TEMPESTS AND SLAUGHTER BY TAMORA PIERCE

Three become friends while attending a university for mages. One’s an extra royal prince. Arram’s is poorer but talented and from a land across the ocean where there are no slaves. The other is a girl, Varice, who is beautiful and smart. The story centers around Arram and his learning about his powers as a mage. Arram’s about ten years old when the story starts and 14 when it ends. This book has some excellent stories about Arrams encounters with the gods for the first time, injustices in the world, and his introduction to the world of the royal court. There are stories of his powers gone wrong and when he uses them for good and fair. I liked Arram very much, he is shy, polite and has a strong moral compass.

This book reminded me of Harry Potter, a magic school, master teachers, and three friends growing up and their magic together. It seemed to be written to a slightly older reader than Harry Potter. It was easy to read, flowed well, and enjoyable. The ending seemed somewhat abrupt and clear on setting the stage for future adventures of these three. I love that there is a map and glossary. This is a world building book. However, the glossary didn’t have or contain names of people. a few times I had lost track of who all Arram’s master teachers were and back stories.

This book will be published in early February, 2018.  We recieved a review copy from the publisher and Netgalley.  Sue Hill