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

The Circle of Magic [Quartet] by Tamora Pierce

The Circle of Magic (Sandry’s Book, Tris’s Book, Daja’s Book, Briar’s Book)

Rating: * * * * *

The series tell the story of four children, Sandrilene fa Toren, Trisana Chandler, Daja Kisubo and Briar Moss, who are discovered and brought together by a powerful mage Niko and told that they are “ambient mages,” which means that they use magic from outside themselves. The four youths do not fit in with the other children of the monastic community to which Niko brings them, and are put together in a separate cottage.

Here they each learn of their hidden talents; Sandry with thread, Tris with weather, Daja with fire and metal, and Briar with plants. They live with the two mages Lark, a gentle woman especially attentive to Sandry since she also has thread magic, and Rosethorn, a sharp woman who shares Briar’s ability with plants. Also teaching and guiding them is Niko, technically Tris’s teacher, but available to all four. Daja is mentored and guided by Dedicate Initiate Frostpine, a smith mage. Their teachers, with the exception of Niko, are also ambient mages.

At first it seems that a merchant, a street rat, a noblewoman, and a Trader (a trading race that is often hated by others) will never get along, but an extraordinary circumstance brings them together. They are all powerful individually, but they discover that together they are even stronger. Through an earthquake, they realize their full potential and are bound closely together forever. As children skilled in an uncommon magic, they struggle to earn the respect of the adults they encounter.

- Wikipedia

At first, I was highly reluctant to begin this quartet, as it would probably have dealed with the normal, rather annoying teenage problems many other young adult books seem bound to address (I’ve only just escaped those wretched teenage years, so I’d rather not have to re-live them again, thank you very much). On fourth glance, though, I forced myself to give the books a try, beginning with Sandry’s Book (book 1).

It blew my expectations.

Pierce, in a seemingly brilliant move, placed very little time changes between the four books in this quartet, and begins with four thirteen-year-olds. Normally, that would be cause for a bit of groans and skipped pages, but these highly irregular children are each wonderfully down-to-earth and a joy to read about. Their conjoined abilities and fascinating adventures make each book a page-turner, and the entire quartet a must-read.

The first book and the last book were perhaps the weakest in terms of overall strength, but made up for this in other ways. The first, by producing such a strong connection between the four children and laying down the groundwork for the rest of the novels. The last, for quite efficiently concluding their adventures (at least in this particular quartet) with appropriate attention and plot.

Overall, the quartet was wonderful to read and a joy to discover. The characters remain alive long after the books are read, each magnificent in her – or his – own way.

Highly recommended.

& ElizabethC

The Immortals [Quartet] by Tamora Pierce

The Immortals (Wild Mage, Wolf-Speaker, Emperor Mage, The Realms of the Gods)

Rating: * * * * *

Wild Magic – Daine, a 13-year-old girl, finds out her knack with wild animals is in fact a rare and powerful form of magic. Under the guidance of the mage Numair Salmalin she learns to control her magic, which proves very important for herself and her companions. This first novel in the quartet also reunites us briefly with the protagonist of the Song of the Lioness quartet, Alanna of Pirate’s Swoop and Olau, formerly Alanna of Trebond.

Wolf-Speaker – Reuniting with the wolf pack she previously lived with, Daine discovers that the destruction of the valley the pack lives in is connected with a treasonous conspiracy against her adopted king and country.

Emperor Mage – Daine joins a delegation of Tortallan diplomats sent to Carthak, where she finally meets the Emperor Ozorne, of whom she has heard so much. Daine is caught up in a strange battle involving displeased gods and strange magics.

The Realms of the Gods– Caught in a mysterious attack, Daine and Numair are snatched into the Divine Realms, where they meet Daine’s parents (her father is a minor god of the hunt and when her mother died he brought her into the Divine Realm) and struggle to make their way back to Tortall, where war is raging again. This book takes place in both the Divine (immortal) and mortal realms.

- Wikipedia

Perhaps my favorite quartet by Tamora Pierce, the four novels track the fantastic adventures of Daine and her interesting companions throughout a span of years and locales. This particular quartet takes place sometime after the Song of the Lioness quartet, drawing up characters (and locations) from the Lioness.

The plot moves well, constantly holding the reader’s attention. At every turn there is something new, something intense, something fascinating that Pierce uses to keep open her connections with readers. We’re so drawn into Daine that we feel for her throughout her rage, discoveries, love, etc.

Each novel is strong in its own way, in addressing different features of Daine and her maturity. She’s definitely not annoying, and she’s a heroine in her own right. Her unique powers, in the midst of the world she’s living in, give her such a human, compassionate feel that it’s difficult to put any of the novels down. Truthfully, I read them all back to back.

Highly recommended.

& ElizabethC