The Circle Opens [Quartet] by Tamora Pierce

The Circle Opens (Magic Steps, Street Magic, Cold Fire, Shatterglass)

Rating: * * * *

The students are now 14 years old and fully qualified mages. Briar, Tris and Daja have gone travelling with their teachers, and Sandry has moved in with her great uncle, Duke Vedris, in the Duke’s Citadel. They believe they’re still too young to teach but the decision is not up to them. Each of the four finds someone, or some ones, with magic, and according to the rules they must become the teacher until a more suitable one can be found. Each of the four also encounters a series of crimes they feel obligated to stop, and they must balance their teaching responsibilities with aiding the law.

Book 1 – Magic Steps: In Emelan, Sandry finds a rare dance mage who is unwilling to accept his power due to family heritage and must convince him to train his magic, at the same time helping her great-uncle to solve the puzzling mystery of a series of clan murders.

Book 2 – Street Magic: In Chammur, Briar finds a street girl with magical rock powers. But in a land of gangs, no mage is safe. Evvy is tracked down by a dangerous gang called the Vipers, and Briar must balance his new respectable life with his old street life while stopping the gangs.

Book 3 – Cold Fire: In Namorn, Daja finds twin mages, each specializing in a different housework power. Daja, fortunately, does not have to teach them their powers, just how to sit straight long enough to concentrate on meditation. But when you put a hyperactive girl and a shy one together, nothing works. On top of all this, Daja must stop an insane arsonist from wiping out the city.

Book 4 – Shatterglass: In Tharios, Tris meets a glass mage with a dangerous power: lightning. A twenty-year-old man just as stubborn as Tris, Kethlun won’t accept Tris or any of her teachings. But when Kethlun’s closest friends and a whole occupation is suddenly attacked, Keth and Tris must work together in a land where no tracking is possible.

- Wikipedia

The Circle Opens is an interesting spin-off from the original quartet. Three of the four friends explore distant lands (lands that seem very similar to countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) and the unique bond that previously held them together is subdued.

I believe Pierce’s choice to really send each character off on his or her own was the disappointing factor in these books. I kept hoping that, at least in one of the books, there would be some sort of reunion or rekindling of that highly interesting bond of theirs, but that hope was futile (Circle fans will love to know, however, that the bond is strengthened once more in the final installment of the books, The Will of the Empress).

The first book was difficult to understand, especially once it reached its end – the new magic involved is dancing, but it was confusing to see how there was really any magic in it. Also, Sandry appears to always be the leader, or at least in the forefront of the four mages, but it’s so hard to really be interested in her.

Books two through four, though, redeem the quartet with interesting mysteries to solve and fascinating new developments in the mages themselves. Daja and her human metal are exciting; Briar’s “tattoos” and strengthened powers are finally satisfying; Tris’s new skills and applied concepts are encouraging.

This quartet was a longed-for sequel to the previous quartet and, overall, delivered successfully in its continuation of stories of the mages. Written with – normally – well-paced and interesting narration, The Circle Opens is a lovely quartet to read.

Recommended.

& ElizabethC