Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff

Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff

Daw Books: 1994

Overview: Ex-princess turned bard Annice has the rare gift of being able to communicate with all four elements through song instead of the usual one or two. However, she has gotten herself into a tight spot by getting pregnant against the king’s express orders, then helping the father of her unborn baby, the Duc of Ohrid (accused of betraying the kingdom of Shkoder) escape from prison. A foul plot is afoot and Annice and her lover Stasya are thrown into the midst of political intrigue that runs deeper than either had imagined. This is the first book in a series of four.

My reaction: If you like political intrigue, magic, elemental spirits, music and a feisty heroine, this book is a fun read. Annice is technically bisexual (she does sleep with the Duc, after all), but it seems pretty clear that Stasya is her main partner. The world in which they live is populated with a number of other queer characters, both male and female. On a completely different note, I don’t think I have ever read a book in which the main character has to pee quite so often, though I suppose that is only realistic, since she is pregnant almost the entire story. In summary, hooray for kick-ass, powerful, pregnant princess-bards!

The Quarters Series:

Sing the Four Quarters, 1994

The Fifth Quarter, 1995

No Quarter, 1996

The Quartered Sea, 1999

End of April by Penny Sumner

End of April by Penny Sumner.

The Naiad Press, 1992.

Overview: Archivist/private detective Victoria  “Tor” Cross returns to England after a stint in New York City, where she is drawn into a mystery involving threatening notes to her new lover, potentially illicit activities in the backroom of a controversial sex shop, and eventually a murder.

My reaction: This is definitely a light read, but by the time I got to the end I felt it was a bit too light. While I enjoyed the fact that nearly all the recurring characters were lesbians (including Tor’s awesome Oxford don of a great-aunt!) I was constantly wondering about threads that were apparently dropped, and sometimes got irritated by Tor’s inability to really focus on getting to the bottom of the threats to her new lover (unless it meant an excuse to not leave her alone for ten days, most hours of which were covered by her). Tor blames her inefficiency on lust multiple times, but while I was happy that she found an awesome new relationship, the fact remains that it’s a novel that relies on the vague feeling that there is a threat to the characters you still want to root for, and not on a really solid investigation/mystery. Even the conclusion was a bit unsatisfying! However, if you are looking for a light read (should take no more than a few hours), and don’t mind a host of shortcomings to read about a LESBIAN PRIVATE DETECTIVE in ENGLAND (full disclosure—I was mostly okay with that), then give it a shot! I think I’ll give the second book a fair shake in hopes that Tor will get her act together once she’s not investigating a threat to her new girlfriend!

A Grave Talent by Laurie R. King

A Grave Talent by Laurie R. King

St. Martin’s Press: 1993

Overview: The first in a series of five, A Grave Talent follows the personal and professional life of San Francisco police detective Kate Martinelli as she works on her first high profile case with her slightly hard-boiled police partner Alonzo Hawkin. Three young girls have been murdered in a disturbing way, and evidence seems to point to a famously reclusive painter living under the radar in a back-to-the-earth planned community outside the city. While solving the case, Kate must come to terms with her own privacy about her personal life.

 My Reaction: I know I said that I don’t particularly want to cover coming-out novels, but I’ll make an exception for this one, partly because Laurie King is one of my favorite authors of all time and partly because that while Kate is not out professionally, she is in a loving relationship with her partner Lee and seems to have worked out her identity in her personal life. It was a little annoying that King doesn't use any pronouns to describe Lee until about half-way through the book, which is meant to make Kate’s home life a bit of a mystery, but her eventual coming out to Hawkins is handled gracefully and sympathetically. Some of her quieter moments with Lee are downright sweet, though they do have a couple of issues they will no doubt need to work out in future books (but why else, but for a little drama, do we read?). Though I can tell that this is Laurie King’s first published book, the story is engaging and full of good action scenes. Overall, it’s just a damn good mystery with the added bonus of a queer detective!

Read the Bookwhisperer's review of the next Kate Martinelli book, To Play the Fool.

Kate Martinelli Series:

A Grave Talent, 1993

To Play the Fool, 1995

With Child, 1996

Night Work, 2000

The Art of Detection, 2006

Water Logic by Laurie J. Marks

Water Logic by Laurie J. Marks

Small Beer Press, 2007.

Overview: In the third installment of the Elemental Logic Saga, Shaftal is continuing to heal from the decades-long war between the Sainnites and Shaftali. While Karis is established as G’deon of the new government, her rule is still not universally accepted, and Zanja, the ever-faithful wife, crosses yet another boundary (as Marks reminds us in all three books, that is what Zanja DOES) in order to find the way to maintain the tenuous peace brought about by the work of two queer power couples, a Sapphic Sainnite general, and oh, a couple of straight friends who are useful for their healing and truth-telling abilities.

My reaction: LOVELOVELOVED. Now that that’s out of the way, let me just say that for all my frustrations with Earth Logic, it was completely worth reading because I love Water Logic so much—possibly more than Fire Logic, where the constant yearning sometimes had me talking to the book telling Karis and Zanja to just kiss already (though of course that meant the payoff when they did was huge, so…). In Water Logic, all of the best characters are able to use their (ele)mental and physical strengths instead of being trapped in inaction, I was deeply invested in the struggle to transform Shaftali and Sainnites into neighbors instead of enemies, and of course, multiple queer romances that are totally accepted without a word are a huge bonus. When I thought beyond the obvious reasons why I love this series, however, I realized that I have hardly ever come across a fantasy universe where the major characters are going to heroic lengths to bring lasting peace to a battle-torn country instead of going out swords glittering in the afternoon sun to defeat the unfortunate underlings of some despicable ruler. Don’t get me wrong, I love George R.R. Martin for the most part, Tamora Pierce’s lady knights still hold a place in my heart, and I can sometimes get so into the intrigue and strategy produced in fantasy books about war that I forget to appreciate the scope of suffering the characters are inflicting/dealing with, but then I stop and feel a little guilty for being entertained by war even if magic/dragons/the characters’ belief in an “acceptable” brand of warfare somehow sanitizes it (obviously, I am not totally unmoved by the particularly horrific violence/crop burning etc. in the Song of Ice and Fire, but it was hard not to root for one army or another, which means being happy at the rout of the opposition...). By making me think more critically about this problem, the Elemental Logic Saga is special beyond its wonderful depiction of queer characters, which is why it was initially included for review.

Maybe the end was a tiny bit schmaltzy, and a MAAAAJOR mysterious/dangerous figure is left largely unexplained and at large, but I’m still in love. The latter complaint, however, makes me a wee bit agitated if I think about it too much and forget that it’s all a fiction—after all, it’s been 5+ years since she published Water Logic! Laurie J. Marks, PLEASE give us Air Logic!!

Earth Logic by Laurie J. Marks

Earth Logic by Laurie J. Marks

Tor Books: 2004

Overview: Earth Logic, the second installment in the Elemental Logic Saga, is devoted to exploring the consequences of allowing a single earth elemental (the G’deon) to harness the power accumulated from the land over centuries. Karis, the G’deon, has to come to terms with possessing the power that she never asked for, and is paralyzed by her understandable concern that she could destroy Shaftal if she were to emerge from obscurity. Since Karis does not permit herself to be a force for change in much of the book, the plot is mostly driven by conflicts between the Sainnites and Shaftali zealots who claim to be followers of the “Lost G’deon,” while inflicting violence against Karis’ wishes. Zanja embarks on a quest to discover how to free Karis to act, and several new characters, including one sexy Sainnite lieutenant commander who gets a ton of page-time! (I wish it were face-time...)

My reaction: While two new characters give us a wonderful new lesbian romance to root for in the nearly-booklong separation of Karis and Zanja, Earth Logic as a whole fell a little short of my (extremely) high expectations for it. Part of that was probably the fact that Fire Logic left me obsessed with Karis and Zanja, and basically just wanting to read about them having a happy life together using their elemental talents for the good of all during the day, and having steamy sex at night (apparently fire and earth talents combine well in bed!) but I also felt some frustration with the major plotline that 

SPOILER ALERTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT 

rendered Zanja an amnesiac and thus incapable of doing just about anything but telling stories to Sainnite soldiers. Of course, that was not altogether boring, and was important in the grand scheme of things, but I wish she’d been able to express emotions/yearn for Karis because in all my years of reading, I’ve never gotten to see a relationship like mine normalized in fiction, and I wanted more, damn it! (I’ll just be on a comfy futon under a fleece blanket with my laptop pretending that my few years of practicing a martial art--aikido--and my girlfriend’s strong shoulders and short stint of blacksmithing in high school make Zanja and Karis’ experience even more similar to ours...)

Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks

Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks

Tor Books: 2002

Overview: Part of a series that will hopefully eventually include four books, Fire Logic follows the story of Zanja, a diplomat turned paladin of sorts in the war-torn land of Shaftal. After her village is attacked by the invading Sainnites, she is taken prisoner and left to rot, until she is rescued by the super buff, half-giant, metalsmith Karis, who has mysterious healing powers and an unfortunate addiction to smoke, a drug that completely deadens her senses. Together with the paladin Emil and a cast of supporting characters, they must find a way to rescue the people of Shaftal before war completely consumes them.

My reaction: Since reading this book, I have become thoroughly obsessed. I’ll admit that the writing was a little difficult to get into at first, and the first few chapters skip through a lot of years, but once I got going, I was hooked. The love story between Zanja and Karis is in parts tragic, in parts extremely sexy and just plain…romantic. I liked that sexuality is never an issue. Not once does anyone comment on any of the characters’ choice of partner; in this world, it appears that people can love whom they please. This allows for the love plot to develop in a way that goes beyond overcoming personal or societal barriers. Yes, they face obstacles to their love, but they are solid fantasy world obstacles. Oh, and the political intrigue is great, as are the meditations on war and peace. I look forward to Karis and Zanja coming more completely into their powers in future installments.

Elemental Logic Series:

Fire Logic, 2002

Earth Logic, 2004

Water Logic, 2007

Air Logic, Forthcoming