As someone who is generally not a big fan of Tamora Pierce's work, I was pleasantly surprised by Magic Steps, the first in a promising new quartet following her previous series, Circle of Magic. It's a very diverting action-fantasy with plenty of -- well, everything.

There's some particularly creative magic going on: Sandry continues to work with and explore her special type of thread magic, Pasco (her new and somewhat unwilling student) begins to learn control over his unusual dancing Talent, and a new and very dangerous type of magic is discovered. Unmagic, as they call it, permits several murderers to go undiscovered as they exact revenge upon the prominent Rokat family in a truly grisly manner. And only Sandry and Pasco, two young and inexperienced mages, have the combined unique talents to deal with the menace.

The shift of this quartet is definitely away from three of the original four characters in the Circle of Magic books; Tris, Briar and Daja are mentioned only in passing. However, Sandry's character is further developed as she becomes more independent, and she gains a surprising amount of depth and maturity by the end of the book. Pasco is also an engaging creation, and Pierce's vivid description of his first dance lesson (and his ensuing sore muscles) will provoke a good deal of compassion from anyone who has ever taken serious dance lessons.

Additionally, the villains, though a little underdeveloped, are not the standard implausibly evil Bad Guys. Really, the only thing that detracted from my pleasure in reading Magic Steps was the occasional intrusion of terms from this world. Pierce did, for the most part, a good job of creating slang and customs for her world. Even the names of the weekdays are altered. However, they still inexplicably measure height in feet and inches, and some of the foreign customs mentioned are very Asian and Middle-Eastern in feel. Not a major fault, though, and there are plenty of good points that more than make up for that.

A warning to those with weaker stomachs -- there is quite a lot more gore and death in Magic Steps than in the previous quartet. It's hardly excessive, though, and shouldn't be too bothersome. Naturally, it's a good idea to read Sandry's Book, Tris's Book, Daja's Book and Briar's Book) before reading the first entry in The Circle Opens series. I'll be looking forward to following entries as the remaining three characters mature and become teachers in their own rights.