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A review by ikiteahill
The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce
4.0
Compared to the books in the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens series which preceed this book, I was pleased with the pacing and the complexity of the story given that it was more than twice as robust a novel. The four main characters are older in this book, about 17 or 18 years old, so it felt appropriate that the story and the character's motives should be more complex. Similar to the previous books, at times it seemed like the characters were acting unrealistically more mature than their age, but compared to the previous books, there are romantic interests introduced for several of the characters and I thought that the ways they each handled those relationships was relatively authentic for their age. I also loved that the way Pierce wrote Daja and Rizu's romance did not feel forced or like queer baiting. The development of the relationship felt very natural and Daja's personal realization that she liked women felt authentic.
During the Circle Opens series, it was nice to get more individual time with each of the main four characters and to see them traveling in different countries, but in this book it was really nice to have them back together again. That time apart really influenced the way they each learned to navigate the world as young mages and the reasons they had hangups on reforming their magical bond. The complexity of their thoughts and emotions felt truer to their ages and experiences. It was also cool to see how their magics continued to grow and become more powerful and creative.
"The Will of the Empress" was written and published before "Battle Magic" which is why I read it first, but chronologically in the story line the events of "Battle Magic" happen earlier. Since Briar's trauma from the events that happen in "Battle Magic" influence his actions so thoroughly throughout "The Will of the Empress" I felt like I was missing out on critical information having not read "Battle Magic" yet. However I also don't think I can handle reading about a war at the moment so I'll probably put it off for a little while.
I also want to say that I love the Full Cast Audio productions of these books. The voice actors do a lovely job and it makes for very pleasant company on long drives.
During the Circle Opens series, it was nice to get more individual time with each of the main four characters and to see them traveling in different countries, but in this book it was really nice to have them back together again. That time apart really influenced the way they each learned to navigate the world as young mages and the reasons they had hangups on reforming their magical bond. The complexity of their thoughts and emotions felt truer to their ages and experiences. It was also cool to see how their magics continued to grow and become more powerful and creative.
"The Will of the Empress" was written and published before "Battle Magic" which is why I read it first, but chronologically in the story line the events of "Battle Magic" happen earlier. Since Briar's trauma from the events that happen in "Battle Magic" influence his actions so thoroughly throughout "The Will of the Empress" I felt like I was missing out on critical information having not read "Battle Magic" yet. However I also don't think I can handle reading about a war at the moment so I'll probably put it off for a little while.
I also want to say that I love the Full Cast Audio productions of these books. The voice actors do a lovely job and it makes for very pleasant company on long drives.