The Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce is the second quartet in her Tortallan stories (that is, all these stories take place within the medieval kingdom of Tortall). This quartet follows the story of young Daine, a newly orphaned girl trying to find her place in a world that seems to be crashing down around her. While she possesses magic, it is not “the Gift” as most others have, but “wild magic,” which allows her to bond with animals on a much higher level than the average human.
The four books of this series follow Daine on a journey of self-discovery. What is this strange “wild magic” she possesses? And how does she control it? Who was her father, and why didn’t her mother tell her about him when she had the chance?
I personally enjoyed this quartet more than the Song of the Lioness Quartet (see my review). While Daine is still a very strong female character, I felt her journey provided far more interest what with all her animal friends coming in to share their thoughts and stories. I actually found all the characters (old and new) to be far richer in quality than in Song of the Lioness. Tamora Pierce has filled Daine’s adventures with evil characters who possess redeeming qualities (for example, an evil emperor who fusses over his birds and wants nothing but the best for them). I also appreciated that the only small references to the “birds and the bees” were brief and toward the end of the final book in the quartet. With the small exception of the last few chapters of the final book of the four, I’d give these books a G-PG rating. As far as I’m concerned, they can remain in the children’s section.
As with the Song of the Lioness quartet, I had issues with the paperback publisher’s apparent lack of a copy editor. There are some typos that really are truly unforgivable, and so I must mention it. However it did not detract severely from my enjoyment of the story. In no way do I blame Tamora Pierce – I’m sure the original versions of the books are perfectly edited. I just happened to pick up a few horrid paperback reprints.
Short notes:
Books in the Series: Wild Magic, Wolf-Speaker, Emperor Mage, The Realms of the Gods
Characters: As was mentioned before, Tamora Pierce is to be commended once again for her rich characterizations, especially her accomplishments in making even the most monstrous of creatures seem remotely human, and in giving the most evil characters some endearing quality to make you think twice. Readers of the Song of the Lioness quartet will recognize a few familiar faces, though it is truly Daine’s story that is focused on.
Setting: Just the way I like it – no overload on details, just a tad more than the bare minimum to give you an idea of the place – the rest is left up to your imagination. Time flows more smoothly throughout this quartet than it did with Song of the Lioness making it much easier to stay within the realm of the story.
Plot: The plot woven throughout these four books is truly engaging. Two of the books were finished within a three-day time span. I could not put the book down for long without returning to it. With each page something new seemed to be happening, and with such a wide array of human, animal, and magical characters’ stories entering the plot line there was never a dull moment.
BarLOGGER’s score:
4/5 stars – an enjoyable read worth reading again, but just short of being absolutely required upon my bookshelf at home
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