As Tortall’s spymaster, George Cooper has sensitive documents from all corners of the realm. When Alanna sends him a surprising letter, he cleans out his office and discovers letters from when King Jonathan and Queen Thayet first ascended the throne, notes on creating the Shadow Service of spies, threat-level profiles on favorite characters, Daine’s notes on immortals, as well as family papers, such as Aly’s first report as a young spy and Neal’s lessons with the Lioness. This rich guide also includes the first official timeline of Tortallan events from when it became a sovereign nation to the year Aly gives birth to triplets. Part history, part spy training manual, and entirely fascinating, this beautiful guide makes a perfect gift and is ideal for anyone who loves Alanna, King Jonathan, Queen Thayet, Kel, Neal, Aly, Thom, Daine, Numair, and the unforgettable world of Tortall!
LOVED IT!
The Tortall books were some of my favorites growing up, and that feeling as changed since becoming an adult. Through all of those years two characters have always been my favorite: George Cooper and Numair Salmalin. So to finally have a book put together by the bits of papers that George Cooper had in a spare room was all I needed to know. With the added bonus that Numair would make an appearance, just and added bonus! Nothing about this book disappointed me.
It's just not the work of Tamora Pierce, but of her and friends who also love the land of Tortall. However, I couldn't tell. Everything flowed together wonderful. There wasn't a moment where I didn't think a page didn't fit well into the world that Tamora Pierce had created, or that a character felt different from how I remembered them.
I loved the added bits of artwork as well. Finally getting to see what a few of the characters actually look like in, as well as how a few of the Immortal Creatures actually look like. In some places it added it a bit of fun, like the section all about the feasts for Their Majesties.
As a whole I thought the book flowed well together. Each section is clearly marked of what you're about to get, and each section dips its toe into a different part of the stories that came before it. Mentions of characters, places, and events. Which was fun to be brought back to places I haven't been in years! It was also a reminder of certain characters that I disliked, because sadly some of them made an appearance that they are want to do.
It was also fun to get to see a bit for the Lioness's children. While Aly has a whole book written around her, her brother's only get a small mention. So it was nice to get to see a bit of them. Of course it was delightful to see a grown up George Cooper as well. Though, not much has really changed in my opinion.
Really I don't have enough words to talk about how much I adored Tortall: A Spy's Guide. The only bad thing I have to say is that I'm always sad when Beka Copper doesn't get a mention, but I also understand she was a little before the time frame of this book. I was also sad that Faithful got very little mention. Faithful is one of my favorite creatures in the entire Tortall world!
Honestly, it was great book that I had to force myself to not devour in a single sitting. And it's one I'll go back and reread to see what I missed the first the time around.
Buy, Borrow, or Skip: If you are fan of Tamora Pierce you need to add this to your collection. If you haven't read any of her books... Why are you still sitting there? Go to you local library, bookstore, or Free Little Library. Right now?!
HAPPY READING!!
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