Literary Love: Rhiannon Hart

There's only a few days left until Valentines Day but here at See Michelle Read, Literary Love is still in full swing! Today our guest blogger is the lovely Rhiannon Hart. Rhiannon is a wonderful writer and just so happens to enjoy a good dystopian novel almost as much as I do. For your reading pleasure she's here today, all set to discuss the awesomeness that is the incomparable Tamora Pierce.

Don't forget to vote for your top Literary Love couples before Valentines Day!

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One of the things I love best about Tamora Pierce's writing is that she, like Judy Blume, isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Premarital teen sex happens! Omigosh! Pierce made her name with the Song of the Lioness quartet, affectionately known among fans as "the Alanna books". After copping a lot of flack about their sexual and violent content, she wrote another fantasy romance that had some readers feeling squeamish: the Immortals quartet, starring Veralidaine Sarrasri (Daine) and Numair Salmalin (aka Arram Draper). Daine is a thirteen-year-old orphan who has a lot of untamed and unmanageable wild magic when she meets Numair, a man in his late twenties and Tortall's most powerful mage. With his help she begins to learn how to harness the power of her wild magic, of which she has a considerable amount. Along the way they battle Stormwings and evil emperors and generally save the world. There are the most fantastic battles in these books!Daine is effectively Numair's student and more than half his age--not to mention terribly underage. Now, I have always had a thing for older men and have been known to gaze longingly after the odd teacher, lecturer or lab tutor in my time. In fact, one ponytailed lecturer I had at uni used to wander into the theatre barefoot in charmingly rustic clothes, and he reminded me distinctly of Numair. What a happy semester that was! But before I go on I should clarify something: Numair and Daine might begin to fall in love in book one but nothing actually happens until book four when Daine is seventeen and she's not his student anymore. Nothing touchy-feely, at least. The affection and love between the pair is heart-breakingly sweet. For those who have read them, the scene in Emperor Mage (if I remember correctly) when Daine realizes Numair is Numair and not a simulacrum? Gah! Gets me every time.

Pierce has defended the romance between Numair and Daine by saying that in medieval times--the period in which she places her invented world--girls married at a young age and often to much older men. Also, by the time they acknowledge their love, Daine is Numair's magical equal and they are the same emotional age. Pierce has also admitted a fondness for older men, and in Numair she has created a doozy.

Tamora Pierce's books are filled with magic, adventure and romance. None are more dear to my heart than the four that feature a girl who runs with wolves and has a permanent menagerie of animals, both natural and magical, and a gangly, absent-minded but supremely powerful mage.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

series reading order:
~ Wild Magic
~ Wolf-Speaker
~ Emperor Mage
~ The Realms of the Gods

Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce

Upon receiving this last book in Tamora Pierce's fabulous Song of the Lioness quartet, I must admit I was worried. Okay, not truly worried, but nervous that Pierce wouldn't be able to address my many questions and thoughts properly in this last book. Then I noticed the book was over 400 pages and I knew Pierce had given herself plenty of space to discuss each facet of Alanna's story in the detail it deserved. I was not disappointed - shame on me for even doubting.

Alanna of Trebond, the only female Knight of Tortall, has achieved her dream. She has gained her knights shield, she has had numerous adventures, and her fame with sword and magic have spread all over the country. I just loved it when everyone is talking about how the little girls in the streets play "Alanna and Duke Roger!" Let's hear it for female role models! But her Gift keeps warning her that all is not right with her friends in beloved Tortall. In order to save Tortall from dissension and sorcery, Alanna must obtain the Jewel of Dominion, the one thing that, if used wisely, can have great power for good. Several of Alanna's old enemies resurface (ones I had thought were gone for good) are they prove to be more deadly and conniving than ever and it will take everything Alanna and her friends have to combat these old foes.

Alanna's faithful friends are never far from the action including the much changed Prince Jonathan, Myles (her adopted father), gruff Coram, her cat Faithful, and of course the lovable George. She is even joined on this adventure by some new faces - a Shang warrior and an outcast princess - who brought additional depth to Alanna's character. I was so pleased with Alanna's choices in this book - she truly proves herself to be a strong woman and a knight and I couldn't have enjoyed reading her story more.

reading order:
~ Alanna: The First Adventure
~ In the Hand of the Goddess
~ The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
~ Lioness Rampant

Summer Reading Blitz update: 23/30

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce

In book three of the Song of the Lioness series, Alanna has just received her Knight's shield and is anxious to be off on an adventure of her own making. Accompanied by the steady Coram, who trained her as a young page, Alanna feels ready for any eventuality. Heading southward, Alanna and Coram are attacked by murderous desert dwellers and are eventually rescued by the equally enigmatic Bazhir people who offer her two options: fight one of their own warriors and join the tribe or be killed. Wisely, Alanna fights and awes group with her fighting skills and compassion - except for a notable few members of the Bloody Hawk tribe. Despite all the tradition and prejudice against women, Alanna is slowing welcomed by the group, eventually becoming the tribe's newest shaman and training three youngsters to carry on her in place.

Even though she has escaped the confines of palace life, Alanna is confronted with the reality of determining her relationship with Prince Jonathan while the ever comforting presence of George, the King of the Thieves, silently keeps watch over her. All of Alanna's friends are wonderful but George has always been a standout for me. This book finally showed a little more personality in Jonathan and, for good or bad, made for a more interesting character.

Wherever she goes, Alanna draws attention. It's probably the whole red hair, purple eyes, warrior maiden thing she has going on but it really works for her. I'd probably stop in my tracks if she crossed my way too. That said, I love how she is constantly faced with difficult challenges where there really is no easy answer. Alanna faces each situation with maturity and intelligence that I can't help but admire. But above all, she is loyal to her friends and to the vows she made as a knight and it shows in everything she does. I am so enjoying this series and I can't wait to see what is up next for Alanna in the concluding volume, Lioness Rampant.

reading order:
~ Alanna: The First Adventure
~ In the Hand of the Goddess
~ The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
~ Lioness Rampant

Summer Reading Blitz update: 17/30

In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce

Alanna has come farther than she ever expected - she's advanced so far in her knights training that she has been chosen as squire to the prince of Tortall, Jonathan. But that honor only comes as a surprise to Alanna as Jonathan has become one of her best friends and she has proven time and again that she would do anything for the brave prince. Alanna soon discovers how complicated their relationship becomes as she slowly matures not only into an excellent fighter but a woman as well (which of course she must constantly hide).

Alanna experiences so much in this book - her first battle, sorcery training, a little romance, and even court intrigues. But as she slowly begins to suspect that a crafty sorcerer is not only after the crown and Jonathan's life but her own life as well Alanna must decide where her true loyalties lie and how far she will go to discover the truth. In all honesty, I was a little confused by Alanna's hesitancy to divulge her suspicions, but Pierce lived up to her narrative and explained all nicely and to my liking.

Book two in Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness series was just as wonderfully crafted as the first. In this volume, Alanna becomes more comfortable in her own skin as she makes choices that have lasting effects on herself and those she loves. All my favorites were back in this wonderful little book: the Prince, George, Gary and even her brother Thom, who gets some much deserved screen time. As always, Alanna's can-do personality competely won this reader over and had me turning the pages faster than ever. In Pierce's unassuming style, I've truly fell in love with the courageous and loving Alanna - just like everyone around her does.

reading order:
~ Alanna: The First Adventure
~ In the Hand of the Goddess
~ The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
~ Lioness Rampant

Summer Reading Blitz update: 13/30

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

I'm not quite sure how, but somewhere along the way in my fantasy reading I totally missed out on the perfectness that is Tamora Pierce. Most likely this omission is due to my not reading teen books while a teenager. That said, I've had several people recommend I start with Pierce's Alanna series and I am happy to report these books are as wonderful as everyone told me they were. Surprise, surprise.

Neither Alanna nor her twin brother Thom want to be what their father (and the rest of the world) want them to be. Thom has always preferred books and sorcery to outdoor pursuits while Alanna isn't happy unless she's out riding, hunting, or in general behaving like a boy. Both Alanna and Thom are more than disappointed when their bookish father decides to send them away - Thom to the castle to learn to be a Knight and Alanna to a local convent to study. Desperate to be spared their fates, Alanna chops off her hair and forges letters from their father sending Alanna as a boy to the castle and Thom to the convent to learn sorcery. Upon arriving at the castle, no one guesses Alanna's secret and she is free to train as a page. Though small, the other boys and adults are impressed with the spunky 'Alan' as she is now known and through hard work earns the respect of everyone around her.

Alanna is wonderful - she never understands her true worth or why those around her love her so much but it's immediately obvious to the reader. She works much harder than anyone else to become the best, especially since she much smaller than the other boys. I also loved Tamora Pierce's frank narrative style that seems to follow Alanna's mental development as well as her physical. Her world building is also a standout - a whole pantheon of gods and intriguing political relationships that continue to lend more maturity to the books as Alanna develops. This series was truly a revelation to me and I can't believe I have waited so long to read them. You can be sure I'll be finishing them in a hurry.

reading order:
~ Alanna: The First Adventure
~ In the Hand of the Goddess
~ The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
~ Lioness Rampant

Summer Reading Blitz update: 12/30