Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

I honestly found Mastiff to be both better and worse than the previous Beka Cooper books. Beka’s more grown up now, but since we missed those years of growing, she’s also more distant, I felt. There’s also a bit of semi-interesting world-building around mages here… honestly, I was more interested in what Farmer was doing half the time than what Beka was up to. But since we’re following Beka and not Farmer, my curiosity was not sated.

So, I know we’re supposed to feel something for Beka in the beginning of this book. However, with a two year time jump and her stoicism about losing her betrothed, who we as readers know nothing about, I’m just not feeling anything about him or them as a couple. I have no idea who Holburn is and I honestly don’t care about him in the slightest. Probably for the best, as Beka’s actual feelings about him were close to the same. I do appreciate that we didn’t actually get a lot of detail about their relationship through this, as Beka wouldn’t need to write about it to remind herself. But yeah… I feel like the whole thing with Holburn was unnecessary, really.

There’s just so. Much. Detail. Too much, honestly, at times. Other times, seems like too little. Those times are rare, but… yeah. Mastiff just feels tedious for a good portion of it. It’s understandable, given the circumstances of the book, really, but it’s still not great. I really didn’t need to know how many times Achoo stopped to sniff at spots along their route.

I would like to body slam whoever came up with that nonsense “Gentle Mother Goddess” crap off a cliff. Please and thank you. I hate it with every fiber of my being. Anything that attempts to keep people in narrowly defined boxes is shit on a stick.

All of that said, the ending of Mastiff did make me cry a bit. Not rolling tears, but tears nonetheless. It’s probably all that togetherness and triumph and recognition that did it. I won’t spoil it, exactly, but yes, Beka does triumph in the end. That was nice. Really should have just ended there, in my opinion. The epilogue I guess was necessary for the framing narrative of the whole Beka Cooper series, but… yeah. I wasn’t really a fan of it.

Much hand-waving at this point. Mastiff felt better than either Terrier or Bloodhound, but that’s not saying a lot. I’m already super ready to jump into Song of the Lioness, so I’ll bid Beka Cooper adieu and be on my way.

Favorite Lines

"That time together was still worth some grief," Rosto said. "And the guilt is still heavy, even if your love has turned to hate or dislike."

"There, you see? A cat understands how to be pleasant in the morning. He doesn't talk." - Farmer Cape

In Other News

Third time I've smashed my reading goals. Might get easier for the rest of the year as I'm increasing the goals by 5 each time.

Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce

Finished and written during a power outage! What fun!

Spoiler Free Reread Review

Bloodhound was in some ways more interesting than Terrier and in some ways more boring. I don’t know if it’s this style of novel that I’m having an issue with or the subject matter… the Beka Cooper series just doesn’t grab me like other books do or have. That’s not to say they’re bad, just that my brain isn’t as engaged with them.

It’s interesting that Pounce has just decided to talk to people now, rather than just Beka. He’s largely absent from Bloodhound for constellation reasons, but he is ever the sardonic talking cat we all love to read.

Got our LGBTQ+ representation in Nestor and Okha. I’m not sure how I feel about the terms “bardash” and “honeylove,” but… eh. They are what they are. I do kind of like the explanation for trans people from Okha’s explanation. Not sure how actual trans people view it, but… yeah. I think it’s kinda neat.

Pearl was probably the only thing from Bloodhound I even vaguely remembered about it from my one previous read. My remembrance of her was incorrect, appearance-wise, but otherwise pretty spot on. I didn’t enjoy her as a villain, though her presence is definitely felt when she’s not around.

Not sure how I feel about Dale or the Dale/Beka thing. Not really into the romance side of things to begin with so… bleh. I did think it was really convenient for Beka to find out that Dale definitely wasn’t in on the crime through her dead contacts, but whatever. Glad it pretty much ended the way it did.

I also feel like I should definitely mention Achoo. She is a very good doggo. I’m glad Beka “rescued” her from her previous handler. I also enjoyed the peek into the scent hound handler life we got because of it.

I’m mostly really glad to be done with Bloodhound. That finishes up my reread portion of the Beka Cooper trilogy, so I’m a tad excited for Mastiff. Like I said in the beginning of this review, I’m not hating this trilogy, I’m just not enjoying it as much as I feel like I enjoyed other parts of the Tortall series.

Favorite Line

“Why do I argue with a cat?” I always ask myself that, when I know there’s only one answer: I don’t learn. I can’t even sat it’s because he’s a talking cat. He’s a cat, and cats just aren’t reasonable. - Beka Cooper

Terrier by Tamora Pierce

 A Spoiler Free Reread Review

I’m not a giant fan of Terrier. It’s an alright enough story, just not one I’m super invested in. Probably accounts for how long it took me to get through. I’d definitely been reading Tamora Pierce’s work for a long while before Terrier originally came out, so I was probably more invested in the world of Tortall at that point than I am now. I’m largely revisiting due to the completionist in me and I feel like the Beka Cooper trilogy isn’t going to be high on my favorites of the Tortall books.

That said, the story really takes its time getting where it’s going. I feel like this is realistic in terms of how the Tortallan Dogs investigate crimes, but boy does it plod along. Beka spends most of her time patrolling and apparently watching Goodwin and Tunstall get into fights pretty much every night. Add to that Beka’s semi-unpredictable power with the pigeons and dust spinners… just a lot of plodding plot.

This was a small blip in the book overall, but I very much dislike Lady Teodorie. Lady Teodorie is not who I’d want as a mother substitute or ultimate caregiver for my children. She clearly has no respect for Beka’s chosen profession or for Beka herself. That she allows her personal opinions to color those of Beka’s sisters is also a giant red flag. I understand that this bit is largely to introduce us to Beka’s family for a moment and contrast her with her sisters but… bleh.

Pierce does a lot of describing the people in a place, rather than the place itself. Leaves that largely to the reader’s imagination. I personally find that I can’t really picture the place Beka and her Dogs end up, due to this. I can’t even really picture the people, the descriptions are rather bare bones. I want to chalk that up to Beka’s wanting to write the journal rather like a report, so the language would be more simple.

Even the ultimate ending of the book seemed to take forever. I think that’s possibly because there were two cases, but also because we essentially had to “sit through” the court case as well.

I think overall, Terrier is an alright book. Beka and her friends are alright characters. It’s just rather middling, in my opinion.

Character Spotlight

Whew, haven't done one of these in a while. I thought I'd talk a little bit about Pounce.

I first encountered Pounce roughly 200 years after the events of Terrier in The Song of the Lioness quartet. He was following Alanna around and was known as Faithful.

I want to say he had fairly close to the same personality, though I'm not entirely sure as it's definitely been over 10 years since I read The Song of the Lioness. Pounce is definitely a highlight of Terrier. Everyone love a cat sidekick, even if Pounce isn't nearly as snarky as some I could name... Pounce definitely acts less cat-like than one would expect; after all, what cat would follow someone around through most, if not all, their shifts at their job?

Anyway, I like Pounce and look forward to reading more of him in the future.