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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not the conclusion I was expecting, but wonderful nonetheless. Wished we could have seen more of Kel leading her troops into battle, though being the defender of a refugee camp fit her character better.
Wrapping up my read-through of Protector of the Small, and I think this book was my favorite of the quartet. It had higher stakes than the other installments, and a clear goal that Kel was trying to achieve. It’s not that I disliked the other books, but I felt this story was more suspenseful than the others, and it returned to what I love most about Kel: her passion for protecting the defenseless and lowest of society. My only complaint about Lady Knight is about the villain. I didn’t find him compelling, but Kel’s story was entertaining enough to distract me. If you loved The Song of the Lioness, I would definitely recommend this series as a follow-up.
Things I Liked
1. Stakes: Because Kel is a full-blown knight in this book, the stakes felt higher whenever she was engaged in conflict. Even though she’s not on the front lines of battle, she is still making decisions that impact lives, and she shoulders a lot of responsibility. I liked to watch her evaluate her options and make tough decisions, shaping her into a competent leader.
2. Kel’s Morality: During the course of this book, Kel makes a major decision that could possibly get her exiled. Kel mostly makes this decision because it is right; it reminded me a lot of her decision to save Lalasa in book 2, even though it would mean retaking all 4 years of her page training. Decisions like these show readers who Kel really is at her core, and it’s something that I really like about her.
3. Refugees: I loved how Pierce wrote the refugees in the camp. They all had the feel of being fully-developed characters, and even when there was conflict, none of them were wholly unsympathetic. I especially loved Kel’s relationship with them, as she has to earn their trust and respect, and does so without using force. It was heartwarming to see them come together over the course of the book.
4. Magic: Despite magic being present in this book and Tortall being at war, magic wasn’t overly used. Numair and Daine popped up occasionally to do some heavy-lifting, but for the most part, the magic we saw was Neal’s healing. I really liked that the book focused more on non-gifted knights, especially since both The Song of the Lioness and The Immortals featured a lot of magic.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Villain: Kel has a major antagonist in this book, unlike the kind we’ve seen before in Joren and his friends. While I was intrigued at first, the more I learned of this villain, the less I liked him. He seemed too one-dimensional and without a lot of nuance. Some of his reasoning for doing what he does were cartoonish. I would have preferred someone more complex.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in lady knights, female military commanders, refugee stories, effects of war, fantasy political conflicts, tests of morality, and standing up against bullies.
Things I Liked
1. Stakes: Because Kel is a full-blown knight in this book, the stakes felt higher whenever she was engaged in conflict. Even though she’s not on the front lines of battle, she is still making decisions that impact lives, and she shoulders a lot of responsibility. I liked to watch her evaluate her options and make tough decisions, shaping her into a competent leader.
2. Kel’s Morality: During the course of this book, Kel makes a major decision that could possibly get her exiled. Kel mostly makes this decision because it is right; it reminded me a lot of her decision to save Lalasa in book 2, even though it would mean retaking all 4 years of her page training. Decisions like these show readers who Kel really is at her core, and it’s something that I really like about her.
3. Refugees: I loved how Pierce wrote the refugees in the camp. They all had the feel of being fully-developed characters, and even when there was conflict, none of them were wholly unsympathetic. I especially loved Kel’s relationship with them, as she has to earn their trust and respect, and does so without using force. It was heartwarming to see them come together over the course of the book.
4. Magic: Despite magic being present in this book and Tortall being at war, magic wasn’t overly used. Numair and Daine popped up occasionally to do some heavy-lifting, but for the most part, the magic we saw was Neal’s healing. I really liked that the book focused more on non-gifted knights, especially since both The Song of the Lioness and The Immortals featured a lot of magic.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Villain: Kel has a major antagonist in this book, unlike the kind we’ve seen before in Joren and his friends. While I was intrigued at first, the more I learned of this villain, the less I liked him. He seemed too one-dimensional and without a lot of nuance. Some of his reasoning for doing what he does were cartoonish. I would have preferred someone more complex.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in lady knights, female military commanders, refugee stories, effects of war, fantasy political conflicts, tests of morality, and standing up against bullies.
So much we can learn from Kel about dealing with adversity, self-respect/worth and life. I hope Pierce chooses to revisit this character.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The finale to the Protector of the Small series, and an excellent wrap. This book feels more 'adult' than the first 3 in the series, as it deals much more directly with the horrors of war, especially the plight of refugees. While I don't love the Chamber as a plot device, it plays a lesser role in this book and I loved the character development not only of Kel, but of Owen as shown though his flashes of interaction with Kel. Still a wonderful adventure through and through, I look forward to coming back to visit again in a couple years.
Great ending to a great series! I’m exhausted, but happy, having devoured each of these books so quickly.
The secondary characters are such fun that I really miss whoever doesn’t make it into the particular book. Last book was Neal, this one was Raoul.
I did wish there was a little less mention of how parched Kel always was, and all the water she was drinking
The secondary characters are such fun that I really miss whoever doesn’t make it into the particular book. Last book was Neal, this one was Raoul.
I did wish there was a little less mention of how parched Kel always was, and all the water she was drinking
4.5
Loved this book, loved Kel, she is honestly an amazing protagonist.
I thought it was an interesting choice putting her in charge of a small refugee camp instead of at the war frontlines, as you (and Kel herself) would expect, but I thought it paid off really well. It showed the other side of war - the displaced people, the grime, etc, and it made perfect sense with her character that she would then consider all of them under her protection. I was genuinely surprised when so many of them died; it added a lot of pathos and I could feel what Kel was going through, but at the same time it was undermined a little because there wasn’t enough time to really get to know many of them.
I was amused at how summarily Kel’s relationship was dismissed (and felt kinda bad for Cleon that he was clearly devastated while she mostly felt relief. But he was super bland, so not that bad), and felt the lack of romance throughout the book was a breath of fresh air.
The ending battle with the (superbly creepy) wizard was a little anti-climactic, but I suppose that’s what she was going for - he was kind of pathetic without his machines and guards, and he was meant to be.
But in the end, this was Kel’s book, and Kel’s series, and she really carried the whole thing admirably. I just really love her as a character; she has qualities that I wish I could have without being a chosen one type, just an incredibly hard worker. And this was a fitting capstone for the quadrology, I thought; all were page-turners, I enjoyed them all, and even if the prose wasn’t the most complex and they weren’t perfect, I really enjoyed my time spent reading them.
Loved this book, loved Kel, she is honestly an amazing protagonist.
I thought it was an interesting choice putting her in charge of a small refugee camp instead of at the war frontlines, as you (and Kel herself) would expect, but I thought it paid off really well. It showed the other side of war - the displaced people, the grime, etc, and it made perfect sense with her character that she would then consider all of them under her protection. I was genuinely surprised when so many of them died; it added a lot of pathos and I could feel what Kel was going through, but at the same time it was undermined a little because there wasn’t enough time to really get to know many of them.
I was amused at how summarily Kel’s relationship was dismissed (and felt kinda bad for Cleon that he was clearly devastated while she mostly felt relief. But he was super bland, so not that bad), and felt the lack of romance throughout the book was a breath of fresh air.
The ending battle with the (superbly creepy) wizard was a little anti-climactic, but I suppose that’s what she was going for - he was kind of pathetic without his machines and guards, and he was meant to be.
But in the end, this was Kel’s book, and Kel’s series, and she really carried the whole thing admirably. I just really love her as a character; she has qualities that I wish I could have without being a chosen one type, just an incredibly hard worker. And this was a fitting capstone for the quadrology, I thought; all were page-turners, I enjoyed them all, and even if the prose wasn’t the most complex and they weren’t perfect, I really enjoyed my time spent reading them.