Not your average quest, of course, but a quest nonetheless.
#Alanna tamora pierce movie how to
I was beginning to wonder whether it would happen! We had two books of boarding school, one book of… I dunno how to characterise the third, actually. The title basically works it’s better than In the Hand of the Goddess at least.Īnd again: junior section of the library, people! Weird!Īt last, a proper quest. The red glow makes sense, I guess, but… yeh. Alanna is still not in armour, even though she becomes the king’s champion. The book is special to many, but it has its share of flaws.Once again, let’s talk about that cover. Just be prepared for a Mary Sue protagonist, a wealth of fantasy tropes, and some uneven pacing. Furthermore, its depiction of girl determined to make her way in a man’s world still continues to speak to readers. Ultimately, however, it is admittedly a relief to read a YA fantasy that is not an 800-page tome.Īlanna: The First Adventure does hold a special place in the history and development of YA fantasy, so it is worth checking out if just for that. She gathers friends without readers ever seeing why they are attracted to her, and she goes from being scrawny and ineffective to the best at everything with a mention or two of “secret training.” The book would surely be stronger if readers could see the relationships develop, could see the pain and the toll of Alanna’s training. Too much, in fact, because there tends to be little build-up to relationships or to Alanna’s amazing new skills.
A lot happens in the 250 pages of the volume I borrowed from the library. Her 2014 afterword recounts how she initially wrote a 700-page manuscript for adults, but was asked to revise it into four volumes for children. In addition, the pacing seems off, perhaps a result of Pierce’s revisions. The book is interesting and engaging, but it cannot be said to be surprising. But there are also elements like the wicked sorcerer (whose identity is never hidden from readers), the magical artifact only Alanna can wield, the thief lord (and Prince Jon’s embodiment of Prince Hal), and more. The entire premise is, of course, its own trope: a girl disguising herself as a boy.
Alanna even has violet eyes! This will all be exciting and inspirational to young readers–not so much to others.Ī wealth of fantasy tropes may also prove tiresome to an experienced fantasy reader. The hand of the Goddess is upon her, meaning she succeeds at everything she does, even where the mighty have failed. The book presents Alanna as a Mary Sue–a master swordsman at the age of 14, an expert archer, a tactical logician smarter than many adults, and a skilled magician (despite a lack of advanced training). Younger readers or nostalgic readers (those who first read it when young themselves) will likely find more to praise in Alanna: The First Adventure than older readers new to the series. But, in the end, it is incredibly refreshing to pick up an engaging, fast-paced adventure that can be finished relatively quickly. At times, the pacing will seem oddly off to readers. So Pierce presented her editors with a short YA fantasy that packs the maximum amount of action into a surprisingly short space. Before Harry Potter, children’s authors had to adhere to stricter page limits publishers believed tween and teens would not read long books. Alanna: The First Adventure was published in 1983, and it is obvious.
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