Post by Cass on Dec 16, 2011 15:11:44 GMT 10
What I Love About Emelan
by Rachy
by Rachy
Tammy’s Emelan universe concentrates upon the adventures of four young mages, Briar, Sandry, Tris and Daja in a temple community of Winding Circle. While it’s not as popular as Tortall, and is maybe equivalent in popularity to Provost’s Dog, Emelan is extremely easy to love. Filled with vivid imagery, fantastic characters, an engaging story and an awesome friendship between the Circle, it’s definitely one of my favourite series.
When we are first introduced to Briar, Sandry, Daja and Tris in Sandry’s Book/The Magic in the Weaving, they each come from different walks of life and circumstances which seem completely irreconciblable – how could Sandry, great-niece of the Duke of Emelan be friends with a street rat like Briar? How could Tris, from a merchant family, be friends with Daja, a Trader, and how could the four of them be friends with each other? It’s a difficult scenario to picture, but it works, and it works so well. Opposites attract, and the meshing of four different personalities, with all their quirks and teasing, makes them a perfect quartet. It’s in the little things that make you fall in love with their friendships, from Briar’s hesitance to get into a fight with girls, to Tris stopping the waterspout from harming Daja, to when Briar, Tris and Daja work together to make a nightlight to ease Sandry’s fear of the dark and to Daja referring to Briar, Tris and Sandry as her saatis to a fellow Trader who sees them as anything but that. Even in later books, when the Circle are on opposite sides of the world, or when they are reunited and struggling to reconnect their friendships, there are still little tiny moments which show how deep their friendships are and how much of a family they have become, and how much of a family they have created.
The supporting cast is also another reason why I find Emelan so amazing. Aside from the main Circle, Emelan is scattered with a great bunch of major and lesser supporting characters, from Lark, Niko and Rosethorn, to Yasmin, Polyam, Nia and Kirel. Each of the main teachers, Lark, Niko, Rosethorn and Frostpine, are all crafted perfectly and are all completely loveable from their first introduction, whether it be Niko saving each of the Circle’s lives in some way on introduction or Frostpine’s request for a hammer or Rosethorn’s invitation to hang someone in a well. Each of the teachers are perfectly suited for their student, and it is the relationship between student and teacher that is also a key point of why I adore Emelan so much, especially in the parental relationships that also form between the teachers and the Circle. The foster-family that develops is also another point which I adore, the idea that friends can be and are family, that you can find family when you have lost your own and you can develop your own family of your own choosing. The support that this adds to all of the relationships and the depth that it creates in the relationships just cements the Circle for me, and it’s a factor which is just slightly enviable. Aside from the teachers, it is the supporting cast which add their own sparks of awesome to the series. People like Gorse, his knowledge of whenever someone is in the kitchens and his willingness to supply them with food, Crane, Dema, Polyam and her friendship with Daja, Glaki, Skyfire, Duke Vedris and even pets like Little Bear and Shriek add their own stamp to the Emelan series which sets it apart from other YA fantasy.
There are so many little things about the Emelan universe that I love. Little things like the scenery and breathtaking imagery Tammy employs, with fantastically realistic and vivid descriptions of Winding Circle, Discipline, the thatch roof and thunderstorms building over the cove in such a way that you can fully immerse yourself within the scene and feel the warmth of the summer days. The culture, and the combining of different cultures. Mouthwatering descriptions of Trader food, hints at different religions, the prayers and Signs of Evil, Daja’s suraku, mediating, the differences between each Temple in Winding Circle and the traditions they partake in. The magic. There is something just so incredibly, incredibly natural about it. Thread magic, plant magic, weather magic and metal magic and the way each of the Circle accepts and discovers their magic, to the way they use it and work together with their magic, like for the nightlight or for protective magic. The setting. Winding Circle and Summersea. Daja’s house, the Citadel, the wall around Winding Circle and the general feel of Winding Circle that just seeps through the pages.
Emelan is scattered with so many little things, imagery, engaging characters and storylines, the friendship, I’m not sure what it is, but it keeps me and has kept me hooked for quite a while.
As you can tell, there is a lot to love about any of Tammy's universes, and Emelan holds a place very close to my heart. There's just something about it that keeps my attention captured, and whether it's the presence of one of my favourite characters, Briar, or in the friendship between the Circle that I absolutely adore, it remains one of my all-time favourite series.