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The Immortals #2
Wolf-Speaker
When humans start destroying the majestic Dunlath Valley, the wolves seek out Daine to intervene. She arrives with a small band of helpers--Numair, King Jonathan's greatest mage, Cloud, her pony, and Skysong, a small dragon--each unaware of the awesome challenge that lies ahead of them. Daine must once more call upon her wild magic, going even deeper, to organize her animal friends to fight in a cataclysmic battle.
281 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1993
734 people are currently reading
11225 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 1,274 reviews
March 2, 2016
It's been over a year since I read the first book in Tamora Pierce's Immortals quartet, Wild Magic. I remember enjoying it almost more than Pierce's Alanna books (which will always be first in my heart, of course) but other than that, I started this book with only vague memories of the plot and characters of the previous installment.
Luckily, there's not much to catch up on - Pierce's novels are characterized by fast-paced action, a relatively small and memorable cast of characters, and fairly simple conflicts and plots. And Pierce does a good job of giving the reader enough backstory and reminders from the first book, so even if you're like me and are resuming this series after a long absence, you should be fine.
As is also the case with Pierce's books, there is almost no setup - Wolf-Speaker starts practically in the middle of the action, with a wolf pack (the same pack who Daine briefly ran with after her mother's death, when she nearly lost her own sense of humanity) contacting our heroine and asking for help. The pack's habitat is being threatened by human development, and they want her to intercede for them. Meanwhile, the rulers who control the land where the wolves live are also plotting against the king of Tortall, and let's not forget that the Immortals (powerful ancient monsters/gods who recently got released into the world) are quietly and not-so-quietly moving around the country.
Reading this book gave me strong flashbacks to The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, the third book in the Alanna series. I still consider it the weakest of the series, because after the absolutely breakneck pace of the previous books, this one seemed to move at a snail's pace while we watch Alanna hanging around in the desert and helping a local tribe. Wolf-Speaker suffers from the same problem - despite the fact that there's plenty of conflict, everything feels so slow. There's also a lot of repetition, because this book has Daine experimenting with her powers and learning to enter animals' minds, and it means that we have to read essentially the same scene over and over as she practices this skill on various animals. This repetition works for younger readers, but I was pretty bored for most of the book.
The conflict itself - rebellion against the king, aided by Immortals - isn't very interesting either, mainly because we're meeting the antagonists for the first time in this book, and the fact that Daine spends most of her time with the wolf pack means that the bad guys never get to do much. Failing to properly develop the villains, and removing Daine from the action for the majority of the book, means that the stakes never feel as high as they should.
Not that I disliked the book, overall. The fact that most of the characters are animals, each with their own personalities and conflicts, would have delighted me if I'd read this book as a child. Pierce is particularly good at coming up with animal names, and if you manage to get through this entire story without falling head-over-heels in love with Quickmunch the marmot, then I don't know what to do with you. I liked the wolf pack, and child readers will have more fun reading about them than I did - it's hard to get too invested in these characters when you know they're just a detour on the way to the main action.
Although the Alanna and the Daine stories have a lot in common, the series are trying to accomplish very different things, which becomes clear in Wolf-Speaker. Alanna's adventures were all about teaching girls that their gender doesn't stop them from being whatever they want to be, and that they can accomplish anything through determination and hard work. Daine's books teach children that the world isn't black and white, and that you can't make judgements about people (or in this case, creatures) based on what they are or where they come from.
In the Alanna books, the villains are not complex, and everyone pretty much adheres to their assigned roles - if someone is a bad guy in Book One, they're going to be a bad guy in Book Four - and the lines are pretty clearly drawn. Daine's journey, it seems, is shaping up to be a little more complex than that. In the first book, we established that many of the Immortals, like the Stormwings, are evil and scary. In the second book, Daine and the reader are forced to reconsider that idea, and realize that all Immortals are not alike. Just because they're a Stormwing, Daine learns, you can't assume they're evil. Here's a scene where Iakoju, an ogre, lays it out clearly for the readers:
"Maura frowned. 'I don't understand. If you're peaceful - if you really only like to farm - how come you're called "ogres"? Ogres are monsters, aren't they? And how come your people are always fighting with ours?'
'We are big,' replied Iajoku quietly. 'Ugly. Our color different from men color. No all ogres are same, either. Some take what they want. Some fight with men. My people, kin clans, we only like farming, not fighting. Some ogres only like fighting. Are all men the same?'"
This is a suprisingly complex concept for a kids' series, especially since fantasy audiences are trained to think of all evil-inclined creatures as one singular hive-mind (Tolkien, bless him, assured us that orcs are pure evil and that's that, and I think it set an unfortunate precedent in fantasy), and it's really the only thing that saved this book for me - I'm looking forward to continuing this series, just to see how Pierce continues to develop this idea.
Luckily, there's not much to catch up on - Pierce's novels are characterized by fast-paced action, a relatively small and memorable cast of characters, and fairly simple conflicts and plots. And Pierce does a good job of giving the reader enough backstory and reminders from the first book, so even if you're like me and are resuming this series after a long absence, you should be fine.
As is also the case with Pierce's books, there is almost no setup - Wolf-Speaker starts practically in the middle of the action, with a wolf pack (the same pack who Daine briefly ran with after her mother's death, when she nearly lost her own sense of humanity) contacting our heroine and asking for help. The pack's habitat is being threatened by human development, and they want her to intercede for them. Meanwhile, the rulers who control the land where the wolves live are also plotting against the king of Tortall, and let's not forget that the Immortals (powerful ancient monsters/gods who recently got released into the world) are quietly and not-so-quietly moving around the country.
Reading this book gave me strong flashbacks to The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, the third book in the Alanna series. I still consider it the weakest of the series, because after the absolutely breakneck pace of the previous books, this one seemed to move at a snail's pace while we watch Alanna hanging around in the desert and helping a local tribe. Wolf-Speaker suffers from the same problem - despite the fact that there's plenty of conflict, everything feels so slow. There's also a lot of repetition, because this book has Daine experimenting with her powers and learning to enter animals' minds, and it means that we have to read essentially the same scene over and over as she practices this skill on various animals. This repetition works for younger readers, but I was pretty bored for most of the book.
The conflict itself - rebellion against the king, aided by Immortals - isn't very interesting either, mainly because we're meeting the antagonists for the first time in this book, and the fact that Daine spends most of her time with the wolf pack means that the bad guys never get to do much. Failing to properly develop the villains, and removing Daine from the action for the majority of the book, means that the stakes never feel as high as they should.
Not that I disliked the book, overall. The fact that most of the characters are animals, each with their own personalities and conflicts, would have delighted me if I'd read this book as a child. Pierce is particularly good at coming up with animal names, and if you manage to get through this entire story without falling head-over-heels in love with Quickmunch the marmot, then I don't know what to do with you. I liked the wolf pack, and child readers will have more fun reading about them than I did - it's hard to get too invested in these characters when you know they're just a detour on the way to the main action.
Although the Alanna and the Daine stories have a lot in common, the series are trying to accomplish very different things, which becomes clear in Wolf-Speaker. Alanna's adventures were all about teaching girls that their gender doesn't stop them from being whatever they want to be, and that they can accomplish anything through determination and hard work. Daine's books teach children that the world isn't black and white, and that you can't make judgements about people (or in this case, creatures) based on what they are or where they come from.
In the Alanna books, the villains are not complex, and everyone pretty much adheres to their assigned roles - if someone is a bad guy in Book One, they're going to be a bad guy in Book Four - and the lines are pretty clearly drawn. Daine's journey, it seems, is shaping up to be a little more complex than that. In the first book, we established that many of the Immortals, like the Stormwings, are evil and scary. In the second book, Daine and the reader are forced to reconsider that idea, and realize that all Immortals are not alike. Just because they're a Stormwing, Daine learns, you can't assume they're evil. Here's a scene where Iakoju, an ogre, lays it out clearly for the readers:
"Maura frowned. 'I don't understand. If you're peaceful - if you really only like to farm - how come you're called "ogres"? Ogres are monsters, aren't they? And how come your people are always fighting with ours?'
'We are big,' replied Iajoku quietly. 'Ugly. Our color different from men color. No all ogres are same, either. Some take what they want. Some fight with men. My people, kin clans, we only like farming, not fighting. Some ogres only like fighting. Are all men the same?'"
This is a suprisingly complex concept for a kids' series, especially since fantasy audiences are trained to think of all evil-inclined creatures as one singular hive-mind (Tolkien, bless him, assured us that orcs are pure evil and that's that, and I think it set an unfortunate precedent in fantasy), and it's really the only thing that saved this book for me - I'm looking forward to continuing this series, just to see how Pierce continues to develop this idea.
November 3, 2024
This book takes me back to my pure love of reading. It is fully immersive with good olde battle of good versus evil.
Daine and Numair’s company, the good guys, caught a whiff that something evil was going down on the other part of the world, they went to check out what it was all about, and found it wasn’t a simple disruption but an epic, well constructed plan to overthrow the king at all cost necessary. If Tristan and co., the evil guys, succeeds, it will be at the cost of a lot of human lives and animals. The evil camp even found a way to enslave some immortals to carry out their plans.
Daine, Numair and co. had to outsmart them before they destroyed the world🌎.
I am totally drawn into this series...moving on to the next book in the series.
Daine and Numair’s company, the good guys, caught a whiff that something evil was going down on the other part of the world, they went to check out what it was all about, and found it wasn’t a simple disruption but an epic, well constructed plan to overthrow the king at all cost necessary. If Tristan and co., the evil guys, succeeds, it will be at the cost of a lot of human lives and animals. The evil camp even found a way to enslave some immortals to carry out their plans.
Daine, Numair and co. had to outsmart them before they destroyed the world🌎.
I am totally drawn into this series...moving on to the next book in the series.
January 21, 2019
It is hard not to fall head over heels in love with a book that involves animals such as a dragon called Kitten, a wolf pup called Silly, and a hound called Prettyfoot. What is hard to do is combine these beloved creatures inside of a plot that delivers as much intrigue as it does adorable creatures, and as much authenticity as it does no-hold-bars belief in its creations. However, Pierce does all that with ease.
The first book in the Immortals series introduced the reader to central character, Daine, and her wild magic abilities. The story was a fun, straight-forward adventure story and I adored it for that. In this second instalment however, the political stakes have been heightened and the story-line become more convoluted. With it, the reader is allowed to traverse through previously unseen segments of this vast world, explore more aspects of the unique magic system, and also see Daine begin to grow into the fierce, strong, and proud individual we already saw inklings of her becoming, in the first book.
I only grew more enraptured as the story progressed and only more attached to these characters as their continued survival seemed more precarious. I may be new to discovering the wonder that is Tamora Pierce but I am now a life-long fan, after discovering this series.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Tamora Pierce, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.
The first book in the Immortals series introduced the reader to central character, Daine, and her wild magic abilities. The story was a fun, straight-forward adventure story and I adored it for that. In this second instalment however, the political stakes have been heightened and the story-line become more convoluted. With it, the reader is allowed to traverse through previously unseen segments of this vast world, explore more aspects of the unique magic system, and also see Daine begin to grow into the fierce, strong, and proud individual we already saw inklings of her becoming, in the first book.
I only grew more enraptured as the story progressed and only more attached to these characters as their continued survival seemed more precarious. I may be new to discovering the wonder that is Tamora Pierce but I am now a life-long fan, after discovering this series.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Tamora Pierce, and the publisher, Harper Voyager, for this opportunity.
November 30, 2018
My thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for a review copy of this one.
This is the second of the Immortals series (my review of book 1 is here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) by Tamora Pierce. The one opens with the wolves that Daine once hunted with trying to reach her and thinking over the news they’ve received of her from other creatures of the forest. Daine, now fourteen, meanwhile is heading with her mentor/teacher, the mage Numair Salmalin, their horses including Cloud, and Kitten the dragon baby, towards the pack for they have sent for her help as their new home, Dunlath is in trouble. The two-feet there are cutting down all the trees, mining incessantly, chasing away prey making the place unliveable for them, and ultimately for themselves. When they get there however, they find that it isn’t only the animals who are in trouble. A family of local nobles, the lords of Dunlath, are plotting treason against King Jonathan, and switching loyalties. Here they are aided by a whole group of rogue mages, who have some very powerful magic at their command, and don’t seem to care who or what they destroy. Circumstances become such that Daine is left all alone with only her animal friends and some immortal ones in Dunlath. The only other human helping her at first is ten-year-old Lady Maura, younger sister of the Lady Yolane. Daine begins to learn and practice more of what her wild magic makes her capable of, and these new found powers and her friends are what help her face and defeat the “villains” of the piece.
If anything, I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first book. The first book obviously had to set out the background, and introduce us to the world that Daine lived in, and the friends she found in Tortall, but this one to me felt more rounded as a story. I enjoyed watching Daine, who spends much of the novel away from human company, explore her new powers or rather the new uses she discovers of her magic. This helps her not only to do things she couldn’t earlier but view the world through the perspectives of her different animal friends. This was an element I really enjoyed. Pierce does a great job of highlighting the various things—sounds, smells, sights—that different animals would notice, and making one (even the reader) feel that they were looking through the eyes and mind of the animal in question. The adventure elements for me were fairly exciting as well. But besides these, the book also had some important messages to give. It may be set in a fantasy world, but even there “humans” continue to behave as they do in real life, destroying their environment, surroundings, disrespecting other living creatures for what they think is their own gain. The other was about needing to understand creatures/life that is different, human or animal, as life, as creatures/people who have thoughts, feelings, concerns, and who shouldn’t be judged as monsters or evil in an off-handed way. Here Maura, who is scared of some of Daine’s “friends” manages to shows Daine how she herself might be prejudiced unfairly against some others. Pierce manages to show us that even people who are “good” aren’t always flawless and may have their own prejudices and discriminatory attitudes that they need to address—another message extremely relevant for our world. Once again a wonderful read, in which I especially enjoyed all the animals and Daine’s interactions with them!
This review appears on my blog here: https://potpourri2015.wordpress.com/2...
This is the second of the Immortals series (my review of book 1 is here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) by Tamora Pierce. The one opens with the wolves that Daine once hunted with trying to reach her and thinking over the news they’ve received of her from other creatures of the forest. Daine, now fourteen, meanwhile is heading with her mentor/teacher, the mage Numair Salmalin, their horses including Cloud, and Kitten the dragon baby, towards the pack for they have sent for her help as their new home, Dunlath is in trouble. The two-feet there are cutting down all the trees, mining incessantly, chasing away prey making the place unliveable for them, and ultimately for themselves. When they get there however, they find that it isn’t only the animals who are in trouble. A family of local nobles, the lords of Dunlath, are plotting treason against King Jonathan, and switching loyalties. Here they are aided by a whole group of rogue mages, who have some very powerful magic at their command, and don’t seem to care who or what they destroy. Circumstances become such that Daine is left all alone with only her animal friends and some immortal ones in Dunlath. The only other human helping her at first is ten-year-old Lady Maura, younger sister of the Lady Yolane. Daine begins to learn and practice more of what her wild magic makes her capable of, and these new found powers and her friends are what help her face and defeat the “villains” of the piece.
If anything, I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first book. The first book obviously had to set out the background, and introduce us to the world that Daine lived in, and the friends she found in Tortall, but this one to me felt more rounded as a story. I enjoyed watching Daine, who spends much of the novel away from human company, explore her new powers or rather the new uses she discovers of her magic. This helps her not only to do things she couldn’t earlier but view the world through the perspectives of her different animal friends. This was an element I really enjoyed. Pierce does a great job of highlighting the various things—sounds, smells, sights—that different animals would notice, and making one (even the reader) feel that they were looking through the eyes and mind of the animal in question. The adventure elements for me were fairly exciting as well. But besides these, the book also had some important messages to give. It may be set in a fantasy world, but even there “humans” continue to behave as they do in real life, destroying their environment, surroundings, disrespecting other living creatures for what they think is their own gain. The other was about needing to understand creatures/life that is different, human or animal, as life, as creatures/people who have thoughts, feelings, concerns, and who shouldn’t be judged as monsters or evil in an off-handed way. Here Maura, who is scared of some of Daine’s “friends” manages to shows Daine how she herself might be prejudiced unfairly against some others. Pierce manages to show us that even people who are “good” aren’t always flawless and may have their own prejudices and discriminatory attitudes that they need to address—another message extremely relevant for our world. Once again a wonderful read, in which I especially enjoyed all the animals and Daine’s interactions with them!
This review appears on my blog here: https://potpourri2015.wordpress.com/2...
June 14, 2011
*happy sigh*
I always finish these books with a smile on my face. There's just something about them that leaves me feeling like this:
It's hard to write a review for something you love this much. I'd much rather just tell you all to READ IT NAO and let it speak for itself.
But you're not here for that. And this book deserves a proper review from me. I'll try.
First of all, to let some parts of it speak for themselves, here are a few lines of sparkling dialogue from this book, iconified by awesome people who are not me:
Pretty much the whole book is like that. I mean, if you're familiar with Pierce, you know she writes amazingly well, so that's not the center of the show. It's important, though, because no matter how many times I read this book, it always makes me laugh.
Anyhow, I actually don't like Wolf Speaker nearly as much as the other three books in the Immortals series. It might even be a four-star read, if it weren't for two characters: Maura and Rikash.
Maura is ten, and I always forget that. She's also a lot more sheltered than the kids Daine met at Pirate's Swoop, and though she has maturity, spine, and spunk, she's not quite as open-minded. This is, naturally, a challenge for Daine. I guess the reason I don't like this book too much is that Daine's development is getting over prejudices, and prejudices are often frustrating for me (even though I know I'm prone to them). It was nice, though, that Maura represented a part of the nobility Daine hadn't really encountered much: the kind that doesn't go around kicking ass and taking names and generally being open-minded and awesome in all possible ways. She's not a bad kid - she's intelligent and brave - but she doesn't adapt to some things as easily as other people do. Having her around added another element to the story, because it wasn't just about freeing the valley from the evil nobles. It was also about restoring the valley to the kind of ruler that would treat it right, even if she's only ten. While Maura probably lives out a fairly quiet life in Dunlath and so a book of her adventures is unlikely, I wish we got to see more of her. I think she comes up briefly in one of the Protector of the Small books, but that's it.
Rikash, on the other hand, we see more of. A lot more. But shh, spoilers! So what I'll content myself by saying is that if you disliked or hated Stormwings after Wild Magic, Rikash will probably change your mind. He might be a Stormwing, but he's also a genuinely good guy. His primary relationship is with Maura, of whom he says "Affection has led me to indulge Lady Maura more than is wise." He's not a monster, which is the point of his presence in the book. (He's also here to say "Get that squirrel!" in hilarious circumstances.)
There are other good aspects about this book, of course - some great Numair moments, unique animal characters, a dastardly plot, a magical battle, etcetera. But that's what you can expect from pretty much any book in the quartet. Wolf-Speaker wouldn't really stand out to me without Maura and Rikash; they make it excellent instead of just great.
I always finish these books with a smile on my face. There's just something about them that leaves me feeling like this:
It's hard to write a review for something you love this much. I'd much rather just tell you all to READ IT NAO and let it speak for itself.
But you're not here for that. And this book deserves a proper review from me. I'll try.
First of all, to let some parts of it speak for themselves, here are a few lines of sparkling dialogue from this book, iconified by awesome people who are not me:
Pretty much the whole book is like that. I mean, if you're familiar with Pierce, you know she writes amazingly well, so that's not the center of the show. It's important, though, because no matter how many times I read this book, it always makes me laugh.
Anyhow, I actually don't like Wolf Speaker nearly as much as the other three books in the Immortals series. It might even be a four-star read, if it weren't for two characters: Maura and Rikash.
Maura is ten, and I always forget that. She's also a lot more sheltered than the kids Daine met at Pirate's Swoop, and though she has maturity, spine, and spunk, she's not quite as open-minded. This is, naturally, a challenge for Daine. I guess the reason I don't like this book too much is that Daine's development is getting over prejudices, and prejudices are often frustrating for me (even though I know I'm prone to them). It was nice, though, that Maura represented a part of the nobility Daine hadn't really encountered much: the kind that doesn't go around kicking ass and taking names and generally being open-minded and awesome in all possible ways. She's not a bad kid - she's intelligent and brave - but she doesn't adapt to some things as easily as other people do. Having her around added another element to the story, because it wasn't just about freeing the valley from the evil nobles. It was also about restoring the valley to the kind of ruler that would treat it right, even if she's only ten. While Maura probably lives out a fairly quiet life in Dunlath and so a book of her adventures is unlikely, I wish we got to see more of her. I think she comes up briefly in one of the Protector of the Small books, but that's it.
Rikash, on the other hand, we see more of. A lot more. But shh, spoilers! So what I'll content myself by saying is that if you disliked or hated Stormwings after Wild Magic, Rikash will probably change your mind. He might be a Stormwing, but he's also a genuinely good guy. His primary relationship is with Maura, of whom he says "Affection has led me to indulge Lady Maura more than is wise." He's not a monster, which is the point of his presence in the book. (He's also here to say "Get that squirrel!" in hilarious circumstances.)
There are other good aspects about this book, of course - some great Numair moments, unique animal characters, a dastardly plot, a magical battle, etcetera. But that's what you can expect from pretty much any book in the quartet. Wolf-Speaker wouldn't really stand out to me without Maura and Rikash; they make it excellent instead of just great.
April 4, 2013
I think I set my bar so high for this series from the first book that this book was inevitably a letdown. I loved the first book. I loved being introduced to all the characters, I loved learning about Daine's "wild magic" and her journey into self-discovery. Even the lengthy and confusing battle at the end didn't ruin it for me. This book, however, just dragged on. Daine is traveling with her mentor, looking for a missing group of Riders and re-encountering the pack of wolves with whom she bonded and which came to her assistance when she needed it before we were introduced to her in the first book. They were a crucial part in her development, and it was disappointing to me that they were so lacking in character.
I found the plot boring and uninspired. Even if I didn't read the first few books in the series, I grew to like the characters from my introduction to them in the first book of the Immortals, and it was to my disappointment that they didn't make an appearance in this one. The mystery was boring, I didn't like the antagonists...before you say, well, no shit, Sherlock. They're supposed to be unlikeable. I mean that they were so...villainous, traditionally so. They were one-dimensional and boring. I also did not like the fact that Daine spends so much of her time interacting with animals. I like human interactions, I like it when Daine is out of her comfort zone. Animals are nice and good, but I'm not a furry. I'm really not into animals as characters. I prefer human interactions, and this book was lacking in that. I'm hoping book 3 will be better.
I found the plot boring and uninspired. Even if I didn't read the first few books in the series, I grew to like the characters from my introduction to them in the first book of the Immortals, and it was to my disappointment that they didn't make an appearance in this one. The mystery was boring, I didn't like the antagonists...before you say, well, no shit, Sherlock. They're supposed to be unlikeable. I mean that they were so...villainous, traditionally so. They were one-dimensional and boring. I also did not like the fact that Daine spends so much of her time interacting with animals. I like human interactions, I like it when Daine is out of her comfort zone. Animals are nice and good, but I'm not a furry. I'm really not into animals as characters. I prefer human interactions, and this book was lacking in that. I'm hoping book 3 will be better.
March 24, 2009
Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com
This second book in Tamora Pierce's THE IMMORTALS QUARTET centers around the further development of Daine's magical ability to communicate with animals.
The story begins when the wolf pack that lives near her former home village sends an envoy to ask for her assistance communicating with the humans who are ruining the lands where these wolves hunt. Daine, who owes a debt of gratitude to these wolves for having cared for her once she escaped her village, can't say no to their request, and along with her wizardly teacher, the powerful mage Numair Salmalín, she journeys to Fief Dunlath, the area known by the wolves as Long Lake.
There, things are much worse than they initially seemed. Not only are the rulers of Fief Dunlath completely disregarding the impact of their actions upon the local wildlife, but Numair recognizes one of their guests as a Combat Mage from the Carthaki Empire, a country currently engaged in small skirmishes with Tortall. It soon becomes apparent that the Lady of the fief is engaged in double dealings with the Carthakis.
While Numair speeds back to warn King Jonathan of what is happening, Daine stays behind with her wolf-friends, gathering information and making plans for putting an end to the mining and garrisoning of soldiers that are destroying the natural habitats of more animals than just the wolves.
In a continuation of her skills from the previous book, Daine learns how to share her mind with animals, seeing through their eyes and sensing with their senses. She also discovers, much to her surprise, that any lengthy mental cohabitation could give her unexpected animal characteristics, like the ears of a mouse or the eyes of a hawk, that fade away only after she has detached herself from the animal's consciousness. With the help of a whole network of animal friends, Daine sketches out a plan of attack that will show the nobles of Fief Dunlath what happens when you mess with the wildlife.
Overall, I found this book quite enjoyable; the continued development of Daine's character was accomplished smoothly, and the characters newly introduced in this volume were fleshed out in their own rights. Particularly notable characters included, not just Numair, but also the baby dragon Stormsong, known as Kitten, and all of the wolves of the Long Lake pack.
If you liked the first book, you'll love the next one!
This second book in Tamora Pierce's THE IMMORTALS QUARTET centers around the further development of Daine's magical ability to communicate with animals.
The story begins when the wolf pack that lives near her former home village sends an envoy to ask for her assistance communicating with the humans who are ruining the lands where these wolves hunt. Daine, who owes a debt of gratitude to these wolves for having cared for her once she escaped her village, can't say no to their request, and along with her wizardly teacher, the powerful mage Numair Salmalín, she journeys to Fief Dunlath, the area known by the wolves as Long Lake.
There, things are much worse than they initially seemed. Not only are the rulers of Fief Dunlath completely disregarding the impact of their actions upon the local wildlife, but Numair recognizes one of their guests as a Combat Mage from the Carthaki Empire, a country currently engaged in small skirmishes with Tortall. It soon becomes apparent that the Lady of the fief is engaged in double dealings with the Carthakis.
While Numair speeds back to warn King Jonathan of what is happening, Daine stays behind with her wolf-friends, gathering information and making plans for putting an end to the mining and garrisoning of soldiers that are destroying the natural habitats of more animals than just the wolves.
In a continuation of her skills from the previous book, Daine learns how to share her mind with animals, seeing through their eyes and sensing with their senses. She also discovers, much to her surprise, that any lengthy mental cohabitation could give her unexpected animal characteristics, like the ears of a mouse or the eyes of a hawk, that fade away only after she has detached herself from the animal's consciousness. With the help of a whole network of animal friends, Daine sketches out a plan of attack that will show the nobles of Fief Dunlath what happens when you mess with the wildlife.
Overall, I found this book quite enjoyable; the continued development of Daine's character was accomplished smoothly, and the characters newly introduced in this volume were fleshed out in their own rights. Particularly notable characters included, not just Numair, but also the baby dragon Stormsong, known as Kitten, and all of the wolves of the Long Lake pack.
If you liked the first book, you'll love the next one!
June 4, 2018
Daine is still a bit childish for me at times which is why this is 4 instead of 5 stars. Besides that small issue I loved everything about this!! I loved all the new animals and immortals that were involved in this story and how much Daine learned about her own powers. I also totally ship Numaire and Daine together. I don't care what you say, you can't convince me otherwise. I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP THEY ARE MEANT TO BE!
May 3, 2020
This is on me. The writing is as good as ever, and Daine and Numair are still great. Daine even has to figure things out on her own after she's accidentally separated from Numair, and it was really cool to see her grow stronger and more confident in herself and her powers. And so far, there's not even a hint of "romance," much less a love triangle, that made the Alanna quartet a bit of chore to wade through.
But...so many talking animals. And ok, it's only because Daine is able to talk mind to mind with them, they're not actually talking. Most of them aren't, anyway. But my lord. Sometimes I can roll with this and even enjoy it, but this was nonstop and I just couldn't stand it after awhile, even if there were some humorous moments and some interesting world-building going on with it. Also, once again, the villains are super evil. There's never much subtlety when it comes to Pierce's villains or their evil plots. I guess because these are geared for a YA audience, but it does make things predictable. Add on some repetitiveness and this started to drag for me a lot in the second half.
I think I'll take a break from this quartet and move onto the next one, which looks like it could be interesting, though I'm hoping it's not too much of a rehash of Alanna.
But...so many talking animals. And ok, it's only because Daine is able to talk mind to mind with them, they're not actually talking. Most of them aren't, anyway. But my lord. Sometimes I can roll with this and even enjoy it, but this was nonstop and I just couldn't stand it after awhile, even if there were some humorous moments and some interesting world-building going on with it. Also, once again, the villains are super evil. There's never much subtlety when it comes to Pierce's villains or their evil plots. I guess because these are geared for a YA audience, but it does make things predictable. Add on some repetitiveness and this started to drag for me a lot in the second half.
I think I'll take a break from this quartet and move onto the next one, which looks like it could be interesting, though I'm hoping it's not too much of a rehash of Alanna.
June 15, 2022
There's nothing I can say that will adequately express how I feel about these books and I'm not even going to try. Besides, the fact that I read them all repeatedly (I quit counting after the 10th time) is the highest form of praise I can give anyway. Daine, Numair, and the others are friends as dear to me as any in this world.
September 5, 2017
[Also read 17 December 2007]
Daine is summoned by her former Pack to Dunlath where shenanigans are afoot. Once there, she is separated from everyone but her animal pals to stop high treason in its tracks!! (If this sounds like an after school special on PBS, YOU’D BE RIGHT.)
1. While there have been some very good conversations about the ‘easiness’ Daine experiences in growing her magic, I would argue that the simplicity of the world extends well past just Daine’s magic. For any given conflict, an easy and simple solution is near at hand. The world itself seems to bend to Daine’s needs so that nothing truly holds any weight.
A perfect example: Scrape’s death. I found myself rolling my eyes (instead of being properly horrified because kitty) because OF COURSE Daine has the god’s ears, so OF COURSE the cat was in no danger at all. OF COURSE.
Even Numair’s abilities are just tossed into the book—oh yes, once he was a book-smart fool, BUT NOW HE IS THE MOST POWERFUL MAGE IN THE WORLD!! (Seriously, how convenient that he can spot poisons and do adequate shielding spells and know all the words of power and and—
2. My complaints over the simplicity extend into the text itself. There were quite a few instances where Pierce chose to frame her narration using a slash (“Leader yipped in apology/agreement”; “Daine gloried in the power of this strange/familiar body”). First, I think this technique could be WONDERFUL in the right setting. BUT THIS WAS NOT IT. Instead of using nuanced writing to convey her meaning, Pierce just tosses both words in there and moves on. It reeks of “I don't care enough to make this world real” and I hate it.
3. I sincerely did not care for the majority of Daine’s companions? They’re transient. They’re simple. They offer a mirror for Daine to expand her own consequence and I would rather see the limits of her consequence, to better understand Daine’s place in the world. (I.e., if she can do all things and be all things—what is to stop her? What balances her immense power in the world? (And I know that Pierce would have us believe that Daine is inherently good, but a) that is the easy way out, and b) Pierce DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS IT IN THIS TEXT—that all things are not built for good or evil but for a unique purpose that runs contrary to other living things. This leads me to…)
4. The one interesting conflict to be found in this heap of a novel—the questioning of good versus evil and how purpose can manifest itself—is shortchanged, underdeveloped, contradicted, and left out to rot. Daine flips and flops on this issue like a beached mackerel: are the Immortals evil? Immediately after killing a CLEARLY ENSLAVED Hurrock, she speaks to the Stormwings as rational beings. MAKE UP YOUR DAMNED MIND, DAINE.
It was kind of appalling in its obliviousness.
Daine is summoned by her former Pack to Dunlath where shenanigans are afoot. Once there, she is separated from everyone but her animal pals to stop high treason in its tracks!! (If this sounds like an after school special on PBS, YOU’D BE RIGHT.)
1. While there have been some very good conversations about the ‘easiness’ Daine experiences in growing her magic, I would argue that the simplicity of the world extends well past just Daine’s magic. For any given conflict, an easy and simple solution is near at hand. The world itself seems to bend to Daine’s needs so that nothing truly holds any weight.
A perfect example: Scrape’s death. I found myself rolling my eyes (instead of being properly horrified because kitty) because OF COURSE Daine has the god’s ears, so OF COURSE the cat was in no danger at all. OF COURSE.
Even Numair’s abilities are just tossed into the book—oh yes, once he was a book-smart fool, BUT NOW HE IS THE MOST POWERFUL MAGE IN THE WORLD!! (Seriously, how convenient that he can spot poisons and do adequate shielding spells and know all the words of power and and—
2. My complaints over the simplicity extend into the text itself. There were quite a few instances where Pierce chose to frame her narration using a slash (“Leader yipped in apology/agreement”; “Daine gloried in the power of this strange/familiar body”). First, I think this technique could be WONDERFUL in the right setting. BUT THIS WAS NOT IT. Instead of using nuanced writing to convey her meaning, Pierce just tosses both words in there and moves on. It reeks of “I don't care enough to make this world real” and I hate it.
3. I sincerely did not care for the majority of Daine’s companions? They’re transient. They’re simple. They offer a mirror for Daine to expand her own consequence and I would rather see the limits of her consequence, to better understand Daine’s place in the world. (I.e., if she can do all things and be all things—what is to stop her? What balances her immense power in the world? (And I know that Pierce would have us believe that Daine is inherently good, but a) that is the easy way out, and b) Pierce DIRECTLY CONTRADICTS IT IN THIS TEXT—that all things are not built for good or evil but for a unique purpose that runs contrary to other living things. This leads me to…)
4. The one interesting conflict to be found in this heap of a novel—the questioning of good versus evil and how purpose can manifest itself—is shortchanged, underdeveloped, contradicted, and left out to rot. Daine flips and flops on this issue like a beached mackerel: are the Immortals evil? Immediately after killing a CLEARLY ENSLAVED Hurrock, she speaks to the Stormwings as rational beings. MAKE UP YOUR DAMNED MIND, DAINE.
It was kind of appalling in its obliviousness.
January 22, 2021
Oh my god. I don't have words to explain how I feel right now.
It dosen't take long for the story to shift in shape.
There is no lingering and much rememberence on the first book to get annoyed with.
And it dosen't take long chapters for you to be intrigued.
There was so much going on yet, so organized that I was so pleased when it ended. It made me feel warm and longing after, and mind you not many books makes me feel this way.
This book reminded me of this particular animation which I LOVE. It is called "Princess Mononoke". It's one of the "Studio Ghibli Collection". [image error] They make ths most wonderful animation for all generation. It's thoughtful and warning in a way.
I can't wait to read the next book, but at the same time so happy that I still have two more books left to read =)
Oh, the pleasure.
It dosen't take long for the story to shift in shape.
There is no lingering and much rememberence on the first book to get annoyed with.
And it dosen't take long chapters for you to be intrigued.
There was so much going on yet, so organized that I was so pleased when it ended. It made me feel warm and longing after, and mind you not many books makes me feel this way.
This book reminded me of this particular animation which I LOVE. It is called "Princess Mononoke". It's one of the "Studio Ghibli Collection". [image error] They make ths most wonderful animation for all generation. It's thoughtful and warning in a way.
I can't wait to read the next book, but at the same time so happy that I still have two more books left to read =)
Oh, the pleasure.
March 15, 2020
Reread 2020!
I don’t know if it’s just the mess our world is in right now, but I did have a little trouble making my way through this book. My concentration hasn’t been the best and Gretal told me it was her least favourite of the series, and I might have to agree. It’s still really good, but it’s kind of slow and not a lot happens until the very end. It’s just a lot of talking to different animals and observing etc. But the end was nice to read. I’m excited to get to the third book, which might be my favourite
***
If you guys love animals this is definitely a series you should read! One quote that really stood out to me:
Such an important message of tolerance vs. racism.
I don’t know if it’s just the mess our world is in right now, but I did have a little trouble making my way through this book. My concentration hasn’t been the best and Gretal told me it was her least favourite of the series, and I might have to agree. It’s still really good, but it’s kind of slow and not a lot happens until the very end. It’s just a lot of talking to different animals and observing etc. But the end was nice to read. I’m excited to get to the third book, which might be my favourite
***
If you guys love animals this is definitely a series you should read! One quote that really stood out to me:
"It seemed as if, ever since she had come here, someone was telling her that because she didn't like a creature's looks, it didn't mean that creature was bad."
Such an important message of tolerance vs. racism.
February 18, 2016
This is what I think people think of the seventh Harry Potter (which I love): there is TOO MUCH CAMPING. The rebellion should be interesting, but instead the characters spend too much time apart, and - I'm repeating myself here, but it still applies - the animals aren't as interesting as companions as the people are.
Also, I thought I remembered the Dunlath mess being connected to Delia of Eldorne; it isn't. There's lots of high treason going around Tortall.
This is my least favorite Daine book, hands down. It's just so boring. There are isolated good moments, like "The Lioness and Raoul of Goldenlake are minutiae?" Hahahaha. Though that does bring us back to the previous generation of characters being more compelling than Daine's story itself, which isn't ideal.
Also, I thought I remembered the Dunlath mess being connected to Delia of Eldorne; it isn't. There's lots of high treason going around Tortall.
This is my least favorite Daine book, hands down. It's just so boring. There are isolated good moments, like "The Lioness and Raoul of Goldenlake are minutiae?" Hahahaha. Though that does bring us back to the previous generation of characters being more compelling than Daine's story itself, which isn't ideal.
August 23, 2018
This and my other reviews can be found at http://amethystbookwyrm.blogspot.co.uk/
When the Wolf pack, led by Brokefang, ask Daine, the only wild magician, to help them stop the humans from ruining their territory, she and Numair go to their aid. However, they find something sinister going on a Long Lake as they find that the nobles are trying to usurp the throne from King Jonathan and Queen Thayet. In Wolf-Speaker we are introduced to both new and existing characters but my favourite is defiantly Kitten as she has so much character and is really sweet. I would recommend Wolf-Speaker to anyone who likes any of Tamora Pierce’s books.
When the Wolf pack, led by Brokefang, ask Daine, the only wild magician, to help them stop the humans from ruining their territory, she and Numair go to their aid. However, they find something sinister going on a Long Lake as they find that the nobles are trying to usurp the throne from King Jonathan and Queen Thayet. In Wolf-Speaker we are introduced to both new and existing characters but my favourite is defiantly Kitten as she has so much character and is really sweet. I would recommend Wolf-Speaker to anyone who likes any of Tamora Pierce’s books.
July 20, 2017
This series is getting more intriguing with each part.
I specially enjoyed this second part because of the development in Daine's character. The way she used her wild magic for the good of everyone and the way she became one with different animals was the best part. Knowing this many animals and their minds and that they can become friendly with other animals too was heartwarming.
So this novel was literally heartwarming and i loved being with all these animals. I cannot express this feeling in more words.
Need to complete reading this series soon.
I specially enjoyed this second part because of the development in Daine's character. The way she used her wild magic for the good of everyone and the way she became one with different animals was the best part. Knowing this many animals and their minds and that they can become friendly with other animals too was heartwarming.
So this novel was literally heartwarming and i loved being with all these animals. I cannot express this feeling in more words.
Need to complete reading this series soon.
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October 11, 2023
Not gonna not be annoyed by Daine projecting onto Maura the way she did.
Also: do thoughts of the promised-but-will-never-happen Maura of Dunlath series keep me up at night? Always. That kid had main character energy.
Also: do thoughts of the promised-but-will-never-happen Maura of Dunlath series keep me up at night? Always. That kid had main character energy.
January 2, 2019
I received a free ebook version of this from Netgalley. Thankyou to both Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this! My review is still honest.
I'm really sorry to say that I think this book has second book syndrome, and I don't think it's as good as Wild Magic. I am still invested in the series and the characters, and I have high hopes for Emperor Mage, but this one wasn't up to the standard of the first book.
This series is based around a young girl who has wild magic, powers that allow her to communicate with animals in various ways. Immortal creatures who haven't been seen in Tortall for centuries have recently began appearing, and something is amiss.
I do really love the magical aspect and the animals, there are some really strong characters that emerge in this way. I especially loved the cats and Flicker, and I enjoyed the wolf pack's dynamic. The introduction of Maura in this one was great as I think she's a very likeable and strong character. I do always love Daine, and Numair is growing on me. Pierce is very creative with the creatures she creates and with her interpretations.
I guess for me this one felt a little pointless. I don't yet understand how the events of this one tie in with the overall series arc and the issues that were first presented in Wild Magic, and the action scenes and conclusion paled in comparison to the excellence of the battle in book 1. I didn't feel like that much really happened and it was quite slow for a short book, so I wasn't as enthralled. I'd also call this a middle grade rather than a young adult, as our characters are always very safe and everything is resolved perfectly and wrapped neatly up. I do want a little more angst and danger, and sometimes it's good for things not to go the main character's way.
Will I still read Emperor Mage with hope in my heart? Of course! I love these characters and the world, but I am left disappointed with this one in particular.
I'm really sorry to say that I think this book has second book syndrome, and I don't think it's as good as Wild Magic. I am still invested in the series and the characters, and I have high hopes for Emperor Mage, but this one wasn't up to the standard of the first book.
This series is based around a young girl who has wild magic, powers that allow her to communicate with animals in various ways. Immortal creatures who haven't been seen in Tortall for centuries have recently began appearing, and something is amiss.
I do really love the magical aspect and the animals, there are some really strong characters that emerge in this way. I especially loved the cats and Flicker, and I enjoyed the wolf pack's dynamic. The introduction of Maura in this one was great as I think she's a very likeable and strong character. I do always love Daine, and Numair is growing on me. Pierce is very creative with the creatures she creates and with her interpretations.
I guess for me this one felt a little pointless. I don't yet understand how the events of this one tie in with the overall series arc and the issues that were first presented in Wild Magic, and the action scenes and conclusion paled in comparison to the excellence of the battle in book 1. I didn't feel like that much really happened and it was quite slow for a short book, so I wasn't as enthralled. I'd also call this a middle grade rather than a young adult, as our characters are always very safe and everything is resolved perfectly and wrapped neatly up. I do want a little more angst and danger, and sometimes it's good for things not to go the main character's way.
Will I still read Emperor Mage with hope in my heart? Of course! I love these characters and the world, but I am left disappointed with this one in particular.
September 2, 2021
Enjoying this series but this second book was a little disappointing considering how much I liked the first one. I think maybe it was the number of characters. I realize, now that I've started reading more fantasy, that learning new words - names for people, places, and things - comes with the territory. But this being a book for the younger audience, middle school aged, I think it had too many. I've been reading the Wheel of Time series, which introduces hundreds of new characters in each book, and have an easier time remembering those characters than all the ones in this book. By the end of the book, when all the big action was happening, Pierce was throwing out names of characters so fast I just couldn't keep up. Maybe I wasn't as invested emotionally in this book or its characters? And so I had a harder time remembering them all? Could be, but it made it harder to read.
That being said, I did enjoy the wolf aspect, and Daine's increase and advancement of ability she gained in this story. I love wolves, and dedicating a whole book to her relationship and connection to them was a great move, in my opinion. I loved the personalities of the pack and how they interacted with her and each other. Without giving too much away, Daine's magic was easy to imagine and exciting to follow.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first. But still, enough to continue with the series. Off to the next one! (I really hope Kitten has a big role by the end of the series!)
That being said, I did enjoy the wolf aspect, and Daine's increase and advancement of ability she gained in this story. I love wolves, and dedicating a whole book to her relationship and connection to them was a great move, in my opinion. I loved the personalities of the pack and how they interacted with her and each other. Without giving too much away, Daine's magic was easy to imagine and exciting to follow.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first. But still, enough to continue with the series. Off to the next one! (I really hope Kitten has a big role by the end of the series!)
May 2, 2012
I think a disturbing amount of my psychology could be traced back to Tamora Pierce, most of it from The Song of the Lioness quartet, but then you come to things like oh my absolute obsession with wolves for years of my life. Daine is growing in her confidence and the gods of the People, animals, are becoming even more involved in her life. Not only does this book provide you with a great adventure but it also teaches two lessons. One lesson is about respect for the natural world in a way that goes above and beyond even the respect encouraged in the other stories about Daine. The other lesson is about prejudice, not too surprising from an author with such against the grain strong female characters, but she does show it particularly well and it makes her entire world that much more dimensional.
(This is the second book of The Immortals quartet, a Tortall series.)
(This is the second book of The Immortals quartet, a Tortall series.)
September 4, 2014
Wolf Speaker is the second of Tamora Pierce's "Immortals Quartet" concerning fourteen-year-old Daine, a young woman who possesses "Wild Magic," giving her the ability to communicate with animals, heal any animal wound, and in this book, to gradually change her form into any animal she wishes. Pierce jumps straight into the story without hardly any background information, so if you are unfamiliar with the fantasy realm of Tortall, I very highly recommend that you don't begin your journey with this book: start with Wild Magic, or even better The Lioness Quartet, Pierce's first books concerning Tortall.
Daine and her mentor Numair have been sent abroad in order to investigate the disappearance of several of the Queen's Riders, and in doing so Daine... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Daine and her mentor Numair have been sent abroad in order to investigate the disappearance of several of the Queen's Riders, and in doing so Daine... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
July 22, 2019
Man did I miss this world and these characters. Even though Wolf-Speaker is probably my least favorite in the series, I still love it and love Daine's progress. I really appreciated seeing her growth in this book and her struggle with her feeling towards Stormwings and how in this book she comes to terms with how even though there might be bad people in a certain group, it doesn't mean the entire group is bad and needs to be punished or hated.
Also obviously loved seeing her find out slowly that she could get into animal's minds and then turn parts of her body until her full wolf transformation. That would seriously be so freakin cool. Anyways this series, all of these series are the best and I'll just be over here, re-reading all the rest...
Also obviously loved seeing her find out slowly that she could get into animal's minds and then turn parts of her body until her full wolf transformation. That would seriously be so freakin cool. Anyways this series, all of these series are the best and I'll just be over here, re-reading all the rest...
December 7, 2017
The fun thing about rereading books that you loved when you were younger is that it reminds you how much you used to love them (I'm not sure that sentence makes sense, but let's go with it). This book could have been tailor-made for adolescent-me. I loved Julie of the Wolves, and the idea of JOINING A WOLF PACK AND USING MAGIC POWERS TO TALK TO THEM sounded like the greatest thing in the world. I also really enjoy some of the side characters we meet in this book.
December 11, 2017
This text in the series definitely has the feeling as a bridge - bridging Daine's introduction to Tortall to her future position in Tortallan society, bridging the drama with Carthak, as well as bridging Daine's experience and development of her own magic. While its not my favorite of the quartet, I really do love this book - including the whole wolf pack, the castle cats, Tkaa, and the real introduction of Kitten. I also like Maura as a sort of foil to Daine.
February 16, 2018
I didn't think it was possible, but I love this series even more every time I read it.
October 9, 2019
I was in the mood for some fairly mindless YA Fantasy today — something heroic and delightful, a tonic to cleanse my palate after the torture that was that Feist Merchant Prince book, which I read yesterday and hated — and this jumped into my hand. I was very quickly re-immersed in the world of Daine, our teenage animal mage, and the imminent threat to the land from a darkness beyond.
This one sees Daine and her mentor Numair caught up in a rebellion against the King, with a sideline of sentient wolves and some unexpected complexity given to the “evil” creatures who infest Tortall. The pace is speedy, for the most part, the writing engaging, and lessons are learned left and right as young Daine — still just a tween — ever-so-slowly comes of age in this magical world of wonder and, it must be said, mild terror.
Perfectly pleasant, somewhat predictable, easy, simple, fun. This was exactly the book I needed to read today, if not a book I ever really needed to read at all.
Huh. Weird.
This one sees Daine and her mentor Numair caught up in a rebellion against the King, with a sideline of sentient wolves and some unexpected complexity given to the “evil” creatures who infest Tortall. The pace is speedy, for the most part, the writing engaging, and lessons are learned left and right as young Daine — still just a tween — ever-so-slowly comes of age in this magical world of wonder and, it must be said, mild terror.
Perfectly pleasant, somewhat predictable, easy, simple, fun. This was exactly the book I needed to read today, if not a book I ever really needed to read at all.
Huh. Weird.
April 16, 2019
Back in the day, this was my least favorite of the series and the only one I didn't reread. But today, honestly, I love it almost as much as the first one. The reason I didn't like it as much was because it's a bit of a departure from the characters I love, Daine spends a lot of this book on her own with animals separated from Numair, and even though he's in it some, he's the only one from previous books to play a major role. I miss the rest of the cast and the normal setting. But that being said, on reread I do really love the story and I love the new cast of all the animals. I think the plot is really strong and I was surprised how much I do love this book.
February 23, 2022
I'm really enjoying this series and have liked seeing Daine grow into her powers, but also mature as a person. The creatures in this world are so interesting and I love how the Basilisk is not the evil creature it normally is in many fantasy series. The full cast audio doesn't always work for this series (some of the voices I don't like), but it's still an entertaining listen. I plan on continuing with the series in the near future.
September 24, 2018
This was fun but I didn't enjoy the way Daine's powers sorta exploded during this book. Not as good as book one but a good entry.
February 18, 2019
It is so cozy reading these books.
Wolf-Speaker is one of those books you can just grab a blanket, grab a drink, seat yourself in a comfy chair and curl up to a good read.
This reread around, I actually loved it more than the first time around. I probably like it more than the first?! I loved how Tamora Pierce alluded to global warming, pollution, deforestation, chemical dumping, and endangered species. She also played around with the idea of grayness as humans can be both monsters and human and monsters can be both human and monsters. It was very intriguing and I suppose little me just did not pick up on that.
Sadly, Numair doesn't appear a lot in this book. :( I was like--
The entire time.
I felt more chemistry between them though. (I love slow-burn and yes, age difference is strange but somehow it works because of Daine's maturity/growth...more on that soon.) Because they weren't together the entire book you get to see a lot of Daine by herself and how much Numair cares for her and how much she cares for him in return.
Daine on main was SO GOOD. It's been a year since the last book (she's 14 1/2 now) and she really stays loyal, stays stubborn, and stays moral. She is hard on herself and there were points she did breakdown and felt all the pressure that rode on her shoulder. I especially liked that she is more confident at leading the animals and people as it really showed her overall maturity. She was my childhood hero and still is. I love how caring she is and how she fights her way through. No matter what.
Her growth in character is also seen in how she handles her Wild Magic abilities. She is able to become part of an animal and follow with them through the animals eyes and some shape-shifting abilities. Whenever she joined with an animal, you can really feel like you were that animal and really see through that animals eyes. It was breathtaking to read.
Interestingly enough, I found there were a couple subtle plot-lines that were present in the first book but was brought up again in this one.
1) Her father who is in the first book is some man with antlers. There is mention of his name in this book, but I want some more confirmations and information!
2) Orzone and the Immortals (I mean that's what the quartet is called!) that already started in the first book so I feel like it follows throughout the series. (shoutout to one stone-eating friend, Tkaa)
3) Slow-burn romance. (Aww yeah)
Some honorable Numair mentions:
I AM SO PUMPED FOR THE NEXT BOOK. (PLEASEHAVESOMEMORENUMAIRDAINEINTERACTIONSKAYTHANKSBYE.)
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