Tamora Pierce's Tortall and Other Lands Anthology of short stories is a really good read. Several good reads in fact. Now, usually, I don't like short, stories, but these I did because they had all of the elements of a novel which I usually like - well developed characters, interesting plot, zaidi than 10 pages - and were just shorter. For a lot of them, it felt like a beginning to a story, au a full story but shorter, which I suppose is exactly what a short story is supposed to be. Tamora Pierce does these stories fabulously. There are 11 short stories.
The Dragon's Tale: Daine's dragonling, Kitten, finds a woman living on the edge of society while she is wandering with Daine.
Elder Brother: Do wewe remember when Numair turned someone into a mti in the Immortals Series? Well, as a repercussion of that big magic, a mti was turned into a human, and this is the story of his first days as one.
The Hidden Girl: A girl in a society which is within the world of Tortall is travelling with her father, who is a wandering priest that preaches forbidden texts of religious law. When her father falls in, it falls to her in this patriarchal society to teach. I liked this one, and it is linked with the Elder Brother story.
Huntress: (from the back) A contemporary teen tries to fit in with the cool group at school, at a terrible price. This one, to be honest, wasn't my favourite. There is a fantastical element to it as well.
Lost: I thought this was a really sweet story. In Tusaine, a girl math genius doubts herself and her abilities due in part to her math teacher who wont believe that she just knows the answers, and her father, who doubts her as well. In it, a darkling helps her realize her potential. I'll say again that I really liked this one.
Mimic: A girl named Ri in a small village (once again in the world of Tortall) a girl finds a big, wounded mjusi and decides to help heal its wounds despite it not being human.
Nawat: Aly is giving birth, and Nawat finds himself conflicted between keeping to the laws of the crows, and staying a jogoo in all things, and becoming human in zaidi than just form. I loved the chance to see Aly and Nawat again, and to know their babies. It makes me have hope (however futile) that Pierce will later explore Aly's chidren. It explores interesting topics, and I wont spoil it for wewe but it's definitely a must read.
Plain Magic: I also loved this one. A girl living in a village happens upon a travelling woman who sells cloth. Meanwhile, the villagers prepare for a dragon coming to the village. The mage suggests the usual sacrifice for dragons, and this has interesting consequences.
Testing: Based on Pierce's own experiences as a house mother, this story was definitely one of my favourites. The girls in the house decide to test their new house mother after a string of less promising house mothers.
Student of Ostriches: Another one of my favourites. A girl in a village tries to be like the wanyama in her village kwa learning to kick and fight while tending animals. One siku her sister's honour is threatened, and she must fight to protect it. It's also a little bit zaidi about Shang warriors, which I loved.
Time of Proving: This one was a lot shorter than the others, and slightly odd. Basically, a girl goes into the wilderness and meets a ng'ombe man running for his life. Their cultures are entirely at odds, and they must learn to reconcile their differences.
All in all, I'll say again that I really, really liked this anthology. It was definitely worth the buy and it was really nice to get another Tamora Pierce story in between Bloodhound and Mastiff. Also, it was nice to see other parts of Tortall and some non-fantasy stories. It was empowering, too. It featured lots of strong female characters. I liked how the strong women were not always fighters, and how some were in zaidi traditional roles, inaonyesha the multifacetedness of strength. A definite recommend.
