My Take On: The Song of the Lioness Series by Tamora Pierce

Becoming a legend is not easy, as young Alana of Trebond discovers when she disguises herself as a boy and begins training to be a knight. Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, this audiobook is a rousing introduction to the intensely satisfying story of Alanna.

This is the first series within the saga of Tortallan legends by Pierce. I've always said that she is one of my favorite authors and that this is one of my favorite worlds, yet I'd long neglected reading her first quartet. Instead of starting at the beginning like a normal person, I started reading Pierce's fantasy with the third book of her third quartet, The Protector of the Small, and, aside from reading the first two books of that series at a later date, I never looked back. But this summer I found out that my library had the first quartet of my beloved Tortallan heroines, so I vowed to read it, and read it I did!

In this quartet, we meet Pierce's prototype shero (she + hero = shero. Similar to a heroine, but it sounds less druggy), Alanna. Alanna wants nothing more than to be a knight and go on adventures, so she and her twin brother, Thom, who wants nothing to do with swords and would rather study sorcery, switch places. Thom goes to the Methrin priests to learn magic, and Alanna goes to the royal city to study the arts of combat and chivalry.

We watch as Alanna grows into a legend of Tortall, battles great evil, and, along the way, learns to love.

Okay, enough summing up. Now what did I think of the series?
I think that Pierce's writing has come a long way since she first wrote her archetypical quartet. The series, which lays the groundwrm for all her later Totall-based series, lacked the subtlety of her later works and was weighed down by thinly disguised femenist ideals.

When I first picked up this series, I thought I'd be in for a thrill ride starring a real tough-as-nails girl who made no compremises and kicked butt along the road to success. What I got was a confused girl who didn't really know what she wanted after all. Now, this may be what some people find so attractive about this series; that Alanna, through her struggle to balance her identity as both a warrior and a woman, is made more real by her flaws and mistakes. But I would've preferred that Alanna, who Pierce is obviousy trying to set up as a roll model of an empowered female for young girls, had shown more maturity and true responsibilty in regards to sex. I mean, this girl was in and out so many beds so many times it made my head spin! It also made me look back on all of Pierce's other books that I'd read and enjoyed immensely, even as a young and impressionable tween, and notice an unnerving trend: All the girls in her stories, with a few exceptions, are away from home at a very young age, and so they innevitabley hit puberty while the story is going along, and we all know what that means, "Knock, knock! It's Mother Nature here with your special gift! Congratulations and welcome to womanhood!" Nothing at all wrong with that. In fact, i highly encourage it. What I do find disturbing is that the first thing these girls go out and do upon "becoming women" is to get an "anti-pregnancy charm" from ye olde healer. Now what kind of example is that teaching girls? That your only responsibility in making love is to keep yourself from having an unwanted baby, not that making love is at its core about having children. It's not a recreational activity but the creation of a person through love. Hence the term "making love". Without that definition, the phrase doesn't even make sense. Making love into what?

Pierce's stories all revolve around a young girl fighting for a different way of life--to be a warrior, a mage, a spy master, a Dog (beat cop/detective)--and the lesson is always the same: you can do whatever you put your mind to! A sentement that helped me when I was young and feeling awkward in my own skin. What I'd like to see from Pierce, though, is a lesson in true courage. Not facing down an enraged centuar or band or mountain raiders single handedly, but to sacrifice oneself for another or to woman up to the concequences of ones choices, not when they're "ready", but when the moment arises. It's not about being ready, it's about being responsible!

Anyway...

Now as for the actual books themselves; it felt like there just wasn't enough plot to go around. The timeline was hugely stretched, we're talking about a decade long or so, and it made the story just drag in places. All the action seemed to me to crammed into the last six chapters or so of each book with lots of diplomacy and training and traveling in the middle. To put it short, it was kinda, well, boring. The story itself was cool and had everything you'd want from a fantasy book: Hero? Check! Epic journey? Check! Conflict with villain as well as lesser evils, i.e. personal struggles etc.? Check! But there was severe lack of action for a good deal of the series that made it really hard to read.

The Song of the Lioness Series set the stage for greater things to come form Pierce's imagination, even if it fell a little short of greatness itself.

I give Alanna: The First Adventure...

In the Hand of the Goddess...

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man...

and Lioness Rampant...

As for the whole series, I give it...

I never thought I'd find a series by Tamora Pierce that I'd dislike this much, at least not one based in Tortall anyway. It just was not my cup of tea. Maybe y'all feel differently, though. Let me know what you thought of this series if you've read it!

Happy reading, y'all!

My Take On Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce

Beka Cooper is finally a Dog—a full-fledged member of the Provost’s Guard, dedicated to keeping peace in Corus’s streets. But there’s unrest in Tortall’s capital. Counterfeit coins are turning up in shops all over the city, and merchants are raising prices to cover their losses. The Dogs discover that gamblers are bringing the counterfeit money from Port Caynn. In Port Caynn, Beka delves deep into the gambling world, where she meets a charming banking clerk named Dale Rowan. Beka thinks she may be falling for Rowan, but she won’t let anything—or anyone—jeopardize her mission. As she heads north to an abandoned silver mine, it won’t be enough for Beka be her usual “terrier” self. She’ll have to learn from Achoo to sniff out the criminals—to be a Bloodhound. . .

 Now, don't let the synopsis, especially the full synopsis featured in the book, make you think that this is a silly story with skippy puppies and happy rainbows because it features a talking, purple-eyed cat and a bloodhound named Achoo. Quite the opposite. It's a gritty cop story based in the lowest slums of the shining medieval city of Corus. Tamora's books always feature two things: a kick-butt shero1 and an oft times magical managerie. But I digress...
 This is quite possibly my favorite Tortall series. It's so easy to put yourself in Beka's shoes, partly because it's told in journal format and her voice is so honest and quirky, partly because it's just an amazing book. Tamora Pierce never fails to create relatable, strong, and heroic protagonists. They're all worthy of rolemodelship2, but I think that Beka is the easiest to relate to, at least for me. Why? Because she's crippled by shyness. I'm outgoing when having fun or just talking to people, I have a firm handshake and will look ya straight in the eye, but put me in a situation where I gotta do business? Not so much. Beka's the same way; she's only comfortable around her close friends or when doing what she's best at, Dog work, but as soon as she puts on her Dog uniform, she transforms into a take charge, tough as nails gal. My favorite scene from the book relating to Beka's lack of confidence was when she and her partner, Clary Goodwin, went to the money changers bank. Beka was so unsure of where to go or what to do that my heart went out to her. I read that thinking, "That's me!"
 This book deals with some pretty hard issues; transexuality, bardashers3, "responsible" premarital sex, prostitution, slavery, drinking4, torture, etc. There's also murders, loose Dogs5, criminals of every make and model, and some pretty harsh language, though it can be forgiven because a) it adds so much to the realism of the story. No one tough enough to patrol the Cesspool6 is gonna say, "Gosh, mister, may you come back with that elderly woman's purse, please?". No. And 2) Pierce uses "authentic" language to the period, so it's not quite so bad. The characters cuss up a storm, but they don't use real curse words, if that makes any sense. In fact, there's so many new words in here, that she's included a glossary7. I do so love the glossary.
 As for the cove8, Dale Rowan, mentioned in the synopsis... Beka is more sure of herself when it comes nabbing Rats9 than flirting with charming, mischievous men. She learns that, just like putting on her uniform, a dress gives her another personality. She can be more bold with a little lipstick. I'm not sure this is a good outlook, but it helps her to be herself, or a bolder version of herself, around Dale, whom she really likes. But she has doubts about him. Could he be in the ring of colemongers, filling the moneystream with false silver coins and weakening the economy?
 There's plenty of crime solving, mystery, romance, and enough action to keep even the most fantasy-skittish reader satisfied. And despite all the warnings I gave about content, everything is dealt with descretely, there's nothing explicit, and I agree fully with the publishers recommendation that this book is suitable for kids 12 and up. And up, and up, and up! Pierces writing has no age limit10 and has remained relevant since she began writing about Tortall's sheroes in '83.
 I give Bloodhound...

...Five Zombies!

An excellent continuation to an excellent series. I look forward to reading Mastiff in 2010!

Happy reading!

Zombie Girrrl

footnotes_____________________________________________________

1  Literally; she hero. "Heroine" sounds too druggy.

2  It's a word. Trust me on this, no need to look it up!

3  Bardasher = male homosexual

4  Though, whether I can actually count drinking is a little ify because a) everybody drank back then because the water was not to be trusted, and b) Beka abstains from the hard stuff for the most part.

5  Loose Dogs = crooked cops

6  The lowest and crookedest slum of Corus.

7  Many of her books include both a glossary and a complete Cast of Characters. Very handy.

8  Cove = man

9  Rats = criminals

10  That's what the "A" in "YA" is for. Adults.

I'm Ba-ack!

Okay, so I've been back for a while now, but I've been recovering; camping was intense! Get it, in tents? And it's a lot of work! Especially if there's strong wind, which there was. The first night, anyway. And we must have gotten every kind of rain there was. Big, goopy rain, spitty, misty rain, it even rained men1. I swear. But it was great. I got to kayak and jump around in the surf, a very good workout! I also got a little bit of a tan! Just a shade, though. I'm fairly, well, fair. Also, in homage of An Abundance of Katherines, I anagrammed the word "Coleman", the name of my tent, and came up three really good ones; emo clan, no camel, and coal men. Not bad, eh? But the really great thing about camping is that you don’t gotta go all the way to the rim to see the elephants2. There's also a lot of time to just sit around and read. I finished Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett, Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce, and Peter and the Starcatchers by David Barry and Ridley Pearson.
So any-hoo! About the books I read!

I figured Witches Abroad would be a good vacation book because it's about travel in the Disc World. As always, Terry's book was filled with wit, wisdom, and hilarity. And also as usual, I occasionally felt lost. I don't know what happens, but from time to time I feel like maybe I've wandered off the beaten path when I read his stuff. It only happens for a page or two a couple times per book, and he always manages to get me back on track with a funny or thought provoking line such as, "Good people are innocent, which is why they create justice. Bad people are guilty, which is why they invent mercy." I don't know if maybe it's because he's British and they're sense of humor is so different, I felt the same way when I saw Hitchhiker's Guide, or maybe he's writing for people more clever than I. I still really liked this book though and will be recommending it to several friends of mine and anyone who enjoys the works of Dianna Wynne Jones. I'd give it...

...three and half zombies.

Wild Magic was really good. I don't why I hadn't read it sooner, I mean, I love evrything else by Pierce! I guess it's because I started Tamora's books by reading The Protector of the Small Series, and that's the third series set in Tortall. I wish I'd read it sooner though, because Daine is awesome. I really like Tamora's brand of magic. It's tied to the mage's life force so they can't keep going indefinitely. Animals play a very important role in all of Tamora's books, and obviously they are even more important in this series as Daine is a wild mage and can communicate with the animals around her, her presence even makes them more human, but it's never delivered in a dippy "horsey story" kinda way. The use of animals makes her work more interesting, it adds dimension and texture to the books. The characters are very interesting, especially Daine and Numair, they have a very interesting relationship right from the get go and you can see where it's headed pretty clearly, you can also see the troubles that will arise in the future. I give Wild Magic...

...four and half zombies.

I could see myself reading this again in the upcoming year, and I can't wait to get the next book! Plus, aren't the new covers gorgeous? I didn't have the luck of finding the new cover, however. My copy came from a used book store and looks like this...

I got a little razzing for taking this one out in public, but what'cha gonna do? It was an awesome book and I will defend it no matter what it's wrapped in.

Peter and the Starchatchers was a prequel of sorts to the classic Peter Pan. Pearson and Barry told the story behind the story; how Peter got to the island, why he doesn't age, how Hook got his hook-hand, they even explained the magic! It's the starstuff from the title, and it is literally the stuff of legend, the medium of myth. It was pretty awesome. The only thing I could have asked for from this fast paced tale was a little more insight into the characters. It was told from the third person POV and bounced around the island to keep up with what everyone was doing; there was actually a lot to keep up with. At one point there were five or more different story lines going on at once. I just wish there had been a bit more insight into the characters motives and thoughts; they seemed a bit one dimensional at times. I don't mind being a fly on the wall, but I at least want to be a psychic fly. I give Peter and the Starcatchers...

...three zombies.

I liked this book, it was a quick, fun read. A good workout for the ol' imagination muscle. I'll read the next book in the series if I see at my library, but I'm willing to let sleeping dogs lie when it comes to adding it to my library.

Well, that was fun but I gotta go, Golden Girls is on!

Happy reading, y'all!

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Footnotes__________________________________________________
1 There were some Marines off in the distance doing parachute drills.
2 Something the people on the Sto plains of the Disc World say when they're fed up with staying in the same place.

A Love Rekindled

I forgot how much I love the characters in Tricksters Choice! Aly is, for lack a better term, the coolest! Seriously, I'm officially aspiring to be more like her! Where to begin? Should I work on my hand-to-hand combat skills first, or my witty come-backs?

Aly always has a witty one liner and she's so smart. She claims to be the family lay about in charge of having fun (something I can relate to), but really she's determined, intelligent, and crafty (I'd like to think I can relate to that too) which makes for very funny and insightful reading as the book is from her pov. And Nawat, the crow turned man (no, he doesn't have feathers), is my favorite male character of Pierce's of all time! Possibly my favorite of all time PERIOD. He reminds me of Howl from Howl's Moving Castle. He looked a little crowish, don't you agree? I love Howl, maybe I'll watch it later... Or read it. Ooh, I'll read Dianna Wynne-Jones' stuff after I finish with Tamora!

Anyhoo! Nawat's so sweet and, "singularly innocent," that you can't not love him. He doesn't quite have a grasp on being human yet, (he still eats bugs and doesn't understand some human concepts such as kissing, he thought it was a form of mate feeding, and he persists in the idea that he and Aly should mate and produce a brood so they can mob their enemies), but that doesn't stop a romantic thing from developing between him and Aly. She's practically the whole reason he turned into a human. All together now, "Aww!"

Plot*: At the center of each of Tamora Pierce's books is always a strong and resourceful young woman who masters the arts of swordplay and knightly warfare in the magical medieval country of Tortall. Alianne, or Aly, daughter of the warrior Alanna the Lioness, has all these skills, but also a delicious sense of humor, which serves her well when she is chosen by the trickster god Kyprioth to serve as his secret agent and a slave for a summer in the embattled Copper Isles. There the dark-skinned natives, or raka, have been conquered and crushed by the laurin, light-skinned people from the mainland. The burning raka resentment is fueled by prophecies of a twice royal queen who will free them, aided by the "wise one, the cunning one, the strong one, the warrior, and the crows." Just how each of the colorful characters and Aly herself fit into this prophecy and Kyprioth’s tricky plan keeps readers guessing. Aly plots to show her skill at spying as she flirts with the god and is courted by Nawat, a crow transformed into a handsome young man, who is puzzled when she rejects his attempts to mate-feed her with grubs and ants.
My take: The story breaches the subject of conquest and enslavement and sheds light on the lives and mindsets of both the foriegn conquerors and the defeated natives. Add to this Tamora's entertaining and practical use of magic, an ancient prophecy that must be fulfilled, incredibly well developed characters, and vivid story telling, and you hold in your hands a well rounded, enthralling fantasy well worth devoting your entire weekend to.

I give this book four zombies for its incredible cast of characters, possibly my favorite from any of Tammy's books. A great story, a great read, a great investment because you're gonna want to read this again!

I've already started reading Speak, by Laurie Anderson, and it's better than I remember! I love the writing style, it's so real. It's like Melinda's a real girl speaking to you in her own words. I haven't read this in million years and I'm pretty sure I'll mow through in a day. After that I think I'll continue my Tortallan oddesy by reading The Tricksters Queen, the second and last book in The Daughter of the Lioness Series. When I first finished reading this series, I thought something horrible had happened to Tamora because there was no third or fourth book in the series. All her previous series had been quartets, what was I supposed to think? I really want to read more about Aly, and I hope she appears in another book. *crosses fingers*

Tootles,

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*plot lightly modified from Amazon books because they had a few things wrong such as calling Alanna a "warrior queen" which she is not.

Used Bookstore Score!

I went to the used bookstore today and totally scored! I found seven gems! My faith in the used bookstore has been restored. The last few times there, I totally struck out. Either I couldn't find anything at all or I got duds, but not today! God bless the generous souls who have the ability to read a good book and then send it out into the world for some lucky person to buy at half price.

I found two Terry Pratchett books, Witches Abroad and Making Money. Super excited about this because I've read Weird Sisters, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith by Terry and he is one of my favorite authors. His books are witty and full of hidden wisdom and unexpected beauty. Someday I hope to have all his Discworld books. That might take awhile though seeing as how there are 36 books! Busy guy, that Pratchett.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I read this one a long, long time ago, like listening to International Superhits! for the first time long. This is one story that never left me and I'm looking forward to getting reaquainted with it.

The Hobbit by Tolkien (duh). I have the LOTR in paperback from the same bookstore so I thought, "Why not complete my collection?" Of course, this isn't actually the completion of my Tolkien collection. There's still The Silmarillian. I'll probably read this book this summer when I reread LOTR for the third time. Oh yeah, that's like my ritual; every summer I reread LOTR and Harry Potter. Rereading LOTR is kinda a new one, but I've read the whole HP series every summer because I liked to get back into the story before the next book released, but now that the series is over, I think I'll keep it up.

 And the first three books of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & The Olympians; The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titan's Curse. I've already read the first two of this series, and I totally love it! I can't wait to read TTC. I love the Greek mythology in this series and how Riordan has adapted it to modern times. Example: flying sneakers from Hermes.

Whoop, whoop! *happy book dance* On top of that, I'm currently reading Trickster's Choice By Tamora Pierce. Here's a teaser:

"The waiting for others to act on your information will give you the belly gripes, but that's what agents do. And I advise you not to pray as you wait. You don't know who will answer, times like that."

I love this book, it unfolds at the perfect pace. The first chapter gives you just the right amount of back story to get you into Alianne's life. She's Alanna the Lioness' only daughter, and while she is very bright and talented in many facsinating and shifty ways, she lacks the support she needs to flourish in her field of choice, spy work. "Too dangerous," say ol' mom and dad, even though Alanna is Tamora's toughest character and George, Aly's dad, is the king's spy master. The story quickly picks up the main plot which has Aly playing the part of a humble slave in a tropical island nation. She has been chosen by a capricious god to keep a family safe from an insanely paranoid king. Political intrigue and espionage antics run rampant through this book and make it one of the most interesting fantasy books I've ever read. There's still the charachteristic scenery you expect in fantasy, lots of bushes and paths, but there's something just so different about Tamora's fantasy. Maybe it's the fact that she's written a series about spies and gritty cops all set in a midevil world, or maybe it's the fact that her protagonists are all females who embody all that women have faught for over the generations; equality, respect, and @$$ kickin' awesomeness.

Ratings later as I haven't yet finished anything new. Oh, and if I start talking funny, it's just because of what I'm reading. I'm always more verbose when I go on a fantasy kick.

Plus, plus, I've just entered a contest on Story Siren to win Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. Sounds like a variation of Beauty and the Beast, but not in a fantasy kinda way, and I'm super duper excited and really hope I win! Wish me luck! P.S. That little picture of the mermaid is a link. :)

As you can see, my plate is very full for the forseeable future. Hurray!

Tootles!

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Inaugural Post

Welcome, readers, to my new blog where I'll talk about books I've read, authors I love, and probably ramble incessantly. I won't write reviews per se, because I really don't think my opinion on books is all that important, but I will talk about what I like and what I don't. If you wanna call that a review, go right on and do that, but I'm just gonna call it my take on things and hope that y'all don't take my (re)views too seriously because (A) I sure don't, too much in life is serious if you ask me, and (B) I'd hate to discourage someone from reading a book simply because it didn't appeal to little ol' me. But worry not, bloggers and lurkers, I can usually describe my favorite book as the one I am currently reading, so I'm not likely to discourage anyone in any way from any book. I think all books have merit and thus all books should be read. It's an amazing thing when people write down their thoughts, and the only way to honor such a personal form of expression is to partake in it. I also feel that books are merely a starting point for your imagination and I often mentally edit stories as I'm going along and live in that story for days, weeks, or even years after I've finished reading it.
I guess I should say before we really start this thing that I made this blog because I had a lot of fun writing about how zombies are in vogue right now on my other blog, In Stitches, which is supposed to be about drawings and crafts and the like and not books. But now I can totally see why the internet is so saturated with book blogs. Because it's fun! So for my first post I think I'll talk about the first author that I ever really got hooked on, Tamora Pierce.
Back story: I first started reading Tamora Pierce when I was in my early teens, such a tumultuous time. The first book I read by her was Squire, from the Protector of the Small Series (embarrassing title, great story!). I was instantly hooked, even though it was the third of the quartet. It was just what I needed at that point in my life, a strong, take charge, ballsy heroine named Kel. She could have been named Sheila, but that wouldn't have mattered to me. I wanted to be her! Since then I have read all but her first two series, Song of the Lioness and The Immortals Series. I don't know why I haven't read them, it just seems weird to go back on the whole story I guess, because all the books are connected and POTS is the third quartet in the whole series, but I totally want to get them, especially TIS. It all takes place in one of the greatest fantasy worlds I have ever visited, Tortall, whose shining capital city is Corus, and all the people like know each other and appear in each other's stories and stuff, and there's references to previous stories but it's not like you have read them all, which I love, because I haven't.
So anywho! Her most recent work is The Beka Cooper Series whose newest book is Bloodhound, numero dos in the series. So far her books have taken place in and revolved around the upper crust of Tortall, but not this series! It's a flash back to Corus 600 years before Kel took on the boys at knight training school and takes place in the lowest, most corrupt slum. Beka, the protagonist, is training to be a beat cop in the first book, and is in her first year of coptitude in the second. It's written in journal form, which initially turned me away from the series because I'm wishy washy about new things like that, but I finally said screw it! and bought the book anyway. I am so glad I did! This is so far my favorite series by Tammy (yes, I'm a first name basis with her, what of it?) because it's so gritty and different from her other books, and I cannot wait to get the second book! My plan was to wait for it to come out in paperback, but my will might not be strong enough to wait that long, I need to read it! I can't wait a whole year!
In the mean time, I'll be catching up on the Tortall books I already own; Protector of the Small, The Trickster's Choice, The Trickster's Queen, and of course, book one in The Beka Cooper Series, Terrier.
I'll keep y'all posted on what I'm reading, what I'm thinking, and how much longer I can hold out before I absolutely must buy Bloodhound.
Tootles for now,
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