Brief Synopsis
“Alanna: The First Adventure” was written by Tamora Pierce and originally published in 1983. After switching places with her twin brother, Alanna embarks on a journey to knighthood, pretending to be a boy. Forced to hide her true identity, Alanna must master the skills of a soldier and determine who her true allies are.
Content Warnings: Violence (PG-13), Death
What Do I Think?
So, a quick disclosure: I have read these books incredibly out of order. I actually started with the third series, Protector of the Small, wherein the main character of this series, Alanna, is already an adult and has gone through her adventures. Blame my wife lol
So coming into this, I felt like I was already somewhat familiar with the world of Tortall. Surely nothing in this book could surprise me?
Consider me surprised!
It is very clear that The First Adventure is Pierce’s first foray into the world of Tortall, as a lot of the worldbuilding and aspects of the world that I had gotten used to as being staples were not necessarily present here. While in other stories that might have made The First Adventure a slog to get through, here instead it just made it more interesting – as a fellow writer, it was fun to see how she capitalized on smaller moments in later books and series!
Alanna is a phenomenal character: spunky, driven, but also full of heart. The supporting cast is excellent, as well; there’s a good mix of characters who range from friendly to antagonistic to downright evil. If anything, coming into the story already knowing a bit about some of these characters made it a little more fun, as I knew where some of the arcs were going to go (even if the characters themselves clearly have no idea what they are doing).
Overall, The First Adventure is an excellent medieval-fantasy foray, especially if you’re looking for something with a little bit of a slower pace.
Jacob Ryckman 