Fangirling and Writer-Nerd Chaos

ACAB Frostpine my beloved. He's also so careful to keep Daja from getting taken advantage of when it comes to her magic in her book too. He's so untrustworthy of authority, I love him.

When I was young and I first read Briar's Book, it wasn't my favorite. It had slow parts, and it wasn't too exciting, not like wildfires and pirates.

But now, reading it again as an adult, after living through the covid pandemic, it's amazing.

I am amazed at the research Tamora Pierce must have put in for the book! The events of the books are nearly identical to the covid pandemic.

It's amazing she even chose plague as a topic for her fantasy children's story. It's not exactly a normal plot line for such books. And she didn't go the easy way out of *hurr durr medieval society uses leeches and doesn't understand how germs work* option that so many fantasy writers use. Instead, she came up with a believable system that supplemented magic with technology.

The healers using magic to check the body to see what the pox did, the magic sample boxes, the magic diagnosis tools, the use of herbs and magic gems to find the "keys" to the cure... even the use of magic to distill the essence of the disease in order to study it. All combined with the good leadership of Duke Vedris, who followed the epidemic procedures written by the Living Temple to try to halt the pox. He enforced quarantine on the guards that handled the sick, cleared out warehouses to make hospitals, forced everyone to wear gloves and masks, paid people to collect the dead and burn them, ect.

The way Tamora Pierce perfectly captured to fear of the pandemic. The fear of getting sick, the dread of the knowledge of new cases and deaths, the exhaustion of the medical workers and support staff, the way the healers drained themselves dry and got sick.

It all combined into a realistic magic plauge that made an incredible book far before it's time.

it sucks so bad that 'lightning magic' in every media is just some pathetic little strands of electricity. i wanna see some LIGHTNING. show me a magic setting where lightning magic lights up a room like the sun, and the bolt is only visible as an afterimage burned into your vision. I wanna see someone cast lightning and have the thunder rattling the room and shaking everyone to their core. i want lightning magic to be a split second blast of so much power it leaves everyone's senses reeling. c'mon guys don't you know what real lightning looks like? we can be doing so much better than this.

I agree with this but I'm always far more upset when plant magic is incredibly weak or used exclusively for healing. Like... Have you ever seen what a tree can do to a rock? What plants over the course of a millennium can do to an area? Or what some plants can do when they grow on a living thing? Now imagine you could do all those things in an instant, anywhere you wanted. Imaging growing an oak tree in someone's chest. Imagine growing new trees that are very resistant to fire suddenly to block an enemy spell. Imagine filling the air with pollen so thick it causes the enemy forces to suffocate. Plant magic should be the scariest magic in any setting and instead it appears gets limited to "oh, I can't hurt anyone. I must defend and heal those I care about." No. Rip off that guy's limbs with strangle vines before he even gets a chance to attack your friends.

i cast ragweed lungs

My Circle of Magic collection!

I believe the middle row are the ones my library had when I was in elementary school, or a combo of the middle + top ones, so I'm very glad to have them! I think the art is the best, and they more accurately depict real scenes from the books. Also, I now just permanently own 3 copies of Daja's Book because there's no way I could let one go. Pierce books are family.

Part of the reason why I dislike the newer covers (from the late 00s I think lol) is how dark and yet undramatic the art is, but also I find it weird that while Sandry and Tris are still visible, Briar and Daja are hidden.

Idk if it was an intentional publisher/artist choice or just something the artist did without thinking, but it strikes me as a little odd. Still not going to get rid of them though, Tris' Book and Briar's Book were gifts from a friend in high school and well, Pierce books are family.

ANYWAY! because I'm relentless I'll probably try and collect the top-row editions too. They are easily identifiable because the spines are solid colours while the second row have gradients.

―Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce

It’s probably been more than a decade since the last time I read this book. The waves of nostalgia that crashed through my mind while I was read were incredible. And somehow, even though I had forgotten so much about this book, it still manages to be one of the best fantasy books I’ve read! There really is a reason why Tamora Pierce is one of my favorite authors.

I loved that we got to see Sandry growing into her magic more! She was kind of a badass in this, she jumped feet first into a magical murder mystery and she started teaching a younger mage how to safely harness their powers. It was just such a fun adventure through the whole book. This is getting four and a half stars!

Reading Challenge Prompt Fills:

Alphabet Challenge: M

vote YES if you have finished the entire book.

vote NO if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

I love reading ebooks I've had for years cause I get to see the comments I've added over that time and how my vocabulary had changed, but also specifically

I am so right for this

vote YES if you have finished the entire book.

vote NO if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

I recently binged the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce! I'm pretty happy with my interpretation of the characters (I feel like I could have made Tris fatter, but still better than that one cover, you know LOL), anyway Briar is the most trans, and Sandry is a Wasian.

Let me know how you picture the characters in the notes!

ID in alt

not enough fantasy settings talk about street food like c'mon there was street food in ancient times across basically every culture lemme see what weird snacks you can buy off a guy in an alleyway

Weekend sketchdump of various Emelan/Tortall scenes via discord requests! It’s been a blast :)

If people are sad about The Wizard Facism game coming from someone you used to look up to and admire, may I suggest an author whose books are filled with nuanced characters and strong, dynamic women?

Tamora Pierce has been writing since the 80’s and has two worlds of magic and fantasy and bonus!!! Isn’t a transphobic POS.

Tamora's readership has a lot of overlap with mine, and I'm pleased to stand by her side regarding this.

you know what are good books? the Circle of Magic and Circle Opens series. those are so good. just fuckin,, handicrafts magic and found family and lil mages taking on murderers. i love my kids

episode 21 of Backlog Books (link in pinned post)

Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce