Green

April 27, 2009
Lake (Escapement
) makes a shift from steampunk to lush fantasy filled with exotic locales and exquisite descriptions. Sold as a child, raised and educated as a courtesan and secretly trained as an assassin, strong-willed Green retains her unyielding sense of independence, leading her to make drastic, unwise choices. Often used as a pawn and occasionally betrayed, she perseveres in trying to gain a measure of control over her life and a place to call home. Her goals become harder to reach when she's caught up in the machinations of immortals and power games of meddling gods. Despite an occasionally episodic feel and some rocky pacing that suggests it might have worked better split over several installments, the story is nicely powered by strong mythic undertones and a fresh take on the relationship between gods and mortals.

April 15, 2009
A stylish and intimate fantasy from Lake (Escapement, 2008, etc.).

The story concerns a young girl, sold from her tiny farming village to a mysterious stranger and trained to be a consort to a sinister duke. Given the name Emerald by her captors, she stubbornly calls herself Green, and later becomes a blade-wielding assassin. Lake infuses the book with first-person intimacy, particularly the early scenes, when Green is separated from her homeland. Her journey from child victim to heroic, independent woman is well told, and Lake displays a keen insight into the emotional world of Green and his other powerful female characters. The adventure story at the heart of the book yields some breathtaking fight scenes. The plot is perhaps less complex than it could be, but Lake makes up for it with intensity and page-turning momentum.

An action-packed tale.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 15, 2009
A girl is sold by her impoverished father to a man who takes her to the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she learns to be both courtesan and assassin and joins the group of beauties that form the entourage of the Undying Duke. Calling herself Green, the young woman rises to a position of power in a treacherous world. Lake ("Escapement") has created a memorable heroine living in an exotic and sensual setting that draws from many historic cultures. A good choice for most fantasy collections.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2009
Sold by her father, the girl carries with her two memories: the white ox Endurance, who watches over her, and her grandmothers body on the way to her funeral. Taken to Pomegranate Court in Copper Downs, she learns to be a great lady and more. Finally, the factor of the duke who had her brought to the city names her Emerald. She decides to call herself Green. Fierce, often rash, and absolutely unbroken by her captivity, she flees at first opportunity (self-created) to discover a world of unexpectedly more complicated politics and theology (her education hadnt included anything contemporary). Traveling home first, she finds teeming cities, serves a goddess until exiled back to Copper Downs, where she must clean up the mess left behind when she escaped. A fascinating, difficult character, Green lives in a remarkable world, in which gods walk the earth, and not all people are human. Lakes world-building is stellar, even with as idiosyncratic a narrator as Green, and the story she tells thrills.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)