| Here is the beginning of Alanna's adventures, hence the title. In this book we learn how Alanna and her twin brother Thom decide to switch places. Both have the Gift, only Thom dreams of becoming a sorceror and Alanna wants to be a knight. Unfortunately, Alanna is supposed to go to the convent to become a lady while Thom goes to the palace to become a knight. So they switch places. Alanna disguises herself as a boy under the name Alan of Trebond. At the palace she makes friends quickly, one of her new friends being the heir to the throne Prince Jonathan. But she makes enemies as well, the worst of these being the evil Duke Roger, Jon's cousin. She also meets George, the King of Thieves, whom she goes to for help on several occasions. The book ends w/ Alanna and Jon journeying to the Black City, a mythical city greatly feared by the Bazhir, tribesmen of the Tortallan desert. There she and Jon encounter an evil greater than they can possibly imagine-The Nameless Ones, the Ysandir. |
