Battle Magic

By: Tamora Pierce

Narrated by: Nancy Wu

New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce returns to the magical world of Winding Circle. Set two years before the events of The Will of the Empress and Melting Stones, this adventure reunites plant mage Briar; his mentor, Rosethorn; and his young apprentice, Evvy, who has a talent for making stones...do things. The three journey eastward to the forbidding land of Yanjing, where they discover a danger that threatens the home temple of the Living Circle religion.

©2013 © 2013 by Tamora Pierce (P)2013 Scholastic Inc.

Great story fills in gaps for other story archs

The story carried itself. The narrator reading well, enunciating the words clearly. I wish she had put more feeling and excitement into her reading. otherwise I loved it.

not her best book

I love Tamora Pierce! I especially love her description of the relationships between the mages and each mage and his/her magic. This book was a lot about court intrigue, political maneuvering, and warfare. Yes, the mages use their magic, but this book was neither charming (as her other books have been) nor particularly captivating. Still, it was nice to spend some time with Briar, Rosethorn, and Evie.

no full cast audio?

Im really disappointed that this is just one narrator. i didnt think it would bother me as much as it did. it just seem that the magic of this series is lost.

My patience paid off

Who was your favorite character and why?

I absolutely adore Evvi, while I knew her from a different book that takes place after this one she still captured my heart during this story. She is so headstrong and honest, isn't afraid to tell it how she sees it and damn the consequences. She also would teach young children that it is good to learn when to shut their mouth.
It always makes me happy to see books with strong young women in them, and Evvi is definitely one of them.

What does Nancy Wu bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She finds a way to help set the scene that I have a harder time doing when I read. I normally can picture something fine when I read, but Nancy really helps to bring the scene to life.

Who knows, maybe I just imagine things better when listening and not reading.

My reason for knocking a star off is that all of the other books that have Briar and Rosethorn in them are done as Full Cast Audio and I definitely missed that here.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The cats.... being an animal lover I loved Evvi's cats. And that is all I will say so that there are no spoilers.

Any additional comments?

While this book will make sense on its own I STRONGLY urge you to read or listen to a few other series first only so that you have the history of the characters. There is information in this book that will be spoilers for past ones.
The series' that I would suggest are "The Circle of Magic" quartet and "The Circle Opens" quartet. Both follow Briar and his sisters before Battle Magic. It is totally possible to listen to "Melting Stones" before as well, but that follows after Battle Magic. However it doesn't give much away to this story.

Tamora Pierce has a way of writing from many view points and building a world that is just amazing. Her worlds are always well-rounded and full, completely believable and they make you want to jump into the book and be a part of the story because of how well they are written. You often aren't left wondering about the big things, but even the littlest things are taken into account when talking about the cultures of the people in the book. She is consistent in those things that are mentioned often but aren't major to the story.
I love a book with good world building.

great read

i really enjoyed the whole thing! i liked the characters and how well they came alive throughout the stoy.