When gang warfare breaks out in Chammur, Briar finds he has sympathy for those caught in the crossfire - and he even helps heal them. But Briar understands the city's gangs as well as he understands Evvy, the young mage. The ragged girl reminds Briar of the life he led before he left for Winding Circle. Wandering through a Chammuri market, Briar comes acroos a street girl using powerful magic to polish stones for a merchant. I'll be looking forward to following entries as the remaining three characters mature and become teachers in their own rights." It's been four years since Briar Moss began his training as a plant mage, but he still hasn't put his past behind him. Naturally, it's a good idea to read Sandry's Book, Tris's Book, Daja's Book and Briar's Book) before reading the first entry in The Circle Opens series. It's hardly excessive, though, and shouldn't be too bothersome. Not a major fault, though, and there are plenty of good points that more than make up for that.Ī warning to those with weaker stomachs - there is quite a lot more gore and death in Magic Steps than in the previous quartet. However, they still inexplicably measure height in feet and inches, and some of the foreign customs mentioned are very Asian and Middle-Eastern in feel. Even the names of the weekdays are altered. Pierce did, for the most part, a good job of creating slang and customs for her world. Really, the only thing that detracted from my pleasure in reading Magic Steps was the occasional intrusion of terms from this world.
Pasco is also an engaging creation, and Pierce's vivid description of his first dance lesson (and his ensuing sore muscles) will provoke a good deal of compassion from anyone who has ever taken serious dance lessons.Īdditionally, the villains, though a little underdeveloped, are not the standard implausibly evil Bad Guys. However, Sandry's character is further developed as she becomes more independent, and she gains a surprising amount of depth and maturity by the end of the book. The shift of this quartet is definitely away from three of the original four characters in the Circle of Magic books Tris, Briar and Daja are mentioned only in passing. And only Sandry and Pasco, two young and inexperienced mages, have the combined unique talents to deal with the menace. Unmagic, as they call it, permits several murderers to go undiscovered as they exact revenge upon the prominent Rokat family in a truly grisly manner. There's some particularly creative magic going on: Sandry continues to work with and explore her special type of thread magic, Pasco (her new and somewhat unwilling student) begins to learn control over his unusual dancing Talent, and a new and very dangerous type of magic is discovered. It's a very diverting action-fantasy with plenty of - well, everything. Rambles.NET: Tamora Pierce, The Circle Opens #1: Magic Steps Tamora Pierce,Īs someone who is generally not a big fan of Tamora Pierce's work, I was pleasantly surprised by Magic Steps, the first in a promising new quartet following her previous series, Circle of Magic.