Water Logic: An Elemental Logic Novel

Zanja, crosser of borders, undertakes a journey that seems as impossible as her, Karis, and Emil's combined efforts to bring peace to Shaftal. This book could have easily been mired in a plodding plot that sets up the final installment--if the next book (assuming it'll be called "Air Logic") is to be the last--but instead Marks moves as if the end is not nigh. So many of the characters deal with issues that vary in scope but are all vital: Clement attempting to unite her oftentimes hostile army under her to Karis' singleminded stomps across the country to save a few lives; Zanja's nearly supernatural mission, guided by her intuition, compared to Seth's need to fix one person's heart. Despite all of these threads, the book doesn't slow down, but instead branches out further, fleshing out the world and the characters as they deal with assassination attempts, disappearances, and the futility of fighting against love. I felt that "Earth Logic", this book's predecessor, suffered a little bit in the beginning from Clement's slow characterization, but the in-depth introduction of Seth in this book doesn't follow that pattern, and in fact is a refreshing new POV amongst many seriously-minded heroes, much as Garland the Cook's welcome presence had been in the last book. The one aspect of this series of books by Marks that I marvel at every time I pick one up is how complete the world she created is. Shaftal is governed by a very specific set of rules that she follows and challenges, and this new installment challenges even geography and time. Also, the fluidity of sexuality is a refreshing addition to this sort of fantasy novel. If you can make up an entirely different world, why the heck not change that aspect as well? And this change isn't made arbitrarily or as a stunt; that part of the world is as fluidly weaved into the culture as any other fact. I give this 5 stars because it's an excellent book on its own--though of course you should read the first two to have any idea of what's going on--and because it's a perfect with with the previous installments. And I love the characters, down to the last.

The Sainnites defeated the Shaftali in the war that devastated the balance between the elementals (see FIRE LOGIC and EARTH LOGIC). Whereas victorious General Clement wants a peaceful adjustment in the land her army occupies so her people and the vanquished can recover and prosper and the elementals can get back to the normal logical balance, the Shaftali forge a government seeking peace. However, not everyone on the losing side wants the end of the war even with the Shaftali G'deon Karis agreeing to terms with Clement. Some of those who lost their vaunted positions of power launch a counter insurgency against the invaders and those they call traitors. Clement's Shaftali lover Seth is no longer just a field doctor as he as a member of the new Council tracks down the assassin who tried to kill Karis and the fire witch Zanja na'Tarwein assumes the water elemental brought her back two centuries to save her world of the future, but failed to give her a means to communicate with her peers two hundred years from now. The third elemental logical fantasy is a fabulous entry that continues the tale of a world at war that has led to imbalances threatening its' existence. Readers will admire Laura J. Marks ability to move back and forth between her three prime subplots with two superb threads interrelated to the war and its tentative peace while the third even better segment mixes the fire witch with water. This series continues to be one of the best epic fantasies on the market today although the audience should read the previous tales first to see how Clement, Karis, Seth, and others got to this point and to better understand the WATER LOGIC. Harriet Klausner

As much as I enjoyed the earlier volumes of this series, "Water Logic" takes the author's Elemental epic into deeper, darker, more compelling places. Superbly plotted, this novel is a page-turner that grabs you from the very beginning and never lets go. The most impressive thing about "Water Logic" is its depth of emotion. Always a brilliant writer, Marks really gets under the skins of her characters here, and the gamble pays off. There's a level of passion that hasn't been seen before, and a sense of urgency that makes the reader care about the fate of troubled Shaftal, and care deeply. The three major plotlines are all interesting, but my favorite is Zanja's water-witch driven journey to Shaftal's past. No spoilers here--all I'll say is that the conclusion's a stunner, weaving threads from the previous books together in a hugely satisfying way. This is a beautifully crafted novel, and a perfect entry point for new readers.