In the Hand of the Goddess, by Tamora Pierce
Alanna is now squire to Prince Jonathan: even after he found out she was a girl at the Black City he still wanted her to be his squire. Her secret is still safe, but living this lie keeps hurting Alanna as she wishes more and more to tell her friends. Life is even more complicated now than it ever was. Alanna is learning what love really is, and that is never an easy lesson. It is made even harder by Duke Roger’s machinations and plots for the throne. But even Alanna is having a difficult time putting together evidence to expose Roger. The test for her knighthood is coming up. If she succeeds, she will be the first woman knight in over a hundred years. But succeeding means that she will soon reveal to her friends who she really is, and maybe leave them forever.
This is not my favorite book in the Lioness quartet. I think Alanna makes some silly choices that definitely make no sense. For instance, learning to love people does not immediately translate to having sex. Really. It doesn’t. So how come Alanna seems to think so? George is standing there waiting to lover her forever and always with no conditions, and she decides to sleep with Jonathan. And then she doesn’t want to speak with Jonathan about love, because even though they are sharing a bed doesn’t mean they love each other. For a woman with precious little time hanging out with women and being one herself, she seems to fit right in with the sillier ones I know. I just can’t understand her decision, and that annoys me. I don’t like stupid decisions, and this one really blows my mind.
But I do like reading this series, which might seem like a mystery to you because I’m bashing it so badly. I like Alanna—when she isn’t making silly decisions. She is fun to read, and Pierce’s ideas and characterizations are still decent. This book just will not go down as my favorite. As a whole, I can take this series and like it—if I forget about the parts that bug me. But I love to read about Alanna fencing and doing magic. And how could I forget! I love Faithful. Now that is a great character for all that he hasn’t had much page time yet. I have a soft spot for cats, although I am a dog person, and a cat like Faithful is just perfect. Especially cause he talks. There are better books in the world than this, but I would not count it time wasted that you read this one.
This is not my favorite book in the Lioness quartet. I think Alanna makes some silly choices that definitely make no sense. For instance, learning to love people does not immediately translate to having sex. Really. It doesn’t. So how come Alanna seems to think so? George is standing there waiting to lover her forever and always with no conditions, and she decides to sleep with Jonathan. And then she doesn’t want to speak with Jonathan about love, because even though they are sharing a bed doesn’t mean they love each other. For a woman with precious little time hanging out with women and being one herself, she seems to fit right in with the sillier ones I know. I just can’t understand her decision, and that annoys me. I don’t like stupid decisions, and this one really blows my mind.
But I do like reading this series, which might seem like a mystery to you because I’m bashing it so badly. I like Alanna—when she isn’t making silly decisions. She is fun to read, and Pierce’s ideas and characterizations are still decent. This book just will not go down as my favorite. As a whole, I can take this series and like it—if I forget about the parts that bug me. But I love to read about Alanna fencing and doing magic. And how could I forget! I love Faithful. Now that is a great character for all that he hasn’t had much page time yet. I have a soft spot for cats, although I am a dog person, and a cat like Faithful is just perfect. Especially cause he talks. There are better books in the world than this, but I would not count it time wasted that you read this one.
posted by Tai Schutz | Wednesday, January 03, 2007
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