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Marek #3
The Rising Flood
Hope alone cannot withstand a rising floodA darkness writhes in the heart of Teren. The Academy is unleashing demons on dissenters, and refugees rush to leave the capital with nothing but their lives and a hope. That hope brings them to the city of Marek, Teren’s only major port, which harbours dreams of independence. But Marek is not as stable as it seems. Marcia, Heir to House Fereno, has spent the last two years fighting to keep Marek safe and prosperous – but with child, her relationship in ruins and the increasing threat of Teren to worry about, can she find her way through? The printing houses of the city run rabble-rousing polemic, penned by an increasingly frustrated majority who feel left out of the rule and riches of Marek. They demand change, and Marcia can’t help but agree with much of what they’re saying. On the other side of the bridge, the tiny group of Marek’s remaining sorcerers must negotiate their way through troubles of their own. Cato, Marcia’s exiled brother, and Reb, her ex-lover, are trying to train a new generation of sorcerers and both are having problems. Jonas simply won’t take ‘no’ for an answer from Cato; and Reb’s two students feel held back, both know that change, and strife, may be coming – and neither are ready to deal with it. But Reb cannot bring herself to move faster. Between them, the five sorcerers alongside Marek’s cityangel can expel a single demon. But Teren has many, and other fears loom on the horizon. Out-of-season storms rampage across the Oval Sea, threatening trade – and Jonas’ family, out plying the trade winds – and the unseasonable weather threatens Marek itself. Menaced by the distant capital, by dissension from within, and even by nature itself – will the rising flood lift all boats? Or will they be capsized?
Book 3 of the Marek series“Fantasy politics with real nuance and believable uncertainty, characters whose richness and depth has developed over three books, and a growing threat that starts pulling together threads across the series make The Rising Flood a fantastic read, while Marek is a textured place that is a joy to return to.” Malka Older, author of the Centenal Cycle trilogy, Hugo Award finalist
Cover artwork by Tony Allcock
Book 3 of the Marek series“Fantasy politics with real nuance and believable uncertainty, characters whose richness and depth has developed over three books, and a growing threat that starts pulling together threads across the series make The Rising Flood a fantastic read, while Marek is a textured place that is a joy to return to.” Malka Older, author of the Centenal Cycle trilogy, Hugo Award finalist
Cover artwork by Tony Allcock
421 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2021
About the author
Juliet Kemp
38 books10 followersJuliet Kemp (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, writer. They live by the river in London, with their partners, child, and dog. The first book of their fantasy series, The Deep And Shining Dark was on the Locus 2018 Recommended Reads list; the fourth and final book, The City Revealed came out in 2023. Their short fiction has appeared in venues including Uncanny, Analog, and Cast of Wonders; they were short-listed for the WSFA Small Press Award in 2020 and 2023; and they had a story in the 2021 Lambda Awards shortlisted anthology Trans-Galactic Bike Ride. They've also written non-fiction.
When not writing or child-wrangling, Juliet knits, climbs, indulges their fountain pen habit, and tries to fit an ever-increasing number of plants into a microscopic back garden. They can be found on Twitter as @julietk, on Mastodon as @juliet@zirk.us, and on Bluesky as @julietk.bsky.social.
When not writing or child-wrangling, Juliet knits, climbs, indulges their fountain pen habit, and tries to fit an ever-increasing number of plants into a microscopic back garden. They can be found on Twitter as @julietk, on Mastodon as @juliet@zirk.us, and on Bluesky as @julietk.bsky.social.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 24, 2021
I'm still really enjoying this fantasy series - interesting politics (but very readable!), mixed with personal stories. The characters are more engaging the more time I spend with them. I'm very much looking forward to the next one, especially as this one has a bit of a cliffhanger (or more than one, depending on perspective).
June 1, 2022
I think I should have reread the previous books in the series before reading this, because it had been ages since I read them and thus I felt like I was missing a lot of the backstory and emotional layers. This was a nice instalment in the series, but it had a bit too much slow politicking for my liking. Things seem to be set up for a really intense fourth book though!
February 7, 2023
Continues the good work of the first two books. The tight setting - just Marek, a reasonably small city - works, and the character development remains top notch. Tate a welcome addition to the core cast.
December 6, 2021
Content warnings: Pregnancy, refugee crisis, blood magic
Plans and contracts march along as The Rising Flood begins. Reb and Marcia have a falling out over the Heir progression. Cato continues magic lessons with Jonas, while keeping an eye on Reb as a mentor through his partner, Tait. The demons are back, however, in ways that manifest as new arrivals from Teren, epic storms, and complex court intrigue that finally reaches a compelling tipping point.
Nothing in Marek is politically simple. The unraveling threads of governmental power come completely undone since we last saw them in Shadow and Storm. We have descension from within as the common folk voice their desire for representation. There are also refugees coming in from Teren, where demons might have been summoned to subjugate their own citizens into one political view. There are only five sorcerers, three of whom are untrained, to protect the people when the government won’t. These separate issues keep tensions high while not muddling the separate problems and discrete points of view. Kemp handles it with the finesse established in previous entries, keeping the book exciting even in more dialogue-centric pieces of the narrative.
But there is complexity among the more cinematic and literally magical moments. Though the magic is big and splashy (quite literally), it’s nice to spend time with it in an academic capacity that’s only been alluded to in the previous books. It’s not a bad thing at all. It’s a great vehicle for the nuanced concept of consequences presented throughout. Magic has consequences. Lying has consequences. Being vulnerable. There are so many touch points for this theme that really carried the emotional core of the book. These characters are maturing, even as things seem to be literally falling apart around them otherwise.
Plans and contracts march along as The Rising Flood begins. Reb and Marcia have a falling out over the Heir progression. Cato continues magic lessons with Jonas, while keeping an eye on Reb as a mentor through his partner, Tait. The demons are back, however, in ways that manifest as new arrivals from Teren, epic storms, and complex court intrigue that finally reaches a compelling tipping point.
Nothing in Marek is politically simple. The unraveling threads of governmental power come completely undone since we last saw them in Shadow and Storm. We have descension from within as the common folk voice their desire for representation. There are also refugees coming in from Teren, where demons might have been summoned to subjugate their own citizens into one political view. There are only five sorcerers, three of whom are untrained, to protect the people when the government won’t. These separate issues keep tensions high while not muddling the separate problems and discrete points of view. Kemp handles it with the finesse established in previous entries, keeping the book exciting even in more dialogue-centric pieces of the narrative.
But there is complexity among the more cinematic and literally magical moments. Though the magic is big and splashy (quite literally), it’s nice to spend time with it in an academic capacity that’s only been alluded to in the previous books. It’s not a bad thing at all. It’s a great vehicle for the nuanced concept of consequences presented throughout. Magic has consequences. Lying has consequences. Being vulnerable. There are so many touch points for this theme that really carried the emotional core of the book. These characters are maturing, even as things seem to be literally falling apart around them otherwise.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews