I think this is going to be a new thing, book reviews. Because I read a lot, and a lot of what I read I would suggest other people read. And I need to force myself to write things other than personal emo anecdotes. So look forward to more reviews in the future. Yeah. You’re welcome.
So it’s no secret that I absolutely adore everything Tamora Pierce has written. (With the exception of the Circle of Magic quartet. I just couldn’t get into them) Seriously, I can’t imagine my childhood without Alanna and Kel and Aly and all the other incredible female protagonists in the Tortall universe. They made me who I am.
I’m not really sure why I haven’t read Terrier before now. I remember seeing it on the shelves at Borders, but for some reason it never crossed my mind to check it out. Thanks to Amazon gift cards, however, I decided to give it a chance.
Terrier is set much further in the past than any of the other Tortall books. It follows Beka Cooper (George Cooper’s* ancestress) a sixteen year old bent on joining the ranks of guards of Lord Provost of Tortall. Having grown up poor and starving, she elects to stay in the Lower City out of her love for the people she lived amongst. Her unusual brand of magic allows her to hear the voice of the restless spirits that ride the backs of pigeons, and to hear the voices that drift into the city’s dust spinners. Because of her unique upbringing in the Lower City, unlike many of her other training friends, she is more sensitive to the troubles of the poor people, and finds herself knee deep in two equally horrifying mysteries that torment her people.
Unlike pretty much all of Peirce’s other protagonists, Beka is painfully shy and not very well spoken. Although she was schooled with the Lord Provost himself after helping him catch a band of criminals at the age of 8, her roots are with the common people, and it shows most often when she’s uncomfortable. I liked this change in character traits, because as much as I love all the strong-spoken women in the other books, it’s refreshing to read something new.
I also liked that, although Beka is very good at her job, she goes through plenty of embarrassments to prove herself. That’s probably my highest praise of all Peirce’s books; her characters are flawed but still genuinely likable. They’re human enough to make sense and fictional enough to be interesting. There’s a line between unbelievable and over-realistic that Pierce balances impressively well.
I’d be lying if I said Terrier was my favorite of Peirce’s books, but it’s definitely worth a read if you’re a fan of the other Tortall novels.
*George Cooper is the eventual spouse of Alanna the Lioness and the father of Aly, the spy. He was the King of Thieves in the Court of the Rogue for a while, and later became the country’s unofficial Spymaster.
