Fantasy writers love to serialize their books. The only problem with serialization is that if a reader doesn’t start at the beginning, more often than not they will not read any of the books. Tamora Pierce’s newest book “The Will of the Empress” is a new stand alone book that is built on two serialized quartets.

Tamora Pierce is a premier name among young adult fantasy. Her latest and long-awaited book, “The Will of the Empress” returns fans to Winding Circle. The characters from her two quartets – “The Circle of Magic” and “The Circle Opens” are back, but each character – Sandry, Daja, Tris and Briar – have grown apart. The four must come to terms with each other to face the new villain – the Empress of Namorn. Though “The Will of the Empress” is billed as a stand-alone reading the two previous quartets will make the story lines easier to understand.

A word of warning - “The Will of the Empress” is not for young adults under fourteen. Scholastic publishing’s national campaign included promotion within the company’s “Teaching Pre K – 8” book division, but this book is really written for fans of the original quartets, who are now teenagers. Pierce deals with the issues of teenage sexuality in this novel, a delicate issue she has not addressed previously and that may shock readers.

Using real life teenage issues, such as self-esteem, “know-it-all” syndrome” and sexuality, Pierce’s characters are given satisfactory depth despite leaving many unresolved issues for probable future books. Of all the characters, Sandry’s family is a bright spot in a sea of morose character development.

When Sandry is called to assume her ancestral lands in Namorn at Empress Berene’s behest, only her friends protect her against the political machinations of the unpleasant and misogynistic legal system in the empire. The four must come to terms with each other at the palace with courtiers attempting to woo each away with promises of education, love and adventure.

Pierce’s character plots get lost at times as she weaves in sex and politics, and the narrative pacing is shaky. For the reader who has the necessary background storylines and wants to see where the four magicians are now, “The Will of the Empress” is a must read. If you have not read the previous books, then this book may leave you with more questions than answers or simply thinking ugh!