A review by foggy_rosamund
Fire Logic: An Elemental Logic Novel by Laurie J. Marks

5.0

After reading this utterly immersive fantasy, I'm not sure what else to do with myself. All other books seem pale and uninteresting in comparison. Fire Logic gets off to a slow start, but within the first quarter, becomes completely engrossing. It centres around Zanja, who lives in a small mountain settlement with a tribe that resists contact with outsiders. But they are on the borders of the country Shaftal, which is under attack by an occupying force, than Sainnites. The other central character is Keris, a magically powerful half-giant, who is a drug addict and lives in obscurity, hiding her considerable powers. Both characters are studied in depth, and immediately felt real to me. Marks is an excellent writers, making her points and evoking her characters subtly. Her descriptions of a war-torn, traumatised country could feel heavy-handed, but they don't. That being said, there are moments of true brutality and horror in this book, which can be hard to read.

I objected to one of Marks' decisions: one of her main characters is paralysed, and is healed by magic. This cure-narrative felt like a too-rapid dismissal of disabled lives. However, I enjoyed this book so intensely that I can overlook this shortcoming, particularly because Marks handles trauma and drug-addiction so well. I also love the way she writes about queer characters, and the queer relationships are understated and beautiful. Highly recommended.