Kalimpura

November 19, 2012
In this introspective sequel to Green and Endurance, Lake continues the tale of Green, a former courtesan and assassin now attempting to settle down following the birth of her twins. Unfinished business and old enemies take Green and her allies back to the city of Kalimpura, where she must keep a low profile while trying to find two kidnapped girls. However, discretion is difficult with multiple gods taking interest in her doings and several factions out for her blood. There’s something both uplifting and melancholy in this fantasy adventure’s tone, which 16-year-old Green narrates with a world-weary old soul’s experience, emotional weight hanging from every page. Thoughtful fantasy readers will appreciate Green’s newfound perspective and the lush details derived from a mixture of Eastern cultures, as well as the sheer audacity of a killer bisexual nonwhite teen mom protagonist. The pace drags occasionally, but it’s worth it in the long run. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

November 15, 2012
Third fantasy outing for narrator Green, now 16 years old, a warrior in the service of the Lily Goddess (Endurance, 2011, etc.). To confront her bitter enemy, the scheming, vicious Surali, the priestess who has taken over the Lily temple by plotting with evil sorcerers and misogynistic cultists to achieve ends that are never very clear, Green must leave Copper Downs, where she has won over the local council and a suite of local gods, and return across the sea to Kalimpura, the decadent city-state where the Lily Goddess resides. Here, Surali is holding two hostages, children of Green's allies. From Blackblood, the god of pain, Green acquires a pair of irresistible knives and from a more natural source, infant twins whom she must frequently breastfeed. After a hair-raising sea voyage during which Green invokes supernatural assistance to save the ship from an unnatural storm, she finds a place to hide while she sizes up the situation. To defeat Surali, it emerges, Green must seek help from the mysterious Red Man, a powerful but much-abused renegade from a cult of vicious misogynists, the Saffron Tower. What holds the interest here are Green's constant distractions in caring for her twins, rather than the minimal and often uninteresting plotting, weak or obscure motivations and intermittent bursts of violence. At least the religious digressions are held to a minimum. The barely credible narrative stands in strange contrast to the backdrop's persuasively gritty details and Green's far more absorbing personal dilemmas.

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December 1, 2012

After the birth of her twins, courtesan/assassin Green returns to her city of Kalimpura and reenters the service of the Lily Goddess. But Green and her companions must continually watch their backs as they attempt to uncover the complex and deadly conspiracy that threatens her. When the daughter of a friend and a priestess disappear, Green calls on the strength of the Ox God Endurance, accidentally created when she killed the Immortal Duke, to help her find them. VERDICT Lake continues the adventures of a remarkable young woman (Green; Endurance) as she attempts to combine the demands of motherhood with the destiny to which she has been called. Lake's strong storytelling skills and his ability to depict exotic cultures and create believable characters make this a tale that should appeal to most lovers of fantasy and the martial arts.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.