Shatterglass

Last updated
Shatterglass
TamoraPierce Shatterglass.jpg
Cover featuring Tris holding Chime in a glass workshop.
Author Tamora Pierce
Language English
Series The Circle Opens
Genre Fantasy novel
Publisher Scholastic Press
Publication date
March 2003
Publication place United States
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages368 pp
ISBN 0-590-39683-8 (hardback edition) & ISBN   0-439-97864-5 (paperback edition)
OCLC 50124820
[Fic] 21
LC Class PZ7.P61464 Sh 2003
Preceded by Cold Fire  

Shatterglass, a novel by Tamora Pierce, is the fourth book in The Circle Opens series. [1] It takes place four years after the Circle of Magic series.

Contents

Plot introduction

Setting

Shatterglass is set in the city of Tharios. It is one of the oldest cities in the World with a strict class system hierarchy, based on their beliefs in reincarnation deciding class status, with those whom live well in their current lives improving their status in their next life. Tharios adheres strictly to their class system, despite a large portion of the cities' profit being produced by Khapik, an area dedicated towards entertainment, where the workers are looked down upon as a lesser class. Much of Tharian society centers around keeping the city clean, spiritually and physically, as all death in Tharios is believed to be unclean. This belief originated in the breakup of the Kurchal Empire and the devastation of the city by the blood plague . The Tharians have a separate class of people called the prathmun who are the lower class citizens dedicated to cleaning and handling the dead.

Plot summary

Trisana (Tris) Chandler meets Kethlun (Keth) Warder, a glass mage with a dangerous power: lightning. During their first meeting, he was unconsciously using his unknown ambient powers and accidentally created a living dragon out of glass. Tris saves the dragon from being smashed by Keth, and names it Chime. She later finds out that he had been struck by lightning less than a year ago, and this left him paralyzed and with a great fear of lightning. He learned to walk again, but his speech is a little slow, and he lost his ease at glass-blowing.

A twenty-year-old man just as stubborn as Tris, Keth won't accept Tris or any of her teachings. He argues with her constantly, and refuses to learn about his lightning abilities, fearing a relapse into paralysis. Tris is surprisingly patient with him as she guides him through meditation and control over his powers. Eventually, Keth learns to trust Tris' instincts, and grudgingly accepts her as his teacher.

Meanwhile, mysterious murders are taking place. All the murdered women are Yaskedasi, female entertainers who are looked down upon in the town for their immodesty. But when one of the murdered Yaskedasi turns up in the town's central fountain, everyone starts to take notice. The town has a culture of thanatophobia, an irrational fear of death. Each time a person dies, the place must be cleansed by the town's priests when they perform the traditional cleansing ceremony. This ceremony is not only religious, but magical as well, effectively erasing all traces of the murderer, making it impossible for the authorities to track the killer, nicknamed the 'Ghost' by locals.

Keth has been asked to attempt to find the Ghost by way of glass balls that only he can make. These balls hold scenes of past crimes in them, causing him to be a suspect at first. Keth and Tris struggle, first against the local authorities, then against each other in the creation of these globes. When Keth's friend Yali is killed by the Ghost, the race takes on new meaning.

Characters

Trisana Chandler (Tris) – Tris is an accomplished weather mage. Held apart by her spectacular range and strength of power, she only wants to fit in. Her strong sense of right and wrong is sorely put to the test in this book, when she is faced with the choice of turning a serial killer (of whom she was the next intended victim) in to the law, or killing him herself.

Kethlun Warder (Keth) – Keth was one of the best glassmakers of his generation, a nephew and rumoured heir to the Namorness Imperial Glassmaker. He was struck by lightning, which contributed to the initial loss of his glass making ability, which eventually led him to travel to Tharios. Despite being raised with mage relatives, Keth's Lightning and Glass magic was never recognized due to its ambient nature.

Niklaren Goldeye (Niko) – Niko was Tris's teacher, the first person to accept her. Now that Tris is a mage in her own right, Niko is her mentor and one of her closest friends. He is a well known scholar, specializing in scrying magic.

Yali – Yali is one of Keth's best friends, and growing into his sweetheart. She is a yaskedasi and therefore looked down upon by 'proper' society, but Keth sees the real her. Her murder causes Keth to rethink his priorities.

Nomasdina Dema – Dema is a young, upperclass police-mage. He was put on the case of the murdered Yaskedasi after traditional methods failed. He must overcome his prejudices and work with Keth and Tris to bring in the Ghost.

Glaki – The four-year-old daughter of one of the women murdered. When Yali, who had taken over caring for her, is also murdered, Tris takes Glaki in. Glaki has academic magic.

Reception

In a review for School Library Journal , Beth L. Meister states, "This fast-moving, action-filled story can stand alone, and is sure to be a hit with Pierce's many fans." [2] A review by Anita L. Burkam for Horn Book Magazine includes, "With a large number of plot elements, Pierce has quite a few balls to keep in the air for most of the book; that a few drop before the end won't bother fans of her cheeky, down-to-earth characters, earnest magical effects, and low-key mysteries." [3]

According to a review by Shelle Rosenfeld in Booklist , "Kethlun and Dema's stories add depth to the plot, and there's plenty of suspense, as well as a social commentary simmering beneath the surface of the story (the human rights of the lower classes are being ignored by the city in an effort to maintain its beautiful facade)." [4] According to Kirkus Reviews , "the pace is too leisurely and repetitive to create much suspense" but the "appealing, well-rounded characters" help compensate for this. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Song of the Lioness</i> Fantasy novel series for young adults

The Song of the Lioness is a young adult series of fantasy novels published in the 1980s by Tamora Pierce. The series consists of four books: Alanna: The First Adventure (1983), In the Hand of the Goddess (1984), The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986) and Lioness Rampant (1988).

The Immortals quartet, by Tamora Pierce, is the story of Veralidaine Sarrasri, an orphan with an unusual talent: she can speak with animals.

The Protector of the Small quartet is a series of young adult fantasy books by American writer Tamora Pierce.

Circle of Magic is a quartet of fantasy novels by Tamora Pierce, set in Emelan, a fictional realm in a pseudo-medieval and renaissance era. It revolves around four young mages, each specializing in a different kind of magic, as they learn to control their extraordinary and strong powers and put them to use. It is followed by another quartet, The Circle Opens, which takes place four years later, and the standalone book The Will of the Empress, which takes place several years after that. Melting Stones and Battle Magic are also set in the same universe, but they feature only Briar.

<i>Wild Magic</i> Fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce

Wild Magic is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first in a series of four books, The Immortals. It details the emergence of the powers of Veralidaine Sarrasri as a wild mage and her coming to Tortall.

<i>Wolf-Speaker</i> 1994 novel by Tamora Pierce

Wolf-Speaker is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the second in a series of four books, The Immortals.

<i>Emperor Mage</i> 1994 fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce

Emperor Mage is a 1994 fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the third in a series of four books, The Immortals. It details the peace delegation sent by Tortall to Carthak which Daine joins, to save the emperor's birds.

<i>Sandrys Book</i> 1997 fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce

Sandry's Book, by Tamora Pierce is a fantasy novel set mainly in Emelan. It is the first in a quartet of books: The Circle of Magic, starring four young mages as they discover their magic.

<i>Triss Book</i> 1998 novel by Tamora Pierce

Tris's Book, a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, tells the story of four young mages as they battle pirates and become closer than ever.

The Circle Opens is a quartet of novels written by Tamora Pierce and set in a pseudo-medieval/renaissance era. It mainly revolves around four teenage mages, each specializing in a different kind of magic, as they find that they are forced to deal with mages whose powers are similarly unusual to their own. The series consists of the books Magic Steps (2000), Street Magic (2001), Cold Fire (2002), and Shatterglass (2003). The Circle Opens Quartet is the sequel quartet to The Circle Of Magic Quartet, and is followed by "Battle Magic" and The Will of the Empress.

<i>The Will of the Empress</i> 2005 novel by Tamora Pierce

The Will of the Empress, previously titled The Circle Reforged, is a standalone fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, a continuation of the story of the quartets Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens.

<i>Briars Book</i> 1999 novel by Tamora Pierce

Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce, is a 1999 fantasy novel set in the fictional duchy of Emelan. It is the fourth and final book in the Circle of Magic quartet, starring the four young mages Sandry, Tris, Daja and Briar as they learn to handle powerful magic, form intense bonds of friendship and stand up against destructive forces of nature.

<i>Street Magic</i> 2001 book by Tamora Pierce

Street Magic is the second book in the quartet The Circle Opens by fantasy author Tamora Pierce. It describes the further adventures of child-mage Briar Moss in his travels with his teacher, the Dedicate Initiate Rosethorn.

<i>Cold Fire</i> (Pierce novel) 2002 novel by Tamora Pierce

Cold Fire is the third book in the series The Circle Opens by author Tamora Pierce. It deals with the continuing adventures of child mage Daja Kisubo and her teacher, the dedicate initiate Frostpine.

Kethlun "Keth" Warder is a co-protagonist of the fantasy novel Shatterglass, by Tamora Pierce. He is a glass artisan native to Namorn, and throughout the novel becomes a student of weather-mage Trisana Chandler, despite the fact that at fourteen, she is six years his junior.

The Provost's Dog trilogy is a series of young adult fantasy novels by best-selling author Tamora Pierce. The series is a prequel to Pierce's first quartet, The Song of the Lioness, and is set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall two hundred years earlier. It details the adventures of Beka Cooper, a sixteen-year-old recruit of the Lord Provost, originally from a lower city family and now in service to the Provost's Guard.

<i>Melting Stones</i> 2007 novel by Tamora Pierce

Melting Stones, a fantasy novel by young adult author Tamora Pierce, was released by Full Cast Audio as an audiobook original in October 2007, and was released in print form by Scholastic in the summer of 2008.

<i>Lady Knight</i>

Lady Knight is the fourth book in the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce. This book is Kel's first appearance as a Knight of the Realm.

This is a list of works by American fantasy author Tamora Pierce.

References

  1. ↑ "Shatterglass by Tamora Pierce". Publishers Weekly . March 1, 2003. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Meister, Beth L. (July 2003). "Shatterglass (Book)". School Library Journal . 49 (7) – via Literary Reference Center Plus.
  3. ↑ Burkam, Anita L. (May 2003). "Shatterglass (Book)". Horn Book Magazine . 79 (3) – via Literary Reference Center Plus.
  4. ↑ Rosenfeld, Shelle (March 1, 2003). "Shatterglass (Book)". Booklist . 99 (13): 1193 – via Literary Reference Center Plus.
  5. ↑ "SHATTERGLASS". Kirkus Reviews . March 15, 2003. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.