In case you were wondering why even the "Summer Reading" posts dried up over the past few weeks, allow me to explain...
I've been rereading the work of author Tamora Pierce. Pierce writes fantasy novels geared towards teenage girls (SOOO right up my alley folks, you've got no clue) and I was a big fan of her work in middle school.
Her books are written in "quartets" or "cycles," and she has created two mystical realms. TWO!
One is the world of "The Circle of Magic," "The Circle Opens," and then two other sequels "The Will of The Empress" and "Melting Stones." I'm almost through "The Circle Opens," on the fourth book in that quartet. I'm enjoying them. I'd read "The Circle of Magic" before but I didn't remember much of it. I'd forgotten how finely detailed everything in the series was. Or maybe I didn't notice last time at any rate...
The other is her original world, the fantasy kingdom of Tortall, where her Lioness, Immortals and Protector of The Small Quartets all take place, as well as Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen. This summer I've read The Lioness again, and I'm doing The Immortals next. I LOVED the series when I was younger. Loved, loved loved! I love them more now. At twelve I didn't really appreciate the detail put into the stories, the characterization. Also, I totally didn't pick up on the fact that Alanna, the heroine of The Lioness was kind of a slut. Not really, just kinda.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading more of the ones I didn't read in middle school now, since once I finish The Immortals I won't have read any of them. But seriously, I suggest you pick up her stuff, if you're into fantasy that is, otherwise I doubt you'd like it.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
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3 comments:
I've actually been re-reading some cherished middle-school fantasy books for the past couple of days. They're a series of six also, inconveniently, called The Circle of Magic (by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald). I first heard about Pierce's books when I was trying to find these ones at bookstores. I eventually gave in and read them, and I have to say I'm not terribly fond of them. I loved Briar's book (because OCD-Nico and Dedicate Crane are awesome), but the rest I was sort of "eh" about. Something about them was just irritating to me; I think it has a lot to do with the fact that this is a universe where your heroes/heroines can be kind of sluts. Dunno. There was always something sort of creepy about them. I hated The Circle Opens - so much that I may honestly never re-read any of the books again. (If I cave, it'll be for Briar's Book.) Oddly enough, I was just reading the Wikipedia article for The Will of the Empress last night, because I wanted to know what happened without having to put up with reading the book, lol.
I do love going back to childhood books, though, and finding that they're still really good. <3 Hooray childhood.
Nico is totally the man.
Briar is most definitely the best of the circle kids, although reading the later ones I like Sandry too.
Haha, I think the feminist in me likes that Alanna is kinda a slut because the hero always gets to be kind of man skanky, without it being an issue, and it's only fair that a heroine gets her shot at that.
Briar actually isn't my favorite of the kids, Sandry is. I just like the plot of Briar's Book. It scared the crap out of me when I was twelve, lol. So excellent. And again: we get plenty of Dedicate Crane in Briar's Book, and I love him for some reason. I was always pulling for Rosethorn/Crane, but apparently the canonical pairing is Rosethorn/Lark. Oh well.
I think my distaste for a setting in which promiscuity is an ideal (and mind you, this isn't my deepest problem with the Circle of Magic books; it's just the only one I can put into words) is that I already live in that kind of world. I don't need fantasy novels for that! Lol.
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