TRICKSTER'S QUEEN
Tamora Pierce
Random House
Fantasy
ISBN: 0375814671
480 pages

• Read an Excerpt

Tamora Pierce is the author of numerous books set in the Kingdom of Tortall, and TRICKSTER'S QUEEN is her latest foray into fantasy. It is about Aly, daughter of the legendary Lady Knight Alanna, who was captured by pirates and sold into slavery on the Copper Isles. Aly has made an uneasy alliance with Kyprioth, the islands' trickster god, who has asked her to protect the two daughters of the Balitang family.

In TRICKSTER'S QUEEN Aly returns to the capital of the Copper Isles with the Balitang family. The capital is seething with unrest, as the raka natives are subjected to the increasingly oppressive rule of the luarin colonists. Aly finds herself deeply involved with the resistance, who plan to return the rightful queen to her throne.

Readers who love fantasy intrigue and adventure will enjoy this series. TRICKSTER'S QUEEN features the return of several intriguing characters from the first book, including Nawat the crow. It also introduces lots of new ones, including darkings creatures made of "magic and blood" who share a collective consciousness. The darkings not only provide a distraction from many of the book's darker events, they also serve as a spy network and a plot device to gather information and further the story.

Rebellion features prominently in many works of fiction for children and young adults. Perhaps this is because young people are struggling to build their own identities, and relate with strongly idealistic movements. Fantasy almost always incorporates a theme of resistance, whether it is against a corrupt monarchy or the forces of darkness.

Pierce's book only briefly touches on the blood price of rebellion, and her characters are not corruptible. The good guys stay good, and the bad guys are easily identifiable. The only fickle characters are the gods. It is an extremely moral universe. Pierce stays away from questioning the goals of the resistance, instead focusing on a societal structure that involves both racism and slavery.

The success of Pierce's Song of the Lioness series has already ensured her a place among the classics of children's and young adult fantasy. Her writing continues to mature as she creates stories of more complexity. She is devoted to writing strong female characters, and has a website that highlights real life women heroes (www.sheroescentral.com). It will be interesting to see what she writes next.

   --- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

• Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.