List of works by Tamora Pierce

This is a list of works by American fantasy author Tamora Pierce.

The Tortall universe is a fictional setting shared by five book series: [The] Song of the Lioness; [The] Immortals, or Wild Magic; Protector of the Small; Daughter of the Lioness, or Tricksters; and Beka Cooper (Provost's Dog) as well as multiple short stories.

Setting

The Tortall series is named for the country in which the majority of the works are set, Tortall. The capital of Tortall is Corus, located near the western coast on the Emerald Ocean. To the north is Scanra, a wild and somewhat barbaric country. Tortall and Scanra are at war in the last two Protector books and the first Trickster book, Trickster's Choice. To the east are Galla, Tusaine, and Tyra, and past them are Maren and Sarain. Carthak (setting for Emperor Mage) is south of Tortall across the Inland Sea, while to the west lie the Yamani Islands and the Copper Isles. To the east of Maren and Sarain is The Roof of the World, a large mountain range. The Trickster books mostly take place in the Copper Isles, further south than the Yamani islands.

The Hunt Records take place hundreds of years before the other books, and Barzun, a nation between Tortall and the Inland Sea later is occasional mentioned. Barzun was later conquered by Tortall.

Tortall is a place somewhat reminiscent of the European Middle Ages, with its monarchy, court, nobility, and knights, but is otherwise a completely different world. Magic is very real and practical to Tortallans, from the common hedgewitch to the King's court mages. Deities are revered and often play a part in human lives, sometimes choosing humans as champions, sometimes using them to further their own purposes. Though these deities are shown as powerful beyond belief, they rely on their human instruments to shape the world.

The Song of The Lioness was originally written as one single book for adults, but her literary agent suggested that she rewrite it into four books aimed at a young adult audience. Pierce literally cut up the manuscript and used the pieces to form four new books for teenagers. She has received numerous requests to publish the original manuscript, but claims it no longer exists, and wouldn't be worth publishing anyway.

Plot

Alanna of Trebond (later Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau) is a ground-breaking female knight. Although noble-born girls traditionally go to the convent to learn how to be proper noblewomen and wives, Alanna desires to become a knight, a position only given to noble-born boys. In order to achieve her dream, Alanna disguises herself as a boy under the name of Alan and goes to the palace in place of her twin brother Thom. As Thom has no interest in becoming a knight, and is far more interested in his magic, Thom forges a letter so that he can go to a temple to become an enormously strong and skilled sorcerer.

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