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coraaI've enjoyed Tamora Pierce's YA books since I was technically a YA reader myself -- I read the Alanna books in middle school or possibly earlier -- and I came to the Circle of Magic quartet expecting to like them, because I liked the Tortall books I've read so much. Even now, recognizing that Alanna (heroine of the Song of the Lioness quartet) is sort of overpowered, I still love 'em. And the Wild Magic and especially Protector of the Small books display considerable growth -- Protector of the Small particularly seems like a dialogue with the flaws of the Alanna books.
All that's a lead-in to my first question, which was whether I'd like the Circle of Magic books as well as the Tortall books. And the answer, somewhat to my surprise, is yes.
Sandry's Book
introduces the four main characters of the series: Sandry, a young noblewoman with a magic talent involving thread, weaving, and binding; Tris, who has a magical affinity with weather and geological forces; Daja, a former member of a nomadic trading people, who does magic with metal and fire; and Briar, a street thief boy with an affinity for plant magic and magical herbalism. The first book mostly concerns itself with introducing the four characters to their unique magics, to each other, and to their new home at the Winding Circle Temple. In Tris's Book
, the four continue to learn to work with their talents -- and each other -- while trying to repel a pirate fleet.
The strength of these books, as far as I'm concerned, is absolutely in the characters. To begin with, I was delighted that three of the four young mages were female, as were two of the four adult mage-mentors. Pierce's books have always had strong female protagonists, but in many cases they had a single strong female central character surrounded by mostly male supporting characters, and the plethora of women in this series made me really happy. More importantly, the characters, male and female, are all different and complex. For instance, Sandry is sweet-tempered, a peacemaker, a fence-mender -- but she's also stubborn, aggressive in defense of the underdog (sometimes even when the underdog would rather she wasn't), and brave sometimes to the point of foolishness. Tris is sullen, bitter, defensive, vulnerable, but also a bookworm, a natural teacher, and the only one of them genuinely fond of housework. Daja is strong-minded, sometimes prickly, both proud and ashamed of herself, and fiercely loyal -- and a smith-mage, a role I love for a girl. Briar is the quick-thinking street-rat, tough and wily, but also extremely gentle, and I can't help but love that it's the male character who comes closest to the role of 'healer.' They're all -- well, more than meets the eye, varied and complicated. And I like that. I like it a lot.
If I have a criticism, it's that the plot seems... thin, next to the characters. At least as of the second book. The first book is effectively all character, with little external plot; the plot of the second seemed designed to showcase things about the characters. But the thing is, I like the characters so much that I was find spending a whole book finding out who they are, so I can hardly complain.
All that's a lead-in to my first question, which was whether I'd like the Circle of Magic books as well as the Tortall books. And the answer, somewhat to my surprise, is yes.
Sandry's Book
introduces the four main characters of the series: Sandry, a young noblewoman with a magic talent involving thread, weaving, and binding; Tris, who has a magical affinity with weather and geological forces; Daja, a former member of a nomadic trading people, who does magic with metal and fire; and Briar, a street thief boy with an affinity for plant magic and magical herbalism. The first book mostly concerns itself with introducing the four characters to their unique magics, to each other, and to their new home at the Winding Circle Temple. In Tris's Book, the four continue to learn to work with their talents -- and each other -- while trying to repel a pirate fleet.The strength of these books, as far as I'm concerned, is absolutely in the characters. To begin with, I was delighted that three of the four young mages were female, as were two of the four adult mage-mentors. Pierce's books have always had strong female protagonists, but in many cases they had a single strong female central character surrounded by mostly male supporting characters, and the plethora of women in this series made me really happy. More importantly, the characters, male and female, are all different and complex. For instance, Sandry is sweet-tempered, a peacemaker, a fence-mender -- but she's also stubborn, aggressive in defense of the underdog (sometimes even when the underdog would rather she wasn't), and brave sometimes to the point of foolishness. Tris is sullen, bitter, defensive, vulnerable, but also a bookworm, a natural teacher, and the only one of them genuinely fond of housework. Daja is strong-minded, sometimes prickly, both proud and ashamed of herself, and fiercely loyal -- and a smith-mage, a role I love for a girl. Briar is the quick-thinking street-rat, tough and wily, but also extremely gentle, and I can't help but love that it's the male character who comes closest to the role of 'healer.' They're all -- well, more than meets the eye, varied and complicated. And I like that. I like it a lot.
If I have a criticism, it's that the plot seems... thin, next to the characters. At least as of the second book. The first book is effectively all character, with little external plot; the plot of the second seemed designed to showcase things about the characters. But the thing is, I like the characters so much that I was find spending a whole book finding out who they are, so I can hardly complain.