Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

This was probably my second re-reading of this series and I loved it just as much as I had the first time.

Daine is a young girl, newly orphaned who applies for work at a horse fair. The horse trainer, Onua doesn't want to take on such a young girl but gives her a chance and sets her in among the horses she has already purchased. It's not a problem for Daine that those horses are wild, untamed and unruly because Daine has wild magic and can speak to the animals.

Onua takes her on and they set off for the capital of Tortall because Onua is the horse-mistress of the Queen's Riders. Daine makes herself invaluable on the way by keeping the horses in line and fighting off immortals.

She meets Numair who plays a huge role as her teacher in the rest of the series. Numair is 27 at the start of the series and Daine is 13 so there is a huge age gap there.

Daine's magic grows leaps and bounds under Numairs tutelage and Daine's wild magic becomes instrumental in saving Tortall from Carthaki invaders.

Daine is probably my favorite character in the Tamora Pierce world of Tortall. She's got this natural thing with animals that I would love to have... She's not overly stubborn (like Alanna) or boring (like Kel - she was my least favorite heroine) or mischievous (like Aly, who is my second favorite (^_^) ) or even determined (like Pierce's newest heroine Bekka). Daine is just nice and has a lot of common sense and is brave.

Next up is Wolf-Speaker.

Magic Lost, Trouble Found

Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin



I read this because I had heard that it was quite good; similar to the Heart of Stone series by C. E. Murphy.

Like the C.E. Murphy novels Raine is a fully formed character that already has had quite a bit of life rush past her and so she starts off (almost immediately) into a whole heap of trouble.

That might be helpful for some people to get them sunk into the story, but I tend to prefer a little more backstory before a full mental plunge into a character's life and story.

Raine comes into possession of a magical amulet that an employee (and friend) of hers had been hired to steal. This amulet while looking like a plain piece of ugly jewelry is really a powerful beacon to a much more dangerous magical item called the "Soul Thief." Once Raine has the amulet in her possession it won't let her go and so poor Raine goes the whole book trying to avoid all the bad guys who want the amulet and "Soul Thief." With the possession of the amulet Raine also gains all kinds of fun and interesting powers which she definitely needs to be able to survive all the bad guys that don't care if she lives or dies.

I had such a hard time getting into this book, especially at first... However about half-way through the book (once Raine has gotten herself thoroughly steeped in trouble) we really start to get to know and work with this Conclave Guardian named Mychael whose job it is to protect the amulet (and "Soul Thief"). And it was MUCH easier for me to read the back half of the book because of him.

Terrier by Tamora Pierce

Terrier by Tamora Pierce

Pages: A Lot (I forgot to check this time, maybe 500 - 600?)

The title of the book, Terrier, refers to the nickname Beka (Rebekah) Cooper gains as a Puppy (trainee) in her first year of training to become one of the Lord Provost's Dogs. (The terms Dog and Puppy are excellent metaphors for the police-like patrolmen that keep the peace and "sniff out" criminals. It is not used in a derogatory manner at all.)

Like a terrier, once Beka gets her teeth into something she doesn't let go. The book starts with several journal entries the first (I believe) starting in almost "present day" Tortall with George Cooper's mother (Eleni) telling us that this is the story she once told George as a young boy so that he would understand why she would not permit him to steal and lie and cheat. The story blossoms from there to show journal entries from Beka's Dog trainers before they knew her and her own mother before we hear from Beka herself.

Beka has all the things that make for a good heroine in a Tortall novel.
1.) The Gift of some kind. In Beka's case she has the ability to hear the dead spirits when they ride on the Black God's messengers (aka pigeons). She can also hear the words held by dust spinners. This is important as it is one way that Beka can gather information.

2.) She has the favor of the gods. The Cat with Purple Eyes makes an appearance (again) as Beka's pet and guide. Now we know how he put up with Alanna's stubborness so many years later. He had Beka to practice on.

3.) She is friends with many people who like/love her despite her faults. I was particularly interested in Rosto, the fellow from Scanra that anyone could plainly see would feature in Beka's story. I guessed correctly that he would become the Rogue by the end of the book but did not get closure on whether he was still WITH either Aniki or Kora. I maintain that he wasn't and hasn't been that kind of friend with either of them for a long while but nothing was implicitly stated and so I'm left hanging. I hate hanging. I mean he made his intentions well-known enough in like the last two pages of the book. Anyone can see where George gets his particular charm with stubborn women...

There are probably more but this is enough for now. I loved this book immensely and can't wait for the next one to come out. I did find this one darker (and more full of death) than many of the other Tortall quartets but I think that is just due to the nature of the time-period and occupation Tamora Pierce has set her character into. I look forward to Bloohound and Elkhound and whatever else is upcoming for Beka Cooper. :)