Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Cozy Fantasy at its best

Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce

Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce

Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce

Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce

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Sandry’s Book These were a re-read on a recent flight, and I blipped through all four of them like they were candy, but with a newfound appreciation. Or maybe the same appreciation I’ve had all along? These books were, and continue to be, a lodestone for how to write ‘cozy fantasy,’ where the stakes are real but the peace between (and the world building, aside from the magic rule building) is as important. Should go without saying that of all the Pierce quartets of books, […]

Pierce absolutely sticks the landing

Shatterglass by Tamora Pierce

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So concludes The Circle Opens Series, and a what a way to finish the series! Tris Chandler and her teacher Niko Goldeye are travelling just like the rest of the young yet extraordinarily powerful mages from Winding Circle. They make their way to the South to a Tharios. Tharios is a Greek/Mediterranean inspired town with a horrible and dehumanizing caste system added on. In Tharios, Niko attends a conference on vision magic, and Tris stumbles upon an immigrant glass blower, Keth, who isn’t in control […]

Another uneven entry to The Circle Opens

Cold Fire by Tamora Pierce

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Daja and her instructor Frostpine leave their home at Winding Circle, so Daja might be exposed to other smiths and metalworkers in the world, both magical and mundane. They find themselves the guests of one of Frostpine’s friends and his family, the Bancanours. Frostpine assists the local police mage on tracking down the person responsible for creating forgeries of the local currency and Daja stumbles upon the innate magic of the two Bancanour twin girls, Nia and Jory. As was set up in previous books, […]

Wished I’d read this back when I first put it on my TBR!

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce

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CBR13Bingo: White Whale For CBR’s white whale challenge, I’m going way back in the time machine to a book that’s been on my TBR (eventually) list since I was in middle school. Tamora Pierce’s work, especially her Alanna books, were often recommended as a read-alike to Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, which was a hugely formative book for me a kid, mainly I guess because both were books by women starring heroines with swords. For whatever reason, my local library didn’t carry it so I gorged myself […]

With set-up all taken care of, Pierce shines again

Street Magic by Tamora Pierce

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BINGO – Cityscape Briar Moss and his teacher Rosethorn have travelled to Chammur in order to expose Briar to the greater world and help farmers with their crops. While in Chammur, Briar gets to know the local street kids. He was a former street kid himself, so he feels an automatic kinship with these ganged up kiddos. One child, Evvy, stands out to Briar and not only because she’s the only street kid who isn’t in a gang. She has ambient magic that presents itself […]

A boring introduction to a series with a lot of potential

Magic Steps by Tamora Pierce

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BINGO – OLD SERIES (originally published in 2000) Sandry has been living with her uncle, the Duke of Emelan, ever since he had a heart attack a few months ago. Her teacher is still at Winding Circle, and all of her friends are travelling around the world with their teachers. For the first time since joining Discipline Cottage at Winding Circle Temple, Sandry is without her chosen family. But she has plenty to keep her busy like helping her uncle run the Kingdom in his weakened […]



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