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therealbel's review against another edition
3.0
I thought the premise was great and that world building was awesome. I just was really really irritated by Ali, the main protagonist - she was never wrong or really surprised or caught out.... she was tooo perfect in every aspect - she needed a flaw.
stephxsu's review against another edition
3.0
16-year-old Aly, daughter of the professional spy George Cooper and the legendary woman warrior Alanna, is brilliant, flirtatious, and fun-loving. She desperately wants to conduct field work as a spy, which her father does not approve of, thinking it is too dangerous for his only daughter.
However, circumstances arise where it is necessary for Aly to use her spy skills. She is kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in the Copper Isles, a collection of islands off the mainland Tortall, her home. Luckily she gets placed into the Duke and Duchess Balitang’s home. Her masters are fair and gentle, hardly treating her as a slave.
Aly enters into a bet with the disgraced god Kyprioth, known as the Trickster. She must keep the Balitang children alive until the end of summer. When the Balitangs incur the mad king’s displeasure, the whole family escapes into exile in a raka-filled island.
At Tanair, Aly learns more about the political rife between the raka and the luarian. The dark-skinned raka are the original inhabitants of the Copper Isles, taken over in a time of civil war by the foreign luarin. Kyprioth’s plan is to place a raka queen back onto the throne—and who better for the role than Sarai, the Duke’s eldest daughter, a half-raka by way of her mother?
With the help of several loyal raka servants and slaves, Aly protects the Balitang household from dangers. She gets additional help from people like Dove, Sarai’s younger sister who reminds Aly of herself, and Nawat, a crow-turned-man who declares undying devotion to Aly. Will Aly win her bet with Kyprioth and protect the good family whom she has come to love?
Tamora Pierce is known for writing quality high fantasy with endearing heroines, and TRICKSTER’S CHOICE is no different. This novel is full of political intrigue, interesting romances, and wonderful characters. I would highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers, boys and girls alike.
However, circumstances arise where it is necessary for Aly to use her spy skills. She is kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery in the Copper Isles, a collection of islands off the mainland Tortall, her home. Luckily she gets placed into the Duke and Duchess Balitang’s home. Her masters are fair and gentle, hardly treating her as a slave.
Aly enters into a bet with the disgraced god Kyprioth, known as the Trickster. She must keep the Balitang children alive until the end of summer. When the Balitangs incur the mad king’s displeasure, the whole family escapes into exile in a raka-filled island.
At Tanair, Aly learns more about the political rife between the raka and the luarian. The dark-skinned raka are the original inhabitants of the Copper Isles, taken over in a time of civil war by the foreign luarin. Kyprioth’s plan is to place a raka queen back onto the throne—and who better for the role than Sarai, the Duke’s eldest daughter, a half-raka by way of her mother?
With the help of several loyal raka servants and slaves, Aly protects the Balitang household from dangers. She gets additional help from people like Dove, Sarai’s younger sister who reminds Aly of herself, and Nawat, a crow-turned-man who declares undying devotion to Aly. Will Aly win her bet with Kyprioth and protect the good family whom she has come to love?
Tamora Pierce is known for writing quality high fantasy with endearing heroines, and TRICKSTER’S CHOICE is no different. This novel is full of political intrigue, interesting romances, and wonderful characters. I would highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers, boys and girls alike.
wondereads13's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0
This one is technically a reread, but this is one of the Tamora Pierce series I did not finished, having been a middle schooler who did not finish Trickster's Queen before it was due back at the library. This series is a bit tricky (get it?) when it comes to the social message since it deals very directly with settler colonialism and racism, compared to Pierce's other Tortall books which tend to focus more on feminism. I'm not going to make judgments until I finish the duology, but for now it seems pretty good for a novel from 2003. Concerning the actual story and characters, Aly is a great diversion from Pierce's usual serious, extremely determined protagonists as a more playful, casual character. I'm a huge fan of Nawat and Dove, who are my personal favorite side characters. The politics of the Copper Isles are incredibly interesting, especially since social lives play into it, and there's going to be a lot more in the next book.
hoshim's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book I've picked up in this long universe of books. I felt that it did a wonderful job of explaining things just enough to get me up to speed.
The story was wonderful and the characters were amazing, both the good AND the bad characters. The pace of the book was just right and the setting was lush without brow beating the reader with it.
On a completely different note: I haven't wanted to date a bird man so much since I saw Maleficent in theaters.
The story was wonderful and the characters were amazing, both the good AND the bad characters. The pace of the book was just right and the setting was lush without brow beating the reader with it.
On a completely different note: I haven't wanted to date a bird man so much since I saw Maleficent in theaters.
thepeppermintfairytale's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
tricapra's review against another edition
4.0
Loooooooved it. It was a relief to read something so women-friendly after the slog that was "The Windup Girl." I'm not sure if i'll be continuing the series, because it felt very complete, but it was definitely a fun read.
mccglattly's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
susannah_h's review against another edition
5.0
God I mean it's Tamora Pierce and she has outdone herself once again. I read this book once before a long time ago but I was pretty depressed so honestly I only remembered the vaguest outline of the book. Once I got into it I realized just how little I remembered which was great for me (like two for the price of one)! The pacing of this book is absolutely wonderful (as is Tamora's strength) and for me that is really important. Aly is pretty different from the other heroines in the Tortall universe in that she is not incredibly driven. She has skills and interests and motives but does not have the relentless unending drive. Which is relatable content. I also appreciate how through this series we get to see recurring characters from different perspectives and in a different light, revealing even more about them or how they've grown even though I've already read about four books about each of them. One of the things I appreciate about this book is all of the female characters. While the other books in the Tortall universe also focus on female heroines, this series has a plethora of good side female characters. And each in their own way are they quietly strong, unique, and with reasonable faults. Aly is instantly likeable and I adore her near constant sarcasm. I love how on the outside she seems cunning and a little closed off, generally hard to read, and constantly toeing that line between being a good person and being cold or manipulative. Then the reader also gets to see her introspection, and how even though she appears one way on the outside, she is having much more complex review of herself and her actions, and her struggles. Also she is just absolutely hilarious, definitely the funniest heroine. Aly never once strays from her character and it is so enjoyable to read about a teen girl who feels real, she's funny, smart, knows she's talented, doubts herself at times, and finds time for friends and love. Also like love to read a ya that openly talks about colonialism and its effects. It is the backdrop for the whole book and is incorporated well. It is told at a level that young teens can understand it, while still containing enough nuance that older readers will find it meaningful as well.
Absolute knock out of the park, I will forever recommend this series to everybody (except people who don't like to read about women absolutely killing the game I guess).
Absolute knock out of the park, I will forever recommend this series to everybody (except people who don't like to read about women absolutely killing the game I guess).
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
Aly must help keep a family and a rebellion alive - this was definitely Pierce's most politically charged book to date. Check out my full review over at Forever Young Adult.