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A review by briannadasilva
Earth Logic by Laurie J. Marks
Just as with the first book, I love these characters and this egalitarian, queer-normative fantasy world.
Also, just as with the first book, I found the plot to be rather aimless, and in this case even confusing on one point. But when you accept the meandering pace of this series, it becomes a charming, memorable ride that is never too slow.
Something new bothered me in this sequel, though. In the first book, Fire Logic, I was excited that it featured a WOC protagonist. But, this time around I noticed that the way the author described Zanja (a dark-skinned tribal woman) was very othering. Terms like "alien" and "otherworldly" may have been intended to reflect Zanja's character only, but sometimes - since she was the only explicitly described dark-skinned character - it made it feel like her ethnicity was somehow exotic or strange. I'm not okay with that.
We need more WOC protagonists in speculative fiction where their ethnicity is normalized, not othered.
Anyway, despite those two complaints, I'm invested in this series and will definitely read the next two books.
Also, just as with the first book, I found the plot to be rather aimless, and in this case even confusing on one point. But when you accept the meandering pace of this series, it becomes a charming, memorable ride that is never too slow.
Something new bothered me in this sequel, though. In the first book, Fire Logic, I was excited that it featured a WOC protagonist. But, this time around I noticed that the way the author described Zanja (a dark-skinned tribal woman) was very othering. Terms like "alien" and "otherworldly" may have been intended to reflect Zanja's character only, but sometimes - since she was the only explicitly described dark-skinned character - it made it feel like her ethnicity was somehow exotic or strange. I'm not okay with that.
We need more WOC protagonists in speculative fiction where their ethnicity is normalized, not othered.
Anyway, despite those two complaints, I'm invested in this series and will definitely read the next two books.