Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles, Book One) Hardcover – February 6, 2018

I really wanted to like this book. I spent the entire book waiting to like it, thinking, "Okay, now we'll get to the action." The entire thing reads like a prologue to the actual story. And I don't mean a prologue to Wild Magic and adult Numair, but a prologue to Numair's own story, because not much happens in this book.For what we actually learn, and for how much characters are actually developed, this book could have been condensed down into 100 pages, and then already jumped into the more interesting action of the break between Arram and Ozorne, Arram's flight from Carthak, and his quest to establish himself in Tortall.If I had to sum up my main complaint it would be this: there are no real stakes. Arram sails through hardship, with all of his mentors taking care of him, friends defending him, and no real character growth on his part. The overarching book has nothing really at risk and no real threat to it. I could't even tell you what the climax of the book is...because a climax usually requires growing tension. This book lacked that. It foreshadowed a million things for the next book, but I don't want to finish a story feeling like it was just a teaser for the next book.This isn't a bad book, but I would wait until the next one comes out to buy it, so maybe you can read straight through it and into (hopefully) some character development in its sequel.One shining light: Varice is awesome. I really appreciated having a smart, capable female character who is so different from the other Tortall heroines. I appreciated that the story showed that a female can be flirty and charming and still smart and strong willed. It made me sad for her future because she's the best part of the series so far.

(This contains mild spoilers. No actual content spoilers but general subject spoilers) This book suffers from what i call 'I Have A Sequel' syndrome, where the pacing of the whole book reads like the first third of a whole book. Which can be ok if you know theres 2 more books coming, but can be a frustrating read when you reach the end of the book and find you have to wait for 2 more books to come out.Given that this book is a prequel and we know Arram's future from Daine's books later in this universe, i feel like theres some inconsistencies with what we learned of Arram's background in Daine's books compared to what we see in Tempest and Slaughter. I need to do a reread of the Immortals quartet to be sure but I was under the impression that a lot of his encounters with gods, immortals, and ambient magics after meeting Daine were either his first such encounters or among his first such encounters (or at least close to). I was also under the impression that his studies on wild magic/ambient magics as an adult were pretty cutting-edge, neglected and shunned even by his peers, but in Tempest and Slaughter, those kinds of magics are accepted and even taught by several of his well-respected teachers.Pierce has always been one to toy with how magic works in her universe as she continues to work in it, which is totally understandable, but this book takes such a drastic change, and with a character who's background and abilities were already established in other works. Unfortunately, this books ranks kind of low out of Tamora Pierce's works for me. That said, "low among her works" doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. There was plenty to enjoy. Seeing Arram grow up knowing the man he will one day be has been an intriguing experience, and seeing the relationships between him, Varice, and Ozorne develop knowing where that will lead is the most delicious kind of heart-wrenching. There's also a few wonderful tidbits that draw the world together in tiny details like in-world book authors and things like that.I'm cautiously hopeful about the 2nd and 3rd books in this series either addressing my current issues in some way or at least building forward in new and exciting ways.

I was disappointed when I learned Pierce would be writing about Numair’s childhood since obviously we know exactly how that all turned out, but I find myself really enjoying it! I like the young Aram- and reading about him is making me see how he could end up with Daine in a way that’s *slightly* less creepy, given that he’s still like, 14 years older than her and a teacher who lives with her from the ages of 13-17 before they get together... Ok - creepiness of that relationship aside, since it’s not a part of this series - I really enjoy learning about his magical studies and getting a better understanding of his power. I like the characters and I think she does a good job of making the young Ozone likable enough that we understand their friendship while gradually showing his transition into an enemy. I also enjoy that the book is unconstrained by any obvious timeline - in most of her other work there is a war, a school year, or a particular quest that is set out at the beginning of the book, giving the reader an idea of what the arc of the story will be. Here, we don’t know. I was not sure how long this particular book would cover, and while I have some idea when the series will end, im not sure how many books it will extend through. I really liked that! It let me enjoy the story and just let it take me where it would. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Usually, I avoid YA fiction like the plague; I'm too old and too cynical for the amount of angst that sloshes around. Tamora Pierce is one of the few exceptions. I still remember buying "Alanna: The First Adventure" second-hand from a market stall when I was a kid, leading to hunting for all the others - a difficult task, pre-internet. I've read her stuff multiple times since then and will probably continue to do so. I was therefore very happy when this one - the first new one in a while - came out.And I read it in one sitting.To be honest, this is a book for existing fans. I wouldn't recommend it as a place to start, not because it's a bad book, but because it seemed to me that virtually its only purpose was to fill in Numair's background - either because Pierce wanted to write it, or the fans wanted to read it. As a story in and of itself, Tempests and Slaughter suffers from a lack of plot; it also seemed to gallop through the years, giving us a few snapshots along the way - a definite difference to Alanna: The First Adventure, which covers time at approximately the same rate, as far as I can tell, but has more plot activity and a bigger payoff at the end. There are hints that Book 2 in this subseries might have more plot - there are things being put in place - but as it was, Book 1 is a nice little story of Numair meeting Varice and Ozorne, and his first few years at Carthak University - just like it says on the tin.Character-wise, you can see how the three main characters ended up where they did. I liked Varice more than I expected to, and I hope she gets developed more in Book 2. When we see Varice in Emperor Mage, she doesn't show to particular advantage (although that might be due to point of view), and it was interesting to see how Pierce has written people's attitude to Varice - she isn't taken seriously not because she is female (there are plenty of powerful female characters) but because her magic is dismissed as 'kitchen witchery' and therefore less important/powerful. After reading Tempest and Slaughter, the one character I'd like to see more of is Varice. This book makes me wonder what she did after the events of Emperor MageOzorne was less interesting, as we pretty much knew what was going to happen with him, and we know where he's going to go. However, Pierce seems to be managing the move from Ozorne as he is at the beginning of Tempests and Slaughter to where he is when we meet him in Emperor Mage. We know what has to happen, of course, but it's not an easy character development to write convincingly.In some ways, Arram/Numair was the least interesting in the way of character development - he's a nice kid, and he stays a nice kid throughout the book. To some extent, Varice and Ozorne both have more to put up with than Arram in this book - Varice with the mild disdain she endures from others, and Ozorne with the changes in his status - so they change more. Arram has no real challenges, and he's also younger than the other two and a bit of a follower - I suspect that the real development will come in Book 2, as he has to make difficult choices.So, to conclude: this is a book for existing fans who have already read at least The Immortals Quartet (starting with Wild Magic) and want to know how Arram Draper became Numair Salmalin. As a story, it relies on the reader's interest in the characters rather than plot - and a lesser writer than Pierce couldn't have pulled it off. Four stars for pulling it off!

Numair (aka Arram Draper) has long been one of my favourite characters in the Tortall universe. His 'origin story', for which lovers of this series have been waiting patienty for some years, does not disappoint. Pierce handles friendships very well, and it's also good to get another view of Ozorne and Varice (whom readers may already have met in The Emperor Mage). The plot is engaging, the writing flows, and Pierce makes us care about her characters. You could read this on its own, as a standalone, perfectly well, and it might be a good starting introduction to the Tortall world. For me, it was just lovely to be reintroduced to an old friend, to learn more about where he came from, and to understand better the later decisions he made. A great read, anyway, and most highly recommended.

I was looking forward to Numair's trilogy and learning about how he and Ozorne went from friends to enemies. This first book wasn't as "punchy" as the first books of her other works and if I was reading this as my first introduction to Tortall, I don't know if I would be incentivised to continue. To anyone new to the Tortall universe, I would urge you to read her other works which are better paced and more action packed. Young heroines Alanna, Kel, Daine and Beka are fascinating and easy to like and admire.The payoff for me was getting to meet younger versions of characters we meet in her other works (one of the highlights being the true identity of the gladiator) and other cross-references, like the background to Numair's juggling skills. Otherwise it felt like the chapters detailing his everyday school life could have been condensed, didn't think we needed all the detail to move the story and characters along.It felt like a very long set up up to the next 2 books which must contain a lot more action (Tempests and Slaughter, after all - though we did see some of that in this first book). Given the amount of focus on her, I'm hoping that Preet wil turn out to be the equivalent of Faithful, Pounce or Kitten - but right now, she's more like Kel's baby griffin. I've got my fingers crossed for the falling out between Numair and Ozorne and his early years in Tortall. He's a bit bland in this, to be honest. Varice's character seems pretty settled right now (surprised at the reviewer who compared her to Hermione - really? Yes, they're both academically bright and the 1 girl in their trio, otherwise their personalities seem totally different - Varice brings people together, charms everyone and is inspired by table arrangements and dishes at banquets).

As a long time fan of the fantastic quartets that Tamora Pierce writes, I am yet again on the edge of my seat.I only just finished rereading the Immortals again and during it I was thinking, "I bet this guys story would make a good quartet...and HERE IT IS.Gosh I love this boy arram. Every so often I forget this is a prequel and then another familiar face appears and then I REMEMBER.I'm glad to see that the Tortall verse staples are still strong, with the animal companion making everything more complicated and yet more heart warming.I'm glad tamora decided to visit Carthak again for another story, but this time from the point of view of a resident.Though readers of many of her other series may know where this story will eventually end, I'm so excited to see how we will get there.

plodding along, entirely predictable, but comforting and comfortable, like warm slippers, an old bath robe, and a good fire, cosy, pleasant and warm...the teen aged boy sexuality a bit annoying and unnecessary, but not too much of it, so ok...budding romance equally annoying, but, again, not too much of it...the story bumps along; you know, and i know, what will happen, but it is well written, well plotted, and well paced, so we wend along, with an occasional skip, til the end...a good price for a pleasant few hours...