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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Wild Magic ★★★☆☆
Wolf-Speaker ★★★☆☆ (3.5)
Emperor Mage ★★★★☆
The Realm of the Gods ★★☆☆☆
3.5 stars. This story is much tighter than Wild Magic, with an easier-to-follow plot. Wolf-Speaker has teenager Daine traveling north with her teacher Numair at the request of a wolf pack that she used to know. Daine is becoming more skilled with using her wild magic, and discovering some of the fantastical things she can do, such as see through an animal's eyes, and even shape-shift. The wolves have called her because the humans ("two-leggers") are destroying the environment in their valley home and driving away all the game. Upon reaching the valley, Daine and Numair uncover the treasonous activities of the noble family overseeing the fief, and encounter unsavory Carthaki mages and more Immortal creatures like Stormwings.
Wolf-Speaker has a lot of the great story elements that Tamora Pierce knows how to utilize well. Fun magical skills, evil characters underestimating the good characters' abilities, cameos by gods and goddesses, and foiling truly wicked schemes with a combination of badassery and goodness. One of the messages in this book is not to judge others by appearances, or to be prejudiced against an entire group due to the actions of a few. Daine learns that Stormwings do not have "evil" natures, but natures that are "in opposition" to her own. We also see humans living in ignorance to the harm their actions bring the environment and animal species, with Daine knocking some sense into folks. Daine also defends wolves against the bad reputation they have, insisting that they don't eat/harm humans (which is very true-- did you know there have been a total of TWO wolf-related human deaths on record in all of the US's history?).
This sequel is much less diverse character-wise than the first book, since most of the side characters are various animals. And it is fun to see the different animals have individual personalities and ways of looking at the world that differ from humans'. Daine continues to be extremely competent in almost every aspect, which could actually be a bit boring if her powers with animals wasn't so entertaining. This book also features the introduction of one of my favorite Tortall 'verse characters, the basilisk T'kaa!
This series remains an amazing addition to Tamora Pierce's canon, and I personally recommend it as a good introduction to the Tortall 'verse.
Wolf-Speaker ★★★☆☆ (3.5)
Emperor Mage ★★★★☆
The Realm of the Gods ★★☆☆☆
3.5 stars. This story is much tighter than Wild Magic, with an easier-to-follow plot. Wolf-Speaker has teenager Daine traveling north with her teacher Numair at the request of a wolf pack that she used to know. Daine is becoming more skilled with using her wild magic, and discovering some of the fantastical things she can do, such as see through an animal's eyes, and even shape-shift. The wolves have called her because the humans ("two-leggers") are destroying the environment in their valley home and driving away all the game. Upon reaching the valley, Daine and Numair uncover the treasonous activities of the noble family overseeing the fief, and encounter unsavory Carthaki mages and more Immortal creatures like Stormwings.
Wolf-Speaker has a lot of the great story elements that Tamora Pierce knows how to utilize well. Fun magical skills, evil characters underestimating the good characters' abilities, cameos by gods and goddesses, and foiling truly wicked schemes with a combination of badassery and goodness. One of the messages in this book is not to judge others by appearances, or to be prejudiced against an entire group due to the actions of a few. Daine learns that Stormwings do not have "evil" natures, but natures that are "in opposition" to her own. We also see humans living in ignorance to the harm their actions bring the environment and animal species, with Daine knocking some sense into folks. Daine also defends wolves against the bad reputation they have, insisting that they don't eat/harm humans (which is very true-- did you know there have been a total of TWO wolf-related human deaths on record in all of the US's history?).
This sequel is much less diverse character-wise than the first book, since most of the side characters are various animals. And it is fun to see the different animals have individual personalities and ways of looking at the world that differ from humans'. Daine continues to be extremely competent in almost every aspect, which could actually be a bit boring if her powers with animals wasn't so entertaining. This book also features the introduction of one of my favorite Tortall 'verse characters, the basilisk T'kaa!
This series remains an amazing addition to Tamora Pierce's canon, and I personally recommend it as a good introduction to the Tortall 'verse.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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:
Yes
The rating for this book is more for sentimentality than anything, though I still love the books to this day. Tamora Pierce was the author that sucked me into reading as a passion, and this is the first book of hers that I read. Anything set in Tortall is still has a pull for me!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As the second book in a quartet, this doesn’t wrap up anything from a previous book, but it spends time with the wolf pack Daine mentioned in WILD MAGIC. There’s a new storyline which is a combination of spying and a “save the forest” style mission. The Pack summoned Daine because the local two-leggers are destroying natural resources and making the land uninhabitable with their new mining and logging projects. When Daine and Numair arrive, they discover that there are a lot of potentially hostile mages who have no reason to be there. The rest of the plot focuses on Daine’s increasing connections with the local wildlife, and her growing mastery of her magic. Numair leaves to get help, leaving Daine to figure out things without his aid for long stretches.
The entire plot with finding out the problem and saving the valley is introduced and resolved within this book. It introduces a bunch of characters and factions who may be important in later books, but this story is very well-contained. It doesn't specifically leave anything for later, but it establishes new situations for most of the characters who were established in this book. I know from the sequels that certain details and characters do or don't matter for later books, but the story itself doesn't really give hints. The two major exceptions to this are that Daine has been trying to find out who her Da is since the first book so eventually she'll probably get an answer, and that Emperor Ozorne has been mentioned a lot and will likely be important. Anything else might or might not matter later. Daine feels a bit older than the last book. Clearly not an adult yet, she's now fourteen and a half (an age where half years are important) rather than the perhaps thirteen of the first book.
This story is so self-contained, with backstory succinctly conveyed when necessary, that it could make sense when read on its own. It could make even more since to anyone who has read any of the other Tortall books, even if not WILD MAGIC. It only barely features previously known characters, due to the event which effectively traps Daine in the valley almost as soon as they arrive.
I like this one generally, and it introduces several characters who will be more important later. It also features an expansion of Daine's powers in a major way. Not bad, but I remember liking the later books more (we'll see if they hold up on re-read).
The entire plot with finding out the problem and saving the valley is introduced and resolved within this book. It introduces a bunch of characters and factions who may be important in later books, but this story is very well-contained. It doesn't specifically leave anything for later, but it establishes new situations for most of the characters who were established in this book. I know from the sequels that certain details and characters do or don't matter for later books, but the story itself doesn't really give hints. The two major exceptions to this are that Daine has been trying to find out who her Da is since the first book so eventually she'll probably get an answer, and that Emperor Ozorne has been mentioned a lot and will likely be important. Anything else might or might not matter later. Daine feels a bit older than the last book. Clearly not an adult yet, she's now fourteen and a half (an age where half years are important) rather than the perhaps thirteen of the first book.
This story is so self-contained, with backstory succinctly conveyed when necessary, that it could make sense when read on its own. It could make even more since to anyone who has read any of the other Tortall books, even if not WILD MAGIC. It only barely features previously known characters, due to the event which effectively traps Daine in the valley almost as soon as they arrive.
I like this one generally, and it introduces several characters who will be more important later. It also features an expansion of Daine's powers in a major way. Not bad, but I remember liking the later books more (we'll see if they hold up on re-read).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
Minor: Bullying, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm
This was really good. I continue to be obsessed with Diane.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated