Book Thoughts: Magic Steps, by Tamora Pierce
P. Korda
to Pierce's _Magic Circle_ series. The _Magic Circle_
series is the story of four children, from diverse backgrounds, who come
together at the Winding Circle school for magic. Central to the series is
the close friendship which develops among the children. So, I figured that
a sequel featuring the same characters would be a sure way to steer clear
of alienated protagonists.
_Magic Steps_ takes place four years after the _Magic
Circle_ series, and doesn't feature all four main characters from the
previous series. The four have split up, to experience the world away from
school on journeys with their individual teachers. Only one of them stays
in town-- Sandry the weaver-mage. Instead of travelling, she's stayed in
town to care for her uncle the Duke, who's recovering from a heart attack.
_Magic Steps_ focuses on Sandry, who discovers a boy with an
unusual magical ability-- his magic is expressed through dance. by the
rules of the Winding Circle school, she's obligated to teach him how to
manage his power, even though she's still a student herself. Additionally,
the city is in an uproar over a series of gruesome murders: members of a
prominent merchant family are being killed by invisible assassins who have
the power to evade guards and penetrate magic wards at will. Eventually, it
transpires that Sandry and her student must use their unique talents to
help capture the killers.
The book did help scratch my itch for protagonists with friends and
family. (I've been reading a lot of books about lonely, alienated
people-- see book log for details.) Both Sandry and her student Pasco
are well-connected, with plenty of people they care about and who care
about them. I was disappointed that the entire group of four
from the _Magic Circle_ series didn't appear in _Magic Steps_. I was
hoping that this sequel series would explore how the childrens'
relationship would develop as they grew up. Instead, it seems like
it's about their experiences apart from one another, as they explore
the world outside their school.
As a graduate student, I was certainly able to sympathise with
Sandry's being thrust, completely unprepared, into a teaching
situation, and it's to Pierce's credit that she doesn't make it easy
on the character. I think that the Winding Circle's rule on teaching
("If no teacher with the same power is available, the discovering mage
has to teach the newcomer the basics.") is idiotic. In the previous
series, and in this book, it's stressed time and again how dangerous
new mages are, until they learn to control their powers. Allowing
inexperienced students to teach these dangerous raw beginners just
seems like a bad idea. I guess senior faculty will do anything to get
out of teaching, even in fantasy-land. Anyway, it provides a
motivation for the plot.
There wasn't anything astoundingly original about this book, but it's
well-written and engaging. I'll buy the sequels, but not in hardcover.
--
Pam Korda
kor2 @ midway.uchicago.edu
Home Page: http://home.uchicago.edu/~kor2/
Book Log: http://home.uchicago.edu/~kor2/booklog/
J.B. Moreno
Some slight spoilers ahead, but not really a lot.
> I think that the Winding Circle's rule on teaching ("If no teacher with
> the same power is available, the discovering mage has to teach the
> newcomer the basics.") is idiotic. In the previous series, and in this
> book, it's stressed time and again how dangerous new mages are, until they
> learn to control their powers. Allowing inexperienced students to teach
> these dangerous raw beginners just seems like a bad idea.
Sandry isn't a student -- she's an accredited Mage (possibly even an
accredited Great Mage). If she'd been a student at the time then it'd
probably be the responsibility of her teacher.
Historically people haven't been shy about giving teenagers power and
responsibility much greater than is the norm in the US, and according to
the local rules Sandry is an adult -- and not just any adult, but a
powerful and influential one at that.
--
JBM
"Your depression will be added to my own" -- Marvin of Borg
phil hunt
>
>Historically people haven't been shy about giving teenagers power and
>responsibility much greater than is the norm in the US,
And the UK. Just read today that the British army won't let soldiers
fight until they are 18.
Is it just me, or do others think that treating people like they are
incapable of being responsible is self-fulfilling.
--
<"><"><"> Philip Hunt <ph...@comuno.freeserve.co.uk> <"><"><">
"I would guess that he really believes whatever is politically
advantageous for him to believe."
-- Alison Brooks, referring to Michael
Portillo, on soc.history.what-if
Kate Nepveu
> I think that the Winding Circle's rule on teaching
> ("If no teacher with the same power is available, the discovering mage
> has to teach the newcomer the basics.") is idiotic. In the previous
> series, and in this book, it's stressed time and again how dangerous
> new mages are, until they learn to control their powers. Allowing
> inexperienced students to teach these dangerous raw beginners just
> seems like a bad idea. I guess senior faculty will do anything to get
> out of teaching, even in fantasy-land. Anyway, it provides a
> motivation for the plot.
It's made a little clearer in the subsequent books in the series that
that's how the Winding Circle & Lightsbridge accredited mages (which
Sandry is, though I don't remember how clear that is in this book) pay
for their own teaching; they have to pass it on. Which is more
sensible, I think.
Kate
--
http://www.steelypips.org/elsewhere.html -- kate....@yale.edu
Paired Reading Page; Book Reviews; Outside of a Dog: A Book Log
"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
William George Ferguson
Okay, I did Cold Fire, and Pam does Magic Steps; who's going to do
Street Magic (the 2nd book, with Briar).
>As a graduate student, I was certainly able to sympathise with
>Sandry's being thrust, completely unprepared, into a teaching
>situation, and it's to Pierce's credit that she doesn't make it easy
>on the character. I think that the Winding Circle's rule on teaching
>("If no teacher with the same power is available, the discovering mage
>has to teach the newcomer the basics.") is idiotic. In the previous
>series, and in this book, it's stressed time and again how dangerous
>new mages are, until they learn to control their powers. Allowing
>inexperienced students to teach these dangerous raw beginners just
>seems like a bad idea. I guess senior faculty will do anything to get
>out of teaching, even in fantasy-land. Anyway, it provides a
>motivation for the plot.
As John Moreno and Kate Nepveu have pointed out, Sandrilene isn't a
student. Well, she'll always be a 'student' in that she'll always be
learning, but the four 'graduated' at the end of Briar's Book (Circle
of Magic #4). They have these neat medallions from Winding Circle
that confirm that they are graduates of the school and accredited
master mages. The school, and their mentors, have asked them not to
trumpet it about, but they can establish their bonafides at need.
Also, the 'responsibility' for the new-found mage can't be handed off
completely. Remember in Circle of Magic, how Niklo would check up
with Sandry, Briar, and Daja, and discuss their progress with Lark,
Rosethorn, and Frostpine (we mostly saw him talking with Lark and
Rosethorn, of course)? He never abdicated his responsibility to
Sandry, Daja, and Briar, even though he found them better (in their
specialty) teachers.
One other thing you didn't mention. Several times during the book,
it's acknowledged that the Duke needs to establish an heir, since his
mortality is weighing heavy on everyone's minds after his heart
attack. While it is never explicitly stated and not even mentioned as
a possibility in Sandry's thoughts, it is implicitly clear that the
Duke already knows who he wants as his heir, and is obviously grooming
his successor.
--
I have a theory, it could be bunnies
P. Korda
Kate Nepveu <kate....@yale.edu> wrote:
>P. Korda <ko...@midway.uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
>> I think that the Winding Circle's rule on teaching
>> ("If no teacher with the same power is available, the discovering mage
>> has to teach the newcomer the basics.") is idiotic. In the previous
>> series, and in this book, it's stressed time and again how dangerous
>> new mages are, until they learn to control their powers. Allowing
>> inexperienced students to teach these dangerous raw beginners just
>> seems like a bad idea. I guess senior faculty will do anything to get
>> out of teaching, even in fantasy-land. Anyway, it provides a
>> motivation for the plot.
>
>It's made a little clearer in the subsequent books in the series that
>that's how the Winding Circle & Lightsbridge accredited mages (which
>Sandry is, though I don't remember how clear that is in this book) pay
>for their own teaching; they have to pass it on. Which is more
>sensible, I think.
I agree that the general principle is sensible. And, I forgot that
Sandry & Co. were officially "graduated," and all.
Nevertheless, I stand by my contention that it is idiotic to require
the most inexperienced mages to begin the education of the completely
untrained, given the level of general danger (to himself, his teacher,
and the general public) an untrained mage represents. That fact is
constantly stated and restated in these books.
Now, if there was some sort of training at Winding Circle on How To
Deal With New Mages, with supervised practice sessions and such, it
wouldn't be so bad. However, the impression I got from the book was
that there was no such training, that this was Sandry's very first
experience in training a new mage, and she was expected to do it
without anybody more experienced to back her up. Being the hero of the
book, she rose to the occasion, but as an abstract principle, it's a
recipe for disaster! Although the seriousness of the problem isn't
stressed in the book, it IS in there: Sandry forgets, on several
occasions, to set safety wards before doing exercises with her
student; they only get set because the student or his dance teacher
reminds her!
J.B. Moreno
> J.B. Moreno <pl...@newsreaders.com> wrote:
>
> >Historically people haven't been shy about giving teenagers power and
> >responsibility much greater than is the norm in the US,
>
> And the UK. Just read today that the British army won't let soldiers
> fight until they are 18.
In the US they have to have permission from their parents to join before
then, but as far as I know there's nothing after that (other than their
sex) to keep them out of whatever position they are qualified for.
> Is it just me, or do others think that treating people like they are
> incapable of being responsible is self-fulfilling.
Nope, it's not just you.
Kate Nepveu
> One other thing you didn't mention. Several times during the book,
> it's acknowledged that the Duke needs to establish an heir, since his
> mortality is weighing heavy on everyone's minds after his heart
> attack. While it is never explicitly stated and not even mentioned as
> a possibility in Sandry's thoughts, it is implicitly clear that the
> Duke already knows who he wants as his heir, and is obviously grooming
> his successor.
I asked Ms. Pierce about this at Boskone.
Potential spoilers.
She said that the Duke was "thinking" about it.
I asked where his son was, and what had happened; she said, "old bull,
young bull, too much alike" and thought he was off doing caravan guarding
or something--out of touch.
I'd forgotten, and perhaps she had too, that his eldest, at least, is
mentioned in _Magic Steps_ as being around and snotty, at least in
letters. Perhaps this is the second son she meant?