SFBC Review:

Ten long years have come and gone since the Kingdom of Tortall proclaimed that girls could take on a page’s training. At long last, one young girl has come forward: Keladry of Mindelan.

Kel and her family spent several years in the Yamani Islands, where she received warrior training in the arts of self-control and weaponry. Her aptitude seems clear, but the training master, Lord Wyldon of Cavall, fears that women are too weak to serve. Since her parents are highly regarded by the court, Lord Wyldon gives in, but on one condition: Kel must serve a one-year probation.

Kel is furious, but she feels compelled to accept. She longs to become a knight like her heroine, Alanna the Lioness, the King’s Champion. Drawing on her Yamani training, Kel braces herself against the hazing of her classmates, who believe that no girl is good enough to serve side by side with a boy.

But this girl is determined to succeed. Kel refuses to let anyone or anything—including fearsome Immortal monsters such as the Spidren, Tauros or Hurroks—prey on the weak or the small.

And this determination will stand her in good stead, as she readies herself for a future that includes an evil sorcerer who is the greatest monster of all….
Includes First Test, Page, Squire and Lady Knight. Jacket art by Greg Newbold. (790 pp.) 1999-2002.