Emperor Mage

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We’ve passed the halfway mark and are still powering through the fantastic children’s fantasy quartet that is The Immortals. Book three, Emperor Mage, sees more drama, more action, and more of the bigger picture come into play as Daine and her friends travel across the Inland Sea to the warm and southern land of Carthak.

Along with some of Tortall’s brightest, wisest, and noble, Daine and her teacher Numair find themselves in Carthak to engage in peace talks with the Emperor Mage, Ozorne. The negotiations begin pleasantly enough, with Daine gaining the Emperor’s favour when she heals his sickened pet birds, but when a series of portents and bad omens from the gods begin, things become dire. Daine is chosen as vessel for the Graveyard Hag and granted a power to bring the dead back to life. There is talk of rebellion against the Emperor, and when Ozorne decides to settle an old grievance with Numair, all hell breaks loose.

As is the case with many third instalments, Emperor Mage is the book where the world becomes bigger, we get to explore exotic new lands, meet fascinating new characters, and the growth and development of the protagonist leaps forward dramatically. In this book we are given some hints and clues as to the identity of Daine’s father, as well as a more in-depth walkthrough of the religious aspects of the world.

While still being very much a family fantasy novel, the genre takes a little turn into the realm of spy thriller and espionage noir, with a slightly gothic edge. There are still scenes that would be at home in a Chris Columbus film or some Goonie-esque adventure, but as the character is growing up so too is the level of drama and horror and there are many more grisly or gory scenes of battle and magic. Sticking with this train of thought, this is the book where things become a bit more mature in terms of human interactions, judgements, and relationships. What I enjoyed particularly about this is that Pierce does not spend much time on it, she merely plants the sinister seed of sexuality and lets it grow where it will. As a result there are enough shades of innuendo and intent of that nature to make certain characters creepy and loathsome enough without them outrightly monologuing their intentions and turning Daine into the beautiful, gothic, damsel in distress. Piece’s choice to explore sexuality and relationships this way adds a level of maturity to the story without turning it into a YA novel, still keeping it at a happy older children’s fantasy level.

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While Daine and her friends have had many adventures and done a lot with magic, Emperor Mage is the most exciting of their adventures yet. Filled with action, espionage, drama, comedy, and a little romance, this penultimate novel is a fantastic leap forward in the overarching story of Daine. I’m very excited to crack open the last one: The Realms of the Gods.

Author: Tamora Pierce, 1995

Published: Simon Pulse, and imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, New York, 1995

Emperor Mage is the third book in Tamora Pierce’s The Immortals quartet. Its predecessors are Wild Magic and Wolf-Speaker.