kind of girl. I find her innocence endearing, her enthusiasm honest and charming, and her development as a character convincing and very real.
Third, there's the supporting cast: the Queen's Riders, the Queen, Alanna, George, Onua, Buri, Sarge - every last one of them strongly characterized and genuine good people. I mean, of course Alanna is my favorite of that list, but none of the others are weak. Even the Rider trainees, who don't appear too frequently, are solidly drawn and interesting. (Miri is my favorite of them.) The more I read this book, the more I understand their characterizations, and the more I appreciate it. There is no one who makes me roll my eyes when I see their name on the page.
Fourth, there's the Immortals who give their collective name to this quartet. Some of them (Griffins, dragons, winged horses, undines) are creatures out of traditional mythology. Some of them (spidrens, stormwings) are, as far as I know, made up out of whole cloth. (Aside to BB: Man, you thought the Stormwings were creative in this book, wait till you get to the explanation of their origins in the fourth book.) Can I just say here that spidrens are FREAKING CREEPY AS ALL HELL? Again, this comes in part from reading the Protector of the Small books first, since the first of that series opens with a spidren eating kittens out of a sack like potato chips, but still. DO NOT LIKE. But really appreciate the writing that went into making me not like them. As for the Stormwings... my lips are sealed for fear of spoilers.
Fifth, there's the depiction of Daine's magic and its pitfalls and advantages. I can't say too much, once more for fear of spoilers, but she has some kickass abilities and gets really good at using them as time goes on. What I loved in this book, though, was that getting to the point where she was even functional accessing her power took a lot of work and personal growth. And it was tied intimately to her overcoming her trust issues, meaning that the several plots of the book were actually all linked.
Sixth, there's Numair. Oh yes, I bet you were wondering why he didn't make the list of secondary characters? Because he's a main, but also because he's SO WONDERFUL he gets his own entry here.
Oh goodness, where do I begin?
Numair is a nice guy to the point where it's almost ridiculous, except it stops short of that and is just fabulous instead. Example: at one point Daine wakes him up in the middle of the night and he's not crabby at all. He's just all "Oh, how can I help?" And when she falls asleep after fixing that problem, he wraps her up in blankets and leaves her there. When she wakes up the next morning, his first question is about how she's feeling. There is one time he gets angry in this book and it is anger that springs from fear. (And he's funny when he's angry. Really, really, really funny. I laugh at that scene every single time.)
Thank goodness for Numair. He's a breath of fresh air. On this side, we have the sadly common love interest of today, who's creepy, homicidal, stalkerish, rude, and sexist. On the other side, we have this gem of a wizard from 1992: kind, charming, earnestly sweet, caring, and determined to help Daine learn and grow as a person. I know which one I would pick in half a heartbeat. Oh, and did I mention he's one of the seven most powerful wizards in the world? Icing on the freaking cake there. As if he needed it.
In the (unlikely) event that I ever have children, or the (more likely) event that I become a godmother, I'm raising those kids, especially the girls, on Tamora Pierce. They will grow up not with Barbie and Ken but with Alanna the Lioness and Kel and Daine and Beka and all Pierce's other strong heroines. They will, as I did, hear not that girls are supposed to cook and sew and care about fashion but that girls can do anything they want to, that they are strong and brave and wonderful. They will learn from Alanna that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. They will learn from Daine that growing up may be scary, but it is worth the trip. They will learn from Kel that no one needs to have a man, and that there is nothing more important than doing what is right. I forget what they'll learn from Beka because it's been a while since I read Terrier, but I do recall that she kicked ass in the usual spectacular Piercian fashion.
That being said, I'd probably start children with this series, unless they're spectacularly mature. This book will appeal to the horse-crazy in most young girls and introduce them to Tortall. From there, I'd let them roam free. I was going to suggest a reading order, but then I realized that would sound silly and stupid.
Final note: Tell me I'm not the only marine biology freak who almost cried when Daine heard forty blue whales. Please tell me I'm not alone. I would give up half my limbs for that kind of opportunity. It's rare enough in this world to see one or two blue whales. A pod of forty would give most marine biologists heart attacks of sheer joy. Yet another reason I would love to live in Tortall... sigh.
April 3, 2013
I hopped into this book hoping I would not be confused out of my mind. I have heard of her Tamora Pierce's other Tortall books, especially the enormously popular ones about Alanna, but the premise of those books didn't interest me. I hate to admit it, and this is terrible backwards of me, but books about cross-dressing, disguised characters do not interest me. This applies to manga as well; don't even get me started on how much I hated HanaKimi. This series about a young girl with animal magic seems more like my thing, so I tentatively read it and hoped that I would not be too lost. I was pleasantly surprised; it is set in the Tortall world, and presumably all the characters from the other books made an appearance, but I was not lost at all. There were just enough details given to give me an insight as to who/what each character did without giving their entire backstory. The slight insight into the previous characters so new readers would not get lost was very well done.
As to Daine herself...I loved her. She is strong, resilient, a bit wild, like her magic, and very uncultured, which makes sense, given her backwaters upbringing. She did grate on my nerves at time, especially with her constant secrecy and need to hide a certain aspect of her magic, but all that was very well explained by her backstory, and I found myself sympathizing with her once I found out what happened. All the characters in the book were immensely likable; there were no one major antagonist who made her life miserable, and I liked that. Not every story has to have a clear-cut bully. This is especially refreshing to me, coming from a glut of YA fiction where every main character has a beautiful, bitchy high school queen bee out for her blood.
The plot line was very well done; I was never bored, and I was never lost. I have weird thing for quick-paced plots where lots of action happen. They bore me to death. I know, weird, right? The action in this story, while fast-paced, was never boring, always made sense, and keep me interested. My only reason for knocking off a star was the last 1/4 of the book. The battle felt too rushed, the storytelling lost me at times, and I was confused by the action. Also, dragons, krakens, griffins, all got thrown into the mix. Not that I mind, considering I like mythical creatures, but it felt unrealistic and rushed. I'm starting the second book now, and I have high hopes.
As to Daine herself...I loved her. She is strong, resilient, a bit wild, like her magic, and very uncultured, which makes sense, given her backwaters upbringing. She did grate on my nerves at time, especially with her constant secrecy and need to hide a certain aspect of her magic, but all that was very well explained by her backstory, and I found myself sympathizing with her once I found out what happened. All the characters in the book were immensely likable; there were no one major antagonist who made her life miserable, and I liked that. Not every story has to have a clear-cut bully. This is especially refreshing to me, coming from a glut of YA fiction where every main character has a beautiful, bitchy high school queen bee out for her blood.
The plot line was very well done; I was never bored, and I was never lost. I have weird thing for quick-paced plots where lots of action happen. They bore me to death. I know, weird, right? The action in this story, while fast-paced, was never boring, always made sense, and keep me interested. My only reason for knocking off a star was the last 1/4 of the book. The battle felt too rushed, the storytelling lost me at times, and I was confused by the action. Also, dragons, krakens, griffins, all got thrown into the mix. Not that I mind, considering I like mythical creatures, but it felt unrealistic and rushed. I'm starting the second book now, and I have high hopes.
December 31, 2015
I loved this story when I was younger, and I’m so glad that it hadn’t lost its magic at all, even if I’m a bit older now!
I loved Daine in this book and how strong she was! She fought so hard to protect people, and her animal friends, even if she was a bit stubborn at times.
I also liked the storyline, even if I have read this multiple times before, I remembered everything that happened but it didn’t spoil the story for me at all! I loved the travelling, the training, the dragon and other magical creatures, and I really loved Numair, even if we won’t get any romance until later in the series.
9 out of 10
I loved Daine in this book and how strong she was! She fought so hard to protect people, and her animal friends, even if she was a bit stubborn at times.
I also liked the storyline, even if I have read this multiple times before, I remembered everything that happened but it didn’t spoil the story for me at all! I loved the travelling, the training, the dragon and other magical creatures, and I really loved Numair, even if we won’t get any romance until later in the series.
9 out of 10
February 6, 2017
Well, that was outside my wheelhouse...
So in my life outside of Goodreads, aside from the usual adulting that we grown-ups do, I run an actual Sci-Fi/Fantasy book club. Well, we started out as a book club, and then expanded to also watching movies, drinking wine, and generally hanging out and geeking out together about anything science fiction and fantasy related. Anyways, we tend to pick our books by popular vote, and Tamora Pierce was one of the authors whose name was being bandied around frequently. After several false starts, as well as being beaten out by other "new & exciting" authors, we finally voted on Wild Magic as our next club read. I add this preface to my review simply for the fact that, if it wasn't for the book club voting, I'd have no idea who Tamora Pierce is, and would certainly have never picked Wild Magic as something I would read. I went into this book blind, which was probably a good thing.
Because, though it should surprise absolutely NOBODY who's read Tamora Pierce, I'm not exactly the target audience for this series of novels. Does that mean I didn't like the book? Not at all. I actually rather enjoyed it. But YA/Teen fantasy isn't something that I read a lot of, and while anyone can find something to like in this tale, it's definitely teenage girls who will certainly get the most traction from Tamora Pierce's works.
Knowing all that, I will try to tailor my review accordingly. Because there are certainly some things I could nitpick about this book. The language is decidedly modern at times (for a fantasy tale), the descriptions are a little...simple, and everything wraps up a little too neatly. But, given her target audience, I see why it was written as it was. Also, I didn't like the fact that we get point of view changes in the same chapter, especially when it's a quick jump without any kind of marking or indicator. One paragraph we are with Daine, the next we are with Cloud (her pony), and then a few paragraphs later we are back with Daine again. It's not that you lose what's going on in the story, and maybe I've been reading too much modern fiction, but it comes across as inexperienced writing. I know books I read as a youth tended to skip POV's freely, and I never gave it much thought back then. But these days...it just doesn't work for me. Don't know why. Maybe it's that "get off my lawn" grumpiness as I get older. Who can say?
But let it be said that, while I am pointing out those things, it's really not a criticism of Tamora Pierce's writing ability. She can definitely tell a tale, and is most assuredly a wordsmith. She knows exactly who is going to read her books, and writes to that level with astonishing ease.
So I pointed out the negatives...but what of the positives?
Well, there's plenty of positives here. Daine is a great POV character (which is good, since she's essentially the only one we get). She's young, but not stupid. Inexperienced, but not immature. She's determined, but not infallible. I think she's a great protagonist for young girls to look up to. She's kind and resourceful, but has her fair share of fears and doubts, which she works through over the course of the tale. She's also not a complainer or a quitter (she's definitely not a Skywalker...). She has good friends and helpful adult mentors who guide her and support her. It's actually a nice switch, since in the few YA/Teen books I've read, the adults tend to come across as inept or disengaged. The same can't be said here. From Onua, Numair, Alanna, Thayet, and all the rest, we get adults who engage with Daine in different, but positive, ways. Daine is the kind of character that I will want my daughter to read about, and emulate, when she is old enough to read these stories.
In addition to all the human characters, we get a whole slew of animal characters to populate the tale with, which makes sense given the nature of Daine's magic. This is, I think, where the book really heavily gears towards the younger female readers. Since Daine can communicate with animals, we get quite a bit of insight into the minds of the creatures she engages with. Horses and birds, wolves and sea lions, bats and rabbits...the list goes on. The horses definitely have the largest animal role, with Cloud nearly becoming a full-fledged character on her own, but Tamora Pierce really seems to capture the ways in which these animals would "think" and behave across all the species that are in the book.
The story moves a good pace, with a healthy mix of wonder and dread, monotony and discovery. Also, the storyline is rather unpredictable, which makes the tale more enjoyable. We know, in a roundabout sort of way, where Daine is heading, but the encounters she has, and the events that take place around here aren't really telegraphed, so when they happen it's a pleasant surprise. And most importantly, there are some great morals and lessons nestled within these pages. Kindness to animals, not judging by appearance, working hard and being responsible, honesty and courage. It's all here, told in ways that feel believable and true.
Sadly, the "big bad" of the book is really only a faceless army that opposes the kingdom that Daine lives in, and they only show up near the very end. And while in an adult oriented book that would be a major ding, here it's just a slightly wasted opportunity. The real point of this book is to witness the growth of a young girl as she makes her way into the world, learns about her powers, and establishes relationships that will shape her future. The good vs. evil part feels kinda tacked on, not quite obligatory but close.
The magic is, well, just that. Magical. There are some basic rules assigned to it, but all in all it's pretty nebulous. If you are looking for Sanderson levels of cause & effect and rules & limitations, you won't find it here. We find out that water amplifies Daine's magic, because...well...reasons. Oh, and she can pull magic to replenish herself from other creatures, even if they themselves are exhausted, because...well...why not? Sometimes it comes across as a little too deus-ex-machina. But magic is supposed to be magical, right? So honestly, I could live with it.
I will admit that I struggled initially just getting invested in this one. We just get thrown in, and there's very little exposition or history to go on. Daine just shows up, has a small conversation, and then we're off to the races. It's very incidental storytelling, not delving too deep into any one person or event. We only learn information about characters if another character happens to talk about it. While true to life, it basically left the world feeling a little hollow. But once Daine started exploring her powers, and started interacting with various new creatures, the tale rolled right along and became quite fun.
And, honestly, I have to wonder about the Kingdom of Tortall. Because literally every adult character in a position to influence Daine in any way comes across as super benevolent, hugely important, and 100% supportive of Daine and her strange magic. And while positivity is a good thing (see earlier in this review), it seemed a little far-fetched that EVERYBODY would support her instantly and without hesitation. Humans being what they are, there's got to be at least one douchebag that she'll come in contact with. I don't know that you can have a fantasy tale without a little douchebaggery afoot. So it felt a little...odd. Especially after having re-read Ender's Game recently.
So yeah, that's my review. Will I read the rest of The Immortals series? No, I don't think so. Not because they aren't good stories or because they're not well written. They absolutely ARE both of those things. But honestly, it's just not MY kind of tale. That's not an indictment, just a fact. I will, however, have my daughter read these when she gets a little older. She loves animals, and would give anything to have a power like Daine's. And Daine would be a great role model for her to read about. Tamora Pierce will be right up her alley. But for me...time to find a more adult tale to cleanse my palate. Something with swearin', murderin', boozin', and/or sexin'. Huzzah!
So in my life outside of Goodreads, aside from the usual adulting that we grown-ups do, I run an actual Sci-Fi/Fantasy book club. Well, we started out as a book club, and then expanded to also watching movies, drinking wine, and generally hanging out and geeking out together about anything science fiction and fantasy related. Anyways, we tend to pick our books by popular vote, and Tamora Pierce was one of the authors whose name was being bandied around frequently. After several false starts, as well as being beaten out by other "new & exciting" authors, we finally voted on Wild Magic as our next club read. I add this preface to my review simply for the fact that, if it wasn't for the book club voting, I'd have no idea who Tamora Pierce is, and would certainly have never picked Wild Magic as something I would read. I went into this book blind, which was probably a good thing.
Because, though it should surprise absolutely NOBODY who's read Tamora Pierce, I'm not exactly the target audience for this series of novels. Does that mean I didn't like the book? Not at all. I actually rather enjoyed it. But YA/Teen fantasy isn't something that I read a lot of, and while anyone can find something to like in this tale, it's definitely teenage girls who will certainly get the most traction from Tamora Pierce's works.
Knowing all that, I will try to tailor my review accordingly. Because there are certainly some things I could nitpick about this book. The language is decidedly modern at times (for a fantasy tale), the descriptions are a little...simple, and everything wraps up a little too neatly. But, given her target audience, I see why it was written as it was. Also, I didn't like the fact that we get point of view changes in the same chapter, especially when it's a quick jump without any kind of marking or indicator. One paragraph we are with Daine, the next we are with Cloud (her pony), and then a few paragraphs later we are back with Daine again. It's not that you lose what's going on in the story, and maybe I've been reading too much modern fiction, but it comes across as inexperienced writing. I know books I read as a youth tended to skip POV's freely, and I never gave it much thought back then. But these days...it just doesn't work for me. Don't know why. Maybe it's that "get off my lawn" grumpiness as I get older. Who can say?
But let it be said that, while I am pointing out those things, it's really not a criticism of Tamora Pierce's writing ability. She can definitely tell a tale, and is most assuredly a wordsmith. She knows exactly who is going to read her books, and writes to that level with astonishing ease.
So I pointed out the negatives...but what of the positives?
Well, there's plenty of positives here. Daine is a great POV character (which is good, since she's essentially the only one we get). She's young, but not stupid. Inexperienced, but not immature. She's determined, but not infallible. I think she's a great protagonist for young girls to look up to. She's kind and resourceful, but has her fair share of fears and doubts, which she works through over the course of the tale. She's also not a complainer or a quitter (she's definitely not a Skywalker...). She has good friends and helpful adult mentors who guide her and support her. It's actually a nice switch, since in the few YA/Teen books I've read, the adults tend to come across as inept or disengaged. The same can't be said here. From Onua, Numair, Alanna, Thayet, and all the rest, we get adults who engage with Daine in different, but positive, ways. Daine is the kind of character that I will want my daughter to read about, and emulate, when she is old enough to read these stories.
In addition to all the human characters, we get a whole slew of animal characters to populate the tale with, which makes sense given the nature of Daine's magic. This is, I think, where the book really heavily gears towards the younger female readers. Since Daine can communicate with animals, we get quite a bit of insight into the minds of the creatures she engages with. Horses and birds, wolves and sea lions, bats and rabbits...the list goes on. The horses definitely have the largest animal role, with Cloud nearly becoming a full-fledged character on her own, but Tamora Pierce really seems to capture the ways in which these animals would "think" and behave across all the species that are in the book.
The story moves a good pace, with a healthy mix of wonder and dread, monotony and discovery. Also, the storyline is rather unpredictable, which makes the tale more enjoyable. We know, in a roundabout sort of way, where Daine is heading, but the encounters she has, and the events that take place around here aren't really telegraphed, so when they happen it's a pleasant surprise. And most importantly, there are some great morals and lessons nestled within these pages. Kindness to animals, not judging by appearance, working hard and being responsible, honesty and courage. It's all here, told in ways that feel believable and true.
Sadly, the "big bad" of the book is really only a faceless army that opposes the kingdom that Daine lives in, and they only show up near the very end. And while in an adult oriented book that would be a major ding, here it's just a slightly wasted opportunity. The real point of this book is to witness the growth of a young girl as she makes her way into the world, learns about her powers, and establishes relationships that will shape her future. The good vs. evil part feels kinda tacked on, not quite obligatory but close.
The magic is, well, just that. Magical. There are some basic rules assigned to it, but all in all it's pretty nebulous. If you are looking for Sanderson levels of cause & effect and rules & limitations, you won't find it here. We find out that water amplifies Daine's magic, because...well...reasons. Oh, and she can pull magic to replenish herself from other creatures, even if they themselves are exhausted, because...well...why not? Sometimes it comes across as a little too deus-ex-machina. But magic is supposed to be magical, right? So honestly, I could live with it.
I will admit that I struggled initially just getting invested in this one. We just get thrown in, and there's very little exposition or history to go on. Daine just shows up, has a small conversation, and then we're off to the races. It's very incidental storytelling, not delving too deep into any one person or event. We only learn information about characters if another character happens to talk about it. While true to life, it basically left the world feeling a little hollow. But once Daine started exploring her powers, and started interacting with various new creatures, the tale rolled right along and became quite fun.
And, honestly, I have to wonder about the Kingdom of Tortall. Because literally every adult character in a position to influence Daine in any way comes across as super benevolent, hugely important, and 100% supportive of Daine and her strange magic. And while positivity is a good thing (see earlier in this review), it seemed a little far-fetched that EVERYBODY would support her instantly and without hesitation. Humans being what they are, there's got to be at least one douchebag that she'll come in contact with. I don't know that you can have a fantasy tale without a little douchebaggery afoot. So it felt a little...odd. Especially after having re-read Ender's Game recently.
So yeah, that's my review. Will I read the rest of The Immortals series? No, I don't think so. Not because they aren't good stories or because they're not well written. They absolutely ARE both of those things. But honestly, it's just not MY kind of tale. That's not an indictment, just a fact. I will, however, have my daughter read these when she gets a little older. She loves animals, and would give anything to have a power like Daine's. And Daine would be a great role model for her to read about. Tamora Pierce will be right up her alley. But for me...time to find a more adult tale to cleanse my palate. Something with swearin', murderin', boozin', and/or sexin'. Huzzah!
October 5, 2014
After a short break, I've returned to Tortall, and guys, it's great to be back. I decided to resume my long-overdue Tamora Pierce education for two reasons: first, the Immortals quartet was completely new to me (as a kid, I had a passing familiarity with the Alanna, Kel, and Aly series, having read a few chapters of each before abandoning them); and also I found out that my sister has all four of the books in one volume, so I stole it from her. Sorry, borrowed.
The first book takes place about ten years after Lioness Rampant left off - a lot of familiar characters are here, including Jonathan, Thayet, George, and of course Alanna (we also get to meet Jon and Alanna's respective kids, and even though I knew from the Trickster series that Alanna and George have three kids, my heart still squee'd super hard just like it did at the end of The Deathly Hallows SHUT UP THAT EPILOGUE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NECESSARY I WILL FIGHT YOU). Our heroine this time is Daine (short for Verlidaine Sarrasri - oof) and we first meet her getting a job working with the royal horsemistress of Tortall. Daine is good with animals, and because this is a Tamora Pierce book, not only does Daine have a way with animals, but she can actually talk to them. Daine's magic is different than Alanna's though - she has something called "wild magic" and may not, in fact, be completely human.
Alanna will always be first in my heart, but I have to admit that I already prefer this series to the Lioness quartet. First, because the problems that plagued the Lioness series are not present here. Pierce's most obvious struggle in those books was the fact that she was forced to cram about eight years' worth of action into four books, and often the pacing felt rushed and disjointed. The action of Wild Magic occurs over a couple of months, so it never feels like we're rushing through events to get to the main conflict. The return of so many familiar characters means that, aside from telling Daine's story, the book also serves as kind of reunion for the characters we loved in Alanna's series. Also the conflict of the story is much better here - in this book, we learn that the Immortals have been released from magical captivity and are wreaking havoc on Tortall. Immortals include stock fantasy creatures like dragons and griffins, but we also have some original creations like spidrens and stormwings. Duke Roger, the primary antagonist in the Lioness series, always felt like more of a cartoon villain than a real threat, and even the mean gods were never much of a concern because Alanna was the Goddess's best buddy or something. The creatures in Wild Magic are generally terrifying, and I found myself wishing that someone would make this series into a movie, just so I could see all of this brought to life - imagine what Guillermo del Toro could do with the stormwings!
It's really unfair to compare this series with Alanna's (even though I keep doing that), because even though they take place in the same universe and include many of the same characters, the similarities end there. The books are alike on a surface level (plucky girl character learning to be a badass and use cool magic with the help of talking animal friends) but in reality the books are trying to do very different things. Alanna's books were all about teaching girls about hard work, courage, and never letting society dictate what you can and can't do. Wild Magic is about how family is sometimes what you find, not what you're given. It spends a lot of time exploring the concept of loyalty and sacrifice, and in much more eloquent detail than Alanna's books ever did - there's a great scene at the end, when Daine is trying to prevent her animal friends from fighting in the big climactic battle because she doesn't want them to get hurt, and she realizes that she has to let her friends fight for her, and it's so good. The magic in these books is also more well-done than it was in the Lioness series. Where Alanna was literally handed her powers ("Hi Alanna! I'm the Goddess, and you're the Chosen One. Here, have a magic sword, a magic necklace, and a magic cat."), Daine has to learn to use her powers and trust them. The actual mechanics of magic are also explored in more detail, and Tamora Pierce seems to have a better handle on how the magic in her books actually works.
Better villains, better storytelling, great new characters, a nice revisit with old ones...so far, the Immortals series is off to a great start.
The first book takes place about ten years after Lioness Rampant left off - a lot of familiar characters are here, including Jonathan, Thayet, George, and of course Alanna (we also get to meet Jon and Alanna's respective kids, and even though I knew from the Trickster series that Alanna and George have three kids, my heart still squee'd super hard just like it did at the end of The Deathly Hallows SHUT UP THAT EPILOGUE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NECESSARY I WILL FIGHT YOU). Our heroine this time is Daine (short for Verlidaine Sarrasri - oof) and we first meet her getting a job working with the royal horsemistress of Tortall. Daine is good with animals, and because this is a Tamora Pierce book, not only does Daine have a way with animals, but she can actually talk to them. Daine's magic is different than Alanna's though - she has something called "wild magic" and may not, in fact, be completely human.
Alanna will always be first in my heart, but I have to admit that I already prefer this series to the Lioness quartet. First, because the problems that plagued the Lioness series are not present here. Pierce's most obvious struggle in those books was the fact that she was forced to cram about eight years' worth of action into four books, and often the pacing felt rushed and disjointed. The action of Wild Magic occurs over a couple of months, so it never feels like we're rushing through events to get to the main conflict. The return of so many familiar characters means that, aside from telling Daine's story, the book also serves as kind of reunion for the characters we loved in Alanna's series. Also the conflict of the story is much better here - in this book, we learn that the Immortals have been released from magical captivity and are wreaking havoc on Tortall. Immortals include stock fantasy creatures like dragons and griffins, but we also have some original creations like spidrens and stormwings. Duke Roger, the primary antagonist in the Lioness series, always felt like more of a cartoon villain than a real threat, and even the mean gods were never much of a concern because Alanna was the Goddess's best buddy or something. The creatures in Wild Magic are generally terrifying, and I found myself wishing that someone would make this series into a movie, just so I could see all of this brought to life - imagine what Guillermo del Toro could do with the stormwings!
It's really unfair to compare this series with Alanna's (even though I keep doing that), because even though they take place in the same universe and include many of the same characters, the similarities end there. The books are alike on a surface level (plucky girl character learning to be a badass and use cool magic with the help of talking animal friends) but in reality the books are trying to do very different things. Alanna's books were all about teaching girls about hard work, courage, and never letting society dictate what you can and can't do. Wild Magic is about how family is sometimes what you find, not what you're given. It spends a lot of time exploring the concept of loyalty and sacrifice, and in much more eloquent detail than Alanna's books ever did - there's a great scene at the end, when Daine is trying to prevent her animal friends from fighting in the big climactic battle because she doesn't want them to get hurt, and she realizes that she has to let her friends fight for her, and it's so good. The magic in these books is also more well-done than it was in the Lioness series. Where Alanna was literally handed her powers ("Hi Alanna! I'm the Goddess, and you're the Chosen One. Here, have a magic sword, a magic necklace, and a magic cat."), Daine has to learn to use her powers and trust them. The actual mechanics of magic are also explored in more detail, and Tamora Pierce seems to have a better handle on how the magic in her books actually works.
Better villains, better storytelling, great new characters, a nice revisit with old ones...so far, the Immortals series is off to a great start.
August 1, 2021
2021: Just an add-on to my earlier comments to say that the Full-Cast Audio reading of this is one of the best things ever.
2012: If you have read my other reviews, you will know that I am a huge Tamora Pierce fan, (though I am now perhaps a little older than her target demographic). However, despite this I am not blinded to the faults in her writing, something which I discovered in the disappointing recent release "Melting Stones." So trust me, The fact that I've given this book 5 stars is because I believe it to be truly deserving of each and every one of them.
I grew up on a diet of richly rendered fantasy books, which included Pierce's Lioness quartet as well as the semi-sequel quartet Protector of the Small. Both of these convinced me it was ok to not fit into the perfect stereotype of what young girls should and shouldn't like - if I wanted to be a knight (or an archaeologist as the case was at the time) instead of a... a princess, or a... nurse, or a ballerina, then that was ok. (Nevermind that knights these days do not seem half as exciting as those in Pierce's Tortallan world.)
Somehow in all my readings, the Immortals quartet largely (though not completely) passed me by and I never got around to reading the books in full until now.
These books are set directly between the Lioness and Protector quartets, so if you have read either there will be many familiar characters, but I also think it wouldn't be too hard to get into with no prior knowledge of the world in which all three series are set.
I'm going to go off on a brief tangent again before I get to my main point:
One thing that frustrates me hugely about YA fiction today is that mostly the female protagonists are fairly interchangeable. They are usually bland, and are either so perfect as to be utterly unrelateable, or so flawed that they are simply impossible to like (take Bella from Twilight as an example). There are, of course, exceptions to this, and this is one reason why I love Pierce's stories. The fact that most of the Tortallan books were written almost twenty years ago may have something to do with it, I'm not sure.
Anyway, back to the book.
Daine (Verilidaine Sarrasri) is possibly the perfect heroine/role-model for a young girl. Unlike tose other bland female protagonists, Daine is both far from perfect, and very likeable. She has untamed talents and gifts, which scare her until - with hard work and will power - she manages to master them. She has hurts and worries to overcome; she isn't always perfectly nice or perfectly polite, but does recognise her mistakes; and most important, she is actually willing to learn from these mistakes.
The writing itself is nothing special, but one of the benefits of this is that it is easy to read, without being patronisingly simple. The plot is interesting, and all the supporting characters are characters in their own rights - no Mary-Sues here. None of these things should quite add up to the full 5 stars though apart from one fact: I cannot for the life of me think of anything that is actually wrong with this book.
I am unsure whether the full quartet is as good (the second book was good, and interesting but not as much as Wild Magic) but this one entirely brings me back to my childhood fantasies, and I loved it.
2012: If you have read my other reviews, you will know that I am a huge Tamora Pierce fan, (though I am now perhaps a little older than her target demographic). However, despite this I am not blinded to the faults in her writing, something which I discovered in the disappointing recent release "Melting Stones." So trust me, The fact that I've given this book 5 stars is because I believe it to be truly deserving of each and every one of them.
I grew up on a diet of richly rendered fantasy books, which included Pierce's Lioness quartet as well as the semi-sequel quartet Protector of the Small. Both of these convinced me it was ok to not fit into the perfect stereotype of what young girls should and shouldn't like - if I wanted to be a knight (or an archaeologist as the case was at the time) instead of a... a princess, or a... nurse, or a ballerina, then that was ok. (Nevermind that knights these days do not seem half as exciting as those in Pierce's Tortallan world.)
Somehow in all my readings, the Immortals quartet largely (though not completely) passed me by and I never got around to reading the books in full until now.
These books are set directly between the Lioness and Protector quartets, so if you have read either there will be many familiar characters, but I also think it wouldn't be too hard to get into with no prior knowledge of the world in which all three series are set.
I'm going to go off on a brief tangent again before I get to my main point:
One thing that frustrates me hugely about YA fiction today is that mostly the female protagonists are fairly interchangeable. They are usually bland, and are either so perfect as to be utterly unrelateable, or so flawed that they are simply impossible to like (take Bella from Twilight as an example). There are, of course, exceptions to this, and this is one reason why I love Pierce's stories. The fact that most of the Tortallan books were written almost twenty years ago may have something to do with it, I'm not sure.
Anyway, back to the book.
Daine (Verilidaine Sarrasri) is possibly the perfect heroine/role-model for a young girl. Unlike tose other bland female protagonists, Daine is both far from perfect, and very likeable. She has untamed talents and gifts, which scare her until - with hard work and will power - she manages to master them. She has hurts and worries to overcome; she isn't always perfectly nice or perfectly polite, but does recognise her mistakes; and most important, she is actually willing to learn from these mistakes.
The writing itself is nothing special, but one of the benefits of this is that it is easy to read, without being patronisingly simple. The plot is interesting, and all the supporting characters are characters in their own rights - no Mary-Sues here. None of these things should quite add up to the full 5 stars though apart from one fact: I cannot for the life of me think of anything that is actually wrong with this book.
I am unsure whether the full quartet is as good (the second book was good, and interesting but not as much as Wild Magic) but this one entirely brings me back to my childhood fantasies, and I loved it.
Read
November 23, 2018My thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for a review copy of this one.
While I’d heard of Tamora Pierce’s books, I didn’t really know what genre she wrote in, but when I noticed these books on NetGalley, and the description, a fantasy which involved a girl who could communicate with animals, I decided to put in a request. Wild Magic, the first of this quartet (the Immortals) was first published in 1992. This is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl, Daine (Veralidaine Sarrasi), who doesn’t have the “Gift”, magic that the rest of her family and community has but has the power to communicate with animals, to the extent that they do as she asks, though at times, they even put themselves in danger to help her as well. She herself however, doesn’t seem to consider that at par with the others’ magic. After her family is killed, she leaves her home and takes up employment with Onua, horsemistress to the Queen’s Riders, female knights and riders who ride with the Queen of Tortall. Here among her new friends, her talents are appreciated and she finds love and acceptance, but she is carrying a secret about her past which she is reluctant to reveal. Her new friends including the mage Numair Salmalin, begin to help her understand her true powers and the wild magic that she has and get some measure of control over it. When they find themselves under attack by enemy forces, which include not only mages but mythical monsters who were believed to be trapped in another realm for some centuries, it falls to Daine to come to the rescue of her new friends.
While the plot of this book sounded interesting, I was a little sceptical about reading it since it is more or less a full-blown fantasy, and at times I find these difficult to wrap my head around. However, I needn’t have been worried, because I got into the story almost immediately and didn’t feel lost or struggling to understand the world or how it worked at any point. The first two characters we meet, Daine, and Onua I took to immediately, and the others we meet in the Kingdom of Tortall were very likeable as well. It was fun seeing Daine’s bewilderment (more than that, the fact that she spoke out her thoughts) in a world where the people don’t seem to behave as they’re supposed to—the nobles aren’t haughty but just like any “normal person”, the power structures don’t seem to work as she expects them to, and more than that everyone is welcoming. Things in this world are far from stereotypical, especially as far as the gender roles are concerned, which was good to see. I could also really connect with Daine because I could relate to her feelings vis-à-vis animals which were very similar to my own and I wished I could have her powers to communicate with them as well. Plus, at times of trouble, the heartbreak and gut-wrenching feelings that she goes through for her animal friends was something I could understand. The story which is obviously only the first of many challenges that Daine and her friends will face was fairly enjoyable as well, giving us the back stories of the characters and the idea of the problem/battle that is unfolding. I can’t wait to read on to the next instalment and see how the story progresses and what lies ahead for the characters. Very enjoyable read, of which my favourite element was the animals and Daine’s friendship with them. Four and a half stars.
This review also appears on my blog at: https://potpourri2015.wordpress.com/2...
While I’d heard of Tamora Pierce’s books, I didn’t really know what genre she wrote in, but when I noticed these books on NetGalley, and the description, a fantasy which involved a girl who could communicate with animals, I decided to put in a request. Wild Magic, the first of this quartet (the Immortals) was first published in 1992. This is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl, Daine (Veralidaine Sarrasi), who doesn’t have the “Gift”, magic that the rest of her family and community has but has the power to communicate with animals, to the extent that they do as she asks, though at times, they even put themselves in danger to help her as well. She herself however, doesn’t seem to consider that at par with the others’ magic. After her family is killed, she leaves her home and takes up employment with Onua, horsemistress to the Queen’s Riders, female knights and riders who ride with the Queen of Tortall. Here among her new friends, her talents are appreciated and she finds love and acceptance, but she is carrying a secret about her past which she is reluctant to reveal. Her new friends including the mage Numair Salmalin, begin to help her understand her true powers and the wild magic that she has and get some measure of control over it. When they find themselves under attack by enemy forces, which include not only mages but mythical monsters who were believed to be trapped in another realm for some centuries, it falls to Daine to come to the rescue of her new friends.
While the plot of this book sounded interesting, I was a little sceptical about reading it since it is more or less a full-blown fantasy, and at times I find these difficult to wrap my head around. However, I needn’t have been worried, because I got into the story almost immediately and didn’t feel lost or struggling to understand the world or how it worked at any point. The first two characters we meet, Daine, and Onua I took to immediately, and the others we meet in the Kingdom of Tortall were very likeable as well. It was fun seeing Daine’s bewilderment (more than that, the fact that she spoke out her thoughts) in a world where the people don’t seem to behave as they’re supposed to—the nobles aren’t haughty but just like any “normal person”, the power structures don’t seem to work as she expects them to, and more than that everyone is welcoming. Things in this world are far from stereotypical, especially as far as the gender roles are concerned, which was good to see. I could also really connect with Daine because I could relate to her feelings vis-à-vis animals which were very similar to my own and I wished I could have her powers to communicate with them as well. Plus, at times of trouble, the heartbreak and gut-wrenching feelings that she goes through for her animal friends was something I could understand. The story which is obviously only the first of many challenges that Daine and her friends will face was fairly enjoyable as well, giving us the back stories of the characters and the idea of the problem/battle that is unfolding. I can’t wait to read on to the next instalment and see how the story progresses and what lies ahead for the characters. Very enjoyable read, of which my favourite element was the animals and Daine’s friendship with them. Four and a half stars.
This review also appears on my blog at: https://potpourri2015.wordpress.com/2...
June 30, 2011
Wild Magic literally changed my life. It was the first series I read with a strong girl as the protagonist (I read this before her Alanna series), and I wanted nothing more than to leave my horrible junior high behind and drop into Daine's shoes--even with all the bad stuff that happens to her. I mean, the girl can talk to animals!
This is an older book, so while it might have been YA when I was younger, it would definitely qualify if as MG these days. Don't let that scare you--there's still SO much to take from this book and the entire series.
Daine faces here fears, ignores the hurt, and battles on (just like Alanna from the Lioness Quartet, yet in a completely different way). She's a subdued heroine--strong in her own quiet way. As a painfully shy thirteen-year-old, I LOVED this. I learned so much from Daine's approach to her problems, and I'm not lying when I say Tamora Pierce and her novels shaped me into the person I am today.
Don't miss this book!
This is an older book, so while it might have been YA when I was younger, it would definitely qualify if as MG these days. Don't let that scare you--there's still SO much to take from this book and the entire series.
Daine faces here fears, ignores the hurt, and battles on (just like Alanna from the Lioness Quartet, yet in a completely different way). She's a subdued heroine--strong in her own quiet way. As a painfully shy thirteen-year-old, I LOVED this. I learned so much from Daine's approach to her problems, and I'm not lying when I say Tamora Pierce and her novels shaped me into the person I am today.
Don't miss this book!
January 7, 2019
Okay so first of all a great re-read for me. I love Daine!
Of all the powers in the Tortall Universe I love Daine's the most. I love that she can communicate with animals!
There was a lot happening in this book. I don't want to get too spoilery but it made my heart pound in excitement, fear and joy.
I love how Daine has made her own home and her own family with some lovely and familiar characters. The last bit where Daine says she goes from no home to too many is just key!
Of all the powers in the Tortall Universe I love Daine's the most. I love that she can communicate with animals!
There was a lot happening in this book. I don't want to get too spoilery but it made my heart pound in excitement, fear and joy.
I love how Daine has made her own home and her own family with some lovely and familiar characters. The last bit where Daine says she goes from no home to too many is just key!
January 20, 2011
So. I've read up to page 216 now and there isn't really anything that urges me to read on. I have heard so many good things about this book and Tamora Pierce's books in general come highly recommended by some of my Goodreads friends. But I fear that if I haven't found anything that makes me want to go on up until now, I probably won't find it in the next 150 pages either.
Please don't understand this as a discouragement to give Pierce's books a try - this is in no way a bad book, it's just not for me. I found it hard to get into the writing style; the narractive kind of hops between the different characters in mid-paragraph every now and then - and that perspective felt a bit weird to me. Also, I wasn't particularly fond of the main character, Daine. Her voice is a tad bit too young for my taste (she is 13) and she comes across as a little too perfect with her special talents concerning animals and the strong magic she has without even knowing it.
All in all, she is a characters that can often be found in epic fantasy: an orphan with special talents who finds new friends and a master who helps her control her unknown abilities and come to terms with her past. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this kind of character in general. Although it has been done a hundred times before, a skilled author can always add something new to the story. And Tamora Pierce definitely is a skilled author, but in this case, Daine's story just didn't resonate with me personally. Despite all that, I really liked the idea behind her magic and the focus on animals in this novel.
Now I'm unsure if I should give another one of Pierce's Tortall series a try. I wasn't fond of the writing style in this one - so if they are similar in style, they might simply not be for me. On the other hand - a character to root for might change my opinion.
#2 TBR Pile Reduction Challenge (Olivia: I'm sorry I didn't like this more, I was definitely counting on it.)
Please don't understand this as a discouragement to give Pierce's books a try - this is in no way a bad book, it's just not for me. I found it hard to get into the writing style; the narractive kind of hops between the different characters in mid-paragraph every now and then - and that perspective felt a bit weird to me. Also, I wasn't particularly fond of the main character, Daine. Her voice is a tad bit too young for my taste (she is 13) and she comes across as a little too perfect with her special talents concerning animals and the strong magic she has without even knowing it.
All in all, she is a characters that can often be found in epic fantasy: an orphan with special talents who finds new friends and a master who helps her control her unknown abilities and come to terms with her past. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this kind of character in general. Although it has been done a hundred times before, a skilled author can always add something new to the story. And Tamora Pierce definitely is a skilled author, but in this case, Daine's story just didn't resonate with me personally. Despite all that, I really liked the idea behind her magic and the focus on animals in this novel.
Now I'm unsure if I should give another one of Pierce's Tortall series a try. I wasn't fond of the writing style in this one - so if they are similar in style, they might simply not be for me. On the other hand - a character to root for might change my opinion.
#2 TBR Pile Reduction Challenge (Olivia: I'm sorry I didn't like this more, I was definitely counting on it.)
June 6, 2020
There was magic, beautiful and monstrous mythical creatures, and the emergence of a young heroine’s immense power; what’s not to like. This was a fantastic story telling by Tamara Pierce. I loved it from the first page, it was an incredible, immersive, engrossing page turner.
I love the characters, Daine with her knack and connection with animals. I really loved how she surprises the people around her with uncanny victories over formidable opponents, there was never a dull moment.
This is the first in a four series book; I’m moving on to the next book.
I love the characters, Daine with her knack and connection with animals. I really loved how she surprises the people around her with uncanny victories over formidable opponents, there was never a dull moment.
This is the first in a four series book; I’m moving on to the next book.
March 13, 2023
March 2023: I still bemoan what this series could have been.
February 2016: Two stars, but that's not to say I didn't read this in one sitting, because I did. (Then again, it's not very long.) In order of least to most frustrating:
1. The note that "Like her predator friends, Daine ate meat" is pretty interesting. Definitely important to note and also - slightly weird? The later distinction that she can't eat anything she shifts to is even more important, because it tries to resolve the inherent contradiction between seeing these animals as friends and, you know, eating them. But it's not introduced in this book.
2. Pierce's writing is pretty clunky in places, and it's especially grating here:
There's more clunky dialogue, too, like this exchange:
I do like that Pierce acknowledges that heroism and responsibility take their toll on the people around these larger-than-life figures, particularly their kids. But there has to be a more nuanced way to phrase that.
3. At this point in the Tortall series, I'm getting a bit tired of the stark morality. When Kitten's mother is burning all those Carthaki ships in the harbor, Numair says it's justice, because they brought her here. I mean, yes, I'm not denying that, nor that the Carthakis were doing their best to raze Pirate's Swoop to the ground. But there's something about that "And it's justice, my magelet" that rubs me the wrong way.
4. Daine is thirteen, and Numair is twenty-eight. THIRTEEN. TWENTY-EIGHT. And Pierce is already hinting subtly that it's headed in that direction. Exhibit A:
5. My real problem with this book, though (the previous things aren't really problems, or not to the extent this one is; plus Daine and Numair don't actually become a thing until book four, and it's a little unfair of me to hold that against this book): I don't like Daine, who is essentially defined by her Wild magic. I don't like the idea of Wild magic at all. First of all, in a country teeming with people who have the Gift, Daine is really the only Wild mage? Really? And if Wild magic is so rare, why does everyone know what it is? Alanna - Jonathan - Thayet - Onua - not just Numair the scholar.
So here you have a rare, more boring version of the Gift (sorry, but talking to animals will never be as interesting to me as healing or Roger's hypnotism or Onua's hiding them completely from sight or any of the more exciting forms the Gift takes; nor are Daine's conversations with animals as interesting as conversations with people, and it's deliberate, because the animals much more simplistic in tone), but somehow, everyone immediately sees how valuable Daine's magic is, and how much they need it, and all the ways in which they can use it...
It makes the entire book take on a different light. I'm willing to believe Onua's nice to everyone, but everyone falling over themselves to offer Daine a home feels much more - rapacious. She's useful, and they know that. (In the case of Jonathan and Thayet, it's their job to know that.) Isn't it great that Daine's so lovable and lonely???
And once I balance how unlikely everyone's overwhelmingly consistent niceness is against the value of Daine's magic, even Thayet and Jon's everyman approach - "Look how normal we are!" feels calculated. And all that is at odds with the new-shiny-naive veneer of the book.
Ultimately, I think I like Pierce's books best when they focus on developing skill, on hard work. Here it's just power and more power, and an unacknowledged desire to tap into that, and Daine's so immediately special (as opposed to Alanna and Kel, who start off as cogs in a wheel) - I think it's just not my sort of story.
February 2016: Two stars, but that's not to say I didn't read this in one sitting, because I did. (Then again, it's not very long.) In order of least to most frustrating:
1. The note that "Like her predator friends, Daine ate meat" is pretty interesting. Definitely important to note and also - slightly weird? The later distinction that she can't eat anything she shifts to is even more important, because it tries to resolve the inherent contradiction between seeing these animals as friends and, you know, eating them. But it's not introduced in this book.
2. Pierce's writing is pretty clunky in places, and it's especially grating here:
The K'mir stuck her finger into a pouch filled with a powder known as "eyebright."And:
Supper - fish and a pot of spiced white cereal grains Onua called "rice" -There must be a less heavy-handed way of explaining concepts, especially with the rice.
There's more clunky dialogue, too, like this exchange:
"Great," Thom said. She has to go away again."Really? Is that what this conversation is about? Because if it is, maybe the best way to express that isn't "We're lucky to have mothers who fight. Our fathers must stay home."
Kally sighed. "It's like Mama in raiding season," she told him. "We're lucky to have mothers who fight. Our fathers must stay home and protect their people."
"Da fights when they hit the village." Thom was a stickler for fact.
"Papa fights if he can." Roald tried to smile and failed.
Poor things, Daine thought. They miss their folks, coming and going all the time.
I do like that Pierce acknowledges that heroism and responsibility take their toll on the people around these larger-than-life figures, particularly their kids. But there has to be a more nuanced way to phrase that.
3. At this point in the Tortall series, I'm getting a bit tired of the stark morality. When Kitten's mother is burning all those Carthaki ships in the harbor, Numair says it's justice, because they brought her here. I mean, yes, I'm not denying that, nor that the Carthakis were doing their best to raze Pirate's Swoop to the ground. But there's something about that "And it's justice, my magelet" that rubs me the wrong way.
4. Daine is thirteen, and Numair is twenty-eight. THIRTEEN. TWENTY-EIGHT. And Pierce is already hinting subtly that it's headed in that direction. Exhibit A:
His voice was midrange for a man's, warm and a little hesitant - nice to listen to, Daine thought. She kept her eyes away from him as she wrestled with her leatherwork.No no no no no.
A pair of large hands came into her field of vision to hold the strap while she set the final stitches.
"Thanks," she whispered, blushing.
5. My real problem with this book, though (the previous things aren't really problems, or not to the extent this one is; plus Daine and Numair don't actually become a thing until book four, and it's a little unfair of me to hold that against this book): I don't like Daine, who is essentially defined by her Wild magic. I don't like the idea of Wild magic at all. First of all, in a country teeming with people who have the Gift, Daine is really the only Wild mage? Really? And if Wild magic is so rare, why does everyone know what it is? Alanna - Jonathan - Thayet - Onua - not just Numair the scholar.
So here you have a rare, more boring version of the Gift (sorry, but talking to animals will never be as interesting to me as healing or Roger's hypnotism or Onua's hiding them completely from sight or any of the more exciting forms the Gift takes; nor are Daine's conversations with animals as interesting as conversations with people, and it's deliberate, because the animals much more simplistic in tone), but somehow, everyone immediately sees how valuable Daine's magic is, and how much they need it, and all the ways in which they can use it...
It makes the entire book take on a different light. I'm willing to believe Onua's nice to everyone, but everyone falling over themselves to offer Daine a home feels much more - rapacious. She's useful, and they know that. (In the case of Jonathan and Thayet, it's their job to know that.) Isn't it great that Daine's so lovable and lonely???
And once I balance how unlikely everyone's overwhelmingly consistent niceness is against the value of Daine's magic, even Thayet and Jon's everyman approach - "Look how normal we are!" feels calculated. And all that is at odds with the new-shiny-naive veneer of the book.
Ultimately, I think I like Pierce's books best when they focus on developing skill, on hard work. Here it's just power and more power, and an unacknowledged desire to tap into that, and Daine's so immediately special (as opposed to Alanna and Kel, who start off as cogs in a wheel) - I think it's just not my sort of story.
Read
June 13, 2018Mini review:
DNF
As I have mentioned before Tamora Pierce is a well respected fantasy author. Lately I have been trying to get into her books. Wild Magic in particular caught my eye. I used to watch the Eliza Thornberry cartoon as a child. It sounded like that but in a fantasy setting. Unfortunately this wasn't for me.
I am finding that her books just aren't for me. I wasn't invested and just didn't care for the characters. I will not be reading any off her other books.
I do still recommend.
DNF
As I have mentioned before Tamora Pierce is a well respected fantasy author. Lately I have been trying to get into her books. Wild Magic in particular caught my eye. I used to watch the Eliza Thornberry cartoon as a child. It sounded like that but in a fantasy setting. Unfortunately this wasn't for me.
I am finding that her books just aren't for me. I wasn't invested and just didn't care for the characters. I will not be reading any off her other books.
I do still recommend.
March 23, 2012
I wish this book would have been around when I was about 11, I know it would have been one of my favorites. As it is, I wish I knew a 11-13 year old girl who loves to read so I could buy this for her. If anyone knows of one and will let me adopt her for about 15-20 minutes tops, let me know! :)
One thing I like to do with books is going into them completely blind with little to no idea what it is about. Tabula rasa style. I often don’t even read the back of the book. Some of the time this “tabula rasa” approach to novels works out really well for me because I have no preconceived notions of what the book “should” be about, and so I am able to focus on the merits of the book free of any bias. Sometimes, however, it does not work out so favorably and I end up reading books that I abhor and throwing said book and muttering things like, “what is this garbage?”. At any rate, my point is, I really had no idea what this book was about before I started reading it. I saw that a lot of my friends had ranked it very highly and that it was available at my library for immediate checkout so I thought I would give it a whirl.
The book started off a little rough for me BECAUSE I didn’t realize that it was not so much a YA but early teen and had been classified as YA because of its mature character relationships. Once I realized that I was able to sit back and really enjoy the story. And, boy, did I enjoy it. What a great, uplifting story. Simply put; a wonderful book.
What is the old proverbial saying that all real-estate people are supposed to live by? “Location, Location, Location”. You are probably wondering what that has to do with anything so let me try to e’splain. -Although I found this book enticing and wonderful and lovely, it was clearly not written for me and my demographic; it was written for kids. And by that token I am giving this book 4 & 1/2 stars instead of a full five but I am going to mark it as a 5 because I think it deserves that rating.
Check it out if you haven’t already, it is an easy read and I think anyone could enjoy this book, I know I really liked it!
One thing I like to do with books is going into them completely blind with little to no idea what it is about. Tabula rasa style. I often don’t even read the back of the book. Some of the time this “tabula rasa” approach to novels works out really well for me because I have no preconceived notions of what the book “should” be about, and so I am able to focus on the merits of the book free of any bias. Sometimes, however, it does not work out so favorably and I end up reading books that I abhor and throwing said book and muttering things like, “what is this garbage?”. At any rate, my point is, I really had no idea what this book was about before I started reading it. I saw that a lot of my friends had ranked it very highly and that it was available at my library for immediate checkout so I thought I would give it a whirl.
The book started off a little rough for me BECAUSE I didn’t realize that it was not so much a YA but early teen and had been classified as YA because of its mature character relationships. Once I realized that I was able to sit back and really enjoy the story. And, boy, did I enjoy it. What a great, uplifting story. Simply put; a wonderful book.
What is the old proverbial saying that all real-estate people are supposed to live by? “Location, Location, Location”. You are probably wondering what that has to do with anything so let me try to e’splain. -Although I found this book enticing and wonderful and lovely, it was clearly not written for me and my demographic; it was written for kids. And by that token I am giving this book 4 & 1/2 stars instead of a full five but I am going to mark it as a 5 because I think it deserves that rating.
Check it out if you haven’t already, it is an easy read and I think anyone could enjoy this book, I know I really liked it!
April 27, 2023
This is my third series with this author - all in less than a month. Yep, that’s how much I am LOVING Ms. Pierce’s work! The writing is truly a joy to read and the stories are almost unputdownable.
Daine has been a side character in both The Protector of the Small Series and the Daughter of the Lioness duo. In both, she was such an interesting character that I had to learn her story… Even though I could no longer get the books at the library and stupid S&S are charging MORE for the kindle books than for the hard copies (gosh, big publishers annoy me!) SO… it speaks to the fact that I would give in and purchase them anyway, that’s just how good these books are.
This first of four begins with Daine as a 13 year old orphan who has a weird talent that she doesn’t understand and others in her village see as so dangerous they believe she is a monster that must be put down. She runs away and is hired as a horsewoman’s apprentice, however, and thus begins an epic journey of discovery that is an absolute joy to take. I can’t wait to dive into the second book!
Daine has been a side character in both The Protector of the Small Series and the Daughter of the Lioness duo. In both, she was such an interesting character that I had to learn her story… Even though I could no longer get the books at the library and stupid S&S are charging MORE for the kindle books than for the hard copies (gosh, big publishers annoy me!) SO… it speaks to the fact that I would give in and purchase them anyway, that’s just how good these books are.
This first of four begins with Daine as a 13 year old orphan who has a weird talent that she doesn’t understand and others in her village see as so dangerous they believe she is a monster that must be put down. She runs away and is hired as a horsewoman’s apprentice, however, and thus begins an epic journey of discovery that is an absolute joy to take. I can’t wait to dive into the second book!
November 19, 2018
This is the first instalment in The Immortals series.
This managed to combine all of my favourite fictional elements - a complex magic system, political intrigue, a sprawling fantastical world, villains you can truly hate, an abundance of animals and the most lovable of friendship groups that had me yearning to become of them - and did all of this whilst also creating a unique and consistently exciting story-line. This may only be my first Tamora Pierce book, but it definitely not be the last!
This managed to combine all of my favourite fictional elements - a complex magic system, political intrigue, a sprawling fantastical world, villains you can truly hate, an abundance of animals and the most lovable of friendship groups that had me yearning to become of them - and did all of this whilst also creating a unique and consistently exciting story-line. This may only be my first Tamora Pierce book, but it definitely not be the last!
August 19, 2016
IT WAS REALLY AWESOME IF ONLY THE TRANSLATOR DIDN'T MESS IT UP.
I admit this was a long reading. The translation in Indonesian is a mess. It should be a delightful reading. The story was awesome. I never know how much I miss epic fantasy until I read this and get this fulfilment feeling.
July 13, 2023
This is classic Pierce, the beginning of another coming of age story about a strong heroine filled with magic and battles and bonds.
December 10, 2018
I think this is my 5th or 6th reread? Yeah. Still a favorite, the book that launched my love of Tamora Pierce. Some of the appeal of this is lost now that I'm an adult and no longer identify so deeply with Daine, but it was still great! This book, and this series, was so hugely influential in my reading life... and I suppose in my life, period, too!
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May 28, 2023
This book holds such a special place in my heart.
November 21, 2018
I received a free ebook version of this book from Netgalley. Thankyou to both Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this! My review is still honest.
Believe it or not, this was my first Tamora Pierce novel! Because of this, I didn't realise until I'd started that I should have read the Alanna quartet first, but I still got the gist of the story and I don't think it impacted my enjoyment/understanding too much.
Wild Magic follows Daine, a young girl with a secret, tragic past. When she meets Onua, one of the Queen's Riders, and takes a job with her, she is thrust into a world of mages and war and Immortals emerging from realms they haven't escaped from in centuries. She also might have a little magic herself-and it's so damn cool.
This book does reflect when it was written. It was great, but it doesn't have the same vibe as a modern fantasy, and if I'm right about my guess of a potential romance, it's definitely not something that would be accepted if written today. However, the female characters in this are strong and would be so inspiring for a young reader. I wish I'd read this when I was a child! Daine, Alanna and Onua are such great role models and I really loved reading from Daine's perspective.
The action was good, especially towards the end. For the first third or so, I thought it was a little too action packed! It just seemed like it threw me straight in with no world building (which could be because I hadn't read the Alanna books) but after a while, it straightened itself out and I was just enthralled. I was so excited to know what happened next! The end battle was so exciting and tense.
By far my favourite aspect though is the magic. The animals were some of my favourite characters and it was nothing like what I've read before. It's one of those books that makes you want to be in that world.
A solid read! I'm intrigued to know what happens next.
Believe it or not, this was my first Tamora Pierce novel! Because of this, I didn't realise until I'd started that I should have read the Alanna quartet first, but I still got the gist of the story and I don't think it impacted my enjoyment/understanding too much.
Wild Magic follows Daine, a young girl with a secret, tragic past. When she meets Onua, one of the Queen's Riders, and takes a job with her, she is thrust into a world of mages and war and Immortals emerging from realms they haven't escaped from in centuries. She also might have a little magic herself-and it's so damn cool.
This book does reflect when it was written. It was great, but it doesn't have the same vibe as a modern fantasy, and if I'm right about my guess of a potential romance, it's definitely not something that would be accepted if written today. However, the female characters in this are strong and would be so inspiring for a young reader. I wish I'd read this when I was a child! Daine, Alanna and Onua are such great role models and I really loved reading from Daine's perspective.
The action was good, especially towards the end. For the first third or so, I thought it was a little too action packed! It just seemed like it threw me straight in with no world building (which could be because I hadn't read the Alanna books) but after a while, it straightened itself out and I was just enthralled. I was so excited to know what happened next! The end battle was so exciting and tense.
By far my favourite aspect though is the magic. The animals were some of my favourite characters and it was nothing like what I've read before. It's one of those books that makes you want to be in that world.
A solid read! I'm intrigued to know what happens next.
March 28, 2020
3.5 stars
This new series brings us Daine, a young girl with a Tragic Past, who is alone in the world but for her trusty pony. She comes across Onua, an ostler for the palace, and they befriend each other. Onua quickly realizes that Daine has a Gift with animals. Adventures ensue.
I liked Daine a lot. She has a lot to deal with in her past and in discovering her abilities and how to use them, and the responsibilities that come with it. It was nice to see Alanna, George, Jonathan and the old gang again, but I like that they didn't take over the story. This is very much Daine's story and her coming of age that this story is telling. Numair is a hoot, and even if there are talking animals everywhere, they're only talking to one person, so it wasn't quite as silly as it could have been.
This is much better paced than the original series, which was hacked up and messed around with by the publisher. I'm curious to see if this'll follow just this one arc that's set up here, or if the next three books will be more board in focus, like the Song of the Lioness novellas. It also helps that Pierce had more pages to write her story here than she did with the first quartet.
The narration for this quartet is a full-cast audio, and it's kind of a mixed bag. I do like that all the characters get their own actors, and most of them are quite good. However, the main narrator sounds kind of wooden and mechanical. I don't know if she was trying to stay neutral to contrast with the characters, but it was jarring at times.
This new series brings us Daine, a young girl with a Tragic Past, who is alone in the world but for her trusty pony. She comes across Onua, an ostler for the palace, and they befriend each other. Onua quickly realizes that Daine has a Gift with animals. Adventures ensue.
I liked Daine a lot. She has a lot to deal with in her past and in discovering her abilities and how to use them, and the responsibilities that come with it. It was nice to see Alanna, George, Jonathan and the old gang again, but I like that they didn't take over the story. This is very much Daine's story and her coming of age that this story is telling. Numair is a hoot, and even if there are talking animals everywhere, they're only talking to one person, so it wasn't quite as silly as it could have been.
This is much better paced than the original series, which was hacked up and messed around with by the publisher. I'm curious to see if this'll follow just this one arc that's set up here, or if the next three books will be more board in focus, like the Song of the Lioness novellas. It also helps that Pierce had more pages to write her story here than she did with the first quartet.
The narration for this quartet is a full-cast audio, and it's kind of a mixed bag. I do like that all the characters get their own actors, and most of them are quite good. However, the main narrator sounds kind of wooden and mechanical. I don't know if she was trying to stay neutral to contrast with the characters, but it was jarring at times.
August 7, 2020
This has to be my absolute favourite series by Tamora Pierce. I was a little scared for the re-read, because I was a bit worried that it wouldn't hold up to my memories, but I am happy that wasn't the case.
Daine has always been very close to animals. Despite not having 'the Gift', there seems to be something magical about the way that she can communicate with them. When Daine has to flee her home, she is offered a job working with horses that changes her life. Now she's on the road to Tortall with friends and a future. Of course, being Tortall, things there aren't completely peaceful. Thankfully, with some training, Daine will be ready for the task of helping to protect her home and new-found friends.
This is one of the formative books of my childhood, with a kickass main character. She doesn't pick up a sword or become a knight, but her way of fighting is just as important.
The plot in this book is a bit light, it sets up the Immortals and leaves a lot of threads open. It also is a great time for catching up of our favourite characters from Alanna.
Daine has always been very close to animals. Despite not having 'the Gift', there seems to be something magical about the way that she can communicate with them. When Daine has to flee her home, she is offered a job working with horses that changes her life. Now she's on the road to Tortall with friends and a future. Of course, being Tortall, things there aren't completely peaceful. Thankfully, with some training, Daine will be ready for the task of helping to protect her home and new-found friends.
This is one of the formative books of my childhood, with a kickass main character. She doesn't pick up a sword or become a knight, but her way of fighting is just as important.
The plot in this book is a bit light, it sets up the Immortals and leaves a lot of threads open. It also is a great time for catching up of our favourite characters from Alanna.
September 5, 2017
[Also read 15 December 2007]
Veralidaine "Daine" Sarrasi applies to work with Onua, the horse-master of the Queen's Riders, in order to outrun her past. In doing so, she stumbles across a hawk-man named Numair Salmalin, a mage who senses in her great wild magic. Now Daine's got to grow the hell up because hiding her past is getting in the way of being the bestest magelet that ever maged.
1. Daine's breadth of magic and how good she was at wielding it grew tiresome. Where's the true conflict if everything comes easy? And the conflict that was there--would she go "mad" and lose herself to the herd again?--was fixed with the snap of a finger, once she finally opened up a little. (Self-imposed conflict bothers me the most, especially in scenarios where it's clearly proven that the character's "society" has MORE than welcomed them into their open arms.
In this case, it's more unbelievable that Onua and company would cast Daine out after all their slathering worship, so Daine's decision to withhold information comes across as foolish. The fact that this conflict breaks down so quickly under scrutiny really weakens the book for me.
2. That said, Daine was one of my first Tortallian heroines, so there's a familiarity there that breeds fondness. As a younger me, I liked Daine: she was struggling and isolated and special. Her story--in some ways--parallels Thom's, except that she is immediately surrounded if not overwhelmed by friends. But the tension-that-could-have-been is not there; there is never any concern that Daine will "go bad".
(But just think of a moment between Daine and Alanna as Alanna recognizes the loneliness and the power in Daine, and she remembers Thom and shares his story and UGH THE POSSIBILITIES.)
This reread just left me wanting more: more conflict, more complexity, more challenge. Alanna, for all my complaints, strove hard to become what she wanted to be: a lady knight, and hero. Daine, meanwhile, has all her cues laid out in front of her: wild magic, a powerful mage for a teacher, and a god-friend badger who will directly interfere if needed (whereas Alanna's Goddess smiled from afar and didn't meddle). It's just too easy.
3. STORMWINGS UGH. I will admit that they are monstrous and terrifying which is PERFECT, so thank you for that, Pierce.
4. The actual plot--that there's a Carthaki scheme afoot to overthrow Jonathan--is currently so thin I could sew with it. This book is more about setting Daine up and establishing the changes that have occurred in the 11(?) years of Jonathan's reign, so it's hard to comment on.
Veralidaine "Daine" Sarrasi applies to work with Onua, the horse-master of the Queen's Riders, in order to outrun her past. In doing so, she stumbles across a hawk-man named Numair Salmalin, a mage who senses in her great wild magic. Now Daine's got to grow the hell up because hiding her past is getting in the way of being the bestest magelet that ever maged.
1. Daine's breadth of magic and how good she was at wielding it grew tiresome. Where's the true conflict if everything comes easy? And the conflict that was there--would she go "mad" and lose herself to the herd again?--was fixed with the snap of a finger, once she finally opened up a little. (Self-imposed conflict bothers me the most, especially in scenarios where it's clearly proven that the character's "society" has MORE than welcomed them into their open arms.
In this case, it's more unbelievable that Onua and company would cast Daine out after all their slathering worship, so Daine's decision to withhold information comes across as foolish. The fact that this conflict breaks down so quickly under scrutiny really weakens the book for me.
2. That said, Daine was one of my first Tortallian heroines, so there's a familiarity there that breeds fondness. As a younger me, I liked Daine: she was struggling and isolated and special. Her story--in some ways--parallels Thom's, except that she is immediately surrounded if not overwhelmed by friends. But the tension-that-could-have-been is not there; there is never any concern that Daine will "go bad".
(But just think of a moment between Daine and Alanna as Alanna recognizes the loneliness and the power in Daine, and she remembers Thom and shares his story and UGH THE POSSIBILITIES.)
This reread just left me wanting more: more conflict, more complexity, more challenge. Alanna, for all my complaints, strove hard to become what she wanted to be: a lady knight, and hero. Daine, meanwhile, has all her cues laid out in front of her: wild magic, a powerful mage for a teacher, and a god-friend badger who will directly interfere if needed (whereas Alanna's Goddess smiled from afar and didn't meddle). It's just too easy.
3. STORMWINGS UGH. I will admit that they are monstrous and terrifying which is PERFECT, so thank you for that, Pierce.
4. The actual plot--that there's a Carthaki scheme afoot to overthrow Jonathan--is currently so thin I could sew with it. This book is more about setting Daine up and establishing the changes that have occurred in the 11(?) years of Jonathan's reign, so it's hard to comment on.
January 29, 2016
I have greatly enjoyed many of Tamora Pierce's books, this was not one of those. I had trouble from the beginning, there are many little things I could point out, but things really started to get bad near the end.
The story revolves around Daine, a thirteen year old girl who can talk to and influence animals. Having just suffered an incredibly traumatic series of events she leaves her village and finds work with the manager of the queens rider's horses/ponies. Stuff happens and to cut a long story short Daine becomes a mages pupil, makes lots of friends, and gets over her trauma all while dealing with mythical creatures being brought into the world by the villainous Carthakians.
It all finally culminated in two horrible moves on the authors part. First during the ending battle with the Carthakians Daine spend a lot of time and energy preventing the animals under her influence from fighting. However, after only one short, illogical, and down right irritating speech from a friend she immediately changes her mind, so much so that a few hours later she is planning on enslaving a bunch of pacifist whales, who she knows will subsequently starve themselves to death as recompense, into capsizing a bunch of ships.
Then, to pile BS onto BS, a supposedly intelligent dragon commits suicide in a pointless attack upon the Carthakians. This dragon is a mage who can throw fire around at will and is seemingly imune to the enemies magic, so rather than flying in, setting fire to the catapults that were the only danger the ships posed and getting out of there, she decides to fly in, set fire to none of the catapults, dash about attack things at random and hang around despite repeated warnings to get out of there. Can you guess what happens next? That's right! She gets shot down by the catapults.
Soooooo basically don't read this unless you are skilled at turning off all reasoning faculties you have. Like I said, I like Tamora Pierce, I enjoy many of her books, but this one was simply terrible, I can only assume it was some sort of bet on how bad a book she could write and still sell.
Sorry if this review is a bit messy, it's 4:30 am and I haven't had any sleep.
The story revolves around Daine, a thirteen year old girl who can talk to and influence animals. Having just suffered an incredibly traumatic series of events she leaves her village and finds work with the manager of the queens rider's horses/ponies. Stuff happens and to cut a long story short Daine becomes a mages pupil, makes lots of friends, and gets over her trauma all while dealing with mythical creatures being brought into the world by the villainous Carthakians.
It all finally culminated in two horrible moves on the authors part. First during the ending battle with the Carthakians Daine spend a lot of time and energy preventing the animals under her influence from fighting. However, after only one short, illogical, and down right irritating speech from a friend she immediately changes her mind, so much so that a few hours later she is planning on enslaving a bunch of pacifist whales, who she knows will subsequently starve themselves to death as recompense, into capsizing a bunch of ships.
Then, to pile BS onto BS, a supposedly intelligent dragon commits suicide in a pointless attack upon the Carthakians. This dragon is a mage who can throw fire around at will and is seemingly imune to the enemies magic, so rather than flying in, setting fire to the catapults that were the only danger the ships posed and getting out of there, she decides to fly in, set fire to none of the catapults, dash about attack things at random and hang around despite repeated warnings to get out of there. Can you guess what happens next? That's right! She gets shot down by the catapults.
Soooooo basically don't read this unless you are skilled at turning off all reasoning faculties you have. Like I said, I like Tamora Pierce, I enjoy many of her books, but this one was simply terrible, I can only assume it was some sort of bet on how bad a book she could write and still sell.
Sorry if this review is a bit messy, it's 4:30 am and I haven't had any sleep.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2020
My first review from 2010: After raiders destroy her happy village, a young peasant girl named Daine joins up with the Queen's Own hostler. They travel to Tortall, having dangerous adventures along the way. Once in Tortall, Daine discovers she has Wild Magic, which enables her to communicate and control all animals. Despite the many attacks by monsters, this book lacks any narrative tension, probably because I actively dislike Daine.
Review from 2020: I haven't entirely warmed to Daine but I no longer dislike her. Maybe I was just unhappy these books weren't the Lioness Quartet? On a second read I think these are great middle grade or ya fantasy. My two remaining qualms are: Daine thinks all the middle-aged men are hot (Jon, George, Numair) despite being 13, and I hate that the
Review from 2020: I haven't entirely warmed to Daine but I no longer dislike her. Maybe I was just unhappy these books weren't the Lioness Quartet? On a second read I think these are great middle grade or ya fantasy. My two remaining qualms are: Daine thinks all the middle-aged men are hot (Jon, George, Numair) despite being 13, and I hate that the
February 14, 2016
I don't know! This was never as special as Alanna to me and it still feels a bit THERE. It all seems to come somewhat easy for Daine. No idea what's going on with the plot.
I do like all the updates on the Alanna characters. And I like Daine!
(Why couldn't Daine have more friends her age??? The few that are there are SO minor.)
I do like all the updates on the Alanna characters. And I like Daine!
(Why couldn't Daine have more friends her age??? The few that are there are SO minor.)
March 23, 2024
4.5 Stars
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2wUH...
Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2wUH...
January 19, 2020
1st reread: 23.2.18
2nd reread: 11.8.19
3rd reread: 20.01.20
Fucking love this book
2nd reread: 11.8.19
3rd reread: 20.01.20
Fucking love this book
July 19, 2019
“Does anyone in this land act like they're supposed to?”
If I wasn’t at work right now, I would take the next person to walk by me by the shoulders and shake them and yell about how amazing this audio book was. I MEAN WHAT THE?! By this point in my life, I have read all of Pierce’s books set in Tortall close to a billion times. Seriously. I know all of the characters and places and creatures like the back of my hand. And yet…..listening to this recording by Full Cast Audio felt like an entirely new experience. I felt like I was able to see a clearer picture of who these characters are which was amazing.
While I could never pick a true favorite Tamora Pierce series, (let’s face it, the ones I’m currently reading are my favorite) Daine is probably the main character I relate to the most. Even though I ended up as a librarian, I used to want to work with animals; at the zoo, as a marine biologist, you name it. I have always felt a connection to most animals and I would die if I could talk with them, omg.
So anywayyyy, when I found out this series was about a girl who could heal and talk with animals and possibly even turn into one and who wasn’t a super tough lady knight, I was VERY intrigued. The fact that we get this, are introduced to an entire new cast of wonderful characters, AND get to see a lot of our favorites from the Lioness series was just icing on the cake.
Daine is sassy and stubborn but her love reaches for miles. Onua is basically the same. Numair….oh Numair. I love that man. Also, getting to see a few of Alanna and George’s and Jon and Thayet’s kids? *sobs* They were all so wonderful and AGAIN each voice for every single character was picked so perfectly. I still can’t get over it.
Another aspect of this book that was a fun/also at times not so fun addition were the immortals. The Stormwings, dragons, spidrens. They really add that fantastical element that fits perfectly in the setting of her books. I can’t wait to get through the rest of the books!
“If you look hard and long, you can find us. If you listen hard and long, you can hear any of us, call any of us that you wish.”
If I wasn’t at work right now, I would take the next person to walk by me by the shoulders and shake them and yell about how amazing this audio book was. I MEAN WHAT THE?! By this point in my life, I have read all of Pierce’s books set in Tortall close to a billion times. Seriously. I know all of the characters and places and creatures like the back of my hand. And yet…..listening to this recording by Full Cast Audio felt like an entirely new experience. I felt like I was able to see a clearer picture of who these characters are which was amazing.
While I could never pick a true favorite Tamora Pierce series, (let’s face it, the ones I’m currently reading are my favorite) Daine is probably the main character I relate to the most. Even though I ended up as a librarian, I used to want to work with animals; at the zoo, as a marine biologist, you name it. I have always felt a connection to most animals and I would die if I could talk with them, omg.
So anywayyyy, when I found out this series was about a girl who could heal and talk with animals and possibly even turn into one and who wasn’t a super tough lady knight, I was VERY intrigued. The fact that we get this, are introduced to an entire new cast of wonderful characters, AND get to see a lot of our favorites from the Lioness series was just icing on the cake.
Daine is sassy and stubborn but her love reaches for miles. Onua is basically the same. Numair….oh Numair. I love that man. Also, getting to see a few of Alanna and George’s and Jon and Thayet’s kids? *sobs* They were all so wonderful and AGAIN each voice for every single character was picked so perfectly. I still can’t get over it.
Another aspect of this book that was a fun/also at times not so fun addition were the immortals. The Stormwings, dragons, spidrens. They really add that fantastical element that fits perfectly in the setting of her books. I can’t wait to get through the rest of the books!
“If you look hard and long, you can find us. If you listen hard and long, you can hear any of us, call any of us that you wish.”
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