Book Four in the Immortals series. Click here for book one and click here for book two.
Plot: Tortall (Daine's country) is attempting to sign a peace treaty with the piratical nation Carthak, and Daine is part of the negotiating company. Meeting the emperor, she sees a man who spares no expense for his animals, a fact that raises him in her eyes. However, she is aware of a sinister feeling hovering around the emperor, and Daine is ready for anything he throws her way. But if she ready for what the gods throw her way?
Comments: this was a good book, but again, I liked the first book better (see Wild Magic). I liked this book better than Wolf-Speaker, however. I loved the descriptions in this story! Since the story is set in a totally different place, everything is new and different, and Tamora Pierce does an amazing job of showing the reader what is there instead of telling. My middle school language arts teacher would always say: Show, don't tell! Her way of describing people, rooms, furniture, is simple, but, coupled with a nice imagination, is truly powerful. I had fun imagining the images she wrote about.
I liked the new character Kaddar, the prince and the emperor's heir. He brought mystery (is he on his uncle's side? is he a love interest for Daine?), flavor (most other people were polite and formal - boring!), and friendship (kind of answered half of my first question...) to the story. I didn't like Varice (Numair's former lover), but I'm sure I was really supposed to. After all, the main character is Daine, and she didn't really take to Varice either. Anyway, it's not like I hated her. It was just a definite dislike, typical of plenty of characters in books I've read. The problem is when you don't like the main character, because after a while they get difficult to put up with.
The new power Daine had was fun and a new twist, but I'm not sure I liked what happened about that in the end. With the G.H. (you'll need to read the book through to understand this one)? But it was nice to have something more that's different. After all, even with the new setting, this book would have been boring if Daine had stayed the same throughout the whole book. In my opinion, most good books' main characters go through some kind of change throughout the course of the story. I'm not saying they need to lose a limb or dye their hair. I'm not talking physical. But I'm also not saying that a good story needs a main character that goes through a huge, dramatically drastic change, like going from a horrible old man to a kind old man. Could be, but it could also be small scale. (Do you notice how often I go off on these extended explanations and trains of thought? I just did. Well, at least it spices it up a little bit, right?)
Rating: I shall rate this book a seven out of ten.
Plot: Tortall (Daine's country) is attempting to sign a peace treaty with the piratical nation Carthak, and Daine is part of the negotiating company. Meeting the emperor, she sees a man who spares no expense for his animals, a fact that raises him in her eyes. However, she is aware of a sinister feeling hovering around the emperor, and Daine is ready for anything he throws her way. But if she ready for what the gods throw her way?
Comments: this was a good book, but again, I liked the first book better (see Wild Magic). I liked this book better than Wolf-Speaker, however. I loved the descriptions in this story! Since the story is set in a totally different place, everything is new and different, and Tamora Pierce does an amazing job of showing the reader what is there instead of telling. My middle school language arts teacher would always say: Show, don't tell! Her way of describing people, rooms, furniture, is simple, but, coupled with a nice imagination, is truly powerful. I had fun imagining the images she wrote about.
I liked the new character Kaddar, the prince and the emperor's heir. He brought mystery (is he on his uncle's side? is he a love interest for Daine?), flavor (most other people were polite and formal - boring!), and friendship (kind of answered half of my first question...) to the story. I didn't like Varice (Numair's former lover), but I'm sure I was really supposed to. After all, the main character is Daine, and she didn't really take to Varice either. Anyway, it's not like I hated her. It was just a definite dislike, typical of plenty of characters in books I've read. The problem is when you don't like the main character, because after a while they get difficult to put up with.
The new power Daine had was fun and a new twist, but I'm not sure I liked what happened about that in the end. With the G.H. (you'll need to read the book through to understand this one)? But it was nice to have something more that's different. After all, even with the new setting, this book would have been boring if Daine had stayed the same throughout the whole book. In my opinion, most good books' main characters go through some kind of change throughout the course of the story. I'm not saying they need to lose a limb or dye their hair. I'm not talking physical. But I'm also not saying that a good story needs a main character that goes through a huge, dramatically drastic change, like going from a horrible old man to a kind old man. Could be, but it could also be small scale. (Do you notice how often I go off on these extended explanations and trains of thought? I just did. Well, at least it spices it up a little bit, right?)
Rating: I shall rate this book a seven out of ten.
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