Tamora Pierce is a writer of Young Adult Fastasy novels. Got a bookworm in the family and want to get them something nice? I definitely suggest these series. For a summary of world these books are based in see my post on The Realms of Emelelan

The Fire in the Forging

This book is now published under it's alternative title of "Daja's Book" This book starts maybe a month after the previous books. The Duke Vedris is going on inspection of the Northern reaches of Emelan to see who needs to most support since the drought began effecting the northern reaches of the realm. He is taking with him some of the best mages in the realm and their students to try and find methods of helping the regions that won't drain the realms coffers.

The books starts with the Party at the end of a caravan entering the region of Gold Ridge Valley, governed by Lady Inoulia, a widow of one of Sandry's cousins and so Duke Vedris's daughter in law and protected by the mage Yarrun Firetamer and his father before him who have used magic to stop forest fires from occuring in that region for the last 30 years. Normally it wouldn't be too bad but after three years of drought and no fires in the last 30 years to clear out the build up of tree litter (twigs, bark, leaves, branches, nuts etc.) that's over a foot deep and dry as tinder is now a breeding ground for undergroth fires that are next to imposible to detect till it's too late.

Whilst in the town of Gold Ridge Daja has been given the menial chore of making endless amounts of nails. Now when we met Daja she was the sole survivor of a ship wreck which in Trader culture makes her the bearer of bad luck. Traders treat bad luck like a disease and declared her trangshi basically 'non-existant, bad luck, unclean' and given a symbolic staff that she was to take with her everywhere so all Traders would know her for what she is. They are not allowed to acknowledge her existence and not allowed to use anything she has touched.

Whilst making an endless number of nails Daja is interrupted by a Trader asking after the smith. Daja is stunned, this is the first time she has seen a Trader since she got cast out and calls magically for Tris to come and act as an intermediary. The traders quickly figures out whats going on and waits outside for the return of the town smith. Whilst waiting Daja suddenly has magic that is not her own jump out of her whilst she's working the iron causing it to come alive and become a live, growing iron vine with rose like flowers. Other such magic accidents have been happening to some of them , lightning came out of Briar and caused him to accidentally fry some saffron crocuses that where thankfully on the edge of death anyway. Fire jumped out of Sandry causing a gold thread to melt and ruin an intricate gold and silk embroidery. The manner in which Sandry spun them together during the earthquakes is beginning to get out of hand and so she is instructed on how to take the magics of herself and her peers and put it into a weave to map their magic in hopes that they can find a way to get it under control.

The trader seeing the growing iron plant do something almost unheard of. They prepare themselves in qunsuanen a ritual of cleansing and paint in bright highlight yellow along their hairline and circled around their eyes, ears, nose and mouth to ward against bad luck entering the body so that they are protected and are able to talk safely with a trangshi, they want to buy the living metal iron vine.

Meanwhile fire after fire occurs causing Yarrun Firetamer to be drained and forced to use stimulants and the township grows poorer and poorer since the drought is causing their saffron crops to be next to non existant and their last copper mine just recently became dry and they have not located a fresh vein to mine yet.

Thoughts

This is by far and wide my favourite book in the quartet. the character growth and use of magic and the politics in this book is such that I have often re-read this series simply for the pleasure of re-reading this book. Plus I have always found Daja's unflappable, easy going attitude to be very relatable and if it weren't for the fact that old school blacksmiths basically don't exist anymore, she would have inspired me to take up black smithing.

I give this book 8.3/10.