Reviews provided by Syndetics
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9 In Book Four of ``The Song of the Lioness'' sequence, the stage is set for a series of final confrontations for Alanna, the woman who rides like a man, involving love, adventure, and power. A new romance enters her life in the person of Liam Ironarm, a Shang Dragon warrior. With others Alanna and Liam travel to the Roof of the World on a quest for the Dominion Jewel. They return home in time to play their parts in a struggle between good and evil, represented by Jonathan, now king, and Alanna's enemy, Duke Roger. If the finale seems a long time coming for some readers, the climactic conflict is worth waiting for. It's handled skillfully, with all the of tension, drama, and physical action that a good fight should generate. The ending is an appropriate mixture of sorrow and joy and hope for the future. Lioness Rampant will be confusing for readers who do not know the earlier books, but Alanna's fans will be pleased to see their heroine triumphant in all the ways that matter. Amy Kellman, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 7-9. In wrapping up her fourth and final part of the Song of the Lioness series, Pierce creates a long novel that introduces new characters and brings old ones into play. As the story opens, Alanna feels confused about her future; her life as knight-errant of the realm has lost its luster. Hearing about the enormous power of the Dominion Jewel she is motivated to secure it. In doing so she meets up with a beautiful princess fleeing from her homeland, and the Shang Dragon, a legendary warrior, whom she takes to her bed. After an arduous, lonely struggle to obtain the Jewel, she returns home to Tortall, where she finds both her old lover Jonathan, recently named king, and an earlier lover, the rogue George, involved with palace intrigue. Duke Roger, who Alanna thought she had killed, has been brought back to life by her magician brother Thom's wizardry gone awry. All of these plot threads mingle in a somewhat convoluted fashion but eventually get sorted out in a climactic conclusion that ends with the kingdom safe and Alanna opting for hearthside, children, and a reformed George. The fire seems gone from Pierce's story; she's overly concerned with bringing about a tidy ending. However, readers who journeyed with ``the woman who rides like a man'' will want to share her final destiny. BE.
Horn Book Review
Like Pierce's Song of the Lioness series, this offshoot of that series is being reissued and repackaged in a handy rack-size hardcover. This fourth Immortals title is a suspenseful fantasy novel. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Book Review
The conclusion of the saga of Alanna, warrior-magician. Previous volumes followed her from being a young girl--who disguised herself in order to receive training in arms--to becoming all accomplished warrior and the lover of both the heir to the throne and the chief of her kingdom's community of thieves. Here. Alanna sets off on a quest for the Jewel of Domaine, accompanied by her latest lover (just what does ""rampant"" mean?), the Shang warrior Liam. And find it she does, returning in time to save the kingdom and her mage-brother Thom from the evil Duke Roger--whom she kills for the second time. The kingdom in tatters but secure, Alanna decides on a life with George, the now-pardoned king of thieves. An extended superheroes comic, full of slam-bang action interposed with musings about the meaning of life. Justice and true love do conquer in the end, and certainly loose ends are neatly tucked away, but a little poetry and subtlety would have relieved the tedium. Nevertheless, some young readers will rejoice to have the tale rounded out. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.