Customer Reviews

LIONESS RAMPANT (The Song of the Lioness)

5 star:		(142)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

One of my favorite books of all time, hands down. Rip-roaring adventure, fascinating new characters, humor, romance, and a dramatic climax. This is a triumphant end to T. Pierce's great series. Most of the merits of this book have already been outlined here, and in greater detail. The real reason for my review is below, and be warned that it contains spoilers.

In Alanna's choice of George, Pierce illustrates a point that is, unfortunately, lost on most young readers. For my part, I know that when I was 13, the fact that Alanna ended up with George disappointed and escaped me. Over time, a few re-readings, and relationships of my own, however, the ending becomes more and more fitting.

For many years I dated a guy whom I loved with all my heart. Slowly however, I realized what a huge piece of myself I'd given to him. He had fallen for an offbeat, punk chick like myself and couldn't wrap his conservative sensibilities around it. Whenever I spoke in confidence with him about my dreams of being a freelance writer, artist, world-traveler, etc., he became very indignant - because it took time away from being with him.Every Christmas, birthday, etc. I received bland clothes and heaps of jewelery. Like Jon's intentions for Alanna, he wanted me to sit idly through life and be queen of his suburbanite castle, while my deep-seated dreams went by the wayside.

George stood by Alanna, never questioned her, always yielded his support for her adventures and who she wanted to be. Interesting how Jon's status as a prince and Alanna's first love will make young fans skim over and ignore his actions and the asinine things he says to her in book three. Jon is an a$s. They are clearly incompatible. Let go of your old fairytale notions, seek your own independence and a companion who will help you along that journey.

All I can say is...wow! This amazing book ends an awesome series with a bang! Pierce truly demonstrates her mastery of description and plot when she deftly resolves all the mysteries and cliff-hangers from the previous novels. The story has everything: action, adventure, combat, romance... Underneath the appearence of a "child's book" which is simply a good read, Pierce presents moral questions and philosophical riddles which make the reader stop and think. In this page-turner, Alanna quests for the Dominion Jewel, a lost treasure which, if in the right hands, has limitless power for good. But meanwhile in Tortall the forces of evil are brewing again, and the Lioness is the only one who can stop them. Our heroine learns about others and also discovers unknown feelings inside herself. If you like these, check out the Immortals and Protector of the Small series; they continue the story of this incredible world, and of course, they feature Alanna. (Psst-just to make you read on...Alanna actually has three children...don't you wonder who they are?) Here's to you, Pierce, may you never end the fantastic chronicles of an amazing world named Tortall!

To begin with, I had a hard time deciding which of the Lioness books to review. I picked this one because it ties as my favorite with IN THE HAND OF THE GODESS. But it was a hard choice. The Lioness books, first read when I was twelve, really got me started on fantasy. Of course, I'd read Tolkien and Beagle, but not much else. I read Pierce's books and have been a devoted fantasy reader ever since. I'm now nineteen and I still reread the Lioness books and love them just as much. Alanna is a firey, spirited young woman and a wonderful hero--human and complete with fualts. By this time she has grown and progressed as a character so that she feels very, very real. The other characters always make me smile, and the ending always makes me cry. The writing style, well suited to young readers, moves you along and keeps you turning pages. This book, granted a darker one than the others, resolves many of the issues presented in the previous books in a believable and entertaining fashion. Finally, I am extremely glad Alanna marries George. He is one of my favorite rouges in all fantasy. Unfortunetly, this series has ruined Tamora Pierce for me. It was so good that her other series simply don't measure up. I entreat any lover of fantasy to read these books--I hope you love them as much as I do!

This book was VERY exciting, and I couldn't put it down. The end of the story was satisfying, in my opinion( Hey- I know SOME people would rather have Alanna marry Jonathan but if they weren't right for each other-it even says that in the book- than why bother? If ya wanna book where someone marries a prince, go read Sleeping Beauty or some other silly story like that.) and I enjoyed it a lot. Alanna is in the Immortals, so I didn't go crazy like I am now waiting for the new book called The First Test. My mom even preordered the paperback version which is going to take even longer to come out! AUGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Well, ANYWAY, once you finish this book, you'll be hooked on the rest of the series about Daine, and so on. I've read this book (as well as all of the others) at least 3 times and now any other books I read seem just plain silly. Even ones by authors I've loved forever. If you're a sane person, you'll love this book!

Alanna has grown a lot from the bad tempered page in the first adventure, and in this book you really get to see her shine. After parting ways with old friends in hope of a new adventure Alanna travels to Maren where she meets Liam, a tough redhead Shang Dragon who is tougher and stronger than she is, not to mention quite attractive! After the two make friends Alanna sets out with Coram and Liam to find the dominion Jewel, a legendary Jewel that can be a great gift Tortall. Unfortunately Tortall needs the Jewel much more than she suspects. Back in Tortall things are falling apart in more ways than she can ever suspect. But the worst thing that happens is when Alanna discovers that her greatest enemy, Duke Roger of Conte, has raised from the dead with help from her own brother!

Lioness Rampant is a thrilling finish to this great series. I was happy to meet great new characters such as Liam and Buri. Pretty much every major character who wasn't killed off (with the exception of one) or exiled has come back for a visit. Like all of Tamora's books Lioness Rampant, and the Alanna series in general, is fast paced and exciting. I can't wait to pick up another magical quartet written by Tamora Pierce.

This is the fourth and final book in the Song of the Lioness quartet. Since I read this quartet AFTER reading the other books in the Tortall series, I enjoyed reading about the early days of King Jonathan and Alanna, the King's Champion.

In this book, we meet Thayet, who marries Prince Jonathan. Alanna puts her romance with Jonathan firmly behind her and has a fling with Liang, the Shang Dragon. She is still unsettled, not quite sure where she fits in or what she wants to do. She comes across an ancient map that leads to a magical stone of power and sets off in pursuit of the stone. She also encounters Duke Roger again after he was brought back to life by Alanna's brother Thom.

I found this to be the weakest book in the quartet. Quite frankly, it was boring and tedious in spots and it seemed to be repeating themes that we saw in the earlier books. However, it finally did pick up at the end when Alanna goes to her final battle with Duke Roger.

Spoiler Alert: Several of our favorite characters die in this book. To me the saddest death was Alanna's cat, Faithful, although I knew the cat had to go back to the goddess at some point. However, this makes it a perfect book for teen-aged girls-- strong female character, light romance, tear jerker scenes and action.

Several reviewers have commented negatively on Alanna's proomiscuity in that during the course of this series she sleeps with three different men. However, Pierce handles this very deftly and matter of factly-- it is actually refreshing to see an author acknowledging that young women have and enjoy sex. There is certainly nothing lurid or titillating- Pierce simply refers to the fact that Alanna sleeps with Shang or George or whoever her current amour is. Since Pierce's characters in her other books are not in any way promiscuous, this seems to be more a facet of Alanna's character and a part of her exploration of what it is like to be a woman. I also really like the idea that Alanna is loved and pursued by three different men, dispelling the image that strong, assertive, physical women are ugly. I think it sets a good image for teens to emulate.

Even though I did not like this book as much as I liked the others in the quartet, it is still an very good book, and a satisfying end to The Song of the Lioness Quartet. I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 as a comparative factor- the first three books in the quartet are slightly better than this one.

This book, the last in the Lioness Quartet, is an amazing and action-packed adventure. Alanna finds one final lover, goes on a harrowing journey to unearth a priceless jewel, and insures the safety and continuation of Tortall. In fact, she saves the entire world from destruction- with modesty, ingenuity, and of course, lots of fencing. Amid fighting insane old enemies who have inconveniently reappeared, Alanna proves herself a hero and an invaluable tool to Tortall.

This book is very different from the last three. Through many beautifully crafted conversations with old and new friends, Alanna finally grows to accept what she has done and who she has become. She discovers her place and marries the guy who we always knew was right for her. This book has a lot more scenes that don't involve Alanna, and it's very interesting to see the point of view of characters such as George and Jonathon.

Alanna is not the only one who grows up in Lioness Rampant's pages. Jonathon, Gary, and Raoul also mature and find their places. Unfortunately, a LOT of people die in the final battle.

The only thing I didn't like about the book was that it was incredibly unrealistic when Alanna is actually happy after Thom does something that is extremely stupid and unforgivable. However, overall the book is interesting, well-written, and touching. It bring a great series to a smooth ending.

it was really disapointing when alanna refused to marry jon in the previous book. but this book has such a sweet ending. ok don't call me crazy or anything but i read and reread this particular series four times, it was so good. i highly recomend this sereis. this book wasn't my favorite of the four but it definately was good! the thing i really like about tamora pierce is that everything doesn't stop at the end of a series. it keeps going on with other books. such as in the immortal series it has a new main character but alanna does apear quite a few time although it is sad to see her all grown up. the same thing happens in the protector of the small series which i'm in the middle of reading. daine and alanna both apear in that series which mrs. pierce is still writing, although again there is still another main character. these are my favorite books in the world and i've read quite a few books of this kind. these books really catch you atention and keep it to the end and leave you anxious for the next book but throughly satisfied and not many books can do that.

Although never able to match up to the brilliance of In the Hand of The Goddess (well it would be impossible, wouldn't it?), this book rounded up the series really well. I particulary liked Buri, and we got to know more about minor characters like Eleni. The return of Ralon was good too. And I liked the idea of Liam too. I've read other reviews where people say it was a wrong idea to put in this relationship, but Alanna was pretty confused, and showing this affair and its difficulties was one way of showing the other side of the heroine. And anyway, no-one complains about all Jon's women! (at least three)! Anyway, read this book, it is fabulous, but if you've read the first three, you'll be so addicted, you'll have to read this anyway!

So many reviews already, just wanted to add my rating to the overall score.

Good series, overall. but prefer the Immortals series.

I think the reason I both liked and disliked this series is George. He was the only character in this series I actually liked wholeheartedly and felt he deserved better than Alanna finally coming back to him after doing everything else on her list.