Circle of Magic is one of my all-time favourite series/worlds. I read or listen to them so often - I’m talking minimum once a year, often more.
Set in a fantasy world which resembles our own world, circa 1800’s; before electricity, when horses were the main form of travel for long distances. As a fan of high fantasy (Game of Thrones, Name of the Wind, Assassin's Apprentice), this sits nicely with me.
Our characters are young - 11 I believe at the start of the series, though they do grow with the books. Despite this, I recommend it to a variety of ages - the writing is not childish, nor are the themes.
Our four young main characters are all ‘found’ by a Great Mage, Niklaren Goldeye. Daja, Sandry and Briar have no inkling that they are mages, and Tris has been tested more than once by her family, who are unnerved by all of the strange things that happen when she is emotional. The four are brought together at Winding Circle Temple, and sent to Discipline. Unlike its name may suggest, Discipline is not a punishment. It is a safe place for the four to discover their magic, learn to understand it, and eventually how to control it.
Each of the four books in the original series focuses
predominantly on one young person at a time, and their magics - metal, weather,
thread and plant. However, at the end of the first book, Sandry spins the magic
and the consciousness of the four into one being, in order to survive. From
this point on, the children can speak to one another in their minds.
The world building is solid, although contained, in the
first four books. In the second series - The Circle Opens - and the third
series - The Circle Reforged - we step out of Winding Circle and into the world
at large, encountering a variety of different peoples of differing races and
beliefs.
Representation is good in these books, both in terms of skin
colour, social status, and gender. We also have a bi-sexual adult, a non-specific
queer adult, polyamoury and one of our main characters is interested in women.
These relationships are not pushed in the face of the reader, and younger
children may miss them entirely - until our main character, but even then it’s
PG - but in this instance I actually like this. The books were first published
between 2000 and 2013, before the recent push for LGBTQIA+ representation, yet
they still fulfill the request for “books about gay people that aren’t coming
out stories”. These characters are simply who they are, and there is no overt
judgement about it. Which I love!
These books are violent,
there are murders, natural disasters, plagues, death, pirates, explosions, gang
violence, fires - you get the idea. The language is rich and descriptive, the
scenes easy to follow and the cast or characters - though large, is not too
confusing.
Content warnings: as
above - violent, there are murders,
natural disasters, plagues, death, pirates, explosions, gang violence, fires.
Foul language is not an issue, but the writing is graphic. And beautiful.
Added note: the audio
books for the first series are performed by Full Cast Audio, with Tamora Pierce
herself as the main narrator. The audiobooks are wonderful!
Overall rating: 5
stars. Yup, 5. They hold up even with multiple re-reads, and the reading age
spanned is a bonus.
Posted by Li
Catalogue links for The Circle of Magic series:
1. The Magic in the Weaving/Sandry's Book
2. The Power in the Storm/Tris's Book
3. The Fire in the Forging/Daja's Book
4. The Healing in the Vine/Briar's Book
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