Tortall and Other Lands, by Tamora Pierce

It's been awhile; law school has been busy so I didn't get two out last month. On the other hand, I can make up for it this month! So this first review of this month is Tortall and Other Lands, by Tamora Pierce.


I love Tamora Pierce. I have ever since I was about 13 years old and read Song of the Lioness quartet for the first time. Then I went on and read The Immortals quartet, which I loved even more and I might have to buy a new copy of the last book for that because my copy is falling apart (and if I do, it will gain the glory of being the second book I've had to do that for, the first being Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). The Protector of the Small (link only to the first book, no boxed set) quartet then came out, which I devoured at the library, then Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen. The books are coming out slower now, but the Beka Cooper series is close to being finished. I still bring all my Tortall books with me when I move (which is fairly often), and I really love this writer and this group of books. So when I saw a short story collection called Tortall and Other Lands, off I went to the bookstore to buy it. It was so new I had to ask a staff member to go into the back to get it, but overall I think it was worth it.

I should note here that Tamora Pierce isn't the most fantastic writer on earth or anything. She's not Philip Pullman, for example. But something about her books strikes a happy nerve in a lot of people, because it focuses on feminism, and on breaking gender stereotypes, and on challenging the world and proving that just because you're a woman doesn't mean you can't kick ass. It's aimed at making girls feel like they're worth more than just marriage and babies, it strikes that nerve for stubborn girls who really, really, really want to go out in the world in a male-dominated field and dominate it. Being a girl who did lots of martial arts, then went on to study physics and applied mathematics during her undergraduate degree and after that went to law school, these books have huge inspirational value for me. These books make me happy in the exact same way that Twilight makes me really, really angry.

So onto the review. This is a short story collection, so I'm just going to share my thoughts about the stories that left an impact on me. Some were great; some I didn't like. However, if you're a hardcore Tamora Pierce Tortall fan the way I am, it's overall a book worth getting. In hardcover, so that you can read it over and over and over again and not worry about it falling apart.

Student of Ostriches - Taking place in an Africa-esque land, this is the story of Kylaia al-Jmaa, the Shang Unicorn who got a passing mention in Lioness Rampant in the Song of the Lioness Quartet. It follows Pierce's No-one-thinks-girls-can-fight, then-she-kicks-your-ass template really closely. Except shorter. It was also featured in the short story collection Yong Warriors. So if you like girls kicking ass and showing up people who don't think she can, this is a great story.

The Hidden Girl – This story takes place in a part of Tortall we have not seen yet, based on our own Middle East. It is told from the perspective of a veiled girl who has read all of her holy text and knows her rights, and her struggle to teach men and women all of the holy books, against the priesthood's wishes. It addresses, obviously, the misuse of religion in our world, where people cite the Bible and the Koran to justify horrible things, and the subjugation of women in these faiths, even if that's not what their holy book says. It also provides a new perspective on the niqab, and how being hidden can mean freedom.

I have to say that I don't necessarily agree with the ideas of this story. While holy books are certainly misused, I don't believe that telling the whole story necessarily makes it better. Holy books are filled with error and contradiction - to read it at all, you must necessarily take one part and ignore contradicting parts. People who use their holy books for hatred and violence adopt one valid interpretation of their holy books, the same way others take love from it and ignore the rape and genocide and killing. I don't know what I think of the niqab and that issue in our own world, but I admit skepticism when people tell me that it is freedom. It might be freedom in my world, considering I live in a Western society and all that; but if you're wearing that veil partly because you'll face violence if you don't, that's not freedom.

The Dragon's Tale - Kitten, the dragon, is awesome. I loved this character throughout the whole Tortall series, and she is just adorable. This story is in many ways simpler than the other ones - it's about Kitten herself seeking adventure and helping people and generally being adorable and awesome. And using magic. Since Kitten doesn't talk throughout the series (she is unable to communicate with others verbally, as she is too young in dragon terms), it's really nice to hear a story told from her perspective. I also really liked the different writing style used - since Kitten really is a very young dragon, it reflects that very well.

Lost - Okay, if you make your main character a math genius, I can't help but like the story. I really can't. I am really, really happy that Pierce chose to write a story about a female math genius, with a female engineer in the mix as well. Having studied math, I'll say this - the mathematicians aren't the one who tell girls they can't do math. If you can do it, mathematicians and engineers are happy to have you. So why don't more girls go into these fields? Because non-mathematicians tell them they can't. The problem in our world today isn't the engineers and so on who tell girls they can't become one - it's actually the wider, non-engineer society that says so. It starts with the stupid left-brained right-brained dichotomy where you can be good at reading and writing and artsy music stuff, or you can be good at math and science and engineering stuff, but you can't be both. Then it continues because let's be frank - math and science is pretty hard. It's requires work and practice and there is a right answer. And thrown into the mix is just the general societal idea that girls can't do it, which is mostly perpetuated by people who aren't in those fields. When female mathematicians and engineers say anything, we're kind of just seen as "special." So having a well-known author who ISN'T a mathematician or engineer write about a female math genius, it's kind of awesome.

Huntress - I didn't like this story. At all. It starts off all right - it takes place in our world, in New York City, and is about a girl who runs track very, very well. And it’s about being bullied and having them try to kill you. And then, rather than escaping on her own, a goddess comes to rescue her and kills all the bullies. Okay, there is a sense of justice about all this, but that doesn't mean it's right. I didn't like the clear deus ex machina present because it takes away from the main character rescuing herself from the bullies, and quite frankly bullies grow up, even if they're terrible people at the time. Bullies don't deserve to die for their actions as a stupid teenager.

Testing - I'm not sure where I stand on this story. It's another one that takes place in our world, in our time, but I think it left some unfinished ends. For example, the main character's severe panic attacks - this wasn't addressed at all and played no central role in the story as far as I can tell. The rest of the story is fine, but I feel as though if the author spends that much time talking about the main character's panic attacks, it should really play a significant role in the story.

Overall, I'd say that if you're into Tortall, this is a good book to tide you over with until Mastiff comes out in October. There's also a short excerpt from Mastiff, which is totally unsatisfying. If you're into Tamora Pierce already, get the book and read it. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend spending money on it, but reading it at the library would be a good option.