|
|
Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness) (Paperback)
by Tamora Pierce
| Category:
Teens, Magic tales, Fantasy |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
[ Shop incentives ]
|
| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
This is an excellent book for those who have a adventurous mind, fulfilling with vivid descriptions and beautiful use of words. |
| If you want us to help you with the right titles you're looking for, or to make reading recommendations based on your needs, please contact our consultants. |
Detail |
Author |
Description |
Excerpt |
Reviews |
|
|
|
Author: Tamora Pierce
Publisher: Simon Pulse; Reprint edition
Pub. in: January, 2005
ISBN: 0689878559
Pages: 240
Measurements: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00340
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0689878558
|
|
Rate this product:
|
|
- Awards & Credential -
Tamora Pierce is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy books for teenagers. Her books, known for their teenaged girl warriors and wizards, have received critical acclaim and a strong fanbase.
|
|
- MSL Picks -
"From now on I'm Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I'll be a knight."
And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: Disguised as a girl, Thom heads for the convent to learn magic; Alanna, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page.
But the road to knighthood is not an easy one. As Alanna masters the skills necessary for battle, she must also learn to control her heart and to discern her enemies from her allies.
Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's first adventure begins -- one that will leard to the fulfillment of her dreams and the magical destiny that will make her a legend in her land.
Alanna's journey continues...
(From quoting The Publisher)
Target readers:
Young adults.
|
|
In the sixth grade, Tamora Pierce was encouraged by her father to start writing and she immediately got hooked. Once she discovered fantasy and science fiction, she tried to write the same kind of stories she read, only with teenaged girl heroines who were usually missing from the 1960s stories.
Before her junior year at the University of Pennsylvania where she studied psychology, Pierce rediscovered writing when she wrote her first original short story since tenth grade. She sold her first story a year later and then enrolled in a fiction writing course during her senior year. When her teacher suggested that she tackle a novel, her childhood ideas came back to her and she began her first sword and sorcery novel.
Pierce then worked as a housemother in an Idaho group home for teenaged girls, who loved hearing Alanna’s story from the in-progress quartet, Song of the Lioness. As Pierce continued to write and send out manuscripts, she moved to Manhattan to get her publishing career off the ground.
Pierce still lives in Manhattan with her husband, writer/filmmaker Tim, and their three cats, two parakeets, plus a floating population of rescued wildlife. She enjoys her hectic life as a full-time writer and she hopes that her books leave her readers with the feeling that they can achieve anything if they want it badly enough.
Tamora Pierce is a popular author of fantasy books for teenagers. In her latest quartet, Protector of the Small, readers follow heroine Kel as she rigorously trains for the knighthood.
|
|
From The Publisher
Becoming a legend is not easy, as young Alanna of Trebond discovers when she disguises herself as a boy and begins training to be a knight. Alanna's skills and stubborness help her befriend Prince Jonathan and alienate his evil uncle, Duke Roger. Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, this book is a rousing introduction to the intensely satisfying story of Alanna.
|
Chapter One: Twins
"That is my decision. We need not discuss it," said the man at the desk. He was already looking at a book. His two children left the room, closing the door behind them.
"He doesn't want us around," the boy muttered. "He doesn't care what we want."
"We know that," was the girl's answer. "He doesn't care about anything, except his books and scrolls."
The boy hit the wall. "I don't want to be a knight! I want to be a great sorcerer! I want to slay demons and walk with the gods -- "
"D'you think I want to be a lady?" his sister asked. "'Walk slowly, Alanna,'" she said primly. "'Sit still, Alanna. Shoulders back, Alanna.' As if that's all I can do with myself!" She paced the floor. "There has to be another way."
The boy watched the girl. Thom and Alanna of Trebond were twins, both with red hair and purple eyes. The only difference between them -- as far as most people could tell -- was the length of their hair. In face and body shape, dressed alike, they would have looked alike.
"Face it," Thom told Alanna. "Tomorrow you leave for the convent, and I go to the palace. That's it."
"Why do you get all the fun?" she complained. "I'll have to learn sewing and dancing. You'll study tilting, fencing -- "
"D'you think I like that stuff?" he yelled. "I hate falling down and whacking at things! You're the one who likes it, not me!"
She grinned. "You should've been Alanna. They always teach the girls magic -- " The thought hit her so suddenly that she gasped. "Thom. That's it!"
From the look on her face, Thom knew his sister had just come up with yet another crazy idea. "What's it?" he asked suspiciously.
Alanna looked around and checked the hall for servants. "Tomorrow he gives us the letters for the man who trains the pages and the people at the convent. You can imitate his writing, so you can do new letters, saying we're twin boys. "You go to the convent. Say in the letter that you're to be a sorcerer. The Daughters of the Goddess are the ones who train young boys in magic, remember? When you're older, they'll send you to the priests. And I'll go to the palace and learn to be a knight!"
"That's crazy," Thom argued. "What about your hair? You can't go swimming naked, either. And you'll turn into a girl -- you know, with a chest and everything."
"I'll cut my hair," she replied. "And -- well, I'll handle the rest when it happens."
"What about Coram and Maude? They'll be traveling with us, and they can tell us apart. They know we aren't twin boys."
She chewed her thumb, thinking this over. "I'll tell Coram we'll work magic on him if he says anything," she said at last. "He hates magic -- that ought to be enough. And maybe we can talk to Maude."
Thom considered it, looking at his hands. "You think we could?" he whispered.
Alanna looked at her twin's hopeful face. Part of her wanted to stop this before it got out of hand, but not a very big part. "If you don't lose your nerve," she told her twin. And if I don't lose mine, she thought.
"What about Father?" He was already looking into the distance, seeing the City of the Gods.
Alanna shook her head. "He'll forget us, once we're gone." She eyed Thom. "D'you want to be a sorcerer bad enough?" she demanded. "It means years of studying and work for us both. Will you have the guts for it?"
Thom straightened his tunic. His eyes were cold. "Just show me the way!"
Alanna nodded. "Let's go find Maude."
Maude, the village healer, listened to them and said nothing. When Alanna finished, the woman turned and stared out the door for long minutes. Finally she looked at the twins again.
They didn't know it, but Maude was in difficulty. She had taught them all the magic she possessed. They were both capable of learning much more, but there were no other teachers at Trebond. Thom wanted everything he could get from his magic, but he disliked people. He listened to Maude only because he thought she had something left to teach him; he hated Coram -- the other adult who looked after the twins -- because Coram made him feel stupid. The only person in the world Thom loved, beside himself, was Alanna. Maude thought about Alanna and sighed. The girl was very different from her brother. Alanna was afraid of her magic. Thom had to be ordered to hunt, and Alanna had to be tricked and begged into trying spells.
The woman had been looking forward to the day when someone else would have to handle these two. Now it seemed the gods were going to test her through them one last time.
She shook her head. "I cannot make such a decision without help. I must try and See, in the fire."
Thom frowned. "I thought you couldn't. I thought you could only heal."
Maude wiped sweat from her face. She was afraid. "Never mind what I can do and what I cannot do," she snapped. "Alanna, bring wood. Thom, vervain."
They rushed to do as she said, Alanna returning first to add wood to the fire already burning on the hearth. Thom soon followed, carrying leaves from the magic plant vervain.
Maude knelt before the hearth and motioned for the twins to sit on either side of her. She felt sweat running down her back. People who tried to use magic the gods had not given them often died in ugly ways. Maude gave a silent prayer to the Great Mother Goddess, promising good behavior for the rest of her days if only the Goddess would keep her in one piece through this.
She tossed the leaves onto the fire, her lips moving silently with the sacred words. Power from her and from the twins slowly filled the fire. The flames turned green from Maude's sorcery and purple for the twins'. The woman drew a deep breath and grabbed the twins' left hands, thrusting them into the fire. Power shot up their arms. Thom yelped and wriggled with the pain of the magic now filling him up. Alanna bit her lower lip till it bled, fighting the pain her own way. Maude's eyes were wide and blank as she kept their intertwined hands in the flames.
Suddenly Alanna frowned. A picture was forming in the fire. That was impossible -- she wasn't supposed to See anything. Maude was the one who had cast the spell. Maude was the only one who should See anything.
Ignoring all the laws of magic Alanna had been taught, the picture grew and spread. It was a city made all of black, shiny stone. Alanna leaned forward, squinting to see it better. She had never seen anything like this city. The sun beat down on gleaming walls and towers. Alanna was afraid -- more afraid than she had ever been....
Maude let go of the twins. The picture vanished. Alanna was cold now, and very confused. What had that city been? Where was it?
Thom examined his hand. There were no burn marks, or even scars. There was nothing to show that Maude had kept their hands in the flames for long minutes.
Maude rocked back on her heels. She looked old and tired. "I have seen many things I do not understand," she whispered finally. "Many things -- "
"Did you see the city?" Alanna wanted to know.
Maude looked at her sharply. "I saw no city."
Thom leaned forward. "You saw something?" His voice was eager. "But Maude cast the spell -- "
"No!" Alanna snapped. "I didn't see anything! Anything!"
Thom decided to wait and ask her later, when she didn't look so scared. He turned to Maude. "Well?" he demanded.
The healing woman sighed. "Very well. Tomorrow Thom and I go to the City of the Gods."
At dawn the next day, Lord Alan gave each of his children a sealed letter and his blessing before instructing Coram and Maude. Coram still did not know the change in plan. Alanna did not intend to enlighten him until they were far from Trebond.
Once Lord Alan let them go, Maude took the twins to Alanna's room while Coram got the horses ready. The letters were quickly opened and read.
Lord Alan entrusted his son to the care of Duke Gareth of Naxen and his daughter to the First Daughter of the convent. Sums of money would be sent quarterly to pay for his children's upkeep until such time as their teachers saw fit to return them to their home. He was busy with his studies and trusted the judgment of the Duke and the First Daughter in all matters. He was in their debt, Lord Alan of Trebond.
Many such letters went to the convent and to the palace every year. All girls from noble families studied in convents until they were fifteen or sixteen, at which time they went to Court to find husbands. Usually the oldest son of a noble family learned the skills and duties of a knight at the king's palace. Younger sons could follow their brothers to the palace, or they could go first to the convent, then to the priests' cloisters, where they studied religion or sorcery.
Thom was expert at forging his father's handwriting. He wrote two new letters, one for "Alan," one for himself. Alanna read them carefully, relieved to see that there was no way to tell the difference between Thom's work and the real thing. The boy sat back with a grin, knowing it might be years before the confusion was resolved.
While Thom climbed into a riding skirt, Maude took Alanna into the dressing room. The girl changed into shirt, breeches and boots. Then Maude cut her hair.
"I've something to say to you," Maude said as the first lock fell to the floor.
"What?" Alanna asked nervously.
"You've a gift for healing." The shears worked on. "It's greater than mine, greater than any I have ever known. And you've other magic, power you'll learn to use. But the healing -- that's the important thing. I had a dream last night. A warning, it was, as plain as if the gods shouted in my ear."
Alanna, picturing this, stifled a giggle.
"It don't do to laugh at the gods," Maude told her sternly. "Though you'll find that out yourself, soon enough."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind. Listen. Have you thought of the lives you'll take when you go off performing those great deeds?"
Alanna bit her lip. "No," she admitted.
"I didn't think so. You see only the glory. But there's lives taken and families without fathers and sorrow. Think before you fight. Think on who you're fighting, if...
|
|
| View all 12 comments |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-27 00:00>
Alanna, The First Adventure is a great book. It's imaginative, its characters and its world are believable. Alanna has tons of adventures, some small and some that effect a lot of people, but she trys to conquer them all. I also liked this book because I like fantasys, but not fairy-tale-yeah-right -that-will-never-happen- and- people-don't-act-like-that books. This is totally believable, and you can just imagine if our world had magic in the Mid-evil times and were a bit cleaner then this would be what we would have acted like. Tamora Pierce is an really good author. No wonder she wrote three quartets and is working on two more.
I'll tell you what all of the quartets are, even the ones that are not written yet, in the order you should read them in. Song Of The Lioness Quartet; Alanna Immortals Quartet; Daine Protecter Of The Small Quartet; Keladry;only one is written yet. The Circle Of Magic Quartet; Sandry,Tris, Daja, Briar The Circle Opens; I don't know if any books have been written for this yet.
These are all must-reads and if you liked this book, you'll love these.
|
Caldena (MSL quote), Singapore
<2007-02-27 00:00>
I first saw this book at a bookstore about a year ago, absorbed in my world of brats and stupidity. It wasn't really the kind of book I read back then (as I said I was a brat) but it looked sort of cool so I picked it up anyway. I read it all in 2 days, i couldn't put it down! Since then I've read all of Tamora Pierce's books, this particular series I've read 5 times! If it weren't for these books, I wouldn't have started to love the Internet (it's a long story) and I wouldn't have done so many things that I've done, like take up fencing, start writing stories, made a website dedicated to Tamora Pierce... I love these books! I cried when I finished the series, then I started reading them again!
If anyone doesn't like these books, they'd better not say it to me! If you don't think you'd like them, think again! Some people who've read this are 8, some are 19, everyone can relate to the characters in their own way.
Since I read these books, I've become Alanna. She's my heroine, she's my best friend, she's everything. I love the way the series starts, I love the way it ends. I fell in love with George as soon as she met him, I was as mad at Jon as Alanna was in the third book. I cried when Liam died. In all, I love these books!
|
Stephan (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-27 00:00>
This was such a good book! Alanna has to go to a convent to learn "how to be a lady" and her twin brother has to go learn how to be a knight... but both of them want to go to the place where the other is going. So they switch places. Well, her brother doesn't have to go learn to be a lady... when boys go to the convent they learn to be sorcerers. Alanna loves hunting and doing things like that, and her brother loves sorcery, while socery scares Alanna and her brother hates hunting and that sort of thing. Alanna disguises herself as a boy and says she is Alan. She meets many friends, such as Prince Jonathon, the son of a noble king, and George, the King of Theives. She also meets a few enemies... such as Rolan, a bully at the palace, and Duke Roger, a mysterious uncle of Jonathon who Alan(na) insists is evil. This wonderful and action-packed book will have you laughing, shivering, crying, and rejoicing. It's a must-read for fans of Harry Potter (by J.K. Rowling), Everworld (by K.A. Applegate), Protector of the Small (by Tamora Pierce), and the Immortals (also by Tamora Pierce).
|
Jana (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-27 00:00>
I was first introduced to this book in third grade by someone who was babysitting me. By fourth grade I had read the whole series a number of times. I don't know if I would say this one or the last one was my favorite, but both were great. You can imagine the characters are real, and the same goes to the world they live in. I still love these books, but now I'm in eighth grade. I see all these adults who have read these books, and I think it is great! I can read these over and over and over and not get bored, even though I know exactly what is going to happen and when. I doubt they will ever get boring, thank God. I'll always have a good book to read! I recommend reading the whole series, along with the Wild Magic series, after you read this book, to find out all that happens to Alanna. I havn't read her new series yet, I think I'll wait for it to come out in paper back. I don't know if I'm ready to read something by her that isn't somehow related to the magical world of Tortall and Alanna! Well anyway, this is an excellent book, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes reading even a little bit, and especially to girls. I don't think this is really a guy book...
|
View all 12 comments |
|
|
|
|
