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A review by midici
Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce
4.0
This is the first new Tortall book I've read in years and I was swept back up into it instantly. Numair was always one of my favourite characters in the Immortals quartet. As Daine's teacher he was patient, knowledgeable, competent, and easy-going. As a mage he was devastatingly powerful. He was a man with an immense Gift and a dark past. While hints of it are revealed throughout the series, especially in Book 3, this trilogy is Numair's alone and focuses on his childhood in Carthak.
I have to say I really enjoy young Numair. His personality traits as an adult - his curiosity, his love of reading, his fascination with animals - are all there. It was so easy to imagining him getting into ridiculous trouble and I was happy to see him fall into a lot of it. There are a lot of characters in this first book; some familiar, some not, some very fleshed out and others less so. Varice is pretty, friendly, clever, and vastly underestimated due to her talents in cooking magic. Ozorne is a prince, one used to wealth and privilege, who is greatly interested in his own studies and enjoys animals as much as Numair. He is also prejudiced, with a quick temper and a habit of holding grudges.
I found it interesting that even as the three friends grow closer, there are cracks in their bonds immediately. Numair's power takes him to places his friends can't go: he consorts with animal gods, looks after sunbirds, plays with lightening snakes, and learns of a potential conspiracy surrounding the last heir's death. He is at heart a very compassionate character. He hates the slavery in Carthak, the useless slaughter of the gladiator rings, and unlike other mage students he doesn't think helping the poor is beneath him.
Varice and Ozorne are both more comfortable with the slavery in Carthak, not really considering the impact it has on people, as they don't consider slaves people. Varice has ambitions; she uses her charisma and charm to make friends in high places, and keep Ozorne happy. Ozorne can be cruel and likes to be the best at everything; he also has bouts of mood swings and instability that seem related to his father's death at the hand of rebels.
The three of them bring out the best in each other, but it is also shown that they aren't always honest with each other, and they have some fundamentally different beliefs. It's a little hard reading about how close they are as children since we know where this story ends, but I'm no less interested in seeing the rest.
Since we've seen Sarge I'm very curious to see how he goes from the gladiator ring to Tortall. We also see Lindhall Reed, Chioke, Tristan, and Gissa, all of whom make an appearance in the quartet.
I have to say I really enjoy young Numair. His personality traits as an adult - his curiosity, his love of reading, his fascination with animals - are all there. It was so easy to imagining him getting into ridiculous trouble and I was happy to see him fall into a lot of it. There are a lot of characters in this first book; some familiar, some not, some very fleshed out and others less so. Varice is pretty, friendly, clever, and vastly underestimated due to her talents in cooking magic. Ozorne is a prince, one used to wealth and privilege, who is greatly interested in his own studies and enjoys animals as much as Numair. He is also prejudiced, with a quick temper and a habit of holding grudges.
I found it interesting that even as the three friends grow closer, there are cracks in their bonds immediately. Numair's power takes him to places his friends can't go: he consorts with animal gods, looks after sunbirds, plays with lightening snakes, and learns of a potential conspiracy surrounding the last heir's death. He is at heart a very compassionate character. He hates the slavery in Carthak, the useless slaughter of the gladiator rings, and unlike other mage students he doesn't think helping the poor is beneath him.
Varice and Ozorne are both more comfortable with the slavery in Carthak, not really considering the impact it has on people, as they don't consider slaves people. Varice has ambitions; she uses her charisma and charm to make friends in high places, and keep Ozorne happy. Ozorne can be cruel and likes to be the best at everything; he also has bouts of mood swings and instability that seem related to his father's death at the hand of rebels.
The three of them bring out the best in each other, but it is also shown that they aren't always honest with each other, and they have some fundamentally different beliefs. It's a little hard reading about how close they are as children since we know where this story ends, but I'm no less interested in seeing the rest.
Since we've seen Sarge I'm very curious to see how he goes from the gladiator ring to Tortall. We also see Lindhall Reed, Chioke, Tristan, and Gissa, all of whom make an appearance in the quartet.