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BBook Reviews:
The Alchemists Door
by Lisa Goldstein
Alternate Generals
II
ed by Harry Turtledove
Argonaut
by Stanley Schmidt
Fire
Logic by Laurie J. Marks
The
Iron Grail by John Woodstock
The Sacred Pool by L. Warren Douglas
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 Fire
Logic by Laurie J. Marks
Tor Hardcover: ISBN
0312878877 May 2002
Review by Victoria McManus
336 pages List price
$25.95
Purchase this book at
Amazon.com
Laurie J. Marks' last novel,
Dancing Jack, was published in 1993. Her new novel, Fire Logic,
makes me wish her readers hadn't had to wait so long.
Fire Logic does what a fantasy novel is supposed to do, and does it
stupendously. Marks' leisurely yet relentless prose sends the reader to
another world, without resorting to worldbuilding crutches like
unpronounceable names or vast chunks of history told in italics. The novel
depends on character, and its battles are subtle, weaving paths between
need and desire, between want and necessity. Even the magic is subtle,
except at a few crucial moments. But the sense of wonder she creates is
real.
The land of Shaftal has been taken over by the Sainnites, a people who
seem to have no magic and no desire for any, rather like the British who
colonized the Indian subcontinent. Complicating the conflict are the
"border peoples," variants of the standard human who now live in isolated
pockets but seem to be very strong in the elemental magic that is the
essence of Shaftali power.
The first small section of the book follows one character, the fire
elemental Zanja, through a period of fifteen years. She is in training to
be a diplomat between her own border tribe and the people of Shaftal, an
outsider viewpoint that, later, will prove to be vital to Shaftal's
survival. Zanja's journey begins when the Shaftali G'deon, or leading
Earth Witch, dies, leaving their governing body in ruins; the Sainnites
subsequently give up petty incursions for actual invasion. After many
years of warfare, Zanja is left alone in a Sainnite prison, injured almost
beyond healing in both body and mind. Strangely enough, the real story
begins here, with what might have been an ending.
The Shaftali do not bow meekly to their oppressors. Mabin, their last
living Councilor, writes a book on warfare and continues to direct the
country from hiding. One of the last remaining Earth Witches battles her
addiction to the deadly Sainnite drug Smoke. The Paladin caste become
guerrilla warriors, resisting in whatever way they can. Having been
rescued from prison by a woman named Karis, Zanja joins Emil Paladin's
group and takes part in one of the largest strikes against the Sainnites.
Gradually, it becomes clear that she is, as one character puts it, a
"hinge of history." Her relationships and her choices might allow for
Shaftal's survival. When she leaves the Paladin group, it is to work
towards peace with a much smaller group that will nonetheless have a more
far-reaching effect.
It's blissful to become wholly invested in Marks' characters, from Zanja
na'Tarwein to Emil Paladin to Medric the seer. Like the fire elementals
who are three of the book's major characters, the reader is expected to
make a picture from disparate pieces of information; such is Marks' skill
that small plot resolutions sink into the mind like sudden realization,
like intuition. It's beautiful work, yet exciting and intriguing to read.
I am eager to find out if there will be sequels. There are, after all,
three more elements.
Anything else? Oh. Yes, of course. Stop reading this review and go! Buy!
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