Tortall: A Spy's Guide

I was actually very disappointed by this one. I had high hopes - I love Tamora Pierce. I've read almost all of her books, and reviewed several of them on my blog, most recently Tempests and Slaughter. I was hoping the Timeline would place the actual books in the timeline, but it's written completely in character, so only notable figures are named. (Beka Cooper, from the Mastiff trilogy, was not notable enough to get a mention, which I am quite sad about.) I knew this was going to be written in a guidebook style, not a novel, so I was prepared for that, but it still just didn't mesh well.

There were certainly amusing parts - the Spymaster taking an inordinate interest in someone stealing the royal Chef's recipes, because he loves the man's soups, for one. Also infuriating points, like the letters between the King and the man he asks to become the new Knight trainer - a man who really dislikes Alanna and female knights in general. I found the “threat-level profiles” on characters to be mostly rehashing of things we already knew.

The few mentions of Emperor Ozorne do make me want to go reread The Immortals War set of books, which I'd already somewhat wanted to do after reading Tempests and Slaughter. Now that I know they also deal with Ozorne, I want to read them again even more!

So I don't know. I could see it being a useful reference guide, but it's not really a good read. I'm pretty ambivalent about it. I would read any other Tamora Pierce book rather than this one.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

This is definitely a book only for people who have read the four main series set in Tortall (unfortunately nothing from Beka's days are mentioned). There will be spoils– HUGE spoilers if you read this before any of those.

As a lover of the Tortall world, this was like chatting with an old friend. There are correspondences between characters which are fun or loving, or shed light on other circumstances. My love for Alanna and George grew even more, although I truly still did wish for more about George!! The Whisper Man!! I just love his character....

There is also a timeline at the back. YAY! and a Tortall history which is pretty cool to read.
There is a glossary of Immortals and side characters or other main characters who are now part of the spy world. Finding out what other characters are up to was heartwarming –glad Coram is still alright.

What I found a bit boring, were the instruction manuals, court etiquette, and spy hierarchy. Mostly, I think this is because I was almost nodding off and wanted a story, because the information is still fascinating. Again though, it is straight-up information.

This book is kind of like non-fiction in the Tortall world, if that makes sense. Super interesting, buuuttt can be dull if you aren't into it.

I'm on the fence about actually buying this book, I might if only because having this information later when reading through the series' again will be handy. Also, Alanna's letter to George in the beginning!! MY HEART!

And... it somewhat feels like she is setting up for another series, this time with Scanra as the antagonist country so..... maybe it is just me overthinking things!!!

Do I recommend this? If you've read the series, YES, if not, then go read all of the Tortall books and then read this ^_^

I'm super behind the times, I completely forgot this one was coming out until I saw it on someone else's post! But I managed to get it at the library without a wait. I remember enough for the entire story to make sense, and it was sweet to get the little behind the scenes bits. Not necessarily my favorite thing, but a good fluffy read.

A behind-the-scenes look at personal and official documents of the Cooper family and the related Shadow Service. Obviously, full of spoilers from the rest of the Tortall series, and clearly for diehard fans.