In The Hand Of The Goddess (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
Actual Rating: 3.5 out of 5 starsIn the Hand of the Goddess is the sequel to Alanna: The First Adventure, one of my new favorite classic fantasies from this year. Naturally, I was anxious to keep going with this series and see what adventures Alanna would get up to this time around. I listened to this one on audio and despite the fact that I'd read the first one, the transition from book to audiobook was easy. The narrator did a really good job voicing Alanna as well as all of the secondary characters so that was a plus. I will undoubtedly be listening to the rest of the series on audio!In the Hand of the Goddess picks up not too long after the events of The First Adventure. Alanna, still posing as a boy in the hopes of becoming a knight is now officially a squire to none other than Prince Jonathan himself! With everything that Alanna went through on her way to becoming a squire, and she's become quite the force to be reckoned with, which means two things: 1. she's grown a lot, become stronger and more confident. And 2. she's made some enemies along the way. Powerful ones at that. Soon Alanna is tested even further as a war looms and she must protect her Prince and her Kingdom from its destruction.Right from the first chapter, I was brought back to what makes this series great. We're introduced to Alanna meeting her very own animal familiar, a magical black cat with matching violet eyes to her own. Instantly, she adopts the sweet thing and names him Faithful. Faithful and Alanna quickly learn that can communicate with one another and that Faithful can sense when Alanna is in danger. Knowing how much I love magical animals and cats in general, I think you all can guess how over the moon I was about this new development. In addition to Faithful, there's the usual variety of unique magical items that seem to the a staple in this series. This time around, there was an enchanted amulet to go along with Alanna's epic sword but I won't divulge what the amulet does, because: spoilers ;)Despite it's impressive beginning which also included a Goddess, as the name would suggest, I found that In the Hand of the Goddess couldn't quite escape the dreaded 'second-book syndrome'. The war was an engaging twist, but it failed to deliver as much battle-action as I would have liked. Then, there was the new romantic development. As much as Alanna vows to never fall in love, she becomes a young woman in this installment and begins to have feelings for...someone. The focus on the romantic side of things was a little surprising, considering how insistent Alanna has always been about not falling in love. The romance itself wasn't unpleasant. In fact, it was downright believable but it never really successfully made me swoon like the best ships do. Even the final showdown with the main villain (so far) fell a bit flat for me, which was surprising considering that the tension had been building since the first book.I also have to share about a personal pet-peeve: when authors age up characters up very quickly and/or time jumps ahead by increments for no clear reason. I don't know why, but it bugs me. When I become attached to a character, I like to see them grow/mature in a normal progression. Alanna seemed to go from a young squire to a woman in the blink of an eye. I found myself wishing that Tamora Pierce had slowed things down considerably, even if it meant that Alanna had stayed younger for longer. I feel like she was aged up quickly just to add romantic tension to a story where the heroine didn't really need romance to begin with. At least not straight away. I just wanted to see my girl grow up normally!Regardless, In the Hand of the Goddess was a solid follow up, even if it fell short of its predecessor. I enjoyed being reunited with Alanna, returning to Tortall, and watching the wonderful magic grow and evolve anew. I cheered along with all of Alanna's friends as she made the journey into Knighthood, which was filled with it's fair share of exciting ups and downs, not to mention a few good twists thrown in for good measure! This series is a must for classic fantasy readers and I'll definitely be reading all of the rest of the books by Tamora Pierce.This review was previously featured on my blog:
5.0 nostalgia, 4.0 re-read, 4.5 actual.Okay, I've re-read this many times, but never with as large a gap [3+ years] and as much a focus on critical thinking as now. That being said, although the Immortals Quartet stands as my favourite Tortall series and I relate to Diane more overall... this book has always been my favourite. And, looking at it critically, I stand by that judgment. It does have its faults [not all author-related], but its strengths make up for those. I do have a couple of disclaimers for people who are reading it in their post-teen years: this book is decidedly in a market of its time. The entire series' length was cut in half, at least, due to publishers not believing that a fantasy novel, especially with a female protagonist, would sell well in the years before Harry Potter [author Tamora Pierce has commented on this numerous times throughout the past 15 years]. As a result, the characters, plot, and novelization are rushed throughout the first two books [which, combined, take place over 8 years], which gives the books a juvenile feel. This is a result of publishing [oh, how I wish I could read those original versions of the first two books!] and something that's not reflected in Tammy's later novels, whether the last two books of this series or subsequent series. If you can get past the juvenile-esque writing of these first two books, you will be duly rewarded, I assure you.I can't tap into what originally made me declare this book my favourite book of all time. I originally read these books in 1996, pre-Protector of the Small quartet and actually, pre-most-of-the-Immortals-quartet. I identified with Alanna's need to get out and prove herself against ~masculine~ warriors. I came into this series obsessed with Joan of Arc, but already familiar with the world [and slightly with Alanna's legacy] via Wild Magic. I left this series as a feminist activist, thankful that Alanna was a character who presented both masculine and feminine qualities. But, admittedly, I've evolved beyond my 13 year old definitions of feminism in the last 15 years since I originally read this book. All that being said, it's still my favourite.The strong point of this novel is, in my opinion, Alanna's acceptance of her gender. You might disagree with that but, in my perception, that is what hit strongest. In this book, Alanna becomes more real, fighting her desire for love vs. her knowledge of the pain it causes; her feminine side vs. the masculine side that will keep her safe. She has chosen a masculine identity [until her knighting] that will keep her free and safe from harassment and yet, despite this, she explores what it means to be a female and what it will mean after she's earned her shield. She's an excellent student and squire but that doesn't mean that she knows everything, something she learns fairly quickly during her squire training.Personally, the steps Alanna takes towards accepting her femininity mean the world to me. At this point, I don't really care about her knight training or her relationship between Jonathan or George. Alanna taught me how to accept both femininity and masculinity, and accept what they meant to me. I can't put a rating on that. What matters is that it made me think about it and come to my own conclusions. What makes a female a female? What makes up masculine characteristics? Alanna shows that you can be a bit of both, honestly.So many feels, y'all.
What do You think about In The Hand Of The Goddess (2005)?
I still enjoyed reading this series, but several more problems stood out more with this book. First off; important events kept being dropped casually into the conversation or mentioned in passing and that was that. I was very taken aback when it was said that Alanna's father died "last month", and that was about it. There were several other instances as well that this happened but I can't remember right now. Also time seems to be passing too quickly. At some point I had to struggle to keep up and remember that all these happened within long periods of time between each other. Then the romance. I appreciate that it's not overdramatized or anything, but I also felt like it... just happened. Like, in the last book there was no mention of it at all, and then suddenly in the first chapter of this book the goddess declared that George was in love with Alanna. That was jarring. So was when people suddenly started sleeping with each other without talking much about it at all. I was... confused. Some things that have had a huge build up (such as the Ordeal) ended up being too simple. I've noticed this pattern with pretty much all the climaxes in the series; they never even last more than a few pages. I mean, I hate reading about fighting/battles myself, but this is a book that's supposed to be all about it, right?Another gripe I have is that how Alanna seems to be a foolproof radar when it came to evil people. From the moment she saw Roger, she had already hated him inexplicably. Same with Delia, who turned out to be his pawn. I guess I really don't like it when evil people are so obviously portrayed to be evil from the start. There's no surprise, no twist, nothing. Wouldn't it have been more exciting if he seemed to be a good guy and then surprised by everyone by turning out not to be a good guy after all? Unreasonably "good instincts" in a hero is something I've always disliked.I don't know, maybe I'm just being picky. Or maybe this was meant for people much younger than me, hence the simplicity of the plot and everything. I could understand that, I guess.
—Alexandra
I thought that this book was a nice followup from the first, and closed off a lot of the rising questions I had from the first. I think there are a couple more in the series, but I don't really have a desire to read them and star up new lingering questions. I don't think I'm really a fan of her style of writing. Time seems to pass too quickly to me without anything of note happening, which I suppose is realistic but bothersome. It also seems like everything is kind of kept at arms length. Yes, she has feelings and problems, but they're easily solved and fixed within a few pages. This might just be a sign of the times in which this book was written or the audience it was written for, which I accept.That said, I did read it all in a night, which means that it kept me interested enough to keep going. I did like all the adventures she had and the friends she made along the way. And it's always fun to read about a girl out dueling most of the boys. So an enjoyable read, but not a very deep one.
—Maree
I'm looking for something to like about this... I like the worldbuilding and magic, and I like the casual attitude toward sex in this culture. But oh GOD what a Mary Sue. Everything Alanna does is perfect. The kingdom can't get along without her, she helps win wars and she exposes dramatic plots and everyone loves her sooooo much. Even the gods can't leave her alone. And she has a magic talking cat and violet eyes and crazy awesome magic skills that she (of course) doesn't even want. Just give me a break. The narrative structure is nonexistent -- it covers years and years, but just skips from one Super Special thing Alanna's doing to the next Super Special instance a year later.And her two suitors are pretty sleazy about it. Neither one exhibits actual concern for her or her preferences, they just keep reminding her over and over that they totally want to have sex with her, and they kiss her whether she wants it or not. EW. Nevermind that they're both older than her, and one is actually her ruling lord.
—Hannah Givens
