In the sixth chapter of Trickster’s Queen, a surprise meeting between Aly and an old friend produces a new ally for Aly. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Trickster’s Queen.
Chapter Six: Spies
S H R I E K I N G THIS CHAPTER IS SO AMAZING. I DON’T KNOW HOW I COULD POSSIBLY BE MORE EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK.
First of all, I have to be a bit repetitive: The ridiculous amount of depth and complication in this novel astounds me, and it is absolutely one of the best uses of an ensemble cast I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I’ve spoken about this multiple times in the previous reviews, but sitting back and thinking about what I’ve just read… shit, y’all. This is so much fun. It’s satisfying because I feel like Tamora Pierce inherently respects her readers, that she knows we’ll do our best to pay attention and try and keep track of the innumerable plot threads and layers to this story. It’s also a hell of a way to inject realism into a fantasy novel, and the worldbuilding is just rude at this point. It’s like Pierce has thought of every possible person, motivation, desire, or challenge that would come up in a situation like this! UGH, I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Plus, remember when I hoped this would be a spy series? THIS IS EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED FROM A SPY NOVEL. (It’s also making me seriously re-think some elements of my novel that I’m working on, since it’s sort of a spy novel/heist scheme? THIS IS A GOOD THING, though, because it’s making me want to make it even better, and that’s so pleasing, too.) Here, we’ve got Aly prepping her legion of spies, assigning them new tasks, coming up with more ways to confuse and to obfuscate the truth, and realizing that she can’t face the wrath of Daine. Seriously, that little bit was one of the best tiny details in this chapter. But, as I said, it’s just so entertaining to read, both as a form of power fantasy and as an exercise in building tension and dread. With each chapter, we inch closer to a full-scale rebellion, and Pierce is brilliant at dropping tiny details along the way that keep us nervous and keep us on our toes. Seriously:
Gossip was a realm’s lifeblood, Aly’s da had told her repeatedly. She intended to make this realm bleed with it.
This is a kind of blatant foreshadowing that I love because IT GETS ME SO EXCITED. We continue to witness just how talented and creative Aly is when it comes to her spying. On top of that, though, Pierce doesn’t forget that Aly is still a young woman OVERFLOWING WITH EMOTIONS. In this case, Aly’s observation of Sarai causes her to question her own behavior towards men back home in Tortall. Of course, this is all exacerbated by her intense feelings for Nawat, which are downright undeniable at this point. And I love that Pierce is willing to portray Aly this way because sometimes feelings are confusing. Aly teeters between rage and sadness, anger and desire. She is so used to being in control (not just of her feelings!) that it frightens her that Nawat is off in a place where she can’t be. And it’s just so much more complicated than that! She fears he is inexperience while also acknowledging how cruel it would be to make him stick around. Plus:
It’s small to promise a man something, even without words, if you never intend to give it to him, whether it’s kisses or your heart.
She didn’t like where that trail of thought led her: Nawat.
WHOMP. I like that Aly is not some spy robot during all of this, and that Pierce explores the deeper emotional issues that she’s going through in the midst of this wager.
Anyway, SPIES. MORE SPIES. Aly gains two more spies in this chapter AFTER HER SPIES CAPTURE THEM BREAKING INTO WINNAMINE AND SARAI’S ROOMS. Oh my god, these scenes are incredible. I didn’t even know there were “magic nets” in this universe. AMAZING. I mean, can we talk about the fact that Aly turned both spies against the people they worked for BY MAKING THEM SIGN A BLOOD OATH TO HER? Initially, I was worried how Aly and the others would interrogate the spies without revealing their identities, so it makes perfect sense that she’d get their allegiance instead. And did anyone else get chills while Aly was interrogating Vitorcine? She’s super creepy there in the best way possible, as if we were getting a glimpse of something a lot darker than we had before.
But y’all. Y’ALL. I CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT. Look, I was already enjoying this book and its journey, and then ALY SECRETLY MEETS WITH TKAA AND THERE IS TOO MUCH REVEALED IN A SHORT SPAN OF TIME:
“I bring greetings from your family. The Scanran War is done. Your mother has returned to court, and your father with her. Your brother Alan is squire to Raoul of the King’s Own, your brother Thom continues his mage studies. Your grandparents, your uncle Numair, and your aunt Daine send their love, as does your immediate family. Prince Roald’s bride, Princess Shinkokami, awaits her first child. Your aunt Daine expects a second child.”
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DEAL WITH ALL THIS INFORMATION AT ONCE? WHO DO YOU THINK I AM? I AM JUST A MAN. STOP IT OH MY GOD.
“And Daine has also sent you a gift.”
Tkaa opened his pouch. A glossy black glob about twice the size of Aly’s head dropped to the ground with a plop. There it began to wriggle. A round piece broke off, then another, and a third, until thirty-six small blobs sat before her.
OKAY, SO NO SHAME, I GOT REALLY EMOTIONAL OVER THIS? FUCK IT, I DON’T CARE. DAINE SENT ALY DARKINGS. OH MY GOD, I MISSED THEM, AND ONE OF THEM IS CALLED TRICK AND NO WONDER KYPRIOTH WANTS THEM IN HIS SERVICE.
“Dragons are boring,” announced a darking with a bit of clear quartz at its center. “Dragons study and peer and eat and sleep.”
“And talk,” Trick added. “For days and days and days.”
A number of tiny heads nodded agreement and chorused, “Boring.”
AHDFJAS;LDFK;LKSADFKL; DARKINGS INSULTING DRAGONS. I didn’t know I needed this UNTIL THIS VERY MOMENT. Y’all, this completely changes the game. Now, Aly has darkings that will allow her to get information from places NO HUMAN COULD GO. She doesn’t take long to set a few of them to work. It reminded me of how much I missed their desire for fun. THIS IS SO EXCITING. LOOK AT HOW MUCH ALL-CAPS I’VE USED IN THIS REVIEW. I HOPE THIS PROPERLY CONVEYS HOW COMPLETELY MESSED UP I AM BY ALL OF THIS.
Oh, but Queen Tammy isn’t close to being done with me. No, because that night, Aly goes to her meeting with the other conspirators to discover a wooden chest in the middle of the room. It just showed up outside the Temaida House. AND IF THAT ISN’T ENOUGH:
A metal emblem was pressed into the blue wax of the true seal: a tin sword thrust through a tin crown. The drawstring loosened, revealing a bag full of silver and gold coins, mixed in age and origin so that they would be impossible to trace.
Aly’s father SENT HER A CHEST OF MONEY FOR THE REBELLION. And bless Aly for coming up with some stunning reasoning in real time to convince the conspirators that they should take the money. She’s so good at this! And we know that it’s not because all of this is effortless for Aly. She had to learn these techniques, and she had to know how to apply them. I love that about her character because, like this world Tamora Pierce has created, it feels so lovingly real.
Bless this book.
Part 1
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