Customer Reviews

Mastiff: The Legend of Beka Cooper #3

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I've read every book set in the Tortall universe, and unfortunately Mastiff does not live up to Tamora Pierce's reputation.

First of all, the book felt really rushed. For example, there was hardly an introduction, which took away from the reading experience. The author introduced and killed off a character who was supposed to have had an important role in Beka's life, but there wasn't enough detail for readers to empathize with her.

More importantly, there were major inconsistencies in the plot, which made me ask myself "what the heck?" many times. There were some details that I think the author may have neglected to research, which were small but still detracted from the experience. (E.g. vomiting food after more than 12 hours without eating?) The major "twist" at the end was completely unbelievable. From our previous knowledge of certain characters, it is unthinkable that they would act in such ways that would lead to the conclusion as the author wrote it. It makes the reader feel that the author was simply tying up loose ends: throw a twist in there, wrap it up, and call it day.

Overall, from how rushed and inconsistent everything was, this book felt more like a draft rather than the final product. The plot - and Beka Cooper - had so much potential, which was unfortunately left unrealized.

As a huge fan of Tamora Pierce -- I've read all her books! -- I had very high expectations of Mastiff, the long-awaited culmination of the Beka trilogy... And I'm pleased to report that I was not disappointed! It was a gripping read, that left me savouring and flipping pages long into the night, teary-eyed yet satisfied at the end, and pondering its implications long after I had closed the book.

That being said, just as we follow a grown-up Beka in Mastiff, so too do we encounter a more grown-up Pierce in its writing and narrative development. This is not a simple "gender bending" book where girls can fight as well as boys (Alana series), a hightly imaginative animal-human saga (Immortals series), a growing-of-age-into-one's-special-gifts teen novel (Circle series) or a convoluted spy-court intrigue(Aliane). It has much less of an epic or adventure feel to it, though it does remain journey quest/police procedural narrated in "Dog slang" as is wont in the Beka tradition. The magical gimmicks and clever humor of Pierce's previous books are also somewhat effaced. Rather, this novel begins with a grieving heroine and ends with a hefty real-world problem -- the abolition of slavery. The plot hinges on an age-old life-changer - betrayal. As various negative Amazon.com reviews attest, many readers too felt betrayed by this plot twist, and resultingly berated the writer for faulty character development. Yet I find that Pierce captured the numbness and guilt of Beka's initial grief admirably well, just as she did the final shock of infidelity to one's moral standards. I also found the passages about torture and imprisonment, although brief, suprisingly articulate for a teen novel. The overarching message -- about the mechanisms of slavery (both real and metaphorical)-- was thought-provoking to say the least.

In all, I'm back to waiting for Pierce's next book -- supposedly about Numair's early years. I do hope that, like Mastiff, it tackles more serious real-life world issues, instead of presenting simplistic good vs. bad battles. I do hope that it too explores more complex emotions than just "coming of age" or "finding one's special gifts." That being said, I'd also like to see the return of the sparkling, wry humour and the more believable, charming romance that I so enjoyed in Pierce's previous books.