The Realms of the Gods (The Immortals)

In this, the fourth book in the Immortals series, Daine and Numair journey into the realm of the immortals and the gods, seeking a way to keep the goddess of chaos from destroying their land. Diane, possessor of a wild magic that allows her to converse with and change into animals, once more embarks on a quest that seems impossible, but which is the only way to save those she loves and serves. Numair, her magic teacher and friend, accompanies her, using his Gift to help her find her unknown father and then the Dragons who have removed themselves from any interactions with humans. In this intense conclusion to the series, we see Daine continuing to mature--as a user of Wild Magic, as a human, and as a woman. One of the qualities that I love in Pierce's books is the way that she doesn't let her characters fall into easy, dichotomous views of good and evil; while there are certainly evil villains populating these books, Daine discovers that she cannot just judge beings by their form or appearance. Beings can and do change, and good and wise folks must always look carefully. Caveat: this book can be read on its own, but the patient reader who will go back to the first novel and work her way through the series will experience a much deeper appreciation of this world. (And get to read four marvelous books, instead of just one!)

Probably my favorite book in the Immortals series by Tamora Pierce. Daine is an amazing heroine; in this book she learns about her origins (and finally meets the father her mother always hinted at but never revealed), she masters her ability to shape-shift into animal form, and she discovers the true feelings of the master mage, her mentor and friend Numair Salmalin (another favorite character of mine). She experiences the loss that comes with war, the high price that fighting for what you believe in can demand, and she emerges as a strong, intelligent, and always-believable heroine who is very human and relateable-- making hard choices with wisdom and care-- and admitting it when she makes mistakes, striving to right them instead of angsting or relying on others. Way better than most "young adult" novels written in recent years, with frankness and honesty that adults can easily appreciate. Get this series-- it's absolutely wonderful, books to read over and over again.

this book is definetly the best in "the Immortals" series. you can't put it down. and tamora pierce is a wonderful author. i only wish i could write as well as her. well Daine is back with Numair of course. teaching her as always. only this time they end up in the realm of the gods (interesting how that title hooks in) and the best part is when you finally find out that Numair and Daine fall in love. i must say i was hoping for this in all of the books. i'm a hopeless romantic so thats prolly why i like this book the best. but it is a must read. (but if you have never read a tamora pierce book start with the alanna series) but if you haven't read it please do (with the other 3 books prior of course) you won't regret reading this if you LOVE fantasy!

Daine and her mentor Numair travel to the divine realm by accident, and must find their way out. Danger looms everywhere in the richly imagined divine realm, and Daine must use all her resources to survive. It's a thrilling journey and the author's flair for the fantastic must be appreciated, however... The main characters' relationship develop in a way that you may or may not find agreeable (I didn't). The message seems to be that it's okay as long as they love each other. But the merit of 'true love' is in doubt when the relationship is unequal, as is the case here. No matter how I look at it, Numair is taking advantage of his authority as Daine's mentor. The author handles the situation with class, but I still find it unacceptable.

Having grown up reading every Tamora Pierce novel I could get my hands on, I find myself still thinking about this series specifically. A coming of age story that I've continued to mull over and cherish as an adult. Ms. Pierce's incredible lessons to young women of following their dreams amidst adversity and conquering every challenge they face, even if help from friends is needed, is something that has awed me from the first book.

I first read this book in highschool from 2010-14 and still 12 years later its one of the best series I've ever read tied up there with the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and the Dragon Keeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul

I read this book for the first time in junior high school, and just finished reading it again as a college graduate. I loved it equally but for different reasons both times. As with all of Tamora pierce's work, it is imaginative, clever, teen-oriented without being condescending or simplified, and heart wrenching and hilarious in turns. This is by far the most fantasy-focussed book of the Tortall series, but the prose doesn't get bogged down in descriptions or mythology; we get enough description to tantalize while keeping the action moving and character-centered.

This a wonderful series filled with strong female characters. What a delightful read for teen readers, and adults. I enjoyed reading all of Tamora's series. I recomend them all.

The other books in the series were great. This one was entertaining for the most part but the age gap romance between daine and numaire was creepy and gross.

A great read for those who love magic and adventure. Wish the romance between Daine and Numair wasnt just all of a sudden in the last book. Rather throughout the series.

I think this is probably the book most likely to polarise readers in the series. Personally, I loved it, but if you don’t like large age gaps in romances between characters then this may not be the book for you. I will say that Tamora Pierce addresses this in her afterword and I think it’s handled very well. So I don’t want to focus in on the romance too much in this review largely because I think it would be doing a disservice to the book and to the series as a whole. Because one of the things that I have consistently loved about Daine from book one is that this girl has her priorities in check. This book, more than any of the others, shows Daine realising her place in this world, in this war. She’s not a bystander being sucked into the action any more, she’s at the heart. The fact that we took three other books to get to this point made it so much more powerful. She isn’t a chosen one, she isn’t thrown in at the deep end, Daine earns her place in this story. This book is probably the most action-filled of the quartet, there are more fights and flights and chases and battles than there were in the other books, at least it felt that way, but there is still a good amount of scheming and political plots to keep you interested (if fighting isn’t your thing). Much like Wolf Speaker, the number of human characters Daine interacts with is stripped back to being pretty much just Numair. But that doesn’t make for a minimalist cast of characters. Not at all. In fact, we get even more animal/creature characters (some of them are also Gods, it’s hard to explain), including the darklings, which might just be my new favourite characters in the whole series, they’re too cute and I want one. Thinking back to the first book in this series, I don’t think I would have expected this ending, but I’m so glad this series went the way that it did. I liked that Tamora Pierce didn’t shy away from the idea of Gods, something that can quite often either read as deus ex machina (literally) or that feels half-baked or implausible. I think it works well, particularly since the full extent of God’s powers/hindrances aren’t really explored until book four. From start to finish, this has been some of the most fun I’ve had reading a series. I can’t fully explain all the things I loved, and I urge you to go back and have a look at my previous reviews to find out a bit more. But I need more Tamora Pierce in my life, and I need it immediately. My rating: 5/5 stars I bought this book myself, all opinions are my own.

I read this as a teenager and loved it, and read it again and again over the years. Highly recommend

I read this as a teenager and loved Daine and Numair. Coming back to this world twenty years later made me so happy. These are my go to books when I'm feeling down. I love Pierce's world building and characters, the plots are fun and easy to get into. These books, and the Lioness books, shaped me as a young teen, and as an adult I'm enjoying some of the newer books set in this world.