“Aly is sick of being told by her mother to find some kind of passion and at the same time being prevented from actually working on something she likes: spying. After yet another argument, she decides to run away to stay with some family friends until her mother’s head cools. She hasn’t gone very far from her home when she is captured by slave traders and soon finds herself out of Tortall and enslaved in a household in the Copper Isles. Her new masters are kind, and soon it is revealed that the Trickster God, Kyprioth, has chosen her to protect the ancient, native royal line. Aly finds herself caught in the middle of a power struggle between the weakening colonial rule and the natives’ emerging rebellion, all the while hiding her true heritage and identity.
Eh, my summary is crap, but that pretty much covers it. Alanna’s (Lioness Quartet) daughter is a hell of a lot more likeable and sensible than her mother, but she’s still just as unrealistic. Nevertheless, I liked her and her relationships with the people around her. Also, the romantic angle between her and Nawat unfolds in a charmingly sweet and simple way, as opposed to Alanna’s numerous romances and fickle-mindedness and general stupidity when it comes to love. Still, Aly just has it much, much too easy. I know, I know. It’s Tamora Pierce. The worst thing a heroine can get is a shoulder wound or something. Nothing bad will happen to Aly, but maybe - I thought - just maybe, she’ll have it a lot harder than usual. Wrong. Not only is there no real, actual SPYING, but the presence of Kyprioth and his support for Alanna is just too freaking convenient. In a tight spot? Trickster God to the rescue! The native alliance doubting you and planning to kill you? Gosh, Kyprioth will tell them to stop bullying you! Kyprioth, Kyprioth, Kyprioth. Every big problem or obstacle is removed by Kyprioth and if Kyprioth can’t directly intervene, then Nawat will surely beat up anyone who tries to hurt Aly and her charges.
Right from the start, all possible conflicts were already neatly removed by sticking Aly in a nice family at once and then an early problem easily solved by a holy apparation which reveals Aly’s importance and “God-chosen” status immediately to the family she’s serving. Aly does not even do any actual spying or information-gathering herself: she gets other people to do it for her. She even gets her own bodyguard later on! The whole thing just makes me laugh. The back cover blurb tricked me into thinking that she’ll actually have it tough, but no. It’s all a piece of cake. I don’t know why the story even happened at all, can anyone understand me? The hardships were so watered-down and the conflicts so laughably easy that there’s hardly any point writing about it at all. Aly becomes a weak heroine because of the ease with which all problems solve themselves, which is unfair because she’s got a lot of heroine in her.”
daimira wrote this review Wednesday, March 19, 2008.
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