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Elemental Logic #4
Air Logic
Laurie J. Marks returns at last to Shaftal in Air Logic, the long-awaited conclusion to her acclaimed series.
Karis and those who love her must figure out, in the aftermath of war and an assassination attempt, how to bring together Sainnites and Shaftalese in a country where old wounds and enmities fester and Air magic conceals the treason hidden in the heart of the G’deon’s household.
When Medric is taken hostage to force Karis’s hand, a strange boy will guide Zanja to the place where she may yet save him, a mother must remember the son she has been made to forget, and Air children will find what their place in the world may yet be.
Karis and those who love her must figure out, in the aftermath of war and an assassination attempt, how to bring together Sainnites and Shaftalese in a country where old wounds and enmities fester and Air magic conceals the treason hidden in the heart of the G’deon’s household.
When Medric is taken hostage to force Karis’s hand, a strange boy will guide Zanja to the place where she may yet save him, a mother must remember the son she has been made to forget, and Air children will find what their place in the world may yet be.
400 pages, Paperback
First published June 4, 2019
20 people are currently reading
949 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
July 9, 2019
Those of us who have been waiting years for Laurie Marks to finish AIR LOGIC got a gift in early June.
I couldn't even open it until I re-read the first three, which entailed re-buying FIRE LOGIC, because my copy has gone walkabout somewhere.
The whole tetralogy is a seriously important work of fantasy, a thoughtful commentary on human conflict, and much more. Although Marks (I think intentionally) makes the four logics hard to describe, very roughly fire logic is a mix of intuition and insight; earth logic is grounded and stubborn; water logic is nonverbal, musical, sometimes mathematical; and air logic is literal and bound to clear and unambiguous truth. Most people are some kind of mix of two or three of the logics, though water logic is more rare and exotic than the other three.
The story is long, complex, and layered. While exploring the various logics, Marks is looking at the situation of Shaftal, a country that has been occupied for over a decade by the Sainnites, who have remorselessly gutted the land. Some Shaftalese (and fire logic adept Zanja Na'Tarwein of the border tribes) are guerilla fighters against the Sainnites. At its core, the long story is about whether and how peace can truly be made among violent oppressors and the people they oppressed, whether and how humans can come to see one another as humans, rather than being mired in histories of hatred.
I noticed this time that while heterosexual relationships show up in this series, all the love affairs that we see up close are same-sex; it's a very neat reversal of how such things have been done in the past. Again quite subtly, the pronoun for someone whose gender the speaker doesn't know is "she."
I think that readers "on the spectrum" will be especially satisfied with AIR LOGIC, because Marks reveals that air logic is what we would call autism, and takes the time and trouble to give us several different air witch students, offering some variety and depth to a neurological condition that is often oversimplified.
More important to the full series, Marks never takes an easy out. She never makes a character a pure unambiguous villain (even the ones we hate) and she never makes a reconciliation, or a love relationship, or a family, into something simpler than it is. As a result, her forays into how people can learn to love across decades or centuries of hatred are hard-fought and thus plausible. It is impossible to read these books in the contemporary U.S. without thinking about the polarizations of our own society, nowhere near as vicious as Shaftalese/Sainnite, and whether or not Marks' roadmaps are directly useful to us.
In a lifetime of reading science fiction and fantasy, I consider this one of the most important, satisfying, and rich masterworks the field has to offer.
I couldn't even open it until I re-read the first three, which entailed re-buying FIRE LOGIC, because my copy has gone walkabout somewhere.
The whole tetralogy is a seriously important work of fantasy, a thoughtful commentary on human conflict, and much more. Although Marks (I think intentionally) makes the four logics hard to describe, very roughly fire logic is a mix of intuition and insight; earth logic is grounded and stubborn; water logic is nonverbal, musical, sometimes mathematical; and air logic is literal and bound to clear and unambiguous truth. Most people are some kind of mix of two or three of the logics, though water logic is more rare and exotic than the other three.
The story is long, complex, and layered. While exploring the various logics, Marks is looking at the situation of Shaftal, a country that has been occupied for over a decade by the Sainnites, who have remorselessly gutted the land. Some Shaftalese (and fire logic adept Zanja Na'Tarwein of the border tribes) are guerilla fighters against the Sainnites. At its core, the long story is about whether and how peace can truly be made among violent oppressors and the people they oppressed, whether and how humans can come to see one another as humans, rather than being mired in histories of hatred.
I noticed this time that while heterosexual relationships show up in this series, all the love affairs that we see up close are same-sex; it's a very neat reversal of how such things have been done in the past. Again quite subtly, the pronoun for someone whose gender the speaker doesn't know is "she."
I think that readers "on the spectrum" will be especially satisfied with AIR LOGIC, because Marks reveals that air logic is what we would call autism, and takes the time and trouble to give us several different air witch students, offering some variety and depth to a neurological condition that is often oversimplified.
More important to the full series, Marks never takes an easy out. She never makes a character a pure unambiguous villain (even the ones we hate) and she never makes a reconciliation, or a love relationship, or a family, into something simpler than it is. As a result, her forays into how people can learn to love across decades or centuries of hatred are hard-fought and thus plausible. It is impossible to read these books in the contemporary U.S. without thinking about the polarizations of our own society, nowhere near as vicious as Shaftalese/Sainnite, and whether or not Marks' roadmaps are directly useful to us.
In a lifetime of reading science fiction and fantasy, I consider this one of the most important, satisfying, and rich masterworks the field has to offer.
January 25, 2022
I have now finished all four books in the "Elemental Logic" series: Fire Logic, Earth Logic, Water Logic, Air Logic. It took Laurie J. Marks quite a while to finish writing them; the first three were published in 2002, 2004, and 2007, but the last waited until 2019.
I was blown away by them. I'm not going to talk (much) about what happens in individual books, but will write about what you can expect from the whole series. Because, if you read one, you'll want to read all of them.
This is high fantasy. It is set in the land of Shaftal. Some of the people have Elemental "talents", each of which informs how they think and reason. Each is associated which certain aspects nature - Water Logic is concerned with wind, weather, time, and patterns, for example. Fire is opposed by Air and Earth is opposed by Water, and people with opposing talents are very uncomfortable in the presence of each other; they just can't understand how the other thinks.
Shaftal has historically been governed by a powerful Earth witch, titled the G'deon, who is integrally connected to the land itself; the G'deon IS Shaftal. There are historically four orders: seers (fire), healers (earth), Paladins (any or none, but often fire), and Truthken (air). Paladins are "philosopher warriors", always in possession of pen, ink, and paper.
But Shaftal has been invaded by Sainnites, and the old G'deon dies without (it seems) anointing a successor. Or so many people believe...
Fire Logic introduces us to major characters who appear in all subsequent books: Zanja na'Tarwein, Speaker for the Ashawala'i (a border people), Katrim and fire talent, Karis (metalsmith and earth talent), Emil Paladin (fire talent), Medric (Sainnite seer, fire talent), Norina Truthken (air talent), and J'han Healer (earth talent).
To my eye, Zanja is the key player in all the books, but everybody is important. Subsequent books introduce us to other persistent and important characters: Clement and Seth in Earth Logic, Chaen and the air children in Air Logic, as well as many named and well-fleshed-out Paladins and Sainnite soldiers, with real personalities and differences.
The world is fully diverse; no gender roles (anybody can be a Farmer or Paladin or Soldier or what have you), all sexuality is normal (Zanja and Karis are women, Emil and Medric are men, Norina and J'han are a women and a man, and each named pair is a couple) and family structure is fully fluid (the three named couples end up as a found family). And I was fascinated at the neurodiversity of the air children; perhaps that is a natural for air talents, which deal with the mind.
In all four books, it took me a good while to get into the flow; the first portion always seemed to slowly introduce new characters and new plot elements and do world building by showing (rather than telling), but by half way through, I'd reach the "can't put it down" stage of the story telling. Also, the story takes place over time; Earth Logic takes place 5 years after Fire Logic ends, for example. There is plenty of action - and plenty of character development. And also, plenty of discovery within the world; it turns out that the history, as believed by both the Shaftali and the Sainites, is radically distorted from reality.
This was a glorious series. I will certainly read the whole series again. Eventually.
I'm going to end with the poem that is the opening page of Air Logic.
And lastly, the cover art is gorgeous. In fact, if you arrange the books in order (fire, earth, water, air) in a square (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right), you get this glorious picture.
< img src="" / >
You see Zanja, Karis, Zanja, and Zanja. And yes, there are ravens.
I was blown away by them. I'm not going to talk (much) about what happens in individual books, but will write about what you can expect from the whole series. Because, if you read one, you'll want to read all of them.
This is high fantasy. It is set in the land of Shaftal. Some of the people have Elemental "talents", each of which informs how they think and reason. Each is associated which certain aspects nature - Water Logic is concerned with wind, weather, time, and patterns, for example. Fire is opposed by Air and Earth is opposed by Water, and people with opposing talents are very uncomfortable in the presence of each other; they just can't understand how the other thinks.
Shaftal has historically been governed by a powerful Earth witch, titled the G'deon, who is integrally connected to the land itself; the G'deon IS Shaftal. There are historically four orders: seers (fire), healers (earth), Paladins (any or none, but often fire), and Truthken (air). Paladins are "philosopher warriors", always in possession of pen, ink, and paper.
But Shaftal has been invaded by Sainnites, and the old G'deon dies without (it seems) anointing a successor. Or so many people believe...
Fire Logic introduces us to major characters who appear in all subsequent books: Zanja na'Tarwein, Speaker for the Ashawala'i (a border people), Katrim and fire talent, Karis (metalsmith and earth talent), Emil Paladin (fire talent), Medric (Sainnite seer, fire talent), Norina Truthken (air talent), and J'han Healer (earth talent).
To my eye, Zanja is the key player in all the books, but everybody is important. Subsequent books introduce us to other persistent and important characters: Clement and Seth in Earth Logic, Chaen and the air children in Air Logic, as well as many named and well-fleshed-out Paladins and Sainnite soldiers, with real personalities and differences.
The world is fully diverse; no gender roles (anybody can be a Farmer or Paladin or Soldier or what have you), all sexuality is normal (Zanja and Karis are women, Emil and Medric are men, Norina and J'han are a women and a man, and each named pair is a couple) and family structure is fully fluid (the three named couples end up as a found family). And I was fascinated at the neurodiversity of the air children; perhaps that is a natural for air talents, which deal with the mind.
In all four books, it took me a good while to get into the flow; the first portion always seemed to slowly introduce new characters and new plot elements and do world building by showing (rather than telling), but by half way through, I'd reach the "can't put it down" stage of the story telling. Also, the story takes place over time; Earth Logic takes place 5 years after Fire Logic ends, for example. There is plenty of action - and plenty of character development. And also, plenty of discovery within the world; it turns out that the history, as believed by both the Shaftali and the Sainites, is radically distorted from reality.
This was a glorious series. I will certainly read the whole series again. Eventually.
I'm going to end with the poem that is the opening page of Air Logic.
Song of the Four Elements
The way of earth is to make and till
Earth needs fire to enrich its soil
Earth wants air so its storehouse fills
Four elements for balance.
The way of air is to judge and prove
Air by earth can be beloved
Air needs water so it can move
Four elements for balance.
The way of fire is to see and know
Fire with earth can be renewed
Fire needs water to ease its woe
Four elements for balance.
The way of water is to change and sing
Water needs air for its lightning
Water wants fire for divining
Four elements for balance.
Four enemies, or four friends
Four elements to tear and mend
Four elements to begin and end
Four elements for balance.
And lastly, the cover art is gorgeous. In fact, if you arrange the books in order (fire, earth, water, air) in a square (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right), you get this glorious picture.
< img src="" / >
You see Zanja, Karis, Zanja, and Zanja. And yes, there are ravens.
January 9, 2021
A satisfying book, which is a running theme of this series and especially important in the finale. And if some elements of the resolution are transparently satisfying and borderline feel-good, then it's earned that--in no small part because the journey there isn't easy. This is as plotty as Water Logic, but, though some plots spin sideways, better avoids narrative repetition. Reveals are rendered effective and antagonist characterization (particularly difficult with an evil mastermind) succeed based on the novel's central strength:
Air magic is beautifully realized. It meets the first and middle books halfway: as distinctly a personality, aptitude, and worldview as fire magic, but concrete and non-metaphorical in a way that encompasses the showy magic of earth and water. It makes the middle books more successful in retrospect and sells this book's plot. The personality-typing aspect of the magic system is linked to theme throughout the series, illustrating the diverse experiences of and solutions to cultural trauma; that air's logic creates conflicting but equally absolute worldviews epitomizes this and forces the resolution to find difficult solutions to complex problems. None of the sequels captured me in the same striking way as the first book, but the finale comes close to bringing things full circle--and what it encircles is original, thoughtful, indomitably nuanced, and hopeful. That outweighs intervening weaknesses.
Air magic is beautifully realized. It meets the first and middle books halfway: as distinctly a personality, aptitude, and worldview as fire magic, but concrete and non-metaphorical in a way that encompasses the showy magic of earth and water. It makes the middle books more successful in retrospect and sells this book's plot. The personality-typing aspect of the magic system is linked to theme throughout the series, illustrating the diverse experiences of and solutions to cultural trauma; that air's logic creates conflicting but equally absolute worldviews epitomizes this and forces the resolution to find difficult solutions to complex problems. None of the sequels captured me in the same striking way as the first book, but the finale comes close to bringing things full circle--and what it encircles is original, thoughtful, indomitably nuanced, and hopeful. That outweighs intervening weaknesses.
November 9, 2021
The final chapter of Marks' Logic series is finally here, and she just tosses the reader right back into the pool. After three lengthy books, there are a lot of characters to remember, and I struggled for the first few chapters to remember all their backstories. Eventually I caught on, or realized it didn’t really matter, because this whole series is sort of about the journey. I mean it is also about love (of all kinds, but also there are a lot of queer ppl and it’s nice), and found families, and working through issues, and magic, but also the journey. Maybe that makes it sound dull, but while it may not be action-packed, it’s certainly engrossing. Great characters and worldbuilding as always; I will definitely have to reread this from the beginning soon. A/A-.
September 20, 2020
Unputdownable! The plot is GRIPPING, with an insidious villain and a couple turns that made me gasp in shock. I loved seeing the neurodiversity of the air children and how their inflexibility meant they had to systematize their ethics. Zanja, meanwhile, is gripped with grief and madness—and loses her most precious support system at the same time. (Her ending, and how the aforementioned time travel figures into it, is marvelous.) All the characters felt so real, including Tashar and Maxew, two disaffected young men who descend into extremism. A stunning conclusion to the series that gave me all the resolution I wanted.
August 22, 2024
I read a galley of this and, though I had no idea this was such a long-awaited book because I just discovered the series a month ago (sorry!!!!), I think the wait is super worth it. It's very plot-heavy, the air children are loveable and strange, and the struggle for redemption and accountability is tense. <3
March 1, 2019
This is a beautiful conclusion to a sweeping epic of a queer found family saving and rebuilding a nation. In each book the idea of what a family is and can be grows and shifts as the world grows and shifts. Marks weaves a beautifully complex world, magic, and peoples in her writing and it leaves me breathless in how it all comes together.
November 29, 2021
I love this book. I love this series. I wish there were trans people in it.
I’m blaming my current reading slump on how hard it is for me to finish a beloved series. This book was so incredible and I read it so obscenely slowly. I think I’ll read these books again. A rarity for me.
I’m blaming my current reading slump on how hard it is for me to finish a beloved series. This book was so incredible and I read it so obscenely slowly. I think I’ll read these books again. A rarity for me.
August 9, 2019
The long-awaited final book in the Elemental Logic sequence does not disappoint, continuing the sweeping themes, riveting characters, and fascinating world of the first three novels, while providing what closure is possible in a series that has always been more about processes than conclusions. I could go on for ages about what makes these books so amazing -- from the unflinching look at the horrors of war to the subtle humor to the entire concept of magic being as much a way of thinking as a means of doing. This book provides a truly terrifying villain and finally makes clear why everyone finds air witches so very, very frightening, but as usual it refrains from easy answers and simple good versus evil narratives. There is good and evil in these books, but when evil is the inability to change, forgive, and admit wrongdoing, then simple, cartoonish characterization becomes impossible.
June 15, 2019
A long wait, fulfilled.
A long time ago, for some reason, I picked up a copy of... well, i think it was Earth Logic, but I'm not sure anymore. EL is the second book in the series. Or it might have been Air Logic. Anyway, I read the book and wasn't sure I liked it.
But then I found that I kept thinking about it over the next few weeks and I resolved to read the other one. It was so unusual. A book that discussed and worked for peace not conflict and uniting two peoples by changing both.
Water Logic came out several years later and I devoured it as well. That's really the wrong verb as the heroes in these books try for reconciliation and peace and solutions. I savored it, as I savored this final book as well.
A long time ago, for some reason, I picked up a copy of... well, i think it was Earth Logic, but I'm not sure anymore. EL is the second book in the series. Or it might have been Air Logic. Anyway, I read the book and wasn't sure I liked it.
But then I found that I kept thinking about it over the next few weeks and I resolved to read the other one. It was so unusual. A book that discussed and worked for peace not conflict and uniting two peoples by changing both.
Water Logic came out several years later and I devoured it as well. That's really the wrong verb as the heroes in these books try for reconciliation and peace and solutions. I savored it, as I savored this final book as well.
June 27, 2019
An incredible weaving of time, insight, and powerful longings � across the span of a single lifetime, and also across many hundreds of years, and beyond. Marks was able to leave her threads loose and untied while clenching a fist around the aching heart of this series and holding it steady. It is incredible to witness the sheer yearning that came from the heartbreak, loss and love in this series - and to have it not resolved, in the end, not even fully soothed, but nurtured, tended to like a dying fire. The heartache goes on, it grows and evolves, and beautiful things grow from it, not deformed and twisted by pain, but resilient, strong and ever yearning. Zanja Na’Tarwein is the ultimate protagonist, a hero in brokenness and completeness.
June 16, 2019
I've been waiting & longing for this book since the previous book (Water Logic) came out in 2007. I'm happy to say it's been worth the wait! Reading this made me want to reread the whole series.
My favorite aspect of this book series is how close and real the characters and their relationships feel. This book is no different; the bonds between characters, their personalities and inner workings are all beautifully written. The narration can feel a bit internal, somewhat less focused on action than many readers might prefer, although there -is- action in this book. Marks' prose is gorgeous, and I felt pulled in right away.
My favorite aspect of this book series is how close and real the characters and their relationships feel. This book is no different; the bonds between characters, their personalities and inner workings are all beautifully written. The narration can feel a bit internal, somewhat less focused on action than many readers might prefer, although there -is- action in this book. Marks' prose is gorgeous, and I felt pulled in right away.
August 29, 2019
This was a long, long, LONG awaited end to a glorious series.
Nothing ever comes easy to Karis, the unlikely G'Deon, or her mad wife and family. After an assasination attempt, they are trying to find the rogue air witches who want to bring Karis down.
But when fire, earth, and air logic work together, the amazing happens. Enemies work together, memories are stolen, changed, and rediscovered. The dead are found again. It is most unexpected and a hell of a good read.
The characters here are real. I am so thankful to finally read the final chapter of this series.
Nothing ever comes easy to Karis, the unlikely G'Deon, or her mad wife and family. After an assasination attempt, they are trying to find the rogue air witches who want to bring Karis down.
But when fire, earth, and air logic work together, the amazing happens. Enemies work together, memories are stolen, changed, and rediscovered. The dead are found again. It is most unexpected and a hell of a good read.
The characters here are real. I am so thankful to finally read the final chapter of this series.
June 29, 2019
At long last, the conclusion of the Elemental Logic saga! I've been aware of the Elemental Logic series for a while, but it was only recently I began to read it, and I'm so glad I did. This novel picks up right after the end of Water Logic, so if you haven't read the other novels in a while, you may wish to reread the previous three books first to refresh your memory. It's well-worth it, though, as this final novel provides a satisfying and beautiful conclusion for Zanja, Karis, and the family they've created together.
Want to read
December 17, 2018It's been ten years since I read , but I still think about this series and wish there was more of it. And soon there will be! I remember this series as being very thoughtful and unexpected in its approaches to cultural identity, shame, invasion, sexuality...all with magic and time travel and delicious fantasy world building.
March 26, 2019
I was very lucky to get my hands on an Advance Reader Copy of this book. I reread the entire series in about two months, and less than a week after finishing this fourth and final book, I find myself missing all the characters so much I am planning my next read through. I love these people, their love, and the magic of their world. Thank you Laurie J. Marks for creating a beautiful haven I can return to as often as I want.
June 17, 2019
I have read it in one go yesterday in a state of pure bliss.
But the end make me jump with a lot of 'OMG ' and 'why didn't I see it coming ?' and I need some time to calm down, reorder my synapses or regrow a new brain before rereading the book.
Then I will be able to rewrite this review.
I hope.
But the end make me jump with a lot of 'OMG ' and 'why didn't I see it coming ?' and I need some time to calm down, reorder my synapses or regrow a new brain before rereading the book.
Then I will be able to rewrite this review.
I hope.
July 15, 2019
That came to a surprisingly satisfying end, considering the thorny subject matter, how to reunify a postwar country without further violence. We don't have magic, but we do have love and understanding. At some point I should go back and reread the series; but it was good to see these characters again, with Zanja's loyalty, Karis' straightforwardness, and all the elemental shenanigans.
April 13, 2023
I am glad that I found this series when it was complete, because I have a bad habit of forgetting about series in progress, especially with a long gap between books. And I'm very glad I found this series at all, because it is beautiful and powerful and I stayed up until 2am unable to put it down on several nights, and I am going to be late to work today because I had two chapters left and could not go on with my life until I had completed it.
Just, if you love fantasy, and found families, and complicated people who solve complicated problems while loving each other fiercely, do yourself a favor and read these books.
Just, if you love fantasy, and found families, and complicated people who solve complicated problems while loving each other fiercely, do yourself a favor and read these books.
August 7, 2022
An excellent conclusion to a wonderful series. I actually cried during this one. The fleshing out of air logic was very well done, and the dynamics between the characters, the charactization, everything was just beautiful.
I'm so glad Laurie J Marks was able to finish this series, which will always have a very special place next to my heart.
I'm so glad Laurie J Marks was able to finish this series, which will always have a very special place next to my heart.
August 12, 2019
I have several gripes to pick with this author, but considering how many gripes I had, I still finished all four books and at least a little more than half of the time enjoyed myself doing it. If I was being entirely honest, I'd say that if the majority of the characters were not queer, I would not have had the patience I did for this story or its world.
That's not exactly a glowing review for a 4/5 stars, I know. The previous entries had some stylistic choices that I felt as errors rather than style, and the functions of the world itself seem fundamentally flawed. Even with these significant barriers to my enthusiasm, I found myself genuinely loving the characters, and invested in their difficult futures. And this last book seems more focused than the others, and less bogged down by the convenience of Fire Logic for the majority of the narrative.
But, then, maybe I'm just an Air Logic kind of person. *shrug*
That's not exactly a glowing review for a 4/5 stars, I know. The previous entries had some stylistic choices that I felt as errors rather than style, and the functions of the world itself seem fundamentally flawed. Even with these significant barriers to my enthusiasm, I found myself genuinely loving the characters, and invested in their difficult futures. And this last book seems more focused than the others, and less bogged down by the convenience of Fire Logic for the majority of the narrative.
But, then, maybe I'm just an Air Logic kind of person. *shrug*
January 12, 2020
Sometimes you read a piece of fiction and it speaks to you. Sometimes it keeps speaking to you for decades, revealing new things every time you revisit it.
I'd read Fire and Earth Logic a couple of times each, absolute ages ago, and I loved them, but I discovered on this reread that nothing had stuck with me from my decade-ago read of Water Logic. And this final book was a complete surprise--I saw none of that coming, but once I got there it was perfectly obvious and heartwrenching and gorgeous. I love it even more than I hate it.
This series is a masterwork about community, filled to the brim with amazing people, politics, queer relationships, philosophy, ethics, and a magic system so unique it could almost be real. Do recommend.
I'd read Fire and Earth Logic a couple of times each, absolute ages ago, and I loved them, but I discovered on this reread that nothing had stuck with me from my decade-ago read of Water Logic. And this final book was a complete surprise--I saw none of that coming, but once I got there it was perfectly obvious and heartwrenching and gorgeous. I love it even more than I hate it.
This series is a masterwork about community, filled to the brim with amazing people, politics, queer relationships, philosophy, ethics, and a magic system so unique it could almost be real. Do recommend.
July 8, 2019
I finally found you!
I couldn’t find these books for the longest time. I am so excited to have the whole series in ebook form. I’ve carried these characters in my heart since I picked up the first book. I love the interplay of personalities and the utterly unique family and social dynamics of Shaftal.
I couldn’t find these books for the longest time. I am so excited to have the whole series in ebook form. I’ve carried these characters in my heart since I picked up the first book. I love the interplay of personalities and the utterly unique family and social dynamics of Shaftal.
October 10, 2019
Laurie J. Marks� Elemental Logic novels are among the finest Fantasy achievements of the 21st Century, and if this last one isn’t my very favourite, it is a beautiful work for all that. Through the invasion and occupation of Shaftal, Marks grapples with moral complexity, the meaning and limitations of violence and non-violence, the nature of love and need, the ability to transcend horror, and so much more besides. She reinvents the world in a profoundly feminist way, I think, though this may not be immediately obvious, and she does it all in prose that makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar; vivid, slightly askew, lucid and illuminating. These are among my favourite books of all time, but start with Fire Logic, and don’t expect to be spoon-fed. Marks, like all great artists, demands your full attention.
March 9, 2020
A brilliant conclusion to this beautifully subversive series. My only complaint is that it badly needs to be proofread; my eye stumbled over dozens of minor errors that shouldn't have been there. Everything I could want in a novel is here: a gripping, sharp-edged story, the strong and sturdy plotting, the rich and clever world-building, and of course these magnificent characters that have carried me through from the first page of Fire Logic, through the bizarre chaos of Earth Logic, and into the beautiful unpredictable symmetry of Water and Air Logic. Simply wonderful books that i will return to again and again. And they're matter-of-factly queer, polyamorous, vibrant with rich cultures and constantly grappling with the problem of colonization and its impact on people as individuals, and as cultures.
July 15, 2019
This is a very hard book to review. On the one hand, it wraps up the series in a satisfying way, and I couldn't bring myself to put the book down while I was reading it. Marks definitely knows how to keep a reader engaged and invested in their world and characters.
On the other hand, there was a lot of info dumping, both to remind the reader what happened in past books and to catch them up on the lives and motivations of characters introduced in Air Logic.
This series as a whole has been very satisfying, especially with the story arc of rebuilding a society after the ravages of war and with the philosophy, myths, and theology of Shaftal and its surround environs. If you see this book and thinks it looks interesting, you should definitely pick up the first in the series, Fire Logic.
On the other hand, there was a lot of info dumping, both to remind the reader what happened in past books and to catch them up on the lives and motivations of characters introduced in Air Logic.
This series as a whole has been very satisfying, especially with the story arc of rebuilding a society after the ravages of war and with the philosophy, myths, and theology of Shaftal and its surround environs. If you see this book and thinks it looks interesting, you should definitely pick up the first in the series, Fire Logic.
August 3, 2020
In a way I feel like I've been waiting for this book for ages in two ways. One, ever since I read Fire Logic - only a few years ago, to be fair. And two, reading this book in many, many ways reminded me of reading the Melanie Rawn book The Mageborn Traitor. But the Mageborn Traitor is the second book in a trilogy that never was finished, a trilogy I read nearly 20 years ago, while Air Logic is the long-awaited conclusion to its quartet. So I feel quite a profound sense of resolution.
I think I need to re-read this later on this year. But it was good and satisfying and by god I love these books and their relationships to families and the practical stuff of life and how closely it connects with the dramatic events of what will become history.
I think I need to re-read this later on this year. But it was good and satisfying and by god I love these books and their relationships to families and the practical stuff of life and how closely it connects with the dramatic events of what will become history.
April 13, 2020
A nice 4 book series with a touch of poetry and philosophy. The characters are enjoyable, funny and have love interest without making it a biology lesson.
I liked the invaded people's culture for its polyamorous and gender fluid structure. Women are egual and present in all occupations and children cared for by groups rather than a two parent system.
The story is mostly positive with happy outcomes but still main characters get killed which balances out the happy so it's not cloying. Smooth read, well paced with a good deal of suspense. There are battles but not heavy with detail about them.
I liked this enough that I will be following the author for future works.
I liked the invaded people's culture for its polyamorous and gender fluid structure. Women are egual and present in all occupations and children cared for by groups rather than a two parent system.
The story is mostly positive with happy outcomes but still main characters get killed which balances out the happy so it's not cloying. Smooth read, well paced with a good deal of suspense. There are battles but not heavy with detail about them.
I liked this enough that I will be following the author for future works.
December 11, 2020
Three and a half stars
As with the entire series, this was thoughtful and thought provoking with wonderful character moments and a focus on characterization and world building. It isn't an action-packed or exciting read, though it has its moments. But one thing that the whole elemental magic in this isn't is logical. This is intentionally done. The various elemental talents are only broadly defined. What this means is it's never possible to tell what kind of magical solutions to problems can suddenly be possible. I personally tend to find this rather unsatisfying so that's my gripe. However, there is a lot going on here that is beyond that and which is very well done.
As with the entire series, this was thoughtful and thought provoking with wonderful character moments and a focus on characterization and world building. It isn't an action-packed or exciting read, though it has its moments. But one thing that the whole elemental magic in this isn't is logical. This is intentionally done. The various elemental talents are only broadly defined. What this means is it's never possible to tell what kind of magical solutions to problems can suddenly be possible. I personally tend to find this rather unsatisfying so that's my gripe. However, there is a lot going on here that is beyond that and which is very well done.
April 7, 2022
bit of a soft conclusion to the series, although the exploration of air magic was certainly fascinating, and the evolution of Norina's character over time is one of the strongest throughlines of the whole series. taken as a set, i loved this series, with the caveat that it's not the kind of thing you can just dip into, it's important to read it in order as otherwise you'd miss too much. the nature of the four elements was very clearly thought through and set out; in fact, once you've read the whole series, you can check your own elemental makeup with this nifty little quiz on the author's home page: .
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