Customer Reviews

Song of the Lioness Quartet

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am shocked and dismayed by some of the reviews I have seen of this series. I began these books at age 12, and have bought them again at age 22. I am appalled that some people's views of premarital sex (which, by the way, is never depicted explicitly and has never been explicit in any of Tamora Pierce's novels) would allow them to dismiss Alanna as a role model.
First of all, Tamora Pierce does not write children's books, and has in fact stated that she writes her books for teens AND adults. She writes fantasy novels, but a good bit of their appeal is that she keeps them connected to real life. I have seen some people claim that any adult themes/undertones are the result of being modeled after medieval Europe...to that I would reply that while the society is based on old Europe, the people are just people. Does Alanna have sex? Yes. Does she experience the gamut of human emotions and sometimes make bad decisions? Yes. Alanna's appeal is that she is a person--with human failings--who sets out to achieve something great through her perseverence, faith, and staunch belief in protecting those who cannot protect themselves. She grows into a woman who is nobody's fool, refuses to allow herself be put into a "woman's role", and builds the life that she wants.
This book is going to make children have sex? In our society, teens don't need books to give them the idea to have sex. Parents providing stable support and listening to their children's lives and concerns is the only way that those children will make life choices, not their reading material. If parents believe that filtering their children's books will make them "good kids", they will filter out the best literature (Shakespeare, Austen, Grimms Fairy Tales, etc.) ever written...and in the process, remove all the heroes like Alanna (with her menstration, fears about her body, occasional self-doubts) whose lives they can relate to. If I could give this series 10 stars, I would.

These books are amazing. In fact, they are so good that I got really depressed when I finished the series. I'm going to have trouble fining a good book to replace this one. It has all the stuff for teens: adventure, excitement, and most of all, romance. In this series, Alanna of Trebond is determined to be a knight. During her long year training to become a knight and trying to prove herself worthy of being one, she fights the Nameless Ones of the Black City, defeats the evil duke Roger, trains shamans for the Bazhir tribe, the Bllody Hawk, and quests for the Dominion Jewel. Throughout the series Alanna proves herself not only worthy of being the first female page, squire, and knight in a century, but worthy to be the first female King's Champion. This series is an absolute must-read, and I don't think there will ever be a series better than this one!

This is without a doubt, the best series i've ever read. It's about Alanna, a girl who wants to become a knight. Except there's one problem: If anyone finds out she's a girl she's through. During her 8-year masquerade as the boy, Alan, she uncovers adventure, sorcery, evil forces, dangerous enemies, the ordeal of knighthood, (i could go on forever) even love. and in a very wide range: from the royal prince Jonathan, to the shang dragon, liam, to the king of theives, george. Alanna is very brave and couragous and she lives her dreams in the end. i was really mad when i finished reading this series and i think there should be more books. (the second one is my favorite) Alanna is the coolest character ever and i look forward to reading more books by tamora pierce although none will be better than these.

I was looking for a Christmas gift a year ago for my young cousin. Being 15 years older than her and male makes for hard gift ideas till I ran acrossed this set of books! This is a wonderful tail (told in 4 books) of a young lass who wanted to be a knight and all the many adventures she had. I read this books just before Christmas 2003 so much I kept them for myself and went back and got another set for my cousin who from all reports loves them too! Ms Pierce tells a wonderful story and has created a wonderful universe that will keep the readers attention. Whether female or male, young or old, everyone can enjoy reading the Tortall series!!

I first read these in the seventh grade, and they are the books that got me hooked on reading. They were the first books that I couldn't put down...I remember taking them into restaurants and reading while I was waiting for my food to arrive. I still randomly pick them up now and again and reread my favorite parts, and many times I end up reading much more than I planned.

In any case, they are very good books. Alanna is a strong, believable heroine who grows in the course of the story, and despite her many faults it is impossible not to become quite attached to her. The supporting characters are also very lovable, particularly George and Jon. And the setting Tamora Pierce creates is rich and bursting with culture.

I think they would be particularly enjoyed by teenage girls. There is some implied sex, but there are never any crude or graphic refences (I even missed many of the implications the first time I read them). Otherwise, Alanna is driven by chivalry and other virtuous qualities, and Duke Roger, the antagonist, is driven by greed and all things sinful. The main conflict comes down to good vs. evil. And Alanna is a wonderful hero; she is not afraid to overcome the limitations that society puts on women. Her actions inspire change and acceptance in her kingdom as she struggles to save them all from certain doom. She excells in areas that once only belonged to men. The message her story sends to young women is awesome.

Tamora Pierce is a great storyteller and Alanna is an unmatched heroine. These books are a must-read for any fantasy fan or for any young adults looking for some good, female-powered lit.

First of all, I love this series. It captured my imagination when I was in 3rd grade or so, and I've gone through multiple copies of each book, just from reading them so much over the years. I am however, surprised that so many are commmenting on the "mature issues" in the books. I never even noticed anything that made me giggle when I originally read them, and honestly, parents, if you think your kids are that clueless at whatever age they are, then you need to wake up a little bit. Any sexual innuendo went completely over my head. The only thing I can recall that I questioned, was when I was younger, and I read about Alanna menstruating for the first time, and asking my mother about it. It opened up a WONDERFUL discussion for the two of us, and at the time, it was probably about 2 years before such events occurred for me. I guarantee your daughter will love these books, and you have nothing to fear from her reading them. Discuss the books with your child like you should, and it will enrich the both of you.

I absolutely have to say that these are my favorite books in the entire world. Once I read the first one, I knew I had to finish the series. This book has everything: adventure, excitement, romance. In this series, Alanna a Trebond dreams of becoming the first lady knight in a century. So she switches places with her brother & pretends to be a boy. Throughout the series, Alanna has many adventures like going to the Black City, defeating and evil sorcerer, training shamans for the Bloodly Hawk, & finding the Dominian Jewel. Her hardest task was to protect her identity, which stayed hidden until she became a knight. I love the romance too! She has the task of choosing between three guys who all seem to be hopelessly in love with her (well, not exactly hopelessly in love, but close enough). I got so mad and Jon when he said she was unfeminine. How can you be a knight if you're worring about your hair or your nails? Anyway, the series is great, you have to read it. And after you finish this series, I recommend the Immortals and the Proctector of the Small. I've read all of them, and I was so sad when the story of Tortall was over. I don't think I'll ever find any books better than these.

These books were amazing. I read them all within a week and found it impossible to put them down. Unfortunatley I read Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen first, but they were still awesome. I REALLY reccommend these books-- they were great. Great for teenage girls who like fantasy, and if you don't like fantasy, give them a try anyways! You won't be dissapointed!! Once you read the first book, you will have to read the following books anyways.

If you want to read the Tortall books, read them in this order:

1) The Song of the Lioness Quartet series (these: starting with Alanna: the First Adventure)
2)The Immortals series (starting with Wild Magic)
3) Daughter of the Lioness series (starting with Trickster's Choice)

This way you won't ruin any suprises!

This series (Song of the Lioness) is about a sheroe, Alanna, who pretends to be a boy so she can learn to be a knight. Hiding her true identity as girl for around seven years, she faces many hardships on the way to win her shield. This series deals with everything that I could think of about growing up, including puberty, love, bullies, and dealing with life in general. Instead of having a a typical idiot bully who steals lunch money, this one could be real. I found that I've read these books six or seven times, each time getting more from it.

I'll preface this review by saying that my 8 year old daughter, an exceptional reader, loved this series of books . . . that's where the one star comes from.

However, as a parent, I'm quite disturbed that this series of books is marketed to young children. From the artwork, the size of the text and the synopsis on the back cover nothing suggests that there are mature themes being dealt with.

Specifically, the main character has a pregnancy charm and a prince who is basically telling her, -you know you want it- after she shoves him away when he starts undressing her.

Maybe this book would be a good conversation starter for a preteen, but not an 8 year old.