Circle Books In Order

Publication Order of Circle of Magic Books

Publication Order of The Circle Opens Books

Publication Order of The Circle Reforged Books

The Circle Series is a collection of novels written by Tamora Pierce and which follow the exploits of four magical children struggling to navigate the world.

+The Story

The Circle Series is actually a collection of smaller series. It constitutes the ‘Circle of Magic’ series, ‘The Circle Opens’ series and ‘The Circle Reforged’ series.

The setting is a fictional realm called Emelan and the capital city of Summersea. Geographically speaking, Emelan’s design is based on the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

And the culture that Tamora Pierce creates for her fictional kingdom tends to match the cultures of those real-life regions.

A central aspect of Emelan and the Circle series as a whole is the Winding circle, a temple in the southeast dedicated to a polytheistic religion that involves the worship of nature and the elements. Magic is a common aspect of the Circle series and it is directly associated with the practices of the winding circle.

Tamora’s world has two forms of magic. Academic Magic revolves around the energy within the user and it can be manipulated using incantations and physical catalysts.

Ambient Magic is very rare and it is typically associated with a craft or an aspect of nature.

Tris, Briar, Daja, and Sandry take center stage as the heroes of the Circle novels. ‘Circle of Magic’, the first quartet in the Circle Universe, introduces these protagonists to readers as ten-year-olds.

A powerful mage who calls himself Niko discovers that they are Ambient Mages with special skills that allow them to derive magic from nature.

Niko takes the four to the Winding Circle, a community designed to help talented kids like them nurture their abilities. In due time Tris learns that her discipline is the Weather, Sandry the thread, Daja fire and mental, and Briar seems to have an affinity for plants.

While all four characters play significant roles throughout the series, each ‘Circle of Magic’ book is designed to give emphasis to a specific character as they strive to master their craft.

The kids face off against natural disasters and external forces that want to destroy the Winding Circle. Issues of identity and purpose are also tackled.
‘The Circle Opens’ series of books jumps forward in time and picks up with Tris, Daja, Sandry, and Briar at the age of fourteen. With their training complete, the children have become teachers at the Winding Cycle.

Their new positions empower them to each go off on their won with a mentor, the idea being to not only gain new experiences but to also take on students and broaden their knowledge base.

They contend with killer mages, arsonists and out-of-control magic.

Those journeys allow Tamora’s heroes to mature into independent strong-minded adults, so much so that, by the time ‘The Circle Reforged’ series opens and Tris, Daja, Sandry, and Briar meet up again, they are virtual strangers.

The group is brought together by Sandry who decides to visit her cousin, the Empress of Namorn and is encouraged to bring her childhood friends along. Sandry finds that her friends have each built their own lives apart from her, lives with secrets that they are no longer quite as willing to share.

It takes extraordinary circumstances for the bonds between these former friends to be rebuilt and for their trust to be re-established.

The Circle books are children’s stories written with audiences aged nine to eleven in mind. As such, the challenges Tamora’s heroes face are reminiscent of the problems that children from difficult backgrounds in real life might face.

Throughout the series, the message of the Winding Circle religion, which is essentially Tamora Pierce’s message, is ever-present. The Winding Circle religion blends the teachings of Shintoism and Buddhism. The religion is very liberal in all things, including sexuality. There are no moral codes or creeds of significance, and the only focus of the practitioners of this religion is the achievement of harmony and balance in all things.

The gods of the Winding Circle are associated with the elements that are worshiped, with each element having a dedicated male and female god.

Outside of the Winding Circle and its temple city, additional gods are made available for the various professions in Emelan such as the trickster god who is dedicated to thieves and the two gods of Traders.

+The Author

Tamora Pierce is an American author that writes fantasy fiction. Born in 1954, Tamora primarily writes with children and teenagers in mind. Born in South Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Tamora took to reading at a very young age.

She was introduced to the Lord of the Rings and it sparked in her a desire to produce similar fiction. Pierce is married to Tim Liebe. They have a lot of pets around their house.

+Sandry’s Book

Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community because of her Ambient magic. Sandry is good at weaving silk thread. Her magic also allows her to create light and the Winding Circle will help her hone her abilities.

At the community, Sandry is pleasantly surprised to encounter other people who are exactly like her. They include Tris who has power over the weather, Daja who is decent at metalcraft, and a former thief called Briar who talks to plants.

Sandry forms a close relationship with her three colleagues. Together, the misfits learn how to use their powers. When disaster threatens to level their new home, Sandry must step up to the plate and, with the cooperation of their friends, use her magic to save the only place that has ever accepted her.

+Tris’ Book

The Winding Circle is vulnerable. The community survived an earthquake but the damage the temple suffered has left it exposed to attacks by pirates. It will take the efforts of everyone to protect the Winding Circle, including Tris, Briar, Daja and Sandry, children that are still struggling to understand their powers.

For Tris, life is made more complex when her cousin comes to visit and tells her to come back home. Tris’ family exiled her. But she is sorely tempted by the offer to return home. However, Tris isn’t so certain that she is willing to leave her friends behind, not when they are facing such a dire threat.