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Emperor Mage
by Tamora Pierce
"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.