The Tortall Universe

The area known as Tortall and its surrounding countries is a medieval fantasy universe, emerging from a time in the north when only men were permitted to hold knighthoods.  It is the home of an interesting assortment of heroes, many of them girls, who have found ways to make a difference in a world that can be hard and bloody–as knights, as mages (wizards), as spies, as law enforcement.

On the field of battle or in the corridors of noble houses, flanked by companions human, animal, and sometimes other, the Tortall heroes always have their work cut out for them.  There is military danger from neighbors like northern Scanra, eastern Tusaine, and worst of all, imperial Carthak in the south, with its ever-hungry slave culture and its greedy mage emperor.  Pirates from Carthak, Scanra, and the Copper Isles haunt Tortall’s eastern shores.  And in a country both large and sparsely policed, there is always a risk of conflict, be it from rebel nobles, the impoverished people of the eastern hills, or the barely vanquished Bazhir tribes.

Its monarchs range from kind to fumbling to formidable, as do its thieves, its mages, its priests, its warriors, and most of all, its gods.  These are very much present in the lives of the people, taking up champions and taking against those who have angered them.  They are joined by god-like creatures–winged horses; giant spiders with human heads; dragons; griffins; giants; huge, icy lizards that hunt down thieves no matter what stands in their way.

It is a beautiful, perilous place, where teenagers and adults can make their mark on a magical world!

Series in this Universe

The Song of the Lioness

This story, all four books, is about the making of a hero. It’s also about a very stubborn girl. Alanna of Trebond wants to be a knight of the realm of Tortall, in a time when girls are forbidden to be warriors. Rather than give up her dream, she and her brother–who wants to be a mage, not a knight–switch […]

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The Immortals

All the orphaned Daine wants when she comes to Tortall is a job. What she finds is magic in many forms, an ongoing war with creatures from legends and nightmares, a new home and, eventually, her unknown father. Hired by the Queen’s Riders to help with their horses, she learns her knack with animals is a rare magic which helps […]

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The Protector of the Small

Keladry of Mindelan has spent her whole life wanting nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of her hero, Alanna the Lioness. Finally old enough to enter training for knighthood, she soon discovers that being allowed to train even though she’s A Girl doesn’t make things easier. At every turn, Kel is forced to prove herself, not only to her […]

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Tricksters

Alianne is the sixteen-year old daughter of Tortall’s legendary lady knight, Alanna the Lioness. Her mother isn’t the only legend in Aly’s life–from her adopted aunt Daine, a demi-goddess and mage, to her godfather, the king of Tortall, Aly lives among legends and wonders.  She takes them in stride.  What she cannot accept is the fact that her parents refuse […]

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Beka Cooper: A Tortall Legend

Set 200 years before The Song of the Lioness. When she was eight years old, Beka Cooper did the Lord Provost of Tortall a very big favor. In return, he took her, her dying mother, and her two younger sisters and two younger brothers into his house, to raise and educate them well above the poverty-stricken slum where he found […]

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The Numair Chronicles

The highly anticipated NEW Tortall Legend from TAMORA PIERCE! In the Numair Chronicles, readers will be rewarded with the never-before-told story of how Numair Salmalín came to Tortall. Newcomers will discover an unforgettable fantasy adventure where a kingdom’s future rests on the shoulders of a talented young man with a knack for making vicious enemies.

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All Books in the Universe

The Realms of the Gods

Book Four in

During a dire battle against the fearsome Skinners, Daine and her mage teacher Numair are swept into the Divine Realms. Though happy to be alive, they are not where they want to be. They are desperately needed back home, where their old enemy, Ozorne, and his army of strange creatures are waging war against Tortall. […]

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Emperor Mage

Book Three in

Sent to Carthak as part of the Tortallan peace delegation, Daine finds herself in the middle of a sticky political situation. She doesn’t like the Carthaki practice of keeping slaves, but it’s not her place to say anything—she’s just there to heal the emperor’s birds. It’s extremely frustrating! What’s more, her power has grown in […]

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Wolf-Speaker

Book Two in

When humans start cutting down trees and digging holes in peaceful Dunlath Valley, the wolves know that something is wrong. They send a messenger to the only human who will listen — Daine, a fourteen-year-old girl with the unpredictable power of wild magic. Daine and her closest companions heed the wolves’ cry for help. But […]

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Alanna: The First Adventure

Book One in

“From now on I’m Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I’ll be a knight.”

And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places…

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In the Hand of the Goddess

Book Two in

Disguised as a boy, Alanna of Trebond becomes a squire, to none other than the prince of the realm. But Prince Jonathan is much more to Alanna; he is her ally, her best friend, and one of the few who knows that she’s really a girl. Now it will take all of Alanna’s awesome skill, […]

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The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

Book Three in

Newly knighted, Alanna of Trebond seeks adventure in the vast desert of Tortall. Captured by fierce desert dwellers, she is forced to prove herself in a duel to the death—either she will be killed or she will be inducted into the tribe. Although she triumphs, dire challenges lie ahead. As her mythic fate would have […]

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Terrier

Book One in

Beka Cooper is a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost’s Guard, and she’s been assigned to the Lower City. It’s a tough beat that’s about to get tougher, as Beka’s limited ability to communicate with the dead clues her in to an underworld conspiracy. Someone close to Beka is using dark magic to profit from the […]

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Trickster’s Choice

Book One in

Alianne is the teenage daughter of the famed Alanna, the Lioness of Tortall. Aly is bold and brave like her mother, but she has no wish to become a knight. Instead she longs to follow in her father’s footsteps as a spy, an ambition her parents vehemently oppose. After a furious argument Aly runs away, […]

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Wild Magic

Book One in

Young Daine’s knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horsemistress drive a herd of ponies to Tortall. Soon it becomes clear that Daine’s talent, as much as she struggles to hide it, is downright magical. Horses and other animals not only obey, but listen to her words. Daine, though, will have to […]

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Lioness Rampant

Book Four in

“I’m not sure I want to be a hero anymore.” Having achieved her dream of becoming the first female knight errant, Alanna of Trebond is not sure what to do next. Perhaps being a knight errant is not all that Alanna needs….But Alanna must push her uncertainty aside when a new challenge arises. She must […]

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