Stormlord Rising by Glenda Larke

Second novels are usually when everything starts coming together, and we start to see the shape of what's to come.Stormlord Rising is the sequel to The Last Stormlord, and second in the Watergivers trilogy.

Here we see Jasper (formerly Shale) begin to be a player in politics instead of the pawn. Taquar tries to control him, but that's a little difficult when his entire position depends on Jasper's existence and he doesn't have anything that he can threaten to bring him in line. That, and Jasper really hates him. For a supposedly brilliant man, Taquar seems to be pretty blind about how to inspire loyalty in others or recognizing when someone hates him more than they fear him.

Even more interesting is Terelle, who makes the journey across the Salt with her great-grandfather toward Khromatis, and in doing so learns some startling facts about the history of Watergivers. That, combined with the tension between Shale and the new Lord Gold indicates that there may be a religious crisis in this world's future, like they didn't have enough going on.

While I'm on the topic, I have to say that I really enjoy Terelle's water-painting powers. It's different from the Watergivers; subtle, nearly invisible to the people around them, but potentially even more devastating than the Storm Lord. Also, there's a lovely visual of her 'shuffling images' within her paintings. She is the character I'm most interested in, and I hope to see more of Khromatis in the next book.

Meanwhile, the Rainlord Ryka has been captured by the Reduners and must make horrible compromises to survive. I'm not usually a fan of the 'captor wants a woman who will stand up to him rather than a submissive slave' trope but in this instance, considering the history and twisted psychology of Ravard, it works. It's also satisfying to see that the book doesn't condemn Ryka for her choices, or romanticize her situation. It makes no bones about the fact that if Ryka slips up, Ravard will kill her.

The final battle felt a little ant-climactic, but that was fine, seeing as everything was clearly being set up for the third book. There's enough mysteries left unsolved and enough confrontations left unfinished that there will be plenty of material to work with. The action was imaginative, using the powers of the Watergivers without forgetting their limits, and the characters all had well-developed motivations and goals. With the possible exception of Senya, who is meant to be spoiled and irritating anyway.

I'd recommend this for teenagers and up. There's violence, particularly in how the Watergivers use their powers in battle, and there's a lot of sex with questionable consent, including but not limited to Ryka and Ravard. It's fairly easy to find in Australian bookstores - I got my copy from a clearance outlet - but it's also available in electronic form from Amazon.com. For physical copies, try the following websites:
* Booktopia
* World of Books (second-hand website)
* AbeBooks (second-hand website)

"For the first time in her life, she was aware of herself as a being of water. For the first time, she felt herself, her connections, her place in the world, her desires."