Mastiff

It breaks my heart to give this book a low rating because it's by Tamora Pierce, who turned me into a little feminist at the ripe old age of 12.

I remember sitting in my sixth grade class, reading a copy of Alanna: The First Adventure under my desk. I powered through the Song of the Lioness books, then the Immortals series, devouring the Circle of Magic, and being overjoyed when, at age 14, she started a new series which became my favorite (Protector of the Small). I grew up on these books, and I still reread them every few years.

I liked Terrier. I liked Bloodhound. I liked Mastiff until I got to the end. It was interesting to follow Beka and her comrades on a Hunt for a kidnapper. I liked the integration of later plot lines into this prequel series, and I liked that the love interest was nice and a decent human being. That said, the whodunnit spoiled this series for me.

It just didn't make sense to me. Here you have a character who has been held up as a paragon of virtue, and he suddenly turns traitor, virtually condoning regicide? For reasons which don't seem to have a root?

No, thank you. I prefer to remember Tunstall as he was in Terrier. A good man with a good heart and not a traitorous bone in his body. He only turned traitor in order to fill a plot gap, and I was left not really believing it. I cannot believe that this is a man who would kill children, as nothing in the previous books would have ever hinted that he was capable of such a thing.

I'm fine with turning a good guy evil. I just want to see how it could happen before I'll believe it. ( )

With this last book, Pierce closes out the story of Beka Cooper. Never a fan of epistolary novels, I found I enjoyed these books despite the journalling conceit. Still, jumping into Beka's life with so much lost time between stories is no where near as satisfying of a reading experience for me. For example, this book opens after a failed relationship for Beka. While I applaud Pierce's wilingness to let her characters love and lose, having all of that growth take place "off camera" wasn't particularly effective (I had a hard time imagining Beka in her previous relationship, and it didn't positively impact my ability to invest in her next one).

While this series won't unseat The Lionness or Wild Magic or Trickster series as my favorites, it was an enjoyable read over all.

( )

Ahhhh, Mistress Pierce, you're a lady after my own heart with this book! The whole series was amazing, and this last book was outstanding. Certainly I've never seen finer work in a first-person, journal-style book, and I'm ever more in love with your ability to tell such grand tales! :D ( )

Pierce does it again. Gives us a great heroine and a complicated situation. I always love her books, and she does not disappoint! ( )

Enjoyed the book, but not my favorite of Pierce's. I was really enthralled with the characters and Lower City setting of the first Beka book, so I think I was just disappointed to not see more of that. I would love to read more about Beka doing just her regular job keeping order in the Lower City, but I'll take whatever Pierce wants to write!

Still disturbed by the bad photoshop job on the cover - let's take a stock photo of a girl and superimpose a stock photo of a doublet on her - who cares if she looks like something out of the exorcist? Beka and Tamora Pierce both deserve better. ( )