Twelve years ago I was sharing a house in Annapolis, Maryland. My housemate had 3 kids who visited every other weekend. Her youngest, Rosemary, introduced me to Tamora Pierce and I introduced her to Joan of Arcadia. I have since read most of Pierce’s books, both her Tortall and Emelan worlds. She has a gift for writing characters that stick with you. She has written some wonderful female characters. However, as a person, Pierce has revealed herself to be messy on race and representation. She […]
Meeting new friends and reuniting with old
This is a collection of short stories, most of which take place in Tamora Pierce’s Tortallan Universe. Well, six do, and four take place in other fantasy settings, and there’s one nonfantasy story that was inspired by one of Pierce’s early jobs. I liked all of them, although one of them was a bit spoilery for me, as I haven’t read the books that it follows. (They’re sitting in my TBR pile right now, actually.) “Student of Ostriches” This story follows Kylaia, a young […]
The way audiobooks should be
This is an awesome audiobook production! Tamora Pierce, the author, reads the narration, but all of the characters have different actors who voice them. And they do an awesome job! (Honestly, Tamora Pierce sounds a little stodgy, like she’s reading to a child, and you can tell she’s very deliberate with her words and annunciation. But hey, she’s not a voice actor, and it creates a noticeable difference between the narration and the actors. And you get used to it!) (In listening to the interview at […]
Just as good as I remembered!
So, my library was having a new front door installed, so everyone had to temporarily enter through the basement door, which is where the bargain sale books are. So, despite having *two* stacks of unread books at home, I bought some. One of them was Tamora Pierce’s First Test, which takes place in the “medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall.” I loved these books when I was younger, so I forked over my $0.25 for a bit of nostalgia. The King’s Champion Alanna the Lioness […]
My favorite of the Emelan books.
For the past several years, I’ve been sloooowly making my way through all of Tamora Pierce’s books, first with all the Tortall books, and then with Emelan. I’ve liked all the Emelan books, but have always preferred the Tortall books. This is the first Emelan book that has made that opinion waver a little. Maybe it’s just because this is the first time Pierce’s self-imposed structural limitations on this series have been lifted. The first four books were for children, about children (ten and eleven […]
I demand a tiny glass dragon for a pet. I DEMAND IT.
Despite all my caterwauling over the formulaic nature of the series, I’ve really enjoyed the last three books. This one is probably tied for my favorite with the second one. That one had that sweet ass battle where Briar goes to town all over the bad guy’s house with his super magical plant powers, and this one had Tris being grouchy and getting a tiny glass dragon for a pet. Plus I really liked the way that T. Pierce dealt with issues of culture and […]