Pierce, Tamora - The Will of the Empress
Wed, Nov. 9th, 2005 12:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterAlas, the latest Circle book is a standalone, as opposed to the two quartets that had come before. The Will of the Empress takes place four years after the events of The Circle Opens quartet. Sandry has been in Emelan all the while Briar, Tris, and Daja have been travelling, and now that they've started returning to Emelan, things are awkward.
I like that Pierce doesn't gloss over the awkwardness, especially since a lot of changes happen between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, particularly if you haven't seen people for those four years. They've all come back with different issues, and while Sandry is eager to be able to mindtalk with her foster siblings again, the other three aren't so interested. Soon they get called to Namorn, where Sandry's cousin is empress. The empress attempts to hold them there, largely because Sandry's a rich heiress, multiple plot points ensue, etc.
I do like how Pierce is trying to make a feminist statement about rape -- one of the customs of Western Namorn is that if a man can kidnap a woman and force her to sign a marriage contract, it's legally binding. The empress herself has been subject to these attempts, but since she was able to escape (probably because she was rich and people didn't treat her too meanly), she scorns the women who aren't able to. A lot of the other bits of plot are about court intrigue, except I don't think Pierce does intrigue particularly well. She's very good at directness and action, but not so much with the political maneuverings, which is a pity, since I like a good court intrigue. Unfortunately, this falls into the court intrigue I tend to dislike, since it's a bunch of un-intrigue trained people wandering around and showing how stupid and/or cruel intrigue is.
This is not at all to say that Pierce is wrong in portraying this or anything, just that it seems to be my anti-button. It's probably because I like intrigue, and so anything about decreasing the level of intrigue lessens my entertainment.
There are some pleasant surprises when it comes to the world of sex and love, and I was particularly glad to see the Pierce didn't feel the need to have all four of the teens romantically entangled.
For some reason, though, this didn't intrigue me as much as the other two quartets. This may be because I was reading it when I was in a bad headspace, or because it didn't concentrate much on the mechanics of the magic (usually crafty magic), which is what got me into the world to begin with.
I like that Pierce doesn't gloss over the awkwardness, especially since a lot of changes happen between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, particularly if you haven't seen people for those four years. They've all come back with different issues, and while Sandry is eager to be able to mindtalk with her foster siblings again, the other three aren't so interested. Soon they get called to Namorn, where Sandry's cousin is empress. The empress attempts to hold them there, largely because Sandry's a rich heiress, multiple plot points ensue, etc.
I do like how Pierce is trying to make a feminist statement about rape -- one of the customs of Western Namorn is that if a man can kidnap a woman and force her to sign a marriage contract, it's legally binding. The empress herself has been subject to these attempts, but since she was able to escape (probably because she was rich and people didn't treat her too meanly), she scorns the women who aren't able to. A lot of the other bits of plot are about court intrigue, except I don't think Pierce does intrigue particularly well. She's very good at directness and action, but not so much with the political maneuverings, which is a pity, since I like a good court intrigue. Unfortunately, this falls into the court intrigue I tend to dislike, since it's a bunch of un-intrigue trained people wandering around and showing how stupid and/or cruel intrigue is.
This is not at all to say that Pierce is wrong in portraying this or anything, just that it seems to be my anti-button. It's probably because I like intrigue, and so anything about decreasing the level of intrigue lessens my entertainment.
There are some pleasant surprises when it comes to the world of sex and love, and I was particularly glad to see the Pierce didn't feel the need to have all four of the teens romantically entangled.
For some reason, though, this didn't intrigue me as much as the other two quartets. This may be because I was reading it when I was in a bad headspace, or because it didn't concentrate much on the mechanics of the magic (usually crafty magic), which is what got me into the world to begin with.