I have fallen deeply in love with Lindsay Buroker's
Emperor's Edge series. It's full of action
and the characters are wonderful. Dark Currents is actually the second in the series, but where I personally feel it
kicks off as the first (Emperor's Edge) serves mainly to set the stage in that
it gathers together a team and gives them a purpose. Dark Currents is when they start to follow
it.
Amaranthe Lokdon is the sole women in the team of outlaws
the books follow, not that she always was an outlaw. But well, being an
Enforcer, and a good one, is bound to get you negative attention in a world
where women aren't seen as equal to men. Trailing along behind her is the assassin
Sicarius, a retired history professor Books, a young ex-gang member Akstyr,
Maldynado the warrior-cast escort, and the ex-slave pit fighter Basilard.
What they want to do is convince Emperor Sespian that they
aren't as bad as he seems to think they are. That they're worthy of exoneration
and really just have his best interests at heart. Dark Currents is the tale of
the group's first attempt to do this.
It starts with finding dead bodies in the city's water
pipes, as well as a foreign owned gambling house run with magic in a country
where magic is illegal. But things quickly escalate, the water is making the
city sick and in an effort to trace the water's source the group finds that
it's effect on animals is worse - they become aggressive to the point where they don't go down with a
pistol ball through the eye.
Amaranthe is happy about it all, it's a bit of trouble that if
her group solves will surely get Sespian's attention, while her group
grumbles along behind her.
It's the group dynamics that really make me love this
series. Amaranthe has a personal goal to get Sicarius to smile, and all
attempts are stone walled. I know Sicarius is just tight lipped, but I can't
help but read it as silent snark. Books is the grandfatherly figure, despite
being in his forty something, and it's hilarious reading his arguments with Maldynado
with mute Basilard's support while Akstyr is your typically teenager who refuses
to do the chores. Granted, he studies
instead.
I listened to the audio-book of this and couldn't stop
smiling on the bus. And then was deeply upset when my town had no power for
days and due to a dead laptop and
dead iPod I had to stop listening.
There's a lots of action and plot threads going through this
story. I kept trying to figure out how it all linked together and couldn't
until the characters figured it out themselves in an idea I hadn't thought of
and was all the more brilliant for it.
I've never been angrier at my bank for it's issues with
temporary expats until I wanted to buy the rest of this series. I'll have to
buy it for myself as a birthday gift next Fall.
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This story actually does sound pretty cool! Great share!
ReplyDeleteShawn from Laughing at Life 2