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Trickster's Choice + Trickster's Queen
Dec. 27th, 2008 09:43 amI suppose a cold does have its advantages sometimes - I spent two whole days on the couch reading, which is quite a treat! These two Tortall books by Tamora Pierce arrived just in time too. The two hefty tomes follow Alanna's 16 year old daughter, Aly, as she unwittingly becomes part of a larger plan to restore a queen of an ancient bloodline to the throne of the Copper Islands. The first book, Trickster's Choice was highly enjoyable and suspenseful as Aly accompanies the exiled Balitang family to a barren island.
The sequel, Trickster's Queen was not as good though. There were too many characters and too much padding instead of intrigue. Rebellions are generally pretty exciting events, and this one is just so pendantic. Every chapter just seems more like a laundry list of what each character is doing instead of actually writing about what they're doing, as in "And then we...and then we...and then they...and then she..." etc. Aly spends a crazy (and detailed) amount of time doing paperwork, which is what I suppose a spymaster does, but it wasn't necessary to pad the book with. That kind of writing is a disservice to the reader. This isn't the best from Tamora Pierce, but I liked it better than the Protector of the Small series. I reallized now why that series was so sufferable - Pierce can't write a type B heroine. They all have to be type A's :-) Aly has it pretty lucky too - almost too lucky - and that took away some enjoyment as well.
The sequel, Trickster's Queen was not as good though. There were too many characters and too much padding instead of intrigue. Rebellions are generally pretty exciting events, and this one is just so pendantic. Every chapter just seems more like a laundry list of what each character is doing instead of actually writing about what they're doing, as in "And then we...and then we...and then they...and then she..." etc. Aly spends a crazy (and detailed) amount of time doing paperwork, which is what I suppose a spymaster does, but it wasn't necessary to pad the book with. That kind of writing is a disservice to the reader. This isn't the best from Tamora Pierce, but I liked it better than the Protector of the Small series. I reallized now why that series was so sufferable - Pierce can't write a type B heroine. They all have to be type A's :-) Aly has it pretty lucky too - almost too lucky - and that took away some enjoyment as well.
