Book Review: Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce (a guest review)

With the foundlings gathered by Master Niko, we discover a new type of magic called Ambient Magic that is totally different and difficult to detect by the usual means.  The end result of this is that the kids in question, Sandry, Tris, Daja, and Briar, are assumed to lack magic entirely.  The strange things that happen around them (along with other cultural factors) end up causing them to be exiled or shunned by their friends and families.  Once they are gathered together amongst more open minded people, their unique talents are discovered and they begin their training in earnest. The kids quickly become powerful mages in their own right and are granted Mage Status at an extremely early age. This can tend to rub older mages the wrong way at times causing mistreatment and other problems for the kids. 

The series then continues by giving each child his/her own book to explore their individual adventures.  Along the way, the students and their masters become a nontraditional family with the children identifying each other as siblings. During their travels, each young mage finds a protégé that they must instruct.  Instructing other young people teaches valuable lessons to the young mages.  Battle Magic expands on a war that was briefly mentioned in two other books in the series.  It explains what happens during one of those periods of missing time found in many literary series.

Rosethorn, an adult Plant Mage and Dedicate of the Winding Circle Temple

Briar, a possibly reformed former thief and an Ambient Plant Mage who is 16 years old

and Evvy (11 years old), an escaped former slave/beggar and potential Ambient Stone Mage under the tutelage of Briar amongst others. 

Rosethorn and Briar have become close over the years together and they now behave more like mother and son than teacher and student. This is significant because both of them have life experiences that cause them to hold emotions inside. Briar, like many teens, begins to be overprotective of those he loves. This becomes a source of tension as they travel further into a small country surrounded by enemies.  

At the beginning of the book we find the trio  at the end of several years of travelling and on the way to Gyongxe (an analog of Tibet in the real world). They are acquaintances of the God-king (Dalai Lama) of this small nation situated at the top of the Emelan universe. Gyongxe is known for being the closest to the gods both physically and spiritually.  Every religion in the known universe has a temple in this mountain country, including the First Temple of Rosethorn’s own religion.  While visiting with the God-king, they receive an official invitation from Weishu, the Emperor of Yanjin (analog of real world China) to visit his world famous gardens. Rosethorn and Briar (Plant Mages) simply cannot pass up this opportunity.  Weishu gives our heroes the utmost respect and hospitality on their visit.  He treats them like noble guests, even though Briar and Evvy are clearly reformed street children.  The trio soon begins to feel uncomfortable in Yanjin, especially when they see how the Emperor deals with a lack of perfection in even the smallest plant in his garden.  They begin to think of the Emperor as a “monster in human skin” who seems to command immeasurable armies that constantly drill for war.  In addition to this, Weishu keeps the Prince from a neighboring country caged and in chains.  As Evvy and Briar get closer to this captive, Parahan, they soon find they struggle with the notion of leaving him in chains.  Just before they leave Yanjin Parahan gives them frightening news.  Emperor Weishu plans to invade Gyongxe very soon with his overwhelming armies.  Rosethorn, as a Dedicate of the Living Circle Temple, feels it is her duty to warn the god-king and help protect the First Temple.  Her companions insist on joining her despite her protestations.  They hurry to Gyongxe, with the Imperial Army close behind, to help the small country fight a seemingly impossible war. Their love for each other, their magical abilities, and their honor will all be tested to the utmost in the impending struggle. 

Ms. Pierce could have done a bit more with the side characters since most of them seem one dimensional.  Parahan (escaped slave of the Emperor) is the exception to this rule, and he left me wanting to know more of his back story. She experiments with Point of View in this novel as well. Her previous books were usually written from the point of view of the main character, but this one jumps from chapter to chapter, and sometimes paragraph to paragraph.  I liked the change and thought it underscored the importance of each character’s individual adventure within the story.   

I would definitely recommend this book to all fans of Tamora Pierce, fantasy, or young protagonists. I strongly suggest, however, that you read the earlier books in the Circle of Magic series first to get a working knowledge of the characters,  their relationships, and the varied systems of magic in Emelan.

Guest reviewer Glenn Horton is a 7th Grade language Arts teacher at TLT contributer Robin’s school.