Tempest and Slaughter

I've been looking forward to reading this book. It's been a LONG time since I have read a book of Tamora Pierces for the first time. Glowing reviews from Sarah J Maas on the front and Garth Nix on the back, made me even more eager. I chuckled when I saw the review from Sarah J Maas after having only just recently finished her books.

We are introduced to Arram Draper at the age of 10. A young tan Tyran boy having just recently moved to Carthak to learn magic. Arram is a small boy for his age and is frustrated at being so small. This makes me laugh since he is known as the 6'4" towering Numair Salmalín in the other books.

Being so young his teachers underestimated Arram and Arram then accidentally floods the class room when he should have just been doing a small fountain spell with a bowl of water. This forces the masters to re-assess Arram, and he ends up quickly being put into an advanced placement and also ends up being room mates with a young Prince Ozorne and they become fast friends along with a young Varice Kingsford. Yes you read right. Numair and Ozorne used to be best buds. There's even some serious bro-mance at some points.

This book stretches over a period of four years. Adventures are had. Conspiracies, deaths, murders and a young lad too intelligent and curious for his own good. Gods both great and small have their part. Characters from slaves to royalty play their part.

My Thoughts

With all this the contents is gripping, well written and fun to read but I guess I'm so used to Fantasy books having a goal. This is like a more arcane version of Harry Potter where they deal with the Troll, and help raise Norbert, get into Quidditch, go into the forbidden forest, get the invisibility cloak, go into the restricted section, see the mirror of erised etc. But they never discover Fluffy or try to get to the philosophers stone. We just enjoy an adventurous year at hogwarts with nothing REALLY happening. Like sure stuff happened, it was fun and dangerous but at the end of the year they got their grades and went home... That's what this book feels like.

There's a lot of build towards revealing a major conspiracy and Arram eventually going for his master but it feels like it ends two thirds of the way through. Mind you it does say that this is Book One of the Numair Chronicles so there are more books to come that are yet to be released. The book does end after one of the said events that happen and Arram and Varice finally get past the friend zone, but i am left feeling like the story isn't over.

As a completionist... AAaarrrggghh!!! Oh dear lord it makes me want to pull my hair out, peel my skin, claw at my eyes and swallow my own tongue.

As a fan of the realm of Tortall and surrounding realms, I enjoy seeing the history and beginnings of some of the characters we meet later. I also enjoy learning about the history of Carthak and Carthaki royalty. But even with all this I really wish this story had come to a decent close.

Finale

I am fighting between giving this a 9/10 or a 2/10. I am fighting between the fact that the story is gripping, it is well written, the character development is beautiful, the world building is intricate and in depth. All this fighting with the fact that the plot feels incomplete.

If you are a completionist like me, I'd suggest waiting till the next book comes out (whenever the hell that will be), and read this book and the next book together.

Next books to be reviewed: The Protector of the Small Quartet.