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!!