 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Will of the Empress
- By Tamora Pierce
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Mages gather to deal with politics and love.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that much of this book deals with a custom that allows men to kidnap women and force them to marry, essentially tantamount to rape. It's not described and is strongly disapproved of by the major characters. Also, one teen character has a lesbian affair, which is portrayed as perfectly normal.
What's the story?
Sandry, a stitch witch, reunites with her childhood friends and fellow mages from The Circle of Magic Quartet and The Circle Opens Quartet: Tris (a weather mage), Briar (a plant mage), and Daja (a smith mage). She is disappointed to find that they are unwilling to reform the mental links they enjoyed in their youth, but they agree to accompany her when she is forced to visit her inherited landholdings in the Empire of Namorn.
There she is subjected to the schemes and machinations of the Empress, her cousin Berenene, who is determined to keep all of them from leaving Namorn, through bribery, charm, and marriage if possible; by force if necessary. But though Berenene is informed by the best spies, and attended by some of the most powerful mages known, she hasn't reckoned on their unusual powers, their now near-total command of them, or their ability to merge their powers.
Is it any good?
This book is a gift to author Tamora Pierce's legions of fans. Its pleasures derive from knowing the characters and enjoying seeing them reunited and in command of (and showing off) their considerable powers. Those who have not read the previous two quartets (see Related Books below) will be able to follow along, but will miss many of the allusions and may wonder what the fuss is all about.
This very long book is not a grand fantasy -- no battles, no good vs. evil, not even any deaths. It's more of a humorous lark: the first hundred pages consist mainly of the main characters bickering, the second and third hundred mainly flirting, royal entertainments, and some devious manipulations by the empress. The real story, such as it is, doesn't even get moving until the second half, when the heroes get to show off their intriguing powers a bit, though they are never in serious danger. Fans will eat it all up, newcomers are advised to read the quartets first.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the varying customs around marriage in our world, including arranged marriages, dowries, marriage as a business or political arrangement uniting families, as well as the relatively modern invention of marrying for love. What is the purpose of marriage -- in this book, in our culture, and in others? Another topic could be the reluctance of the major characters to reforge their mental links. Why might older people be less willing to open their minds to others?
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AGE
a major disappointment
I've been reading Tamora Pierce's books since I was 9 years old, and she has not improved as a writer with time. Her first 8 books were short and fast-paced, with lots of action packed into a short novel. But since the "Protector of the Small" series, she's been writing longer and longer books. There is no major objectionable content in this book - the lesbian relationship is very tame - but the major problem is how slow and tedious the book is. Tamora Pierce needs a good editor - the length of this book could have been cut in half without losing any plot. The conflict between the four major characters is entertaining for about 5 minutes before it becomes annoying and contrived. The overly long descriptions (do we really need to know what clothes every character wore in every scene?) slow the pace of the book down to a crawl. There is hardly any magic, just endless backstabbing and gossiping. By 300 pages, I was nearly ready to give up on the book. The only thing that got me through was the four major characters. The rest of the characters are uninteresting. The Will of the Empress won't damage your kids' innocence - but it might bore them to death.
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AGE
The "will of the empress" wouldn't let me put this book down!
I loved this book! There is hardly any sexual things, no bad language, and just the ok amount of violence. If you're having doubts, if your child (or you!) is over seven, they can probably read this book. I really reccomend it. Hope this helps!
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AGE
Another reviewer talked about how Pierce is fearless and bold in her love scenes and such and I completely agree. But this isn't one of those extremely descriptive, mushy, overly done romance books. The story is exciting and amazingly written as well and sex isn't an issue to make you stop reading. Beautiful story!
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AGE
Tamora Pierce: A Woman to be Reckoned With
Some people may disagree with the lesbian relationship in this book and other sexual relations in her previous ones. If you want answers as to why she puts these things in there, check out her website. I find it EXTREMELY refreshing to finally read books that don't tiptoe around such subjects. They're there. They exist. They are DEFINATELY things teens talk about. Kudos to you, Ms. Pierce, not only is your writing fantastic, you are fearless as well.
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AGE
Disappointing False Advertising
When I picked up this book, I read "romance" on the back and thought: "Gee! Isn't that great? Tamora Pierce, an accomplished author, is writing a serious teen book with adventure AND romance! What could go wrong?" Unfortunately, the only "romance" involved was the aforementioned tame lesbian relationship. The enticing (read: only interesting) prospect near the beginning that seemed set up specifically to allay all the silly (yes, I said it, SILLY!) gripes revolving in the four main characters' heads, and it flops. Not only does it flop, it festers, shrivels and disperses into ash, taking with it the only salvageable and interesting part of the story... oh, except for a surprise kidnapping which managed to actually seem emotionally wrenching for a few minutes or so.
Parents would be ill-advised to blindly let their children read this book. Tame though the lesbian relationship may be, it comes off as manipulative and downright creepy, as it's only barely possible one of our "heroines" isn't being just as tricked as we are, not to mention there are still families in this world who DON'T approve of such things, and there is no hint at it on the cover to warn readers what they're getting into, whatsoever.
Moreover, I take issue with the way the book tries to sell itself as "romance," with "marriage" as part of the pitch, and only touches lightly on a sort of relationship far from expectation and unsatisfying to anyone who was in it to see the reports of "forced marriage" turned on their head by something genuine and beautiful.
Instead, there's an oddly slipshod attempt at "brother and sisters," which is rarely strengthened as the characters spend most of their time cross with one or the other of their "family."
There are moments of good writing, but the only reason I finished this book was so my mind would stop coming up with hopeful endings to combat this pile of absurdity.
Any kid who wants to read this better be well prepared for a sickening letdown after coming to trust traitorous characters, but if they're old enough, they may be able to handle it on their own, thus not needing the coaching. Definitely, though, there should be serious consideration on who's ready to read this thing.
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AGE
great read
This book is a great read, no a surprise because Tamora is an AMAZING author! The other parent reviewer felt the book was to long but I loved the detail that she goes into about different things, it really makes the world come to life. The "Nimoshi" (Lesbian) affair is very minor and gives a great chance to review your own feelings on homosexuality
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AGE
this book rocks
tamora pierce has great book s this is one of her best most importently to me she doesn't protray female always helpless she shows girls as what they really are.in this book four friend once unseperable grow apart and sandry tries to tie them together again but it is comlicateed by her cousin in namorn determined to keep sandry and her friends from leaving
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AGE
yuck. verx weird ideas . badly written. uses the word redhead too much. WEIRD
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| Author: | Tamora Pierce |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Scholastic Inc. |
| Publication date: | November 28, 2005 |
| Number of pages: | 550 |
| Hardcover price: | $17.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 17 |
| Read aloud: | 14 |
| Read alone: | 14 |
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