Tricked by the Trickster: Where is the Protagonist Who Was Promised?

A couple months ago I finished rereading Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series (again, not counting the Provost’s Dog trilogy starring Beka Cooper, because I still do not have those books), and I found that some of my opinions on the books had changed significantly. I still liked the Song of the Lioness quartet, but felt that it rushed through its worldbuilding; the Immortals quartet was still my beautiful delicate flower child; and whereas I had hated the Protector of the Small quartet when I first read it, I loved it upon rereading. (I guess I’ve learned some things about intersectionality in the last couple years.) However, I hadn’t liked the Trickster duology when I first read it, and apparently, I still didn’t like it when I reread it. After thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the story itself I disliked—it was the way in which it was told.

Spoilers for the series and minor spoilers for the rest of the Tortall universe after the jump!

Sexualized Saturdays: Challenging Sexism in the Tortall Universe

I’m a master procrastinator, so when I had to pack for a trip recently, I instead spent the entire week before I was to go rereading Tamora Pierce’s Tortall series. (Well, almost; I didn’t have the Beka Cooper books on hand.) The Tortall universe is a book series made up of intersecting quartets about amazing female protagonists, set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall. Each quartet spans several years and there are long chronological gaps between each quartet; thus, the series has a chance to discuss some social trends in great depth. And it does just that with sexism.

Mild spoilers for the Tortall books through Protector of the Small after the jump.