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    Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales
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    Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales
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    Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales
    Audiobook11 hours

    Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales

    Written by Tamora Pierce

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Collected here for the first time are all of the tales from the land of Tortall, featuring both previously unknown characters as well as old friends. Filling some gaps of time and interest, these stories, some of which have been published before, will lead Tammy's fans, and new readers into one of the most intricately constructed worlds of modern fantasy.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 14, 2011
    ISBN9780307916372
    Unavailable
    Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales
    Author

    Tamora Pierce

    Beloved author Tamora Pierce has written a great number of books, including the Song of the Lioness quartet, The Immortals quartet, the Circle of Magic quartet, the Protector of the Small quartet, The Circle Opens quartet, the Trickster series, The Will of the Empress, Melting Stones, the Beka Cooper series, and The Numair Chronicles. She lives in upstate New York with various cats, other four-legged animals, and birds who feed in her yard, and can be e-visited at Tamora-Pierce.net.

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    Reviews for Tortall and Other Lands

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      I originally reviewed this book on my blog - The Cosy Dragon. For more recent reviews by me, please hop over there.This is a collection of short stories all written by Tamora Pierce. Six are easily identifiable as belonging to the Tortall universe. Three appear to be short stories of a different universe, but possibly could also be from Tortall. The last two don't fit in with the explicit fantasy theme at all, although one has a touch of magic.'Student of Ostriches ' is the first short story in this book, which I recently read and reviewed from the book Young Warriors, edited by Tamora Pierce.'Elder Brother' is the other side of the story for the tree who has become a man, after Numair changes an evil mage into an apple tree (see the Wild Magic Quartet - to be reviewed soon). Qiom has no idea what to do as a human, and Fadal decides to help him adjust to his new life. It is hard for both of them because Fadal has secrets too. I really enjoyed this story, both as a supporting story for the other quartet, and for exploring Fadal's character. The land they are in sounds somewhat like a Muslim country to me, because all women must be veiled tightly, and only protected by their menfolk.'The Hidden Girl' overlaps with 'Elder Brother'. The protagonist encounters Qiom, and happens to be teaching in the same town in which Fadal is almost burnt. Teky is hidden behind her veils, and through that she tries to teach the real voice of the Oracle, that says veiled women should not be powerless. The last line of this story really gave me a giggle! Very enjoyable.'Nawat' is told from the perspective of Nawat, Aly's crow friend. Before reading this story, it is important to have read the Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen book so that you understand about crows (and don't spoil their relationship for yourself!). It's a longer short story, well written and hearttouching. I did have problems with the way the birthing was presented and also that the 6 month old was able to say understandable words. Otherwise, yay, another Aly story!'The Dragon's Tale' features Kitten, the dragon daughter of Daine! Yay! Kitten is unable to talk, but she still gets her message across well. Kitten is on tour, and is totally bored. Instead she finds someone in need with rare two toned magic just like Numair.'Lost' has a darking in it. I'm fond of darkings, and they are so clever. It's a story many people may be able to identify with, being beaten for things that they cannot be blamed for. The ability of Adria for her mathematics is wonderful! I love hearing about someone who is excellent at what they do, but yet is not aware of it.'Time of Proving' involves a being of some kind that I couldn't identify. It shows the importance of helping a friend, even when that friend is rather unworldly. 'Plain Magic' also has a dragon! My favourite. It appears that Pierce enjoys writing about Dragons as much as I enjoy reading about them. Once again, someone who shows great skill is held back by others who are frightened of her abilities.'Mimic' has a different type of creature. When compared to Kitten, it doesn't seem to be the same. Saying too much more is would ruin it for you. I did enjoy the growing up theme, and also the benefits that are reaped by the protagonist for caring for something that appears to be dying.'Huntress' and 'Testing' do not belong with the rest of the short stories. 'Huntress' seems quite jarring after the enjoyable short stories from before - a little too serious to belong with the rest, and with an entirely different type of magic. Personally I found 'Testing' to be a good general teen novel. I sympathised with the protagonist, but I didn't really understand why Pierce had given her panic attacks - it didn't really contribute to An enjoyable read. The majority of these stories are valuable additions to the Tortall universe. Recommended for teenagers. Some I would say were ok for children, but others (particularly 'Huntress') are unsuitable.
    • 4/5
      I read the first two Tortall (Alanna's and Daine's) series a couple of decades ago, or so, and since I've been seeing Tamora Pierce's books in the library, I thought I'd jump back into that world, and picked this collection of short stories as a starting point. Most of the stories seem to involve Tortall, or other lands in the same world, though a couple are more contemporary, being set in our world. I've forgotten the details of the series I originally read, but a couple of these stories involved Daine or Numair (of 'The Immortals' series), and I suspect some of the others tied in to other series I haven't read yet.I thought all the short stories in this book were fairly consistent, and they all held my interest. I don't think you need to have read any of Pierce's other stories to be able to follow these (though I did find myself idly wondering about the back story of Nawat).Student of ostrichesKylaia, a shepherd girl, learns to fight by watching wild animals.Elder brotherAn apple tree is transformed as a side effect of Numair's magic, and must learn to live as a man who calls himself Qiom.The hidden girl After Qiom and his companion pass through the village in which she and her father were staying, a young girl called Tekalimy (Teky) finds her life obliquely affected by them. Teky helps her father, who is a preacher who teaches both religious books of their culture, not just the one taught by the temple.This is a sort of parallel story to Elder Brother starting with events towards the end of that story. Both stories address the rights of women in a culture where they have to be veiled and seen to be submissive, but look at the issue from different view points.NawatA crow shape-shifter living as a man becomes a father for the first time, and has to juggle the expectations of the flock of crows he leads with those of the humans he lives among.The dragon's taleSkysong, the dragon kitten adopted by Daine, has an adventure of her own, and makes a friend.LostAdria, who loves mathematics but is limited by what girls are expected to learn, makes friends with a darking (small, helpful, amorphous creatures) named Lost.Time of proving Arimu, a young girl on a quest in the desert, is saddled with a pampered scholar with no survival skills.Plain magic Tonya, a young mage, who can't get the training she needs in her village meets a sympathetic cloth peddler called Lindri, who shows her simple, everyday magics.MimicRi, a young shepherdess with no magic but an empathy for animals, is reluctant to become an apprentice in magic. When she rescues an ungainly creature from an eagle, her life changes.HuntressThis is set around Central Park in New York City. Corey has always found it hard to keep friends, partly because her mother's family worships the moon goddess, but Corey has never seen anything to believe in. Sometimes magic hides in unexpected places, even if you don't believe in it. TestingThis is a straight fiction story, based on the author's own experiences (as explained in the prologue to the story), about how girls in a home test all their new house mothers.
    • 4/5
      A satisfying collection of short stories; enough to stave off my hunger for Tortall until _Mastif_ comes out soon. I especially enjoyed "Student of Ostriches" for its commentary on those who are best helped by the gods by not waiting for the gods to help them first. "Lost" was also a fun read- aid from the gods often comes in small, blob-like packages that make you smile against the pain.

      Hope Tamora comes to Dragon*Con again in 2011- her pithy commentary on Hermione during a panel during 2008 *Con still makes me laugh whenever I think of it.
    • 4/5
      I liked it a lot. Even though it was short stories so it should have been easy to put down that actually made it harder to put down... just one more... and ops is it 3 am already.Very enjoyable - especially all the Tortall stories.
    • 3/5
      May be a good way to introduce folks to these realms... nice to pick up for holiday reading.
    • 3/5
      I'm listening to the audio, and I can't tell if the reader is influencing some of my enjoyment level. There are multiple readers. I've had to skip three stories because they were downright unsatisfactory. But other stories are solid and welcome. There is a plumping out of the universe, glimpsing tail ends of other stories and characters already familiar.
    • 4/5
      Fun collection of stories that are all different yet cohesive.
    • 3/5
      Fun, if uneven
    • 4/5
      Some interesting stories, particularly Student of Ostriches, and some niches filled. Worth a visit
    • 5/5
      I extra loved the huntress story near the end, but all of these are interesting and engaging.
    • 4/5
      This collection of stories is really interesting. Some were hard to follow, or confusing. I actually had to get some background from my wife and daughter that had read more of the other stories. Great writing as always, but it was harder than normal to follow.
    • 4/5
      What can I say, I love everything Tammy writes.
    • 5/5
      An excellent addition to Pierce's Tortall series. I love learning new things about characters, and several of these stories (the previously published "Elder Brother" and "The Hidden Girl" as well as "The Dragon's Tale", "Nawat", and "Student of Ostriches") do just that. "Huntress" is a relatively new conceit for Pierce--a modern-day story in an urban setting--and very interesting.
    • 3/5
      I don't generally enjoy short stories. I think these would have been better if they were recognizable characters or if they had fit into the known timelines better.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely LOVED this collection of stories. It was absolutely wonderful.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this brief trip back to Tortall and the other worlds of Pierce's imagination. My favorite story of the lot was probably "Nawat" -- which is interesting, as the Trickster duology is one of my less-favorite series by Peirce. I also enjoyed "Lost" and "Mimic." I didn't care as much for the last two stories in the book, both of which were set in our world, so maybe that was the problem. While I felt that the general level of quality was consistent, I did notice that four or five of the stories share the same basic plot: a young woman with skills (fighting, magic, mathematics, etc.) that set her apart from the rest of the people in her village/family faces obstacles and is rewarded by finding a teacher who can take her away and help her develop her skills. It's a great plot, and in a few cases I would be interested in reading more about those characters -- but the similarities were a bit glaring. All in all, though, an enjoyable read which I would recommend to fans of the author's full-length fiction.
    • 5/5
      Absolutely brilliant, a must read for Tamora Pierce fans.
    • 5/5
      World building mastery here. Strong women and girls abound. Incredibly original storytelling.
    • 3/5
      A collection of stories, none of them awful, none of them particularly wonderful. A few months later, the only story I can remember is of a girl who trains herself to fight like the animals she sees around her, and eventually uses this unexpected prowess to defend her older sister's honor.
    • 4/5
      I had read several of these stories before, but I really enjoyed getting additional glimpses into Pierce's fantasy worlds.
    • 4/5
      I'm usually not a great fan of short stories, but I figured I couldn't go all wrong with Tamora Pierce, and fortunately I was right :) I really enjoyed all these tales from the Tortall universe, although found it somewhat telling that I definitely enjoyed those with characters I knew better than those with characters I didn't - the one exception being Lost which I think may just have been my favourite... guess I'm still just a math-geek at heart ;-)

      I didn't care as much for the stories set in present day though. Somehow it just seemed misplaced somehow. Especially the last story, Testing, which - though good - I really couldn't see how fit into the theme set by the rest of the short stories.

      But all in all I really enjoyed the stories, and am now in the mood for more Tamora Pierce.
    • 5/5
      This author has a wonderful imagination! Almost all of her books are about strong girls.
    • 4/5
      I'm not a huge fan of short stories, but I do like Tamora Pierce. This was a mixed collection of stories in both theme and quality. Several of them felt like a first chapter rather than a stand alone story.
    • 3/5
      Some of my favorite books when I was growing up, which I recall first encountering when I was 11 or 12, were the Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce, regarding the adventures of a young woman who hid her sex in order to become a knight in the Kingdom of Tortall, and her adventures in first attaining her rank and then around and beyond the realm. I dearly loved them, and read each several times (destroying a couple of books in the process). And while I knew she continued writing more books, somehow, unlike other authors I enjoyed when I was growing up, I didn't keep up with her.All this is to say that when I was wandering the halls of the library, and I found a collection of short stories by Pierce invitingly placed out for me, I got a nice flood of nostalgia, and decided to take it home with me. As the name, Tortall and Other Lands, suggests, several stories, the first six in the volume, are set in Tortall or other countries within the world in which Tortall is situated, and the rest are set elsewhere, usually in other magic environs, from other worlds to one that is essentially ours with magic, and finally one story that's just set within our world itself. The variety of the stories does help from a sense of repetitiveness, and perhaps reading them out of order would do even more so, so that the Tortall ones would be broken by other stories.It pains me to say it, but really, I didn't enjoy the collection all that much. It was very hit-or-miss for me, with more misses than hits. I enjoyed some of the stories, including half the Tortall ones, including the first three in the book, dealing with the beginning of the training of a female Shang warrior, and a pair of stories around a tree that gets turned into a man, and how he deals with it, and those who help him (they factor more in the background of the second story including them). I also enjoyed Testing, the final story and the one set in our real world, at a group home. Most of the rest, though, didn't really work for me, and I felt Pierce's prose in most of the stories was straining instead of feeling assured. Some authors really do a lot better with more space, and I fear that Pierce may well be one of those. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that the contents of the stories often feel a bit forced, and her writing isn't spare enough to take up the smaller space gracefully.Now, here is a caveat: some of the stories in the collection deal with characters from the rest of her Tortall stories, including ones that I haven't read. Perhaps with more knowledge of the characters from these stories, I would have been able to fill in the holes in the story a bit better myself, and so would have enjoyed them more. One should also consider that reading some of these stories (particularly Nawat) probably serve as spoilers for the books from which these characters originally appeared. So I'm willing to think that maybe the fault for some of this is more in me than in Pierce's writing, but for those that are unconnected, I'm reticent to take too much of the blame.All this is to say that this is probably somewhere to come once you've read a bunch of her books, decided that you like her, and want to see a bit more of some of those characters or what she can do in a smaller setting. Certainly, this isn't the place to start reading her stories. It's a marginal collection, but okay, I'd say. And I think that I may try some of her other books in the future; we'll see if it's a case of undue nostalgia on my part, and that my younger self's admiration of her books doesn't hold now that I'm older, or if it's just that short stories aren't Pierce's forte. I'll hope for the former.
    • 5/5
      Love it. I had read one of the stories before - Huntress - though I didn't recognize it until Felix started talking about lionesses and I'd forgotten how it ended (in fact, I thought it was much darker than it really is). The rest were new to me and they're all great. Skysong's story, Nawat and Aly's children, the Ostrich, Proving Ground...yeah. They're all memorable, great glimpses into either the continuing lives of old friends or new beginnings - new characters I'm pleased to know (and would be delighted to know more of!). All - except Qiom, and he had Fadala - female protagonists, finding their places or stretching into their powers. Nice! And The Testing was fascinating for a different reason - is Tamora Pierce a Foreign Service brat, like me, or was it only her character? I can tell stories - well, not quite like X-ray's, but the reactions I get are similar... Anyway. Lots of fun - that's a library book, but it's now firmly on my wishlist.Student of Ostriches - I like her, great curiosity about the world. Elder Brother - Qoim is interesting, poor guy. I'd like to see his adventures when he gets to Tortall, as well. And Fadala is also neat - she should meet the Lioness. The Hidden Girl - .Very interesting, particularly her take on Fadal! Though she's going to run into trouble with her companion - I doubt she can pretend to be aged when they're camping together. Nawat - Great. It's fascinating to see him make adjustments - and the ones he won't make. His comment about the betting and the response are really funny. The Dragon's Tale - Again, neat. Seeing things from Skysong's perspective - and Spots' - is fun. The opal dragon is neat - and Skysong's babbling is funny. It's going to take her a while to run out of things to say. Lost - Adria is great; another one I want to see more of. And the darkings keep getting more interesting. Time of Proving - a very interesting culture. I don't think they've been mentioned before - actually, neither of them. The only bull-men I know of are the immortals (Tauros?), who are nearly brainless. Plain Magic - great! I love the mage, the girl is neat, and the dragon is beautiful. And again - I'd love to see more of them. Her spells are all thread magic - reminds me of Sandry. Mimic - another new culture, and a new kind of dragon. The Pact is interesting, too. Repeat, repeat - want to see her/their future adventures. Huntress - This one I'd read before, somewhere. I didn't recognize the beginning, but Felix and his "lionesses" was familiar. I also didn't remember how it ended - I thought it would be darker than it is. Not that it's very light as it is... Testing - Fun. Tamora says it's semi-autobiographical - I wonder if the being a FSB (Foreign Service Brat) is one of the true parts. I suspect so - she had the right sort of stories, though Tamora's bio doesn't mention it. Being an FSB myself, it really caught my attention. Though I don't think I would have done as well as X-ray.
    • 4/5
      Made me remember why I love Tamora Pierce. I had to go back and reread the books after tearing through this collection. An amazing assortment of different viewpoints and worlds.
    • 4/5
      I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but these are good. Old friends and new, in Tortall, surrounding lands, and our world.
    • 4/5
      This is an interesting anthology. Half the stories are set in Tortall, one is urban fantasy, and one is fiction (not fantasy). The other three don't seem to be set in Tortall or Emelan, but are in similar types of fantasy settings.Student of Ostriches (Tortall)I like this one. It's entertaining to read about the background of one of the more fascinating minor characters from the Tortall universe.Elder Brother (Tortall)This story is based on a line in one of the Immortals books, which said that when Numair used a Word of Power to turn another sorcerer into a tree, somewhere on the other side of the world, a tree into a man. I was always vaguely curious what happened to that poor former-tree, and it was interesting to find out.The Hidden Girl (Tortall)A continuation of Elder Brother, from a different perspective. Okay, but not my favorite story.Nawat (Tortall)This story was upsetting and I didn't particularly like it, although part of that is probably because I don't especially like the Trickster books.The Dragon's Tale (Tortall)This is an adorable story about the young dragon, Kitten, and was absolutely my favorite.Lost (Tortall)A moving story about a talented young woman who just loves numbers. The darkings are always fun characters. Time of ProvingCultures clash when a young woman from a small village meets a scholar from a magical city. Short and not memorable.Plain MagicHumorous twist on the "sacrifice a virgin to the monster" story.MimicThis was an odd one. It felt a bit off for most of the story because it seemed like I was supposed to recognize the animal that was being described, but I could never work out what it was supposed to be. But then that turned out to not matter after all.Huntress (urban fantasy)More than a little creepy. I'm not sure if I liked it or not.Testing (fiction)Testing is fiction (not fantasy) and semi-autobiographical. It is interesting, but seems out of place in this anthology.
    • 4/5
      Tamora Pierce, in case you haven’t read her books, is a great young adult author. Her books are intelligent, fun and empowering. I read her books when I was in junior high and I often re-read them for fun when the mood strikes me. I still enjoy them as much as I did then, which says a lot.Her main characters are usually strong independent young women who are trying to follow their own path, often a path that society has not yet allowed them to take. In the Alanna series a young girl disguises herself as a boy for years to become a knight. In the Beka Cooper series, a young lady becomes a type of policemen (they are called dogs) through hard work and sheer determination. In the Immortals series, a young lady runs from the town that tries to kill her for her magic and learns to use it to help others.Pierce’s young ladies are always refreshing. They have minds, skills and they do their best to use them to reach their goals. Her heroines, when compared to those in a lot of current YA literature, are full of depth, independence and humor. They are someone young women could actually look up too. They don’t wait around for a man to save them or fix their lives. They damn well do it themselves and the men can catch up later.. IF they able too. Not that Pierce doesn’t write about men, there are lots of men, good and bad, in these stories. The men are also full well-rounded characters that add to the charm of her books. Its just always so delightful to read a young adult book where girls think and act for themselves. In the current trend of vampire teen angst romances, I believe Pierce’s young ladies would stake the damn vampire and then go to college to get their degree.In Tortall and Other Lands, we revisit with old friends and discover new ones. One story is narrated by Daine’s dragonling, Kitten from The Immortal’s series. Kitten discovers a woman living on the edge of society, abused by those in town for her magic and tries to help her. In another story, we see the effects of when Numair is forced to turn a man into a tree. Across the world, a tree is turned into a man and must learn to live like one. In the Student of Ostriches, a young girl learns to fight by watching how animals defend themselves. She learns to kick like ostriches and head butt like giraffes. When her sister is threatened, she defends her and by doing so figures out what she wants to do with her own life, become a Shang warrior. These stories and more make up this first series of short stories by Pierce.Although this book is not as engrossing as Pierce’s usual writing, it is still an enjoyable collection to read. If you’ve never read her books before I’d suggest starting with the Alanna series which has always been a favorite of mine (and if you look at reviews, the rest of the world agrees.)This book of short stories is definitely a good introduction to Tortall and to Pierce herself, but it is also a nice stopover for dedicated fans to read while waiting for something more.
    • 5/5
      Eleven short stories from Pierce's fantasy worlds and our world too. Most are first person narrated by a young woman who is facing adversity. Magical characters including crow men, darkings and a couple of dragons make appearances too. This anthology is a good introduction to Pierce's work and a great anthology for fans who want to know more about some side characters.