I think I actually liked this one a bit more than Alanna: The First Adventure.

Pierce really escalates a lot of the elements present in the first book, but also managed to incorporate some new themes which really raised the stakes quite a bit. One notable escalation was of course in the level of danger present throughout the book. For the first book, the main tension seemed to be that Alanna will be discovered as a girl, and have to give up on her dream of becoming a knight. The final showdown between her, Johnathan, and the Ysandir is perhaps the only scene in which we truly feel Alanna’s life might be at risk.

In the Hand of the Goddess gives us much more in the way of real danger. In the first book, Alanna discovers a sword, in the second book, she’s expected to use it, and seems to do so quite a bit. There are duels to win, and bandit raids to survive; a hunt for a giant wolf, and an actual war. In the Hand of the Goddess still feels very much like part two of a bildungsroman, but Pierce also manages to move the story noticeably towards a more adult form of sword and sorcery.

I love that the story seemed to mature as the character did. The passage of time is certainly more noticeable in this story than in Alanna’s first adventure. I think she’s like 16 or 17 by the time the story begins to wrap up. Jonathan is a bit older. George is even older still.

I’ll admit that George and Alanna’s relationship feels a bit uncomfortable in 2024 because of their age difference. It’s uncertain how intentional this discomfort is on the part of the author, but given what I’ve heard from some friends who have read further in the series, I kind of imagine that it wasn’t something she meant to include? It is hard to say. This book was originally published in 1984 and while I would absolutely assume her views are in line with progressives today, being progressive 30 years ago just looked a little different.

The third — and perhaps final? — thing that stood out to me while reading In the Hand of the Goddess was the novel’s (and Alanna’s) use of magic. Our knowledge of what magic can do in Tortall deepens significantly during this book but I thought it was refreshing that despite this clearer picture, the reader does not really lose the sense of mystery presented by it. Magic in this book does not feel like a system, like you might find in a Brandon Sanderson novel. It does not feel like just another kind of science.

It feels like . . . well like magic.

I think it’s only a small spoiler (happens in the first chapter and is literally part of the title) to say that we meet a goddess in this book, which to my mind was not enough to fit the book into the Godpunk genre, but was highly reminiscent (to me) of ancient Greek myth which I felt had implications not only for the plot but for how magic works in the world. Very late in the book, we also see a kind of sympathetic magic happening which was also quite intriguing. I’m sure this will be explored further in later volumes, and I’m looking forward to tracking this as it progresses.

Give ‘In the Hand of the Goddess‘ a read?

If you enjoyed Alanna: The First Adventure, I suspect you’ll enjoy In the Hand of the Goddess. I loved that the narrative shifts (IMHO) as the story progresses, becoming more and more adult as Alanna ages, to the point where by the end we are very close to leaving the YA genre behind for a more traditional sword and sorcery novel.

That’s all I have for this week. What is everyone else thinking? What were your favorite parts? Please leave your thoughts in the comments. I’m looking forward to talking about this one!

Until next time!