Terrier (novel)
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Terrier is a young adult fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the Provost's Dog trilogy and the fifteenth book set in the Tortall Universe. It tells the story of Rebekah (Beka) Cooper, the ancestor of George Cooper from Song of the Lioness and Alianne from Trickster's Choice and Trickster's Queen. It is set 200 years prior to the bulk of the Tortall novels.
[edit] Story
The story is told in the form of a series of journal entries made by Beka Cooper as she trains to become a Dog, a nickname for the guards in the employ of the Lord Provost of Tortall, with a prelude taken from Eleni Cooper's diary in which she relates Beka's story to her son George. Beka is also the surrogate daughter of the Provost, having helped him capture a band of dangerous criminals when she was only 8 years old.
Beka begins her her training assigned as a Puppy to the two senior Dogs in the Lower City: Clary Goodwin and Matthias Tunstall. Though the dogs are initially unsure of their new charge, Beka proves to be an invaluable if overeager resource. Through Beka's unusual magical abilities, she is able to hear the voices of ghosts who ride the backs of pigeons until they are ready to enter the Peaceful Realms, and hear conversations caught by "dust spinners". From these sources she learns of two grave threats to the Lower City. One is the Shadow Snake, a ruthless killer who abducts children to force their parents to give up their most prized possessions and kills the children if not paid. The other is an unknown party who keeps hiring digging crews to search for fire opals, swearing the workers to secrecy, and killing them when the job is done. Beka's determination to see both parties brought to justice will place her in the middle of a power struggle in Tortall's underworld. Beka's cat, Pounce helps Beka throughout the book. Pounce has purple eyes and is it has been observed that she may be god marked. It has also been mentioned that Pounce seems to have a likeness to Faithful, Alanna's cat in the Song of the Lioness quartet, also written by Tamora Pierce.
[edit] Main Character(s)
Rebakah (Beka) Cooper: Beka is a 16 year old girl with a very strong sense of justice; her love for the people of the Lower City she grew up in leads her to request a placement there, a job most Dogs would rather avoid. Beka has the ability to hear the voice of the restless spirits that ride the backs of pigeons, and to hear the voices that drift into the city's dust spinners. Because of her special abilites and her relationship and training with the Lord Provost, Beka begins the story with a rather arrogant attitude, assuming she will be promoted to full Dog faster than any Puppy in history. Beka also is very nervous around strangers and has trouble with public speaking. She sees this as her greatest flaw.
Rosto the Piper: Rosto is a young man of Scanran ancestry and questionable loyalties. He has very pale skin, white blond hair and black eyes. He also has an inooridnate amount of scars and blade wounds on his arms and face. He scorns the current Rogue of Corus as having lost his grip, and later usurps the 'throne' (gaining him yet another scar). Rosto has two girl friends who came with him from Scanra: Aniki, a swordswoman, and Kora, a mage. Beka first meets the three in a bar, when Rosto stops the bar man from harassing Beka. Later, they meet in the Court of the Rogue, where, presumably, the threesome were scouting out the competition. Rosto, Aniki, Kora, become very good friends with Beka midway into the story, even moving into her boarding house and shareing breakfast with her. Rosto often flirts with Beka, who doesn't really appreciate it, until at the end of the story. When Rosto kills the Rogue, he saunters in at breakfast and kisses her right on the lips. And she doesn't fight it...
