Kalimpura

Green Universe #3

by Jay Lake

This sequel to Green and Endurance takes Green back to the city of Kalimpura and the service of the Lily Goddess.

Green is hounded by the gods of Copper Downs and the gods of Kalimpura, who have laid claim to her and her children. She never wanted to be a conduit for the supernatural, but when she killed the Immortal Duke and created the Ox god with the power she released, she came to their notice.

Now she has sworn to retrieve the two girls taken hostage by the Bittern Court, one of Kalimpura’s rival guilds. But the Temple of the Lily Goddess is playing politics with her life.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy, Magic, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 2013

About the author

Jay Lake lived in Portland, Oregon, where he worked on multiple writing and editing projects. His 2007 book Mainspring received a starred review in Booklist. His short fiction appeared regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Endeavour Award, and was a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5* of five

In the end, I love the fact that this novel, likely Jay Lake's last published in his lifetime, expresses better than any I've read in a long, long time the simple truth that, "In the end, so is the beginning. In the beginning, so is the end."

Hail, and farewell to Jay Lake. My ninth and final Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Read-a-thon review is posted at Shelf Inflicted.

[Joyce Reynolds-Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion to the Green series is also the best of the three works. Green has her work cut out for her in this book as she seeks to defuse those who would harm both her and her babies. She eventually finds her solution but, as is typical for Green, not without a lot of violence.

There are a couple of threads I would have liked to have seen a more thorough resolution given to (Blackblood's claim on her son, more about Skinless, Green's effect on the ocean through the titanics), but tying up all those pieces can sometimes lead to the phenomenon that "of the making of books there is no end." For the most part a resolution is achieved, albeit a tiny bit rushed toward the end. In many senses this is one of Lake's best works, and clearly shows his continuing growth as a writer.

We can only hope time grants us many more such works.

[Alex Hemsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not the best book in the series. (I would have to go with Endurance on that front). But still an extremely strong entry. I am not sure if this is suppose to be the last entry into this series but if it is it went out on a odd note. The book built up an attempted resue only to have it done from start to finish in little over four pages.

Mr. Lake also wrapped up the book very quickly, killing off some characters and giving us enough closure on others to be content. Though if he announced today that there was another few books planed I would not be disappointed.

As usual though the world building was extremely strong. As it has been in the past and the writing/narration was extremely detailed making this 300 page book feel longer than the page count says.

Overall a strong (hopefully not) last entry into the green series. I wish Mr. Lake well in his battle with cancer, because while I do not know him personally spending time with Green has always been an enjoyable experience, one I hope to have again in a few years.

[Jeremy Preacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I'm a little tired of the violent, impulsive female character, I do appreciate that Kalimpura is an unflinching look at the consequences of that kind of choice. It's a grim and bloody book, and it doesn't end well so much as inevitably.

The nostalgic narrator trick is just as annoying here as it was in Endurance, although there isn't really a twist to spoil and it does add some perspective to the character's choices, because she-as-narrator can talk about her motivations and the results with the benefit of hindsight. It's also an excellent way to refer to future adventures, many of which sound fascinating.

However, that does highlight one of the things that bugs me a little bit about the whole series. Green's personal passion is ending chattel slavery, particularly of children. Or so she tells us, often, and throughout Kalimpura we're told that she did eventually go on that quest. But it's not a hugely convincing motivation, because she keeps getting derailed by these external struggles she claims not to care very much about, and it's hard to get emotionally engaged when the first-person narrator would really rather be doing something else.

So I'm left a little bit ambivalent about the whole thing. I really like the universe, and I can deal with Green as a character, but I can't help but think there are future books that I'd be much more into. And I can't read these without the knowledge that the author is quickly and very publicly dying of cancer, and I kind of feel like narrator-Green is a promise to the reader that yes, those adventures happened, and they were awesome, even though we may never get to read them. Goddammit.

[Jess (freaks over books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I am so sad to see Green go, I hope that Jay will maybe continue the series and fill in all the time we missed in the fifteen years that happen between the end of the book and the epilogue where Green sits down to write her story. It makes me happy to see all the positive reviews on this book as her first book just gets bashed on constantly, and that was by far my favorite because that is when we get to see Green become the powerful warrior and woman that she is. I love how she evolves through the books; in Green we see her as a struggling and impulsive child, in Endurance she is pregnant and has more of an emotional depth to her, and in this book she is everything; warrior, mother, priestess, friend and more. Green is and will always be one of my favorite characters, and Jay's writing style is superb; clean and beautifully detailed, using words and phrases in a way that simply astounds his audience. You do need to read the first two books to catch on to all the character and setting references in this book, but they all fit together so well. I am praying and hoping this is not the last we see of Green!

[Nicholas Zacharewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up in an Indigo bargain bin based entirely on the cover. Unfortunately, I was completely unaware that it was the final part of a trilogy. But, to its credit, that fact didn't do much to take away from my enjoyment of the story and getting to know the characters.

However, I found the seemingly constant "breaks" in the text (indicated by a space between paragraphs) distracted me from those elements of the book. Both these breaks' frequency (often every page or two) and their seeming meaninglessness (seconds might pass between these "breaks", rendering them no more useful to how I usually process stories than simple paragraph breaks) annoyed me far more than they helped me.

Nonetheless, I did like the story that was being told, and don't regret having picked this book up by chance. I just wish that it had been formatted better.

[Mina Wagner]

Can a great cover make me want to read a book? Yes.
And this is a great cover - I was checking out the page for the artist who did Patricia Brigg's covers (Her urban fantasies are really good.) when I saw it.
So I will buy this book (or a print of the cover illustration, if they are available.) But the reviews of the first Green book by Jay Lake are daunting. Maybe not to read, just to look at.
... Well, the reviews of Endurance (2nd book) and this one are intriguing. I've already gotten the first two ...

[Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this series so much. It's definitely an irrational hate stemming from the combination of dislike, time, and knowledge but I stand by it.

[Tim Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found _Kalimpura_ to be an enjoyable if imperfect ending to one of the most interesting and innovative fantasy series in recent years (if not ever). Though I had some quibbles with the novel (and the series) there was a lot to like about this ending to the Green trilogy.

The good first (and there is a lot of good). The title refers to of course, as readers of the series know, the city in which the majority of this book is set, a city that was much featured earlier in the series. I love this city! It seems believable while exotic, more than large enough to be the setting for dozens of enthralling adventures. At times it seemed Chinese, then Indian, then Southeast Asian, and just when I had thought I figured out what culture it was loosely based on in came something very clearly fantastic and otherworldly (yet still fitting within the city). Though the city seemed chaotic – with its competing guilds, endless festivals, crowded streets, and cacophony of cultures – it had rules, though not rules and government in the way a Westerner might immediately understand. I loved that about the book, that while it was exotic if not quite alien, Kalimpura – the city- was presented in such a way that the reader really got to understand and even appreciate how it was run. It also felt truly tropical, in vivid contrast to cold, northern, bleak Copper Downs.

The usage of the gods continued to the end of the series to be a unique and a strong point of this trilogy. Not only is Green’s unusual relationship to the various divine beings of the setting quite interesting but how they are used in general continued to fascinate. I am not aware of anything else out there like it in fantasy today.

The main character, Green of course, also continued being unique. In _Endurance_ she was pregnant –a pregnant action hero! – and now in _Kalimpura_ she is a nursing mother of two. That has to be a first.

The action scenes continued to be well written. One foray in the middle of the book was quite humorous, showing just how bad a night (and the next day) can get when EVERYTHING seemed to go wrong for our intrepid heroine.

I loved how the character Green developed through the series, of how she came to terms with her anger, of how she learned patience, empathy, and of how she entered that dreaded realm of combat, politics.

Ok the bad/quibbles. Though not as much a problem I think with the first two installments, _Kalimpura_ continued the trilogy’s tradition of only one narrator; Green, Green, and then, oh, Green. I think the author did a much better job of handling that in the final installment of this series, though that may in part be because Green talked to a lot more people in Kalimpura (the city and the book) and wasn’t quite the angry loner. However, having said that, it still made the main bad guys and the supposed focus of Green and her friend’s actions – rescuing the two kidnapped girls – a lot less easy to connect with. They remained fairly faceless to me –just goals or obstacles as the case may be – and another series would have given them more depth if they had scenes of their own.

There were some slow spots in the middle, not as bad as I think _Endurance_ suffered from but they were there. The characters wait and wait and wait to rescue the two kidnap victims once they get to Kalimpura, even remark upon the waiting, but I was never quite clear why they waited so much. I mean it was addressed some, but I do wonder if more time could have passed with all that waiting. The story had a much brisker pace before and afterwards.

One of my quibbles – not to give anything away – is that some of the plot threads from Copper Downs never really got addressed, particularly with regard to Blackblood and Skinless. I would have liked to have seen some sort of development there but it is not entirely surprising given the book’s title (it wasn’t called Copper Downs). It was not a big problem for me. Similarly, the god killers and the Saffron Tower, I would have liked to have seen more done with them. They certainly figured into the plot, but I would have liked if not some final confrontation with them then maybe more information/development.

I don’t want to say much about this, but the ending was somewhat bittersweet. It felt like also that there should have been more, though not in regards to the story of the novel but rather with Green’s life in general. I am not saying there should be some unending series but I could easily see two or three more volumes to tie up the various very interesting developments that occurred throughout the trilogy.

All in all a good book, good pace, and a great setting. If you read the first two and liked them I don’t think you will be disappointed.

[Chris Galford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would it suffice to say that I wanted (and hoped for) so much more from this series?

Kalimpura is the grand finale to the three book series on Green, the miscreant ninja girl punching her way through the conventional and divine worlds alike in the search, ultimately, to find a place for herself. As Endurance left off on some cliffhangers, Kalimpura picks up just after—and quickly pulls us away again from the city Green spent all of last book getting reacquainted with. That happens to probably be for the best, though, as things in Kalimpura have taken a turn for the worse, with the Temple of the Lily Goddess at its lowest point yet, and the gruff folks in the Bittern Court taking up a page from the megalomaniacal playbook.

A mess ensues. And I don’t mean for Green—I mean for us, the readers.

Lake has always had trouble with pacing in these books. Is Kalimpura’s more on-point and to par than the initial, scattered endeavor of Green was? Yes. Yet the trouble that arises in Kalimpura goes well beyond between random bouts of action and immovable characterized disconnection, to the actions of those characters themselves. You will want to ask them questions—you will not get the answers you desire, or more often, many answers at all. The baddies, as I said, are kind of in that megalomaniacal camp, with the classic baddy mentality—“What do you want? Everything! Why do you want it? Cause! When do you want it? Now!”

Where is the character? The personality? There is no growth here—and certainly not in the form of the myriad cast of red shirts and other randoms that traipse through to little end. Implausibilities (and I do try to use that word sparingly in fantasy) abound, and for the most part, there’s just no accounting for them beyond poor plotting.

As it has been all along, gender and religion (spirituality) are still critical here, and these are undertaken with the same interesting poise they have always been under Lake’s pen. Naturally, these raise more questions than answers, but they are points that get one thinking.

And then there’s Green. Green, Green, Green.

Green has been a frustrating character for me from the very beginning. She is detached, willfully disengages, and yet claims the contrary. She bemoans, and fighting always seems to be the first impulse—which is to say, she’s a fighter not a thinker; impulsive to the utmost. Her sexuality is always at the fore of her thoughts—even in the most awkward, inappropriate situations. Seriously, it’s this woman’s cure to all things. I have no problem with sexual situations in fantasy, but they are just poorly handled in these books, and feel, above all, like they’re there for the sex itself, not for any real purpose or advancement of the plot. Green is not an intricate character, and when one factors in her superwoman capabilities matched with the luck and incompetence of the world around her, things can seem…well, downright boring at times. Pre-supposed.

In all? This was a series with a lot of potential. There is a rich world lurking beneath the pages, that puts a lot of important questions to the forefront of our own investigative minds—but what we get is a poorly plodded, disappointing adventure, populated by characters lacking the staying power of personality.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great start,middle of the series again. From the other reviews, maybe the best one to start with. A very engaging character is Green, who fights her way out of one town, across the ocean, & into the next. Freely using the Gods and assorted unique individuals, Green topples her opponents, destroys the apple cart , then goes on to build perhaps the only life she could. Good read, overall

[Star · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Kalimpura’ is the third book in the “Green” series. It is touted as the conclusion of the series as well and considering the ending, I can see avenues for new books in this universe if the author so chose to write them. Green has come back to Kalimpura where she has many against her, both human and god. Yet this is the home of her Lily Goddess and where she was trained to be a Lily Blade. She’s trying to retrieve two girls from the Bittern Court – one a Blade sister and the other the daughter of her sometimes lover, Ilona. She’s also trying to keep her newborn twins safe from all of those who wish her harm.

I haven’t read either ‘Green’ or ‘Endurance’, the first and second books respectively. I felt this put me in a detriment while reading ‘Kalimpura’. I enjoyed the story overall, even though I felt I was missing some key back-story, and the author has created an amazing and detailed world. Green is a teenager, as kids in this world are forced to grow up quickly, and some of the emotional rollercoaster shows through Green’s thoughts, words, and actions. I liked a lot of the characters, and as I said a few sentences earlier, the world-building is fantastic. I do wish for a little more detail or loop-closing on some of the events in ‘Kalimpura’. I’m not sure if I would have picked this book up if not for receiving a review copy, but I’d be interested to see what the author may come up with next.

Green Universe series: Green (1), Endurance (2), Kalimpura (3)

[William Bentrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kalimpura by Jay Lake

This is the third of the series of one of those butt kicking female protagonist stories I enjoy so much. Green, the main character, is now a mother and although she has mellowed this is akin to suggesting a tsunami is just a wave. Green leaves Copper Downs and returns to the Temple of the Silver Lilly and her meanest foes.

I would suggest reading Green and Endurance , the precursors to this book. All three books deal with empowering women and defying the status quo. Green’s goal of stopping child slavery and the abuse of women becomes secondary to her goal to find lost friends and to protect her children.

There is a body of literature that suggests that if women were in charge there would be fewer wars. I don’t think this is just due to the heighten sensibilities of women, nor do their lack of interest in macho posturing. I do think there would be less conflict because when they do throw down the gauntlet, they follow it with massive overkill. Green exemplifies that role with her temper and actions.

This is a coming of age book as well, Green is only sixteen. Her baptism into motherhood is fraught with violence and peril.

Jay Lake does a great job with these books and provides food for thought on complacency, misogynist lifestyles, abuse and power addiction.

I highly recommend it.

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, what can I say about the end of Green's story? It was.. Green-esque! Green never once changed. Never once learned from her Mistakes. Same Green, same tricks. Tricks that got beloved characters killed or severely injured. I'm thankful for the some-what epilog at the end where we are introduced to an older and wiser Green. A Green who then has to deal with a teenage girl, that is like her mother when her mother was young. Fitting.
Overall, I did enjoy the story, even if it seemed to upset me a lot with Greens never ending assumptions, mistakes, missteps and ultimate, "Oh, My GOD! I can't believe I didn't figure this out before right now when this person is not who I thought they were and is/not trying to kill me!"
Regardless of how I felt about Greens inability to grow in these books (the author blames it on her youth a lot, but people like Green grow up quickly due to the circumstances in which life has dealt and at least learn a thing or two from their mistakes, although I suppose not all, but those ones usually wind up dead early) the book/ series was a solid one.
The reason I gave it 3-stars is because I felt that "Kalimpura" being the last of the series (R.I.P. Jay Lake), I felt Green really should had some character development. Specially now that she was a mother, but I did not see any (until the epilog, like an afterthought).

[CV Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

My life was in turmoil. I'm serious. I was breaking up with a girl, trying to manage an unruly child, and running a business as well. Every day was one series of crisis after another. You'd never believe how many people's problems became my problems in the first week of July.

What I'm saying is, it's not you, it's me.

A book should be reviewed on its own merits not on the whirlwind of drama that surrounds the reader. But this isn't a perfect world and that isn't practical. I read books within the confines of my own psyche and that's what I love about reading - these stories become part of who I am for the time when I'm reading them. Unfortunately for the stories, they also have to absorb my life and accept that in the process. Kalimpura wouldn't do that. Like oil and water, my life and the book couldn't merge and as such, I could never get into the novel. I couldn't see this story and I couldn't divorce myself from my own drama long enough to gain that appreciation.

It's not you, it's me.

I wish it were different because I admired Jay tremendously. I loved everything else I read by him and I enjoyed the time at a convention when I spoke with him. R.I.P. Mr. Lake, you will be missed.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won an ARC of this book. It took me awhile to read it after winning because I wanted to read the first two in the series first.
I was thankful that I did. I had seen the first book in the library but had passed it over for other authors that I had already "known". I am grateful that I won this book. In doing so, I have been introduced to another great author. I really enjoyed the first two in this series.

Kalimpura is the end of Green's story. A story of a girl, sold by her father, trained to be a warrior of sorts, and influenced by Gods and Goddesses.

Lake created a world that was easy to fall into and quite believable. I liked that Green, as a character, grew and developed. In this last book, she is still learning who she is and who she wants to be.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to any of my friends who like a fantasy book with a strong female hero.

[Pam Frost Gorder · Rating 5 out of 5]

[This review is for the Audible (unabridged, of course) version.]

I just finished listening to Kalimpura, and all I want to do is listen to it again. It's the kind of fantasy book that demonstrates through its own excellence all the things that are sometimes missing from other books in the genre. The characters are multi-faceted—flawed, believable, and sympathetic. The settings are likewise layered, with vivid descriptions. The plot offers surprising turns, but still feels solidly grounded in the Green universe. This is a great series for readers who like strong female characters.

The narrator is very animated—so animated, in fact, that I feel like she must have been acting out the various battles during the recording. She definitely has an uncanny ability to conjure Green's fury.

I don't know if there is a fourth book planned for the Green series, but I hope so. I'm not done with these characters!

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kalimpura was a good end to the series. I found each book to be very well written, with the first one being my favorite. I felt that the characters of the If there is anything negative to be said about Kalimpura, it's only that very early in the reading I could see where the book would eventually lead. The various paths leading to the end, and Lake's telling of the story, were what made the book so good.

I guess the only open questions remaining for me are concerning the fates of the children, and Firestarter's people. I don't believe that the issues with the Gods and Goddesses of Copper Downs are as over as they seem to be. Perhaps sequels are or were planned involving the twins? I just felt there to be a lack of closure on the twins and Anastasia too. Concerning Firestarter's people, it's just odd that it became a point in the story and then was forgotten.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 of the Green saga. This was written from the perspective of the birth of a demigod. It had a very mythic quality to it. And it had an odd and confused style, which was fair because our narrator was confused and off-balance pretty much throughout the whole book. Lots of violence and hiding and running and breast-feeding of twins - I would say it was a kick-ass cover very unlike the vampire killing bimbos - with one baby in a sling and the other in a backpack - it definitely carried the serious drive of Green. But not quite as good as book 2, Endurance. I think this series probably is worth re-reading - but it may be that book 1 was the weakest of the 3.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Green returns to Kalimpura with her newly born twins, and sets off a political brouhaha that ends in great washes of blood. As before the story is well founded, and except for occasional tics (Lake has a bad habit of foreshadowing, and often too. He also sometimes brings the plot crashing to a halt while for stylistic but boring ruminations or explication. Skip those, though, and things move right along) makes both logical and psychological sense. He brings the story to an end, too, with a quick epilogue--but there is still a little room for further sequels, should he have the time to write them.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is a guilty pleasure of mine.

The story was great and concluded things nicely.

There was a bit of stumbling in the writing of the first two books, but it seems the author has finally worked out most of the kinks in this third one.

My only gripe was with the author's overuse of foreshadowing. It's one thing to gently hint at something, but it's another thing entirely to be blatant about it...

[Samah Bawatneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was almost lost because I couldn’t follow the characters nor the events most of the time as this book is part of a trilogy (I didn’t know until i started reading).... i should have read the 2 books before starting this one in order to fully understand what’s going on.... over all I believe that the trilogy constitutes a very good story.... it has the thrill element which forces you to continue reading without a stop! It is my type and what i look for in books/novels 👍🏿

[Lisa Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jay Lake (1964-2014) has left us with a wonderful legacy, including the trilogy for which this volume is the conclusion. The evolution of the girl Green through three novels is fascinating and satisfying (even if it would have been wonderful to continue on the journey with her). Thank you, Mr. Lake.

[Neal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one seemed to take forever to get where it was going. I am curious if Lake's cancer diagnosis caused him to wrap this one up as he did. Other than the very end it did not feel like the last novel in a series, more of a middle child. That being said I did like the end and the promises it made of adventures to come. Too bad we are unlikely to see any of those.

[Sam Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third and final of the Green Universe trilogy did the story justice. It's brilliant, witty, gripping, demanding, intesne, intimate, devastating, and the ending... The ending is worth every single hardship the characters endured through the three books. I highly recommend this to fantasy lovers.

[cowgirl sushi]

Of course, when I love something, it is hard for me to find too much fault with the sequels but by the time most writers get to the third book (For RR Martin it happened in book #5)things begin to get stale and this happens here. Still, definitely worth reading.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hard to put down. Between the lore of the land and the fantastic character development, this book was amazing. This was my favorite of the series, I hope that there will be more of these books to come.

[Evelynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book I liked the least of these three novels. The plot really didn't wrap up until the last fifty pages of the book and I just didn't feel like it had the same flavor as the other two. I also feel like this book was really Green's world falling out around her.

[Anita]

Good ending for the story, well written. The third book of the series did not have the draggy places that the second did.