Praise the Fallen

Author: Tamora Pierce
Year: 2003
Genre: Fantasy
Protagonist: Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop

I finished reading this for the third time a few weeks back and just never got around to posting this. Anyways, here we go. Spoilers ahead.

So, Trickster’s Choice is the story of Alianne – aka Aly -  of Pirate’s Swoop, daughter of Alanna of Pirate’s Swoop (the Lioness and King’s Champion) and George Cooper of Pirate’s Swoop (sypmaster and former King of the Rogue). Her parents also happen to be leading characters throughout TP’s first set of books, Song of the Lioness.

Anyways, Aly comes home to find her father hard at work. For what is the umpteenth time, she tries convincing him to let her work as a spy but he refuses. Her mother comes home and Aly tries to talk her unimpressed mother into it as well, but again, fails. Seeing as Aly and her mother constantly fight over Aly’s lack of ambition, Aly gets on her small ship to go first the neighbouring lord in Port Legann. Unfortunately, she gets captured by pirates who shave her head and plan to sell her as a slave in the Copper Isles.

Aly bruises herself up nicely in hopes of not being bought by someone who wants her for his bed and, in the end, gets bought by no one as she’s seen as troublesome. Instead, the slave trader gives her away to Chenaol and Ulasim, cook and head footman to the Balitang household. While at the Balitang house, Aly figures out that the two races on the Copper Isles have not been getting along. The luarin – the white people – have invaded years before and took over, treating the raka – the brown-skinned – as second class citizens and slaves for the most part. The king of the Copper Isles is mad/crazy and after a few weeks with the Balitangs, he exiles them out to their estate on a secluded island. Mequen and Winnamine (duke and duchess of the Balitangs) must sell as many of their slaves because they can’t afford them. Here, we meet the god of the Copper Isles, Kyprioth, a trickster god who wants his beloved raka back in control of his lands. He chooses Aly as his chosen, considering he’s worked with her father before, and tricks Mequen and Winna into thinking he’s Mithros (patron god of the luarin) so they’d keep Aly as he tells them they have a great destiny and they need Aly. (Holy run-on sentence). Believing him to be Mithros, they take Aly with them as the nursemaid to Petranne and Elsren, the duke and duchess’ young children. Aly also spends time with Dovasary and Saraiyu (Dove and Sarai), Mequen’s half-raka daughters from his deceased first wife. Aly makes a bet with Kyprioth that she can keep the Balitang family – specifically Dove and Sarai – alive all summer.

At their new residence, Aly gets ‘demoted’ to goatherd so she may travel the lands and become familiar with them. Here, Kyprioth gets her some allies in the form of the crows, with who he’s made a bet. The crows assist Aly and teach her home to speak with them. As time goes on, Aly discovers the raka conspiracy among some of the Balitangs head servants and manages to wiggle her way into their midst after some interference from Kyprioth. Though wary of her, they know their god and must trust her as much as they can. And she learns of their plan to dethrone the dirty bloodline of the luarin and put a half-raka queen on the throne, mainly Sarai. One of the crows, Nawat, also changes himself into a human to better assist Aly. He becomes the one person she can trust above all, though she’s unsure of how to feel around him as he wishes her to be his mate and she starts getting romantic feelings for him.

Much happens over the summer, including an assassination attempt on the family and them gaining the trust of a sour mage named Ochobou (who also happens to be Ulasim’s mother). An old friend of Mequen named Bronau who visited before shows up. At this point, the original king as well as his son who succeeded him has died. His young three year old son is now king and Bronau had tried to kidnap him (Bronau’s brother is married to the only daughter of the original king), but failed. Bronau comes to the Balitangs to take Sarai and marry her. As Mequen is next in line for the throne, Bronau demands that Mequen demand his right to the throne then abdicate in favor of his eldest daughter and her husband. Mequen and his family refuses, and a fight breaks out both here and below with the servants against Bronau’s soldiers. Bronau ends up killing Mequen and in a fit of rage and sorrow, Sarai ends of killing Bronau. After the mess upstairs is clear, Aly flees downstairs to see what’s going on. She’s hurt and gets even more injured but the Balitang household ends up winning, though not without causalities.

Afterwards, Aly is freed of her slavery and she remains as just a servant so she may assist the Balitangs. Her father, George, steals his way their and in a disguise, tries to buy Aly so he may bring her home. This upsets the Balitang family, especially Sarai, who says no one can buy their Aly. Aly comes to meet this stranger and is thrilled to see her dad. But she realizes she doesn’t want to go home right away and says she needs to finish what she started, having finally found something that interests her enough to stick to it. After a few days, George returns to Tortall without Aly.

Characters of Importance

Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop: protagonist. Daughter of Alanna and George. She works as a slave for the Balitang family though she’s the chosen of the god, Kyprioth. She’s a master spy.
Nawat Crow: a crow who turned himself into a man. He’s Aly’s one true ally who has some difficulty understanding the difference between how crows and humans operate.
Mequen Balitang: duke of the Balitangs. He believes Aly is actually the chosen of Mithros, his patron god.
Winnamine Balitang: duchess of the Balitangs. She’s Mequen’s second wife and mother of Petrane and Elsren.
Saraiyu Balitang: Mequen’s oldest child. She’s half-luarin on her father’s side, half-raka on her mother’s. On both sides, she carries royalty.
Dovasary Balitang: Mequen’s second child. She’s quieter and more clever than her elder sister.
Kyprioth: patron god of the raka. He bets Aly if she can keep the Balitang family alive throughout the summer.
Ulasim Dodeka: head footman to the Balitangs as well as leader of the raka conspiracy. Raka.
Junai Dodeka: Ulasim’s daughter who also serves as Aly’s bodyguard. Raka.
Ochobu Dodeka: Ulasim’s mother. A mage who hates luarin. Raka.
Chenaol: head cook for the Balitangs and member of the conspiracy. Raka.
Fesgao: man-at-arms for the Balitangs and member of the conspiracy. Raka.
Lokeij: slave hostler and member of the conspiracy. Raka.
Bronau Jimajen: old friend of Mequen and Winnamine. Member of the royal family through marriage. He attempts to woo Sarai though he’s much older.