I finished this book with a great sense of frustration and discontent… so why did I continue? Yes, despite my fairly unhappy time reading Trickster’s Choice, I went straight on to Trickster’s Queen, hoping for a stronger second act in the Daughter of the Lioness story.Īly: no longer just a master spy, but a master of spies. Oh, and the love interest is a crow who’s turned himself into a man and is learning to be human. On top of which, when given the chance at freedom, Aly chooses to maintain her enslaved status in order to provide better cover for her mission from Kyprioth, which seems to imply that being enslaved maybe has a purpose. Basically, this white, privileged girl from noble background has to swoop in to lead the native people to an uprising, which they apparently couldn’t manage without her. There’s no learning curve, no doubt, and very little introspection.Īnd that’s not even addressing the social issues that are so problematic, which are talked about quite a bit in the many reviews to be found on Goodreads. Here in Trickster’s Choice, Aly already is who she is. One of the things that makes the other Tortall quartets so special is seeing the main characters evolve from young, untrained youths who work and fight to fulfill their potential.
She never falters, never lacks the ability to carry out her ideas, and pretty much never screws up. Yes, she comes from an espionage family, but she’s never been an agent or seen active duty. She’s just too skillful and knowledgeable about being a spy. But the chief problem I have with the story is Aly herself.
For a story about rebellion, the plot has some seriously slow points. As I mentioned, it’s a lot of people and places, but I didn’t connect with most of the characters. The trickster god Kyprioth, the god of the Copper Isles, enlists Aly in a plan to help raise a rebellion. Aly becomes a slave in a noble household under suspicion from the reigning monarch. The Copper Isles are plagued by centuries of unrest between the ruling luarin (white) nobility and the down-trodden (brown-skinned, native) raka people. She sneaks out on her own to go boating and promptly gets kidnapped by pirates, who sell her into slavery in the nearby kingdom of the Copper Isles. Aly has been taught the tricks and secrets of the spy trade since infancy, but at age 16, she’s restless and wants to get out into the field, which her parents oppose. Nawat: a magical young man with a strangely innocent outlook and an even stranger past Aly’s one true friend in a world where trust can cost you your life.Īly is short for Alianne, daughter of Alanna the Lioness and George Cooper, Alanna’s husband and the spymaster of Tortall. Sarai: a passionate, charming teenage noblewoman who, according to prophecy, will bring an end to a cruel dynasty.ĭove: the younger sister of Sarai she has a calculating mind and hidden depths that have yet to be plumbed. The Future is in the hands of the next generation.Īly: a slave with the talents of a master spy, a fabled lineage she must conceal, and the dubious blessing of a trickster god. Here’s the Goodreads summary for Trickster’s Choice: Well… I suppose it helped a bit, but the essence of the story didn’t change, and that became a problem for me. I made the quick, tactical decision to switch to print, hoping that having the ability to flip back and forth and to refer to the maps and cast of characters listing in the print edition might help.
So much exposition! It felt like I was being bombarded with thousands of names (people, places, historical figures), with no firm grounding in action to help keep track. I’ve been listening to the audiobook for all of these series… but within the first few chapters of listening to book #1, Trickster’s Choice, I was hopelessly lost. I knew I was in trouble almost immediately. I’ve been following story as well as publishing chronology, so after finishing the outstanding Protector of the Small quartet, my next adventure was to be the Daughter of the Lioness duology, starring Alianne, the 16-year-old daughter of Alanna, Tamora Pierce’s first heroine (and Tortall’s first Lady Knight). That vow still holds, but this post will be a temporary break from the gushy lovefest. I loved, loved, loved these books, and vowed to keep going until I’d read EVERYTHING set in Tortall. These three quartets, all set in the kingdom of Tortall, feature brave young women finding their own unique strengths and showing courage under fire as well as compassion to those in need.
TRICKSTER CHOICE SERIES
If you’ve visited my blog at all during the last few months, you’ve probably seen me gushing over the series of fantasy books by Tamora Pierce that I’ve been listening to obsessively.
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