Jenny Jaybles reviewed Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
So much fun
5 stars
Child with animal powers is always awesome. I would of loved reading this as a kid. I wish someone had given them to me then. But at least I get to discover them now.
260 pages
English language
Published Jan. 5, 1992 by Atheneum, Maxwell Macmillan Canada, Maxwell Macmillan International.
The mage Numair, the knight Alanna, and Queen Thayet enlist thirteen-year-old Daine's help to battle the dreadful immortal creatures that have recently begun to attack the kingdom of Tortall.
Child with animal powers is always awesome. I would of loved reading this as a kid. I wish someone had given them to me then. But at least I get to discover them now.
Daine meets and then travels with Onua, the horse mistress of the Queen’s Riders, beginning as a hired hand for the journey to the palace and quickly becoming indispensable. She has wild magic so strong that she’s in danger of losing track of herself when she connects with animals (the People). They meet the mage, Numair Saladin, who becomes Daine’s master in her magical studies. The plot revolves around Daine connecting with People and with two-leggers, gradually feeling like she can belong again after having traumatically lost her home and family before the events of the book. I like almost all of this book, I just wish it didn't lean quite so hard into Daine's crush on Numair (a man twice her age and her mage master, besides).
There’s a new threat to Tortall: the immortals which were sealed away for several hundred years. Some of them seem to have …
Nice and easy reading. The heroine is a bit too powerful & free from personal faults for my taste (or did I miss something). The book was over far too quickly. I'll read the sequel anyways.
Taking place roughly 7 years after the conclusion of the Alanna quartet, Immortals focuses on Diane, a thirteen year old girl who has Wild Magic (a nature based power distinct from the Gift, a human based magic). Pierce weaves Diane's story through many of the old favorite characters, which was appreciated.
This books feels more "kid"-like than either the Alanna series or Protector of the Small (which I put on pause to go back and complete the Immortals series). This may change as the characters get older and more mature (like Pierce did with Alanna). Also, Daine doesn't seem to struggle with much, which is very unlike Alanna's character evolution. She is very strong in her magic, and it seems like things fall into her lap without much work or sacrifice on her part. I'm hoping this changes as the series progresses.