The Alanna Quartet by Tamora Pierce

Summaries below the jump so I don't destroy the page.

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From now on, I’m Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I’ll be a knight.

In a time when girls are forbidden to be warriors, Alanna of Trebond wants nothing more than to be a knight of the realm of Tortall. So she finds a way to switch places with her twin brother, Thom, and, disguised as a boy, begins her training as a page at the palace of King Roald. But the road to knighthood, as she discovers, is not an easy one. Alanna must master weapons, combat, and magic, as well as polite behavior, her temper, and even her own heart.

So begin Alanna’s adventures—filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil—that will lead to the fulfillment of her dreams and make her a legend in the land.

Still disguised as a boy, Alanna becomes a squire to none other than the heir to the throne. Prince Jonathan is not only Alanna’s liege lord, but also her best friend—and one of the few who know the secret of her identity. When a vicious sorcerer threatens the prince’s life, it will take all of Alanna’s skill, strength, and magical power to protect him…even at the risk of surrendering her dreams.

After achieving knighthood, Alanna leaves the capital city to explore the desert near the kingdom’s borders. When the local Bazhir people discover her, they charge her with trespassing and sentence her to a duel to the death. But when Alanna wins, she’s inducted into the tribe—and soon after, she becomes the tribe’s first female shaman.

Still, dire challenges lie ahead. Alanna must convince the Bazhir to change their ancient customs for their sake and for the sake of all Tortall.

Having achieved her dream of becoming the first female knight errant, Alanna of Trebond finds herself at loose ends. She has already triumphed in countless bloody battles, and her adventures are considered legendary. Perhaps being a knight errant is not all that Alanna needs… But Alanna must push her uncertainty aside when she is tasked with the impossible.

She must recover the Dominion Jewel, a legendary gem that has enormous power for good…in the right hands. And Alanna must work fast. Her archenemy, Duke Roger, is back and more formidable than ever, putting Tortall in great danger. As she puts her hard-won skills to use, Alanna discovers through fierce combat and ceaseless searching that she can make a future worthy of her mythic past—both as a warrior and as a woman.

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I was planning on reviewing each of these separately, but as I read them I realised that they are really one story told across four books and that reviewing them individually would miss a lot of the point. So instead here's a rambling, too long review of all four together.

First of all; these are very 80s. It makes sense as that's when they were first published, but even without knowing that until I checked, I thought they were extremely 80s. They are written in a style that today's teens would find odd, somehow too much detail and too little at the same time. If these were written today they'd be very different - which is true of any book, of course! 

It's interesting to look at the different covers on goodreads and see what different versions have emphasized. I've taken the current covers here, but I've linked each one to the editions page on goodreads, and they're fascinating. Some are far grittier, some play up the romance. These ones seem to be targeting a younger audience. This is part of the problem, I think; I'm not sure where in the store I'd stock these! In terms of reading level, there's nothing here that a twelve year old or even a good ten year old would struggle with; but Alanna has casual sex throughout the series, which automatically bumps it into young adult level! It just shows how ratings have changed in the forty years since this came out first.

Alanna herself is a divisive character. I can see how she led to characters like Xena and Katniss, but in and of herself she's kind of annoying. The first book isn't so bad; she only becomes the best fighter of all (to be fair she does practise a lot to achieve that) and gets both the Crown Prince and the King of Thieves to fall in love with her. Book three, though, can best be summed up as "Oh, I've gained entry into your centuries old, famously intolerant culture? Time to start changing absolutely everything to match my values!" By this point in the books people either go along with her or get trampled roughshod; the Bazhir wisely choose to go along.

These are definitely worth a read to see what teen fiction was like then, and Alanna was a very important step in teen heroines, but times have changed since she was published. As long as you keep that in mind, you'll enjoy these fun fantasy novels.

The Alanna series republishes on the 26th September, 2023. I received free copies and am giving an honest review.