Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
On second read, I liked Evvy and the Chammuri setting a lot more. Also so much Briar arc!
Briar has grown, sometimes it's hard for me to remember that in this book he's only 14!!
Plot, characters and world building were great.
Pierce's writing is like quicksand, so easy to get sucked into!
Plot, characters and world building were great.
Pierce's writing is like quicksand, so easy to get sucked into!
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
I think I just have a soft spot for the well-written Briar types of the book world. Enjoyed this a lot
In the distant city of Chammur, Briar and Rosethorn's work is interrupted by a gang war and the discovery of a young stone mage. This book is more successful than Magic Steps, thanks to the new, if not unproblematic, Arabian-inspired setting and better developed characters with more robust interactions (I especially love the way that Briar has internalized the influence of his fellow students). The larger plot is predictable and the villains overdrawn, but the climax, vast and violent, with evocative imagery, provides plenty of payoff. As a stand-alone, I would enjoy this. But the repetitive format of this quartet is already growing stale.
This quartet follows the four young mages from the Circle of Magic quartet as they go their separate ways and take on first students on their own. Briar, Daja, and Tris all go to distant lands and Tamora Pierce has some pretty interesting world building going on in these novels, which was really fun to read.
In the Circle of Magic quartet, Daja's Book and Briar's Book were by far and away my favorites, and I was pleased that this time I loved Daja's, Briar's, AND Tris's stories. My favorite new place was definitely Namorn (Daja's book, Cold Fire), and my favorite plot line was Tris's in Shatterglass.
Where the Circle of Magic quarter seemed to focus more on natural disasters and issues in a scale of mass destruction (forest fires, plagues, earth quakes, pirate attacks...), in this quartet Tammy turns her hand to what I can only relate to cozy mysteries. Each book has a sort of double-plot of each kid teaching their new student (or students), while also solving, helping to solve, or being somehow affected by strings of murders. Don't know if Tammy got her serial killer research on and felt inspired or what, but they definitely made for some interesting reading. Another really interesting part of these books was the explanation of the new crafts, especially the well-researched and beautifully detailed descriptions of glass-blowing in Shatterglass.
I was happy to see Tammy's writing has continued to improve over the years, and these books were much less painful than last month's of the Tortall books, but then again I was also reading these books for the first time, so getting caught up in the new stories could have been a part of that.
Reading these books has made me look forward again to seeing what Tamora Pierce will come up with next! =)
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Murder