Fire Logic

I really enjoyed this book - the plot, the characters, the setting. Unlike some other reviewers, I was pleased to find that the main characters were not heterosexual. So many (and I mean SO MANY) other books rarely, if ever, feature gays and lesbians at all, much less as main characters. It's refreshing to find strong characters in this book who also happened to be gay and lesbian. I also enjoyed figuring out the gender of other characters. I caught myself assuming that this farmer or that councilor were male...and assuming wrongly! Can't wait to read the next few in the series!

Just re-read Laurie J. Mark's "Fire Logic" and finally read her sequel "Earth Logic." I've read "Fire Logic" at least twice before and it's never really hit me before that barring more humor she writes worlds like Tanya Huff! Her people are bi- and when I say that now a days I'm not JUST talking about their sexual preferences but equality between the sexes! A background character described as a "farmer" or "soldier" or "merchant" will be a female half the time! THAT is equality. Women aren't strange, hidden away creatures only there to be the love interest to a male character as written in soo many fantasy or sci-fi books- they are people in their own right! And wheather these equal men or women chose to love a husband or wife- it is not looked down upon or cause for hatred! In these well written worlds the only thing a woman can do that a man can't is have a baby and the only thing a man can do that a woman can't is have an erection. I feel strangely like I've been overlooking Laurie Marks and my eyes have been opened up! Her story and characters are of coarse exciting and detailed. Zanja, the cool tormented main character who must find her way in a world that is suddenly without purpose. Karis, the talented but degraded woman that must overcome so much to truly realize her own power. Medric, the seer raised an enemy that comes to realize through his visions there is a better way. Emil, the scholar forced to be a soldier.. And all following their own elemental "logic" and precog-like powers to lead them together. It's really a great story and I wonder if there will be more in this world, a 3rd book perhaps? Though they are pretty settled at the end of 2!

I've been a reader of Laurie J. Marks since the very beginning, couldn't call myself a fan just a casual reader. That was until this series, I love the way this book plays out. One small gripe is that there is an awful lot of damage that Ms. Marks puts Zanja through, honey I love just as deeply, but come on, put me to the brink of death once that is an oopsie, do it multiple times and honey we have to talk. I want more, I need more from this land and these people and later today when my book arrives, I'll have the second one... This was the most worthwhile read that I've had in a long time. Please do yourself a favor and pick it up and get lost in it. Enjoy.

I struggled with the first hundred or so pages of this book, adrift in the world Marks was creating and unsure how to orient myself to the characters. Yes, I could see who the 'main' characters were going to be--but I just couldn't work out where Marks was going with them.I kept reading.By the time I set the book down, Marks's world and vision had utterly seduced me. Looking back--what had seemed to be a "confused" start was neither a problem nor a weakness. *Fire Logic* is about a land at war--and war *is* confusing and chaotic (particularly a war fought without the benefits of modern communication technology). Until the moment enemies can manuver into a position in which they can engage each other, it *should* be hard to see the form that will come together. Marks recognizes this and incorporates it into a plot strength for her book.I don't want to be too clever here--the book is a fun read, the characters are engaging, the choices that they face are moving. It's the kind of book that can be read very fast, just for the enjoyment of it, without elaborate philosophical analysis.However, the deeper levels are there, which for me as a reader is highly rewarding.*Fire Logic* reads like a great battle is fought and won--much marshalling of troops and gathering of courage, followed by a great push and achievement.

Fire Logic is a masterful novel that works as both a riveting adventure and an in-depth look at character and the relationships between people. The tight plotting kept me turning pages late into the night. Marks brings a depth of understanding to her characters that enables them to come alive on the page. There are no wooden, two-dimensional characters in this book, and for me realistic characterization is a must. The system of magic used in Fire Logic is also well thought out and has a gritty realism that I loved. Since I read Dancing Jack, I've been in love with Laurie Marks' work and have eagerly waited for another book. I wasn't disappointed! Silver, writer and magazine editor