Stormlord Rising

She's done it again! Glenda Larke, in Stormlord Rising , the second book in her Watergivers trilogy, has again combined extraordinary world building, strong characters and a plot twist that will have you desperately hanging out for the concluding book of the trilogy.

The wait for this novel was certainly worthwhile. There are very few books that I literally can't put down but this and its predecessor, The Last Stormlord, are among them. I picked it up from the book shop at around midday and started reading it while I ate my lunch - Pisces realised fairly quickly that he wasn't going to get any sense out of me and gave up on conversation. It accompanied me out to do the hand watering - sorry, plants, I suspect you got a fairly erratic drink that evening, while I cooked and ate dinner - jazzed up frozen pizza which was all I could think of that wouldn't require close attention, and only got left while I had a quick shower. I finished it at 2:15 a.m. - and I'm usually asleep by 10:30 p.m. at the latest - then couldn't sleep with it buzzing in my head. I doubt there will be many fantasy fans who won't find it as impossible to put down as I did even they don't read as fast as I do.

I recommend Stormlord Rising highly. Not only is there a gripping story with memorable characters, its setting in a water starved land has a real resonance in much of the world today. The questions raised about how to conserve water and ensure its availability to all are important to us all.

Glenda Larke's Stormlord Rising

Glenda Larke has a taster - well teaser more like - up on Voyager Online. In a piece of exquisite cruelty we're given Chapter One of her new book, Stormlord Rising, Book Two of her Watergivers trilogy. How could they? I devoured it in minutes and wanted more. If this is any indication of the rest of the book, we're in for a treat on par with The Last Stormlord (one of my favourite books for 2009 - and deservedly shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards).

I've ordered my copy (due out on March 1 in Australia). I only hope I can stand the strain until it's in my hot little hands. (It might be eased a little by the fact they are putting Chapter Two up online on January 22. Thank you.)