Battle Magic
Ratings19
Average rating3.8
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Tamora Pierce returns to the magical world of Winding Circle. On their way to the first Circle temple in Gyongxi, mages Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy pay a visit to the emperor's summer palace. Although treated like royalty when they first arrive, the mages soon discover that the emperor plans to invade Gyongxi, posing a fatal threat to the home temple of the Living Circle religion. Accompanied by one of the emperor's prize captives, the three mages rush to Gyongxi to warn its citizens of the impending attack. With the imperials hot on their trail, Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy must quickly help the country prepare for battle. But even with the help of new allies, will their combined forces be enough to fight the imperial army and win the war?
Series
Series
2 primary books#3 in The Circle Reforged
The Circle Reforged is a 2-book series with 2 released primary works first released in 2005 with contributions by Tamora Pierce.
Series
9 primary books#11 in Emelan
Emelan is a 9-book series with 9 released primary works first released in 1993 with contributions by Tamora Pierce.
Series
9 primary books#9 in Emelan Chronological Order
Emelan Chronological Order is a 9-book series with 9 released primary works first released in 1993 with contributions by Tamora Pierce.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
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I'm not an Emelan fan, I like Tortall a lot better. In saying that, my favourite characters in Emelan are Rosethorn and Briar both of whom are main characters here, along with Evvy (who Briar picked up in Street Magic). This is essentially the backstory to Briar's behaviour in The Will of the Empress, and we learn how Evvy met Luvo (who was a major character in Melting Stones, although Battle Magic is a far more interesting read than either of those two stories.
The POV switches a lot, which I guess is fashionable in fantasy these days and is necessary for some parts of the storytelling, but it is jarring when it happens multiple times in a chapter. It also loses some dramatic tension when one of the characters is thought to be dead, but the reader knows they are not because of the POV switching. The reunion of the characters with the person they thought had died loses much of the feels it could have had.
I wanted to give this an ‘It was ok' star rating, but I think it deserves more than two. Overall, it is still Tamora Pierce and her fantastic style. I don't want to make it sound awful but I'm not a fan of the setting and I didn't really care about the war these people were fighting in. Like the rest of Emelan it won't be in my re-read pile, but if you're an Emelan fan you'll probably enjoy this one a lot more than the last one.
4.5 stars. Not as good as the original books, but still very strong characters and a steady plot.
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