Magic Steps (The Circle Opens, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: Okay
Review: This book is good but it does not hold a candle to Tamora Pierce's other books. It seems kind of boring until it get gory and then it is just gory. If you want a very good fantisy book read the Song Of The Lioness quartet also by Tamora Pierce.

Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!
Review: I loved this book! It was wonderful! It was a bit freaky at the murders, but it was really funny, like the time Pasco dances his cousin up into the air and they just sit there, hanging for hours! Anyone who wants to be intertained should read this book. I started getting into Tamora's books by accident, and I am so glad that I did! This book is a fantastic combanation of wit, humor, and mystery. If you are looking for a book that will keep you up all night, and leave you ready for her next word of art, this book is for you! A must read!

Rating:
Summary: I expected no less from Tammy!
Review: Awsome and very-well written. I'm not surprised though, as Tamora Pierce is my favorite author. This book stars Sandry, from the Circle of Magic quartet, and a young mage named Pasco with the power to dance a magical working. They make a pretty good team -as you'll see-. I thought it was very interesting but a -little- violent. If you like fantasy though, this is definately a book for you!

Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: This book was really good. It was very interesting. It was, however, a bit more violent and sad than Tamora Pierce's others (exept for maybe Lioness Rampant), as it is about murders. That does not make it bad, but if you are thinking of reading it, you should know that before hand. I really liked this book, and i hope to read the next one as soon as it comes out.

Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: I enjoyed this book and thought it was very interesting, probably because Sandry is my favorite character. I liked the plot and I like the way the book was written but I don't like that kid mage. He was annoying to me, sorry. Anyway, even though overall this was a good book I missed the bond that the four kids had in their last series. I hope before this series is finished they'll all have a reunion or something. And it would be especially cool if Sandry and Briar hooked up but I doubt that's possible. Anyway read this awesome book.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful.
Review: This book was wonderful. I love hearing about Sandry's life a few years after Winding Circle. The things she's learned how to do are really amazing. The problem in this book is interesting as well. And the boy mage has a pretty cool power. I can't wait to hear about Briar, and Daja, and Tris in the next three books..

Rating:
Summary: Very good start to a new series
Review: "Magic Steps" picks up the story of Lady Sandrilene fa Toren four years after the Circle of Magic Quartet ended. Now fourteen, she is living at court with her great-uncle, Duke Vedris, when she stumbles across Pasco, a young apprentice harrier with a magical gift no one has ever seen before. As if that isn't enough, someone is killing members of a prominent merchant family, yet no one can seem to figure out how. It's a real pleasure to "catch up" with Sandry and see how shecontinues to grow, both magically and personally. Interesting, original and well paced, with strong characters and a good plot. Tamora Pierce delivers another excellent book.

Rating:
Summary: Magic Steps
Review: I loved the books about Daine and Alanna. Thats the main reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 1 or 2. The next set about the circle were o.k. These ones...well let me just say I was dissapointed. And I mean VERY dissapointed. It has an interesting and promising storyline but it just does not come together. I advise you to avoid it and if you insist on reading it then borrow or get from the library.

Rating:
Summary: A truly magical experience!
Review: Magic Steps, written by Tamora Pierce, is the first book in The Circle Opens series. It takes place in Summersea, where fourteen year-old Lady Sandrilene fa Toren is staying with her great-uncle, Duke Vedris. It is during her stay that she meets Pasco, a boy with a particular type of magic. He is able to perform magic by dancing and since Sandry discovered him, she must now become his teacher. Though this poses a bit of a problem, there are more important things going on at Summersea. A group of murderers have been killing many members of the Rokat family. These murderers are very hard to track down though because they are manipulating a mage who is gifted in "unmagic", which is the abscence of magic. Unmagic is impossible to defeat using magic, but Sandry and Pasco, with the help of Lark and Yazmin, have found a way to stop these murderers.

Though I was expecting this book to talk about all four young mages - Sandry, Briar, Daja and Tris, I still liked the fact that it was only concentrated on Sandry. This enables the reader to get to know Sandry a lot better. However, I was quite surprised with Sandry's character. She doesn't have the strong character that Pierce's other heroines have. She is more docile and peaceful and even though this is a refreshing change, I'm not too fond of Sandry and I have a hard time sympathizing with her.

It seems to me that Magic Steps wasn't a very logical continuation with Briar's Book. I felt as if I missed something in between the two books. At the end of Briar's Book, all four young mages are at Discipline. However, at the beginning of Magic Steps, Sandry is at the Citadel, and Daja, Briar and Tris are nowhere near Winding Circle. Needless to say, I was quite lost during the first few pages or so. I feel as if a prologue would have been quite appropriate.

I found the whole concept of a dance mage quite interesting and I became very attached to Pasco. I looked forward to reading any passage that involved Pasco or his dancing teacher, Yazmin. Both were very loveable, strong characters in contrast to Sandry's more passive one. I also liked how Pierce introduced unmagic, and the mage was a very interesting character, as were the murderers.

To summarize, this is an excellent addition to my growing collection of Tamora Pierce's numerous books. It is more mature than The Circle of Magic Quartet, and though it can be at times quite gory, it is a very exciting YA fantasy book that will transport you to the very heart of the Duke's Citadel.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't deliver as advertised
Review: I expected to see some character growth in Sandry in this book, but she doesn't really seem to change or grow. In fact, she seems stuck in a holding pattern, as a caretaker for her uncle. Her student, Pasco, has the possibility of being interesting, and I loved his dance teacher, Yazmin, but there's not much character development there either, since most of the story is taken up with solving some rather grisly murders. The purpose of the murders is also sort of fuzzy. Granted, some of the victims are less than savory characters, but there are some vicious murders of children which ought to be justified better.

And the murders are REALLY grisly. Pierce describes beheaded bodies and so on in what I felt was a gratuitous fashion. Reviews indicated that this book was aimed at grades 5-8 but I definitely wouldn't put it in the hands of elementary students and I would have to think hard about recommending it to middle schoolers.

The idea that really made this book interesting was the idea of unmagic- a very intriguing idea- and the corrupted child mage, presented in sharp contrast to Pasco, also added some dimension. I don't think Magic Steps succeeds as a stand alone book, but I can see it as a setup for further books with the same characters, and I hope we get that, because I'd like to find out how things work out between Yazmin and the duke. I don't think Pierce ought to be aiming these at the elementary or middle school crowd though, to me this clearly suggested a YA categorization.