Tamora Pierce is the queen of fantasy and her books are incredibly well-known and loved by many. Tempests and Slaughter is her newest novel and it kicks off a new series in the Tortall universe, which already has over twenty books set within it. In this book, she gives us insight on Arram’s childhood when he was a boy with very powerful magic at school. His character plays a key role in other Tortall books, however, he isn’t the main character so this was very interesting to see what Tamora had planned for him!
In this book, we cover a couple of years of Arram’s childhood starting at the age of ten-year old as he begins a new year at the School for Mages where he is very young and feels different from all of his classmates. One day, he gets into trouble for doing a spell far beyond the capabilities of most students who are at his level and loses control. He is sure that he’ll get kicked out, but instead he is moved up to more challenging classes, along with a new room and roommate who happens to be the emperor’s nephew, Prince Orzone of Carthak. The pair develop a close friendship which is also shared alongside another character, Varice.
Arram is a very intriguing character when he was a boy and his enthusiasm for magical and magical instruction certainly made his character even more lovable. Tamora’s writing also explored growing up from a male’s perspective, which is somewhat refreshing as many young adult novels often come from a female’s.
The friendship in this novel was one of my favourite parts and it felt like I was learning about the characters in a whole different way, but then again, I could remember what happened with all of them in the later lives which are explored in the other books.
Tempests and Slaughter may seem a little slow to start with, but it certainly picks up in the second half where we see Arram getting drawn towards a dark secret. It’s overall very interesting to see the pasts of characters fans of the Tortall universe know and love.
Tempests and Slaughter is a young adult book, but you can still see some middle-grade aspects that make this book enjoyable for both young and older fans.
Although this book was a little bit slow and I didn’t remember most of the Tortall world, I still ended up enjoying it. It was almost as if I was going into the world blind and I got to see everything sort of come together—so if you haven’t read any of the Numair Chronicles before, you can right over to your local bookstore or library to pick up Tempests and Slaughter!
Have you read Tempests and Slaughter or are you planning to read it? Tell us in the comments!
SYNOPSIS | GOODREADS
Arram. Varice. Ozorne. In the first book in the Numair Chronicles, three student mages are bound by fate . . . fated for trouble.
Arram Draper is a boy on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram begins to realize that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.
In the Numair Chronicles, readers will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.
