A review by laurelbard
Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce

4.0

Emperor Mage is absolutely the most memorable book of the series. Incredible setting, complex characters, truly tough emotional moments. That said, it's a 4 and not a 5 because I feel like the development between Daine and Numair is frankly rushed. It reads like Tamora Pierce has a billion little scenes between them that live in her head and have been cut from the text, like there should have been a book between Wild Magic and Emperor Mage that contained them. As a kid, my imagination filled in the gaps, as the rapport and chemistry are obviously shown on page, but it doesn't make sense to the reader that they have this level of development, because most of it has taken place off page!

Gripes aside, everything else is great. The Graveyard Hag and the hyenas stand out as some of the most memorable godly characters I've read anywhere. There's a reason I keep coming back to this series every few years: this book is it.