Customer Reviews

First Test: Book 1 of the Protector of the Small Quartet

5 star:		(153)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Ten-year-old Keladry wants to be a knight like her hero Alanna the Lioness. After she rescues some kittens from a spidren monster, she becomes more determined than ever to go to knighthood-training school, so she can learn how to protect the weak and small. Kel is the first girl page since Alanna (who was disguised as a boy at the time), and the odds seem to be against her: The training master thinks girls shouldn't be knights; some of the boys play vicious practical jokes on her, trying to get her to drop out. Kel shows her courage when she is the first student to stand up to the school bullies. As always in Tamora Pierce's fantasies, there are plenty of good, likable characters, such as the Shang Wildcat, Daine (who converses with animals), King Jonathan, the mage Numair, good old Sir Myles, Neal of Queenscove, and Lord Raoul. And then there are the animals: Kel's faithful horse, Peachblossom, and the sparrow Crown and her flock, who prove quite dangerous to Kel's enemies. There are some exciting confrontations with immortal monsters. "First Test" is the first book in Ms. Pierce's third Tortallan series, Protector of the Small, and it's just as much fun as the two earlier series. I'm now looking forward to reading the next book, "Page."

Ever since I read this book (about 5 months ago) I've been waiting with baited breath to find out what happens. It starts off Keladry(Kel) of Mindelan has just decided to become a knight. Ever since Alanna (Lioness Quartet) became King's Champion, it has been legal for girls to become knights. So against the better judgement of Lord Wyldon, the guy in charge of the training, she is accepted. The only catch is Alanna is to have NO contact with her. And Kel is on probation unlike any boy. After Kel gets to the palace no one wants to beseen dead with her except Neal, Duke Baird's son. Kel learns to deal with bullies, unfair treatment and fear. It's a really great book! The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was it wasn't written like the Alanna and Daine books. It's more like the Circle of Magic books, kind of young seeming. It's still a great read though!

I thought this book was great. Some people have been comlaining about the lack of involvement from charachters in previous books, but them staying in the background helps to make this book original, not just restating previous books. Also, there are some reviewers asking where Kitten is, but they must not have read "In the Realms of the Gods" very carefully, because in it Diamondflame takes her back with him to the dragonlands. The question I agree the most with is, Didn't Princess Kalasin say she wanted to be a kinght? Where is she? Since Roald is an older page and Kally is a year younger, she ought to be a page the same year as Kel, but there's no sign of her. I suppose the author thought it wouldn't be the same if there were two girls, but she still could have offered a reason why Kally wasn't there instead of pretending she doesn't exist. Some people have claimed that there wasn't any excitment. I guess they somehow missed the spidren hunt, the fights, the weighted lance, and other parts. There's also the mystery of the anonymus gift-giver, though I'm pretty sure I know who it is. I won't spoil it for those who haven't, however. I like that Kel is way different from either Alanna or Daine. In fact, she and Alanna are in many respects complete opposites. Of all Ms. Pierce's charachters, I guess she most resembles Daja (of Circle of Magic), or Raoul, Alanna's friend from her days as page and squire. One thing: we really didn't get to know Roald, I suppose because Ms. Pierce didn't want to repeat lady knight/heir of throne friendship. On the whole, this book was a good read, my only real regret being that it was over too soon. I would have liked to read Joren's reaction to the Stump's final desicion. I can't wait for the next one to come out, speaking of which, why is Ms. Pierce starting a new series? That will be wonderful, but finish this one first! Keep up the good work, whichever series, though!

All right, I will admit that this was not one of Tamora Pierce's best books, and I should know, because I've read them all (Song of the Lioness, Immortals, Circle of Magic-which sucked). And this was not one of her best. It was interesting, to see someone who had no magic whatsoever, deal with people the normal way. You know, without turning them into trees, or throwing bolts of lightning on them. Kel was a very unique person, whose only fault, in my opinion, was that she was too stuck on the Yamani Isles way of life. Hey, if she loves them so much, she can go back, right? This book did provide a good continuation of the Immortals series, and gave us readers (who still haven't recovered from the abrupt cutoff in Realms of the Gods)a glimpse of what happened between Daine and Numair (I mean the fact that she's sleeping with him kinda gives you a hint!). It is nice to return to our beloved Tortall, and join Kel (who seems much older than 10 years old) and her friends (I only remember Neal, the others were just unnecessary) battle everyday life.

In fantasy, generally, the idea of girl turned warrior is overdone, and most of the time, very badly done. One main exception was the entire Song of the Lionness quartet, which I highly recommend reading before First Test. So, when I heard Tamora Pierce had written another book about a female knight - I looked to it with high expectations. Mostly, this book lives up to the previous Song of the Lionness quartet...in potential at least. Keladry is not as memorable a character as Alanna, and it is reading the surrounding characters that makes the book worthwhile. The minor characters and lesser protagonists have made much more of an impact in my mind than Keladry. The story at times is trite - but I won't hold that against it, that occurs in the best of the best fantasy and especially in 'young adult' reads. I mean, what can you do differently in a book about warrior training and facing difficulties with bullies, etc? Yet, despite that, it holds enough suspense that I am eagerly awaiting the next addition to the series. Overall, this book is worthwhile reading (especially since you get to see Alanna, Daine, and Numair among others again!), but I wouldn't classify it among Pierce's best.

I think this book was all right, though not as memorable as the first novel of Ms. Pierce's other series. I agree with what someone said...a central villain is needed...several steps further than the bullies among the pages and the 'Stump.'

However, I strongly disagree with what some readers are saying: that Kel is boring. She isn't boring at all... she just lacks the awful temper and sharp tongue that most of Pierce's previous heroines have. As for how one person said she lacked strength...not at all! It must take a lot of guts to be the only girl among so many boys, and be ridiculed by them. And about Kel being a 'nice girl.' I think Daine is a fairly 'nice girl' (even if she has a temper), and nearly everyone thought she was a great character. I like Kel's more predictable temperement, for a change, and I am very glad that she doesn't have any magic. (Alanna had TOO much magic, in my opinion, for instance.)

Pierce still has her bad habit of elaborating too much on unimportant details. We don't NEED to know exactly what the pages ate for dinner, or every article of clothing that Kel put on for a certain day.

I thought the ways that the bullies thought up of ways to torment Kel was clever, especially the weighted lance.

The plot was a little slow. Kel is still a page at the end of the book, and she'll be a page in the next novel (I suppose, considering the title -Page-.) Maybe Pierce should speed things up a little (though I understand that the author needed to emphasize the trouble Kel went through).

My other complaint is that there are too many names being thrown at the reader. It gets confusing at times. Some of the names we don't even NEED to know.

Overall, -First Test- was a good book, with a solid character and a nice lead.

Before I begin my review of this novel, I would like to make one remark: Daine, Alanna, Numair, George, ect are no longer main characters! To all of the unwashed masses who insist on whining,"Where's George", or "Where's Numair and Daine's love together?" Their novels are OVER! Therefore, stop expecting Tamora Pierce to give them large parts in the series. It's Kel's quartet....So give her a chance. I, myself, found Kel to be a strong central character whom I could identify with. At times I found "Protector" to be a little to similar to the Alanna series for my liking (ex: Kel training with a heavier lance the way Alanna trained with a heavier sword to make handling bigger weapons easier.), but all in all, I found it to be satisfying, as well as establishing Tortall as a credible fantasy world, with increased details about surrounding lands... Lastly, I would like to respond to all those who insist on saying that there is not enough conflict or main adversary. First Test is laying a solid framework for Kel's true adventures to begin... (which I must say are now highly anticipated)So be patient!

This is an excellent book. It doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat, nor turning the pages like a maniac. But it *is* a book I hurried to return to after school.

The Hero: After the passionate Alanna (of Ms Pierce's earlier series), Keladry seems quiet, stoic, even placid. But she's a unique personality, almost more three-dimensional than Alanna, more believable, more flawed, a wonderful contrast. Certainly, many children would relate to the kind of risk-taker that Alanna was (incidentally, a rewarding sequence or reads, available in most children's libraries), but easily as many would identify with the quietly determined Kel.

I read with amusement what another reviewer had written: does this book make a convincing case for women as soldiers? Perhaps not. But is that the true goal of the book? I think it is more that all of us --women and men-- must take protection of the weak as a modern cause, just as it was in chivalric times. This means, in today's world, peace-keeping. And women police officers have earned our admiration for decades. This book looks at how things would have been different if a girl was allowed to become a knight, who felt strongly about protecting the weak. That's the whole point of "protector of the small."

In spite of her tendency to keep her feelings bottled up, there is no lack of humor in young Kel; she cheerfully takes a nightly stroll around the halls to check up on whether the other young fellows are being bullied. You may call it vigilante justice, you may call it foolhardiness, but that describes who Keladry is: a very determined girl who's more interested in principles than mere survival. I think she makes a wonderful hero. And she does it with humor. Keladry's humor might be a little elusive to those who like to have such things blared at them, but it is there. It is there in the way she tilted at the quintain, despite being handed a weighted lance, to make a point for her master at arms and the practical jokers who set her up, in the way she deals with her eccentric horse, the patience with which she converses with her sparrows.

All in all a delightful read, despite the low-key tone of the narrative. A highly believable main character.

Archimedes

Before reading this book, I have read all 8 of Tamora Pierce's Tortall books, and I strongly recommend reading them before this. Although it is not crucial understanding 'The First Test', you may feel like you're missing something.

Keladry of Mindelan is the first openly female page to take up training in the realm of Tortall since King Jonathan declared that girls may choose a knight's life. Alanna the Lioness, King's Champion and female knight, is barred from all contact with Page Keladry during her training in the name of fairness. However, Keladry - or Kel, is under one year's probation. She has that long to prove to the training master that she can keep up.

During her first year, she is bullied by a group of older pages who think that first years (Kel and her friends) live to serve them, and that women are no match for men as warriors. But Kel soon proves them wrong - in the best ways. Kel's friends, tall, older Neal of Queenscove, Faleron, Seaver and the others, stand by her as she declares war on hazing.

A number of characters from previous Tortall books also make appearances - Myles of Olau is back, as is Daine the Wildmage, Numair Salamin, and Tkaa the basilik. Immortal creatures also gain mentions, as well as spidrens and Raoul of Goldenlake.

I was about twelve years old when I discovered -- and fell in love with -- two of the books of the Song of the Lioness Quartet. Back then they were pretty hard to find, and I couldn't find the other two books until six or seven years later.

Since then, I've tried Pierce's other series, and they just don't stand up to an adult's reading. _First Test_, like the Daine series, suffers from a distinct lack of subtlety, and I never felt drawn into the story the way I was with Alanna. Nothing much really *happens* to Keladry in her first year as a page. Which might be okay if we were given a deeper, more subtle look into her feelings, but instead it's mostly a repetitive, "She tried to be stone, like a Yamani." It gets old very fast.

While this book may well charm younger readers, unlike the Harry Potter books or Robin McKinley's body of work, they won't stand up to reading by adults.