Product Description

Alianne has an oppressive heritage. She is the daughter of Alanna, Lady Knight and King's Champion - the foremost warrior of Tortall. Aly is not a fighter - she hates her mother's obsession, which constantly takes her away from her family and makes her children feel neglected and resentful. After a stormy argument with her mother, Aly runs away to make them sorry. But she gets more than she bargained for when she is kidnapped by pirates, and sold as a slave in the far-off Copper Isles. Aly's future is bleak, but then she finds out that this has all been planned, by a god, no less. Aly is a favourite of the god Kyprioth - she is the Trickster's Choice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #378837 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
To the great joy of her many fans, Tamora Pierce's Trickster's Choice begins a new saga of Tortall to add to The Song of the Lioness Quartet, the Immortals Quartet, and The Protector of the Small Quartet.

At the center of each of these books is always a strong and resourceful young woman who masters the arts of swordplay and knightly warfare in the magical medieval country of Tortall. Alianne, or Aly, daughter of the warrior queen Alanna the Lioness, has all these skills, but also a delicious sense of humour, which serves her well when she is chosen by the trickster god Kyprioth to serve as his secret agent and a slave for a year in the embattled Copper Isles. There the dark-skinned natives, or raka, have been conquered and crushed by the laurin, light-skinned people from the mainland. The burning raka resentment is fuelled by prophecies of a twice royal queen who will free them, aided by the "wise one, the cunning one, the strong one, the warrior, and the crows". Just how each of the colourful characters and Aly herself fit into this prophecy and Kyprioth's tricky plan keeps readers guessing. Aly plots to show her skill at spying as she flirts with the god and is courted by Nawat, a crow transformed into a handsome young man, who is puzzled when she rejects his attempts to mate-feed her with grubs and ants.

The pages of this long but fast-paced adventure zip by, enlivened by intrigue, skirmishes, comedy, romance and lots of dramatic clothes. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews

A brilliant new title from a fabulous author
Aly, only daughter of Alanna the lioness and Baron George Cooper wants to be a spy like her father and grandfather, but her whole family seem to be against this.
Ms. Pierce's quality is obvious from the first paragraph, as she throws you head long into the action. The book also contains nods to other well loved characters - particularly Daine and Numair's new born, shape changing baby! If you liked Ms Pierce's other Tortall books, you're going to adore Trickster's Choice - I can't wait for the sequel that comes out next May. One word of warning however - be sure to read ALL the other Tortall novels before you read this, as it contains many plot spoilers, and if you don't no the characters, you may quickly become confused as to their significance.

I won't spoil the plot for you, but...
The book was fantastic and hugely enjoyable. At 18 years of age I'm occasionally embarrassed at my continuing enjoyment in fantasy books (especially when displayed in the children's section of book shops) but when I saw a review for this book on the American site by a 13 year old who found this book childish and badly written I felt I must defend Tamora Pierce's honour. I have read all of her books and ordered 'Trickster's Choice' from America after my sister and grandma told me how much they enjoyed the book.

I have to say I couldn't put it down after it arrived and read it at every opportunity, finishing it in the same day. Not only are the characters ones you can identify with but I also loved Alianne's witty sense of humour and the banter between her and Kyprioth, the trickster God. Pierce has not attempted to play happy families and the discord between Aly and her mother makes the book all the more believable; the plot has not been sacrificed for the sake of sentimentality but presents a realistic mother/daughter relationship.

For fans who have read The other Tortall series your curiosity about the other characters will be fulfilled with amusing glimpses into their lives (I loved these, you cant keep the smile off your face) but they don't pull the plot down, Aly is a character who does not need the success of the previous heroines to draw in readers.

Overall I found this book a great read which will always put you in a good mood with its humour and light tone, while tackling issues such as racism and morals. It will suit people of any age (within reason of course), which means the whole family can enjoy. I was disappointed only with the fact that I can't look forward to three more books (Tamora Pierce usually writes quartets) but I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel- if only to find out about Nawat! Go on read it and see what I mean.

Decent book
Alianne, daughter of the Lioness, Alanna,is floating through life until Kyprioth, the trickster god of the Copper Isles, interferes. After being captured by pirates and sold as a slave, she makes a wager to look after half raka, half luarin royalty. The skills her father taught her come in useful, as she is sent away from court in exile because the eccentric King suffers from paranoia.

I feel while this book is not as great as some of her others, i still think it is a decent book. The plot is quick to start and the characters are intriguing and somewhat entertaining.