Circle of Magic

Growing up I always believed in magic, faeries, elves, and all the fantasy stories. I figured there were so many that were alike from so many different parts of the world that is has to be real. I am a huge fan of fantasy books and I plan on writing about a few series that I really love and enjoy. Today is a book series I discovered when I was in Jr. High called "Circle of Magic".

Circle of Magic is a series of four books by a wonderful author, Tamora Pierce. I first feel upon her work by stumbling across the first book of this series in my school's library. "Sandry's Book" is about four children between the ages of 10 and 12 though they never specifically say. The first part tells the tale of how they each came into their situations..Sandry the Noble lockes away hidden in a closet while plague and insanity swept through the land her family was visiting. Daja the trader girls who's the lone survivor of a ship wreak and now an orphan outcast as bad luck by her people. Briar (Roach) the street thief caught for the third time and about to be sent to the galleys as punishment. And Tris unwanted by all her family because weird things happen around her, despite being tested for magic and found to have none. As a matter of fact, all four of our heroes had been tested and found to have no magic and so, they were not sent to school for mages...

They were each in a dire situation each rescued by a mage they affectionately know as Niko whos specialty is seeing that which others do not. Each are taken to Winding Circle, a temple community. Each are unable to settle into their dormitories for various reasons they are eventually brought together to live in Discipline Cottage. A small cottage ran by two Earth Dedicates, Lark and Rosethorn. It is in Discipline where they each meet and where the next phase of the story begins.

While under the care of Lark and Rosethorn, and Niko as well, the four begin to co-exist, and each learn that they have power, gifts, magic of their own. Their magic is different though, as it works through things instead of being cast up. Sandry discovers her gift is as a Thread Mage. Weaving needle work, spinning, wool, silk, cotton, she can control it all, with proper guidance. She falls under Lark's wing as her teacher possess the same skills. Rosethorn takes Briar for her own, his gift being able to feel hear, understand plants and work through them as she does. Daja discovers her gift as a Smith Mage and while living at Discipline she begins to work with the best Smith mage to ever live Dedicate Frostpine of the Fire Temple. Tris becomes Niko's student as he is the only one who can help her in controlling her power in connection to the weather.

They learn and grow together and apart and eventually wind up in a predicament where they need to protect themselves desperately. Briar and Daja can do this but don't have the reach with their magic. Tris has the reach but not the strength, and so Sandry spins their magics together to call upon one another in the ways they need and save themselves. And so the circle begins. The following three books consist of events that really focus on how the four use their ability to draw on one another's powers.

A the characters are detailed, insightful. They have pasts and histories. They map out the land and the area around the country in the front of the book as well as describe places, and events within the book itself. Here is a bit about each of the main characters.

Lady Sandrilene fa Toren: More commonly known as Sandry, her parents were nobles who traveled a good deal and so Sandry had few friends before coming to Winding Circle. Her parents were killed by a plague of small pox and the servant who'd hidden her from the raging mob with magic no less, was killed by the same mob outside Snadry's hiding place. Stuck indie the small storage room for so long, when she was found by Niko she had to be blind folded because the light hurt her eyes. Her cousin is the Queen of Namorn, and her favorite uncle the ruler of Emelean. She chooses to go to her uncle, not liking her Namorn relatives. Upon arrival she finds a warm and loving welcome but faced with the reality that the Duke doesn't hold court, and his wife dead his children grown and moved, the citadel would be a lonely place for her. Niko suggests sending her to Winding Circle where many noble children go for their educations. It is agreed and Sandry goes.

Sandry is a girl who always sticks up for what is right. She easily pulls rank on the other, snotty noble girls she houses with in defense of Daja upon their first meeting. She runs to the aid of a puppy being beating by boys knowing full well she was going to be beaten up first. Sandry believes nobles shouldn't be proud and stuck up because they should already know better. She is a small girl but she's got a big heart. She acts more like a commoner than she probably should but that is because as her parents traveled other nobles wouldn't allow their children to play with her so she had to play with commoners. She really doesn't care what people think of her, and only pulls rank when she feels the need to. She is a good person who tries to see the good in others and everything but is realistic to know when to face facts.

Trisana Chandler: Is a young girl form a wealthy merchant family outcast for the odd things that happen to her. Her parents sent her to live with relatives, and she was bounced around from family member to family member, until she wound back up at her parent's home, and they took her to Broken Circle Temple. After losing control of her emotions and her temper..and ultimately her unknown powers, she was taken by Niko to Winding Circle where they had mages more adept in handling cases like Tris. After yet, more problems with the people she lived in a dorm with, she was taken, along with Sandry to Discipline. There they met Briar and Daja who were already in attendance and had been for just about a day.

Tris hates the world. She's picked on for being over weight with ill fitting clothes. She's picked on for choosing to read instead of play outside. She's teased for being so different and fears for the odd things that happen to her. Everyone she's ever trusted leaves her, abandons her, sends her away. Tris has every right to hate and not trust everyone, animals have been her only friends in life, until now. Try as she might to push away her house mates, their guardians (Lark and Rosethorn) and even her teacher Niko, Tris soon comes to soften taking particularly to the soft motherly Lark, as well as the others as she learns to understand them. She is fiercely defensive of the few things and people she really does love in her sad life, Winding Circle and her house mates. This protective anger comes out especially in the second book of the series "Tris's Book" and we see what she can do when fear of losing the best home she ever has takes her over.

Daja Kisubo: Daja is an eleven year old, daughter of a large trading family. She's tall and strong. Her mother is the captain of the third ship Kisubo. She was only just old enough to start sailing with her family. Daja has always had in interest in the work the crafts men, especially those of smiths, do for a living but by Trader traditions one does not take a genuine interest in such things. Daja would get a whooping for her interest try as she might to take herself away from it. Early in one spring season her mother decides its safe enough to sail out, the late winter storms no longer a real worry, or so she thinks. When we first meet Daja she is on a make shift raft in the middle of the Pebble Sea, surrounded by the dead bodies of her family and the wreak of their ship. A ship killer of a storm had taken them and Daja had been the lone survivor. Niko finds her...he then take her to a council made of up two land traders, two sea traders and one trader mage. After much deliberation, it is decided the Daja is Trangshi...bad luck. She is forever banned form speaking or writing to any Trader, for fear her bad luck will rub off. Niko takes her to Winding Circle.

There she meets Sandry in the refectory where no one will allow her to sit with them. Sandry has Daja sit at her table, standing up for her to other nobles. Daja is a realist who has a hard time adjusting to her new situation of having to live with Kaqs (non-traders), as well as being outcast form her own people and the rest of her living family. She is big and strong and can fight well with her Trader staff, and with out it too if it comes to that. She is eager to learn all Frostpine has to teach her. She and Sandry are closest having met when she first arrived, even if they haven't seen one another since until coming to Discipline. Non-traders sneer at her for being a a trader calling her a thief and a baby killer. Traders act as if she doesn't exists because the solid smooth cap on her staff tell them she is bad luck. Between Lark's gentle guidance and Frostpine's lessons Daja learns to accept her place, and instead turns to her new adopted family protecting and loving them as she would her own blood.

Briar Moss: Formerly known as Roach, the name given to him by the Thief Lord, Briar was a street rat, and a thief, constantly stealing food and loot to survive. Cunning and streetwise, Briar had only been caught twice in his short life. Each time they marked an X on the web of his fingers between his thumb and forefinger. Both webs having been marked the third and final time he was caught he was brought before the magistrate. He along with several of his gang members were sentenced to either the galleys or the mines. Just as Briar was being sentenced to the galleys Niko shows up and takes him, into the service of Winding Circle. After a long trip, where Niko had to have stable hands help in bathing Briar, at Winding Circle, Briar is accused of stealing from the other boys in his dorm. Briar proves it was one of the others instead but is kicked out of the dorm for having knives..to protect himself, its hard for a boy who's had to fight for everything his whole life, to break that habit. He is sent to Discipline.

Briar is street smart with a good quick mind. He's loyal to those he feel he owes loyalty to, and as he grows and learns at Winding Cirlce he finds he loves his "new sisters" and their adoptive mothers. He doesn't like to admit to it at first but eventually he comes around to owning up to it. He still forgets that he no longer had to hide with food, and that he can sleep in a bed off the floor because Winding Circle has no rats. The lessons of his young life are still close to him, and even come in very handy at times even in Winding Circle.

There are so many other wonderful character in the series, and along with the series of events, the detailed pantheon, the magic theology, the descriptions of the feelings and sensations, it's all a wonderful detailed with no plot holes. For anyone who loves fantasy novels I strongly recommend this series as well as anything else by Tamora Pierce.