Brenda's Book Report Number One

Books, amazing books. The splendorous and wondrous books, with inviting covers and soft pages.

Dream filled stories and heart wrenching endings. Smiles, tears. All can be found within a book, you

just have to choose the right one. This particular book was quite a good choice. Wild Magic, by Tamora

Pierce, the first book of the Immortals quartet. Returning to familiar, loved characters, and the magical

realm of Tortall that is the home of the lovable Daine, brilliant Numair, and magical Allana. I read this

book a few years ago, after a friend gave them to me. I have to say, I'm very glad I did.

Verilidaine Sarrasri, named Sarrasri because she never knew her father, and also known as Daine, has

always had a 'knack' with animals. A little more then a knack, it turns out, when the knack turns to wild

magic. In the first book in the quartet, after her village was destroyed by bandits, Daine finds herself

without a home, and alone except for her pony, Cloud. In a fair, she meets Onua Chamtong, a K'miri,

and the horsemistress for the Queen's Riders in Tortall. After making an enemy of a the queen of a the

queen of a tribe of monsters called Stormwings, Daine meets Numair, Allana, and the rest of the riders.

In the summer trip, she goes to Allana's fief, Pirate's Swoop, and ends up fighting off a siege of

Stormwings, and Carthaki raiders. After, she meets, and adopts, a baby dragon called Skysong,

nicknamed Kitten. In the end of it all, Daine goes from having no home, to a few more then she needs,

with even more friends.

The main character, Daine, is a delightful and adorable person, thoroughly confused by Tortall and all

it's strangeness, and different customs, and, most of all, by the ready acceptance that awaited her there,

after she had been cast out of the village she had grown up in.

All in all, I think it's an amazing book, with delightfully charming characters, a tantalizing plot, and

delectably horrible monsters. Just as breathtaking, and enjoyable, as any other of the other books that

Tamora Pierce writes.

Question: Was Spartacus right?

Spartacus

Spartacus was foolish, but that doesn't mean he was a fool. Spartacus was wise, but that does not mean he was victorious. Spartacus was clever, but his enemies were tougher. But the real question is, was he right? We should look at that question a few ways, as there are many answers to that question, many opinions. Let's take a chance, guess what his soldiers, his enemies, thought of him. There are many ways to think about who was right in Spartacus' situation, I myself am in the opinion that Spartacus was right. But let's start with what happened.

Before Spartacus rebelled, he was a gladiator. Many believe that he would have risen to freedom, but that was not the case. Armed only with kitchen knives, Spartacus and seventy-five other gladiators broke out of their jail, and disappeared into the country, recruiting slaves with the help of Spartacus' lover, a Dionysian priestess. Spartacus led his ever-growing army to victory on Vesuvius, Thruii, and many other places, eventually leading them to the Alps. But there, the rebels decided they did not want to go with Spartacus across the Alps and to Thrace, Gaul, and the lands beyond. They went back into Italy, and continued fighting until a Roman general named Crassus wiped them out, killing Spartacus The rebels continued with gorilla warfare, until all the survivors were crucified.

Spartacus' story ended sadly for the rebels, but let's imagine if they had won. Let's imagine a Rome without slavery. Hard to think of it, right? Slavery was so ingrained into Roman culture, you just can't picture a Rome without it. If Spartacus had taken over Rome, he probably wouldn't have been able to abolish slavery. So, even if he had won the war, in Spartacus' eyes, he would have failed. Maybe it's a good thing that he lost, then. But all the death, the pain. Was that the right thing, too?

Let's see. I'm going to assume that you, the reader, thinks that slavery is wrong, and say the following: Spartacus was fighting for freedom, fighting to get his men to safety. Fighting for what I believe was right, but back then he would have been viewed very differently. In Rome, slavery was part of daily life, just like pets to us now. Back then, by the free citizens of Rome, Spartacus would be viewed as something close to a heretic, a maniac.

So let us all look back at the days of Spartacus with pity, and reminisce on the lost lives, feel sad for all the suffering Crassus caused to the rebels, and be thankful that we live in a more peaceful time like this. Spartacus was right, but only to us, and the people of our time.