2005-03-14 The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

In this third installment of the "Song of the Lioness" Alanna is finally able to come out of the closet as a woman. She is knighted Sir Alanna and ventures out into the world. All of her friends are left behind and those missed most are Prince Jonathan and George the Rougue.

On their way south Alanna and her man-servant Coram end up with the Bloody Hawk tribe of the Bazhir. Here, once again, Alanna meets prejudice because of her gender. But, as in the previous books, her presistence and integrity wins through and she finds a place for herself in this society as well. And through her example, others in the Bloody Hawk tribe and the Bazhir society in general, find that change might not be such a bad thing.

Thom is in the capital doing all sorts of mysterious things - all sorts of hints are given in this book. He is an ambitious young fellow, who does not like anyone to be better than himself. This might be his downfall.

George does not escape trouble either. Being the king of the Rougues is a precarious position at best. Now an added element of trouble is added in the form of Claw.

Prince Jonathan is wanted as Voice for the Bazhir. He accepts and through this changes the relationship between the Bazhir people and the Tortall nation. His and Alanna relationship develops as well, and Alanna has to decide how much she loves him.

And finally, Alanna finds a father who actually loves her. Myles wants to adopt her. All around her, Alanna discovers people who love her. She does have enemies, but she no longer feels that she has to fight all her battles alone.

For me, this book showed a young woman who is coming to terms with who and what she is. She seems to discover that life is not necessarily an either or situation. Rather, life can entail more and encompass several important qualities.