Cold Fire (2002)

Daja travels north where she discovers two young mages and helps in a series of dangerous fires.

I hadn't realized just how violent this series was until this book made me think about all of them together. So far all of the children have had not only to deal with personal deaths among their families and friends, but also with serious questions about dealing with battle and dangerous criminals. For a series that I had really considered to be a children's adventure series that made me happy, it can be fairly dark. Still, the relationships that pull the kids through these times are what makes the series still full of love. I'll read the final book of this quartet now, and the following books are for audiences who are a bit older. I'm looking forward to them, as well. ( )

Cold Fire, a fantasy novel set in Tamora Pierce's Magic Circle universe, follows Daja Kisubo through her life after she arrives in the northern city of Namorn. The book is one in a quartet of books that acts as a sequel to another quartet set in the same universe. The first set of books follows four young people as they learn to use their magic, and this second series centers around the (now) teenagers undertakings in new locations as they begin to travel and find their own students. Cold Fire sees Daja discovering two students she must train in the use of their magic, while she gets more involved in a dangerous series of fires that has been plaguing the town. Daja must attempt to balance her responsibilities to her students with the risks of her involvement in the suspected arsons that quickly grow out of control throughout the novel.

With quick pacing and a budding mystery, Pierce has created a novel that will not only grab young readers attention, but also manages to keep it. Throughout the novel a mix of confused feelings, responsibilities and concerns about the future keep Daja relatable to younger readers, but the focus remains on the plot, not romance. Pierce create wonderful female characters who maintain their integral place in the novels, instead of becoming part of a romance storyline. Though the novel may be alienating to some who have no previous knowledge of the series, it could be read alone, though some sections may end up confusing to the new reader.

Though occasionally repetitive, the heroines of Pierce's novels provide strong female role models who provide an image for girls that is not always seen in young adult fiction that centers on fantasy and adventure. Pierce creates these characters not at the expense of the men in the series, but as strong equals to them, and Daja is no exception. In addition to the story itself, Cold Fire provides strong female characters within the framework of a compelling, and beautifully created world.

Liz K.

I originally reviewed this book on my blog - The Cosy Dragon. For more recent reviews by me, please hop over there.

Daja and her teacher Frostpine have gone far into the wintery cold so that Daja can learnt from other metal mages. Like the other 2 books in this quartet, she unexpectedly finds herself teaching meditation and finding the gifted children the teachers they need. To complicate things there is an arsonist afoot, and Daja doesn't know which of her feelings to trust.

Once again, it is the teaching element of this novel that really makes me like it. It's great how Pierce has changed things up a bit about meditation because there are only so many descriptions of measured counting that a reader can put up with.

Daja really matures in this book. Although she is usually more adult than say Tris or Briar, occasionally she isn't as driven as Sandry to show off a good front. Here you can see that she really is a 14 year old in some ways (like trusting friends) but an adult in others (being concerned for her students who are only a couple of years younger than her).

The fires in this book aren't exactly nice to read about, particularly as they become more sinister and kill more people. It's nice though that Pierce constantly challenges the assumption that magic can fix everything. Sometimes it is also part of the problem!

The ending is a little too neat for my liking, but it's not bad. And it will keep you reading, no doubts about that. I would recommend this book again for children and teenagers. Pierce avoids describing anything too sinister, but perhaps those children with very active imaginations should take care not to read before bedtime. I wouldn't recomend reading it just before bedtime anyway, because you'll get too stuck into it and stay up late! This book is slightly longer than the others, and my copy has tiny font to make up for that. ( )

I wouldn't start with this book--it's not a standalone. There is a prior quartet, Circle of Magic that introduces four young people who become friends and train together in magic, Sandry, Tris, Briar, and the protagonist of this book, Daja. After that quartet of books, in The Circle Opens series, each goes off into their own, and the order you read those four becomes unimportant. I find not just Daja and her mentor in this novel appealing, but also the very milleu this story is set in. I had fun guessing if this were set in a quasi-Scandinavia, or if Russia or Holland were the inspiration. I found the look at medieval firefighting (and firebug) also intriguing. The story itself is an interesting character study. The "villain" of this piece is not who or what one might expect and this works as a fine mystery as well as fantasy adventure. ( )

Substance: Excellent depiction of the progression of a hero to mass-murderer. The villain shows far more depth than the heroine.
Oddity: Pierce apologizes to PETA-friends who might be offended that the novel's characters wear furs in a pseudo-medieval northern climate. She does not apologize to anyone for executing a rather horrible death penalty.
In the other novels of this series, she has no qualms about letting the protagonists decide unilaterally to execute malefactors (nevermind that the villains unquestionably deserve their fates). Seems a tad unbalanced to me. ( )