Trickster's Choice (2003) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Alianne Cooper of Pirate's Swoop "Aly": 16-year-old daughter of Alanna the Lioness and George Cooper, baron of Pirate's Swoop. Enjoys flirting and fooling around with boys and wants to follow her father's footsteps in spy work.
• Nawat Crow: A crow who turned himself into a man. He is close to and protective of Aly and believes she will one day be his mate.
• George Cooper, baron of Pirate's Swoop: Alanna's husband and Aly's father, baron and second-in-command of his realm's spies. Also known as "The Whisper Man"
• Kyprioth: Trickster god.
• Saraiyu "Sarai": Mequen's oldest daughter, half-raka, from his first marriage. Is believed to be the woman of prophecy to return the Copper Isles' throne to the raka.
• Dovasary "Dove": Sarai's younger sister, Mequen's second daughter, half-raka, from his first marriage.
• Ulasim: A raka footman who works under Duke Mequen and Duchess Winnamine
• Bronau: A prince who is part of the Rittevon line; a line of luarin (white) rulers who took over the Copper Isles as conquistadors several centuries prior to the era in which this book is written.
• Winnamine: Duchess, and second husband to Duke Mequen. Step-mother of Dove and Sarai, biological mother of Petranne and Elsren.
• Alanna: Aly's mother, a.k.a. the Lioness. Wife of George Cooper, spymaster.
• Chenaol: The cook at the house of Duke Mequen and Duchess Winnamine.
• Duke Mequen: Leader of the household and wife of Duchess Winnamine, also father of Dove and Sarai
• Rihani: Healer with some use of magic that works for the Duke Mequen and Duchess Winnamine.
• Veron: Head of the men-at-arms of the Duke and Duchess Balitang.
• Ochobu: Local Mage who ends up working for Duchess Winnamine
• Visda: Raka niece of Chenaol, goat/sheep herder
• Lokeij: Servant of the household of Duke Mequen and Duchess Winnamine
• Rubinyan: Brother to Bronau; next in line to the throne after Prince Hazarin if King Oron were to die.
• Fesgao: Raka man employed by the Balitangs
• Dunevon: The young crown prince, age 3
• Oron: The king of the Copper Isles who is mad, rash, and very unpredictable.
• Imajane: The only daughter of King Oron, married to Rubinyan, co-regent over the king.
• Pembery: The Balitang's nursemaid
• Hazarin: King Oron's half brother
• Petranne: Young daughter of Duke Mequen and Duchess Winnamine Balitang.
• Daine: Aly's aunt, who is a half goddess. Married to the mage Numair
• Mithros: A Great God of the Copper Isles. Ousted Kyproith from the "throne" as a Great God a long time ago.
• Hasui: part-raka kitchen slave
• Sarugani: Mequen's first wife, full-blood raka noble, mother of Saraiyu and Dovasary. Died in a horseback riding accident
• Maggur: The King of Scanra, nicknamed "King Maggot"
• Numair: Powerful mage in Tortall, married to Daine
• Mother Goddess: Aly's mother's patron- consort of Mithros

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Pohon: village on the northern border of the Tanair estates on the island of Lombyn
• Lombyn: northernmost island of the Copper Isles, home to the Tanair estates of Lady Saraiyu and Lady Dove Balitang
• Rajmuat: capital of the Copper Isles under both the raka and the luarin
• Dimari: eastern harbor town on the island of Lombyn
• Scanra: country to the north of Tortall; wild, rocky, and cold, with very little land that can be farmed
• Carthak: slaveholding empire that includes all of the Southern Lands
• Copper Isles: Group of islands ruled by recent conquerors
• Frasrlund: Tortallan port city at the mouth of the Vassa, straddling the border with Scanra

Organizations edit see section history

• King's Own: cavalry/police group answering to the king, whose members serve as royal bodyguards and as protective trrops throughout the realm.
• Queen's Riders: cavalry/police group that protects Tortallans who live in hard-to-reach parts of the country. They enforce the law and teach local residents to defend themselves.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• arak: distilled palm-sap liquor
• The Black God: the hooded and robed god of death, recognized as such throughtout the Eastern and Southern Lands
• centaur: an immortal( cannot be killed by old age or disease), half horse, half human; attitudes to mortal humans vary
• Dawn Crow: male god of the crows
• Divine Realms: home to the gods and to many immortals
• the Gift: human, academic magic, the use of which must be taught
• Dominion Jewel: magical artifact presently held by the Tortallan kings
• Gigit: a copper coin, the smallest coin of the Copper Isles
• Great Mother Goddess: chief goddess in the pantheon of the Eastern Lands, protector of women. Her symbol is the moon.
• griffin: a feathered immortal with a catlike body, wings, and a beak.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

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• Adventure: Adventure is the main theme, as the book is all about Aly's adventures in the copper Isles as she tries to keep the Balitang family safe.
• Survival: Survival goes pretty much hand-in-hand with adventure - in this case, the characters mostly need to survive human problems rather than monsters, despite their existence in the story. Aly needs to keep the fmaily safe from humans who may wish to harm them, and try to keep them safe while the family is exiled by the Isle's king, who is mentally unstable.
• Coming of Age: There are also elements of a coming of age story in the book - at the start, Aly has an idea of what she wants to do with her life, but she isn't allowed to, so instead she acts as the family 'do-nothing', staying at home and having fun instead of being serious. But when she's given the responsibility of the Balitang's safety, she grows up and matures a lot, and by the end of the book, she realizes she's starting to find her place in the world.
• Romance: The romance theme in the book is the romance that slowly develops between Aly and Nawat, the crow-turned human. It's a really funny part a lot of the time, and Nawat doesn't really understand human mating rituals. It is very cute, though, and you can see as Aly starts to develop feelings for him as well. There's also a more complicated romance, as a friend of the Balitang Parents, Prince Bronau (Brother to the king's son in law) attempts to court Sarai.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Followed by Trickster's Queen.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Tamora Pierce (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Battle of the Books Award (Finalist, 2010)
• VOYA/Voice of Youth Advocates

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PZ7.P61464 Tp 2003
• Dewey: Add the Dewey Classification.

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Children's Books › Popular Characters › Book Characters › Alanna
• Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Boys & Men › Fiction
• Books › Teens › Authors, A-Z › ( P ) › Pierce, Tamora
• Books › Children's Books › Series › Fantasy & Adventure › Daughter of the Lioness
• Books › Children's Books › Literature › Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror › Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
• Books › Children's Books › History & Historical Fiction › Fiction › Medieval
• Books › Teens › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy
• Books › Teens › History & Historical Fiction › Historical Fiction
• Books › Teens › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Science Fiction
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( P )
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Magic & Wizards

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history