Sakura of DOOM

Alas, 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.

(includes Sandry's Book, Tris's Book, Daja's Book, and Briar's Book -- hee, imaginative names)

The Circle of Magic series is about four kids who form (wait for it) a circle of magic. Sandry is the mage whose skills lie in weaving and all sort of clothy things (technically a water mage, but I'm not quite sure how that works out); she's a noble and the nice one of the bunch to boot. Tris is a weather mage (element of air, I think); her short temper has been a danger to those around her. Daja is a Trader but now an outcast from her tribe; she's the fire mage who works with metal. Briar is a former thief who is the earth mage and works with plants.

All in all, the premise isn't one that would normally hook me, but rachelmanija highly recced them. Despite the fairly standard setup of four outcasts who are grouped together and end up bonding and the somewhat pedestrian prose, I ended up really enjoying these books. The thing I liked best was that even though the four children are supposedly associated with the elements, the actuality is that they are associated with particular crafts.

Well, except for Tris.

But still. Apparently this type of magic is fairly uncommon in their world; ergo having the four together under one roof and learning from mentors, as opposed to going to elemental temple schools. And while, of course, each of their teachers are great mages, I really enjoyed seeing the lessons.

My favorite books of the four were Sandry's and Briar's, largely because I felt they had the most crafty things. Also, Sandry does fabric sorts of things, which I obviously highly enjoy, and Briar does plant things, which I would like to enjoy but tend to wreak havoc instead.

Pierce writes in her afterword that she was inspired to write about crafty magic by watching her mother and sister quilt and knit, and then later by watching a friend who did all sorts of things, from metalwork to glassblowing. Of course, I'm biased, given that I knit and crochet, but I completely get the everyday magic of making things, and I'm really glad that Pierce focuses on that in these books. While the four do great feats of magic, they also weed and weave and make nails and do chores.

I also like that magic, while rare, is also used for fairly mundane things. My favorite book in the series, Briar's Book, is about a plague and how the four and their teachers help combat it. Pierce doesn't skimp on detailing exactly how a magic-run lab of sorts would work; she goes into methodology and shows the people using the scientific method, which fascinates me.

The plots and characters tend to follow YA fantasy tropes; I wasn't particularly surprised by the end of the last book, for instance. But the characters manage to not wander into the land of stereotypes, and there's enough detail in all the magic to make it not feel like wish-fulfillment.

Anyhow, looking forward to the next series, which apparently is even better.