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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, War
Yup, totally platonic student-teacher relationship going on here, no funny business, no sirree.
HEY DAINE HE BASICALLY SAID YOU LOOKED HOT IN THE FIRST CHAPTER.
HEY DAINE HE BASICALLY SAID YOU LOOKED HOT IN THE FIRST CHAPTER.
adventurous
fast-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
i think this is my favorite of the quartet, mostly for the last sequence where daine completely destroys the royal palace. it's cathartic and satisfying, even if i still find daine/numair disgusting. i really enjoyed kaddar's character, the graveyard hag, and all of the animal secondary characters in this book, particularly zek and the hyenas. one additional thought: given what we know of chioké from the numair books i wish his end had more... substance or gravitas or was more drawn out. i felt like in this book we barely got to know him, but after i read the numair book i HATED him. i wonder if she'd always intended it and had to cut it, or retconned him into more importance than he originally had.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
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:
N/A
As a kid, this was always my favorite book to read of The Immortals quartet, and maybe out of Tamora Pierce's entire work. It holds up. Absolutely loved it. I was a bit surprised that I didn't enjoy the first half of the book quite as much (although 'not as much' is relative to my overall enjoyment and I still adored it), but this book's strength is truly in the climax for me. When Pierce writes a dramatic climax, she really goes for it and this was everything I remembered from my childhood.
I enjoyed this book and would have rated it higher but I don't care for the narrator.
"I'm not special. I'm just an ordinary popular, talented girl who spends time adventuring with my cadre of adorable animal friends and hunky boys."
lol jk. <3 u Daine.
Emperor Mage is a welcome addition to the story of Daine and her Immortals. Wild Magic set the stage. Wolf-Speaker delved deeper into Daine's backstory and psyche. Now, in Emperor Mage we finally learn concrete information about the primary antagonist of the series.
This book takes the principal characters (minus Cloud) to Carthak, Tortall's powerful and envious neighbor to the south. As she adapts to court life under a sometimes kind, mostly p0wer-hungry monarch, Daine must uncover what, or whom, is poisoning the emperor's pets. Added to that, a deity has taken an interest in the young woman -- hope she survives the experience!
A lesser author would have drawn the contrast between the feminine Verise and the toyboyish Daine and used it to show that Daine is worthier than Verise. I feel like I've read that book loads of times -- see, here's the sexy romantic rival but the main character is better because she likes masculine things (and she is also just as hot but she has low self esteem). The message is usually something like this: "Girls can do anything! But doing girly things isn't as good." It's a message I got a lot as a kid without realizing it at the time. The War on Pink runs amok.
But Pierce took a different tack.
Instead of being diminished, Verise is given a voice near the end. She explains that she likes dresses and parties and entertaining and making pretty things. She doesn't want to live in a world where she can't do these things. And Pierce, through Daine, agrees with her. She says that there are many ways to be a woman, and that is just as valid a choice as running around in britches with the boys.
I love Pierce a little more for this scene.
lol jk. <3 u Daine.
Emperor Mage is a welcome addition to the story of Daine and her Immortals. Wild Magic set the stage. Wolf-Speaker delved deeper into Daine's backstory and psyche. Now, in Emperor Mage we finally learn concrete information about the primary antagonist of the series.
This book takes the principal characters (minus Cloud) to Carthak, Tortall's powerful and envious neighbor to the south. As she adapts to court life under a sometimes kind, mostly p0wer-hungry monarch, Daine must uncover what, or whom, is poisoning the emperor's pets. Added to that, a deity has taken an interest in the young woman -- hope she survives the experience!
Spoiler
(Note: I don't know the spelling of Verise's name because I listened to this as an (excellent) audiobook and googling has gotten me no where.) One of the most unique thing about this book was Pierce's treatment of the beautiful and womanly Verise.A lesser author would have drawn the contrast between the feminine Verise and the toyboyish Daine and used it to show that Daine is worthier than Verise. I feel like I've read that book loads of times -- see, here's the sexy romantic rival but the main character is better because she likes masculine things (and she is also just as hot but she has low self esteem). The message is usually something like this: "Girls can do anything! But doing girly things isn't as good." It's a message I got a lot as a kid without realizing it at the time. The War on Pink runs amok.
But Pierce took a different tack.
Instead of being diminished, Verise is given a voice near the end. She explains that she likes dresses and parties and entertaining and making pretty things. She doesn't want to live in a world where she can't do these things. And Pierce, through Daine, agrees with her. She says that there are many ways to be a woman, and that is just as valid a choice as running around in britches with the boys.
I love Pierce a little more for this scene.