Mastiff

I (finally) finished Mastiff by Tamora Pierce last night. I say finally because I feel like I have been reading this book for a really long time, but that is mostly due to these last weeks being the start of school. It really only took me about 3 weeks to read this almost-600-page book.

Before I can really get into this review, I have to admit something. I love Tamora Pierce. I have since I discovered her Lioness Quartet in 6th grade. To this day, one of the highlights of my life was interviewing her after the first Beka Cooper book came out. So, I knew I was going to love this book before my Nook automatically downloaded it in late October (did I mention my first purchase on my Nook was the aforementioned Lioness Quartet and the preorder of this book?).

That said, this books did not earn my love by simply existing. It took a bit to warm up to again, possibly because it had been a while since reading a Beka Cooper book, so to suddenly jump in with the third book was a bit of a shock. Especially because the book starts with Beka burying her fiancé. I reeled because I didn't remember Beka even having a fiancé, let alone that he died. For the first ten pages or so, I was freaking out, thinking I really needed to reread the previous books, which is quite a daunting feat a week before classes start.

Thankfully, the previous two books, Terrier and Bloodhound are also on my Nook, so a quick glance of the ending of Bloodhound let me know that I had not missed anything, that almost 2 years separates the two stories, and the Holburn was no where in the previous book. Which fits, because he is not technically in the third book, either.

Without giving too much away, Mastiff follows Beka, Tunstall, Lady Sabine, Achoo, Pounce and Farmer, a mage from the Blue Harbor Kennel as they search for the kidnapped prince of Tortall. This Prince Gareth is the ancestor of Prince-cum-King Jonathan from the earlier (later?) Tortall series, as Beka is George Cooper's ancestor. The exact number of generations between the characters in these books and the characters from the other Tortallan books is unknown, which is something else that confused me.

This confusion is totally my fault. Somewhere I got the idea the Beka was George's grandmother, which made some of the names in this book, specifically that of the Prince, confusing. I reread Alanna over the summer, so I was more familiar with those books, including the character of Duke Gareth of Naxen, one of the knights that taught Alanna to fight when she was Alan, and then fought by her side when Duke Roger decided to go apeshit. So, for a good part of the beginning of the book, I thought that the prince in question would grow up to become the duke in question, who is also Jonathan's uncle. So, yeah, I was a little off.

My confusion on these two parts is probably what made the book seem a bit slow to start.

After getting over the headache, I was able to start fully investing myself into the reading. Which was just as good as I have come to expect from Pierce. Full of action, feature strong characters and good motives. I was a little dismayed over the lack of Rosto in the book, because I was convinced that he and Beka would get together, thus forming the bond between law and rogue that shines in George. That didn't happen, but don't worry, there is still that touch of romance that leaves the 13-year-old in me smiling from ear to ear.

The central focus of Mastiff is the slave trade in Tortall, but really the story could have happened anywhere. It is a terrible glimpse into what the world of slavery is. How people are bought, sold, killed and disposed of like they are play things. How people can treat others that are deemed below them. It is a disgusting world full of untrustworthy and genuinely ugly people. Pierce showcases this world as the seedy, yet perfectly legal underbelly of Tortall. Parents selling their children for extra cash, children kidnapped by slavers when the season is right, and the rich getting richer on the backs of those with nothing but their names and the rags covering their bodies.

All of this is set in a conspiracy plot that involves some of the highest nobles in the land.

The book begins with a show of death at the hands of the conspirators. Guards, slaves, workers, friends are all dead when Beka is summoned to the Summer Palace to begin her Hunt. I'm going to stop telling the story now, except to say that Mastiff ends similarly, with the attack of the kidnappers. Only at the end, the attacks are for the King and not against him, and they are done in the open, with mercy and warning.

Overall, I am very satisfied with this book. It has kept me up the last two nights, unable to put it down. When I did finally convince myself to turn off the light, I was still awake thinking about it. It completely captured me, as I knew it would. When I finished it last night, I immediately began wondering when Pierce is going to release another series. Since this is the last of the Beka Cooper stories, I cannot wait to see which character in her wonderful kingdom will be next.

So, yeah, I'm a fangirl. But, seriously, go read this book, and all of Pierce's other books while your at it. It's totally worth it, and there are almost 30 of them, so it's something that will keep you happy and reading for a while.