This is the last book in The Immortals series, and the one I most remember. Daine finally makes a (pervy) love connection with Numair, discovers her father is Weiryn, God of the Hunt, and defeats Stormwing!Ozorne. Most of the action takes place in the Realms of the Gods, where Daine and Numair end up accidentally on purpose when Daine’s Mom and Dad try to rescue her from certain death. Turns out, the Realms of the Gods is pretty much just the wilderness, except all the animals are gods and more things want to kill you.
It’s interesting to finally meet Daine’s parents, and sad that I hate both of them. Her mom is really whiny, and doesn’t seem to get that girl’s got shit to do. Plus, never mentioning that the dad you refused to tell Daine anything about for some reason is a God so, hey, you might want to watch out for god-like powers? Clearly she knew it would make a much better dramatic reveal for the last book. Her dad seems to think that being a dad means 1) sending a badger to “look out for her” and 2) giving her a new bow and arrow set. New weapons are always appreciated by the fiesty ladies of Tortall, but maybe if Daine had a father figure instead of a pet badger, she would not be all about hooking up with guys 15 years older than she is.
Tamora Pierce wants us to think that Numair falls in love with Daine at the beginning of this book, ignoring all the weird jealousy and touching in Emperor Mage. In the prologue of this book, when the wall between the mortal and immortal realms finally falls for good, the narration is from Numair’s point of view as he mind melds with other magic users because of the magicsplosion, and mentions Daine’s “soft lips” too many times to not be full of sketch. Here’s an excerpt:
He could feel her blink, as if those long, dark lashes of hers touched his cheek. Suddenly he learned something that he’d never considered before. For a brief moment, that fresh knowledge erased even his sense of magical cataclysm. (3-4)
That’s right, Numair. You know she’s your OTL when thinking about her erases your sense of magical cataclysm. I have no idea why Middle School Patricia found this romantic.
The Checklist
Animal Companion(s): Badger God; Broad Foot (God of Platypi, or “Duck-Mole”); Gold-Streak, Leaf, and Jelly (Darkings, or those magical black things on the cover)
Magical Bling: Badger Claw (cellphone to the gods), Numair’s “DAINE OTL” locket (easier to use than putting a locator chip in her head)
Love Connections: Numair, the tall and sketchy
The Play By Play
Prologue
The barrier between the Realm of the Gods and the mortal realm is gone!! I thought this happened like three books ago, but apparently those were just small magical openings that weakened the magical wall. Now all the scary monsters imprisoned behind it are free to pour back into the mortal realms and attack everyone. Read the rest of this entry »