Well-Woven Fantasy

This week I thought I'd review the first book in Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic series: Sandry's Book. While the book may seem like an odd choice for number of reasons, I feel compelled to explain. Let me get it out there now - the book is fantasy, aimed towards younger readers and is generally if unofficially held to be "for girls". It also came out when I was in grade school. To address those potential attacks on the legitimacy of this book, I will begin at the beginning and work my way down. Firstly, I like fantasy, and science fiction, wild, speculative fiction of all sorts - I think the human imagination is a priceless treasure, and its expression in literature of impossible worlds and realities is a superb treat. As for the age thing, I've always had a penchant for fairy tales and the stories of my early youth. Unlike virtually every other book aimed at "young readers", however, I remain enamored of the powerful language, well-crafted characters, and sensible maturity of Tamora Pierce's books - they in no way talk down to, grossly simplify, or otherwise demean their readers in any way. And I admire that - it is rare that a book that captures your imagination at a young age can age well alongside you. Finally, the book may be (wow, really?) a decade old at this point, but it is the only the first book in a series, which has stretched into two cycles of four books apiece, with a two new novels, The Will of the Empress, and The Melting Stones, which seem to constitute the beginning of a new, third, "The Circle Reforged" quartet, so that the Circle world, although it began somewhat a while ago, stretches into quite recent fiction.
And while I can't speak for every book of every cycle, only just now re-reading the first four, and having only dipped into the second cycle, I will say that I am thus far extremely satisfied with my decision to go back to the beginning in order to read the Circle series from start to finish, including all the ones outside of the primary cycle, eventually. Sandry's book is, as I have already mentioned, very sensibly-written and engrossing young adult fiction, with deeply interesting, if seemingly "ordinary" fantastic elements. The book begins with the rounding up of four troubled youths from all over the unnamed land, to a temple called the Living Circle, where the protagonists, a thief-boy saved from hard labour, an orphaned and exiled girl of the gypsy-like Trader tradition, a tempestuous, bookish merchant girl abandoned by her family, and the orphaned scion of a royal house, are forced to learn to work out their differences with each other and the world, discovering in turn that they are all possessed of deeply magical powers of an unusual bent - unlike the spell-mages of their world, their magic is the stuff of smithing, growing things, weaving, and weather. Under the tutelage of watchful adults, the four begin to develop a (no pun intended) circle of friendship, and to begin growing up, as well as into their formidable powers.
The thing that gets me about these books - huh. What one thing? I suppose above all, the one thing that gets me is the characterization. You have four deeply interesting, layered heroes, to whom things happen, who change and grow and evolve over the course of these books. They don't just have conflicted thoughts and feelings, they develop them, and are left profoundly changed at the end of the book, which is, well, really interesting to watch, especially as each of the four characters, with his or her own specialty, background, outlook, and adopted parental figure, grow and react in such vibrant, separate ways.
Beyond that, the world of the book is sound and interesting, borrowing transparently but tastefully from real-world cultures, and the plot, driven mostly by character, is nonetheless sufficiently full of action and developments to hold your attention. All in all, I am relieved to find that this book is as much of a joy to read today as it was ten years ago, and I look forward to getting all the way caught up (and I'll be sure to say whether it stays good).
4.5/5