Book Review: The Will of the Empress
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that much of this book deals with a
custom that allows men to kidnap women and force them to marry,
essentially tantamount to rape. It is not described, and is
strongly disapproved of by the major characters. Also, one teen
character has a lesbian affair, which is portrayed as perfectly
normal.
Families who read this book could discuss the varying customs around marriage in our world, including arranged marriages, dowries, marriage as a business or political arrangement uniting families, as well as the relatively modern invention of marrying for love. What is the purpose of marriage, in this book, in our culture, and in others? Another topic could be the reluctance of the major characters to reforge their mental links. Why might older people be less willing to open their minds to others?
Common Sense Media Review
This book is a gift to author Tamora Pierce's legions of
fans. Its pleasures derive from knowing the characters and
enjoying seeing them reunited and in command of (and showing
off) their considerable powers. Those who have not read the
previous two quartets (see Related Books below) will be able to
follow along, but will miss many of the allusions and may
wonder what the fuss is all about.
This very long book is not a grand fantasy -- no battles, no good vs. evil, not even any deaths. It's more of a humorous lark: the first hundred pages consist mainly of the main characters bickering, the second and third hundred mainly flirting, royal entertainments, and some devious manipulations by the empress. The real story, such as it is, doesn't even get moving until the second half, when the heroes get to show off their intriguing powers a bit, though they are never in serious danger. Fans will eat it all up, newcomers are advised to read the quartets first.
From the Book:
A young man five feet nine inches tall walked through
the slums beyond the East Gate, leading a pack-laden donkey.
Atop his more usual burdens the donkey carried boxes with an
assortment of shakkans, or miniature trees. The young man was a
handsome fellow with bronze skin, broad shoulders, and glossy
black hair that he wore cropped an inch long. His eyes were
gray-green, turning darker green as he returned the admiring
glances of the women who passed him by. Those eyes were set
over a thin blade of a nose, a sensitive mouth, and a firm
chin. He wore a Yanjing-style round-collared coat and leggings
in tree green, and rough leather boots with fleece linings. A
closer examination revealed what looked like flower tattoos
covering his hands, while very close examination showed that
the flowers lay under the young man's skin and nails. They also
moved, grew, put out leaves, and blossomed.
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