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Cadence Drake #2
Warpaint
No place to run, no place to hide…
The job sounded simple enough; locate a space miner's missing wives. Quick. Easy. Painless. As a professional finder of lost things, Cadence Drake has learned in the hardest way imaginable that there's no such thing as a quick or easy job. For the past year, pain has been her constant companion, and death her only refuge.
When she falls into the middle of a horror that portends the end of trillions of human lives, and everything that human beings have created throughout settled space, she seeks the last people who know that she's still alive, looking for a way to fight the unthinkable evil she's discovered.
Now she and four special ex-slaves face off against the end of all worlds, giving themselves to the thing they most fear in order to save what they most love. They're outnumbered billions-to-five, and they might already be too late.
Darkout is coming.
And Cady's coming with it…
The job sounded simple enough; locate a space miner's missing wives. Quick. Easy. Painless. As a professional finder of lost things, Cadence Drake has learned in the hardest way imaginable that there's no such thing as a quick or easy job. For the past year, pain has been her constant companion, and death her only refuge.
When she falls into the middle of a horror that portends the end of trillions of human lives, and everything that human beings have created throughout settled space, she seeks the last people who know that she's still alive, looking for a way to fight the unthinkable evil she's discovered.
Now she and four special ex-slaves face off against the end of all worlds, giving themselves to the thing they most fear in order to save what they most love. They're outnumbered billions-to-five, and they might already be too late.
Darkout is coming.
And Cady's coming with it…
- GenresScience FictionEbooks
453 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 13, 2012
6 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Holly Lisle
109 books449 followersHolly Lisle has been writing fiction professionally since 1991, when she sold FIRE IN THE MIST, the novel that won her the Compton Crook Award for best first novel. She has to date published more than thirty novels and several comprehensive writing courses. She has just published WARPAINT, the second stand-alone novel in her Cadence Drake series.
Holly had an ideal childhood for a writer…which is to say, it was filled with foreign countries and exotic terrains, alien cultures, new languages, the occasional earthquake, flood, or civil war, and one story about a bear, which follows:
“So. Back when I was ten years old, my father and I had finished hunting ducks for our dinner and were walking across the tundra in Alaska toward the spot on the river where we’d tied our boat. We had a couple miles to go by boat to get back to the Moravian Children’s Home, where we lived.
“My father was carrying the big bag of decoys and the shotgun; I was carrying the small bag of ducks.
“It was getting dark, we could hear the thud, thud, thud of the generator across the tundra, and suddenly he stopped, pointed down to a pie-pan sized indentation in the tundra that was rapidly filling with water, and said, in a calm and steady voice, “That’s a bear footprint. From the size of it, it’s a grizzly. The fact that the track is filling with water right now means the bear’s still around.”
“Which got my attention, but not as much as what he said next.
” ‘I don’t have the gun with me that will kill a bear,’ he told me. ‘I just have the one that will make him angry. So if we see the bear, I’m going to shoot him so he’ll attack me. I want you to run to the river, follow it to the boat, get the boat back home, and tell everyone what happened.’
“The rest of our walk was very quiet. He was, I’m sure, listening for the bear. I was doing my damnedest to make sure that I remembered where the boat was, how to get to it, how to start the pull-cord engine, and how to drive it back home, because I did not want to let him down.
“We were not eaten by a bear that night…but neither is that walk back from our hunt for supper a part of my life I’ll ever forget.
“I keep that story in mind as I write. If what I’m putting on paper isn’t at least as memorable as having a grizzly stalking my father and me across the tundra while I was carrying a bag of delicious-smelling ducks, it doesn’t make my cut.”
You can find Holly on her personal site:
Hollylisle.com
You can find Cadence Drake, Holly's currently in-progress series, on her site:
CadenceDrake.com
You can find Holly's books, courses, writing workshops, and so on here:
The HowToThinkSideways.com Shop, as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in a number of bookstores in the US and around the world.
Holly had an ideal childhood for a writer…which is to say, it was filled with foreign countries and exotic terrains, alien cultures, new languages, the occasional earthquake, flood, or civil war, and one story about a bear, which follows:
“So. Back when I was ten years old, my father and I had finished hunting ducks for our dinner and were walking across the tundra in Alaska toward the spot on the river where we’d tied our boat. We had a couple miles to go by boat to get back to the Moravian Children’s Home, where we lived.
“My father was carrying the big bag of decoys and the shotgun; I was carrying the small bag of ducks.
“It was getting dark, we could hear the thud, thud, thud of the generator across the tundra, and suddenly he stopped, pointed down to a pie-pan sized indentation in the tundra that was rapidly filling with water, and said, in a calm and steady voice, “That’s a bear footprint. From the size of it, it’s a grizzly. The fact that the track is filling with water right now means the bear’s still around.”
“Which got my attention, but not as much as what he said next.
” ‘I don’t have the gun with me that will kill a bear,’ he told me. ‘I just have the one that will make him angry. So if we see the bear, I’m going to shoot him so he’ll attack me. I want you to run to the river, follow it to the boat, get the boat back home, and tell everyone what happened.’
“The rest of our walk was very quiet. He was, I’m sure, listening for the bear. I was doing my damnedest to make sure that I remembered where the boat was, how to get to it, how to start the pull-cord engine, and how to drive it back home, because I did not want to let him down.
“We were not eaten by a bear that night…but neither is that walk back from our hunt for supper a part of my life I’ll ever forget.
“I keep that story in mind as I write. If what I’m putting on paper isn’t at least as memorable as having a grizzly stalking my father and me across the tundra while I was carrying a bag of delicious-smelling ducks, it doesn’t make my cut.”
You can find Holly on her personal site:
Hollylisle.com
You can find Cadence Drake, Holly's currently in-progress series, on her site:
CadenceDrake.com
You can find Holly's books, courses, writing workshops, and so on here:
The HowToThinkSideways.com Shop, as well as on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in a number of bookstores in the US and around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 6, 2013
After more than a decade of working on other projects, Holly Lisle takes you once again into the world of determined bounty hunter Cadence Drake. Things have worsened since Cady’s adventures in Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood and the future of the entire human race rests on the knowledge that Cady alone possesses. After soldiering on her own for about a year, the stress of her personal mission catches up to her and she realizes that she can’t do this alone. In a galaxy where it’s increasingly harder to tell friend from foe until they rip your head off, Cady takes a leap of faith to seek help from a long time associate. What transpires is an action packed, fast paced adventure that you won’t want to miss!
The new cast of characters is a lively bunch, each of them distinct and unique, and this is where the heart of the adventure is. This ragtag crew dedicates themselves to Cady’s cause, and in time, to healing her heart as well. Through nail-biting twists and gut-wrenching turns, the gang risk their lives and their sanity to accomplish the impossible. I adored Badger from the first book in the series; the new guys are just as fabulous. Herog matches Cady stride for stride, something her aching heart desperately needed for some time. Tarko, Wire, and Bluejay round out the cast and provide great contrast and comfort to Cady’s lonely heart. As far as villains, the team squares off the numerous Legends that populate the galaxy, but there is one face they keep seeing and struggling with throughout the story. I will admit that I would have liked to see a bit more from this person, but given the scope of the impending doom, there was enough to create a satisfying storyline.
While Warpaint is the sequel to a previous work, you don’t need to read the first book in order to enjoy it. I highly recommend it though, as it’s just as action packed and fun. Lisle has a wicked sense of humor that is evident throughout the book; dizzying moments of despair are expertly matched with witty repartee and enough levity to bring things back to center that makes me feel like I am reading a Joss Whedon movie in book form. It’s difficult to create such a diverse and unique world and keep all the parts moving, but Lisle demonstrates her masterful experience in this realm. I wished that readers could have explored more of these creations in the story; I’m hoping subsequent novels will do that. Her imaginative technology also never ceases to amaze me; I’ve never craved a fictional baked good more than I have craved The Cookie!
If you’re looking for a rousing adventure to carry you through, then this story is definitely worth the read.
The new cast of characters is a lively bunch, each of them distinct and unique, and this is where the heart of the adventure is. This ragtag crew dedicates themselves to Cady’s cause, and in time, to healing her heart as well. Through nail-biting twists and gut-wrenching turns, the gang risk their lives and their sanity to accomplish the impossible. I adored Badger from the first book in the series; the new guys are just as fabulous. Herog matches Cady stride for stride, something her aching heart desperately needed for some time. Tarko, Wire, and Bluejay round out the cast and provide great contrast and comfort to Cady’s lonely heart. As far as villains, the team squares off the numerous Legends that populate the galaxy, but there is one face they keep seeing and struggling with throughout the story. I will admit that I would have liked to see a bit more from this person, but given the scope of the impending doom, there was enough to create a satisfying storyline.
While Warpaint is the sequel to a previous work, you don’t need to read the first book in order to enjoy it. I highly recommend it though, as it’s just as action packed and fun. Lisle has a wicked sense of humor that is evident throughout the book; dizzying moments of despair are expertly matched with witty repartee and enough levity to bring things back to center that makes me feel like I am reading a Joss Whedon movie in book form. It’s difficult to create such a diverse and unique world and keep all the parts moving, but Lisle demonstrates her masterful experience in this realm. I wished that readers could have explored more of these creations in the story; I’m hoping subsequent novels will do that. Her imaginative technology also never ceases to amaze me; I’ve never craved a fictional baked good more than I have craved The Cookie!
If you’re looking for a rousing adventure to carry you through, then this story is definitely worth the read.
September 28, 2020
"Warpaint" is the sequel to "Hunting the Corrigan's Blood" by Holly Lisle. "Hunting the Corrigan's Blood" was published in 1997 and "Warpaint" was published in 2012. According to the author's website, a third book called "Wishbone" is to be written. There is a small excerpt from "Wishbone" at the end of "Warpaint". As of September 2020, it has not yet been published. I hope it soon is.
In this one Cadence Drake discovers that the nano-vampires are multiplying at an extraordinary rate. She recruits a new crew with the goal of destroying the nano-vampires before they totally destroy mankind. She soon realizes that in order to destroy this threat she may have to become the very thing she most wants to kill. This book is a great addition to this series and really hope the third book see the light of day!
In this one Cadence Drake discovers that the nano-vampires are multiplying at an extraordinary rate. She recruits a new crew with the goal of destroying the nano-vampires before they totally destroy mankind. She soon realizes that in order to destroy this threat she may have to become the very thing she most wants to kill. This book is a great addition to this series and really hope the third book see the light of day!
June 5, 2013
I’ve been a fan of Holly Lisle’s writing courses for years. Like many, I read and love her fiction but know her better for her nonfiction. But with this book, she may have just cemented herself as one of my favorite fiction authors of all time.
Fifteen years went by between the publication of the first book in the series and the sequel, but it picks up without missing a beat. There are no inconsistencies, no differences in tone between this book and the last. The only difference is in the storytelling itself – because while Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood was a good story, and one I enjoyed a lot, this book was… something else. This is a story rich with theme and meaning, the kind you can’t talk about without saying cheesy things like this makes me want to be better. Lisle tells a good genre story in the way that authors like Jim Butcher and Orson Scott Card (two authors who kept coming to mind as I read this book) do – she makes it heroic and epic and complex and philosophical and, above all, driven by the author’s sense of what makes life matter.
At its core, this book is an exploration of heroism. Cady and her cohorts are heroes, in the truest sense of the word. They do what’s hard, they do what’s necessary, they do what’s right. They do it when others are against them. They do it when life itself is against them. They do it when they would rather do anything else. Lisle doesn’t flinch at making her characters’ lives hell... and her characters don’t flinch either. They cry, they bleed, they fall – and then they get back up again.
(Also, Lisle managed to make a call center legitimately epic – you’ll have to read the book to find out how – which is a pretty impressive feat!)
I did have one point of disconnection with the book, one place where it didn’t ring true for me. But I suspect this may stem from a difference between my core philosophy and Lisle’s, and I can’t condemn an author for writing a story that’s true to her own philosophy.
I would recommend this book to science fiction fans, fans of passionately philosophical stories that pull no punches, and anyone who knows and appreciates what truly great genre fiction can do.
Fifteen years went by between the publication of the first book in the series and the sequel, but it picks up without missing a beat. There are no inconsistencies, no differences in tone between this book and the last. The only difference is in the storytelling itself – because while Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood was a good story, and one I enjoyed a lot, this book was… something else. This is a story rich with theme and meaning, the kind you can’t talk about without saying cheesy things like this makes me want to be better. Lisle tells a good genre story in the way that authors like Jim Butcher and Orson Scott Card (two authors who kept coming to mind as I read this book) do – she makes it heroic and epic and complex and philosophical and, above all, driven by the author’s sense of what makes life matter.
At its core, this book is an exploration of heroism. Cady and her cohorts are heroes, in the truest sense of the word. They do what’s hard, they do what’s necessary, they do what’s right. They do it when others are against them. They do it when life itself is against them. They do it when they would rather do anything else. Lisle doesn’t flinch at making her characters’ lives hell... and her characters don’t flinch either. They cry, they bleed, they fall – and then they get back up again.
(Also, Lisle managed to make a call center legitimately epic – you’ll have to read the book to find out how – which is a pretty impressive feat!)
I did have one point of disconnection with the book, one place where it didn’t ring true for me. But I suspect this may stem from a difference between my core philosophy and Lisle’s, and I can’t condemn an author for writing a story that’s true to her own philosophy.
I would recommend this book to science fiction fans, fans of passionately philosophical stories that pull no punches, and anyone who knows and appreciates what truly great genre fiction can do.
May 2, 2013
I bought myself this book as a Christmas present to myself, and I didn't regret it. It was just as fast paced as the previous volume although it had less action (in the sense of running, hiding and moving around, there was plenty of other, intelligent action). Cady is developing into a character less hunted by her past but still very focussed. I recommend this book to anyone who likes intelligent SciFi with a female main character who isn't superwoman but could have been... ;-)
March 9, 2020
Great follow through
Continuing the joy started in hunting, warpaint couldn't be better. It flowed it sang and I loved it. I want wishbone conspiracy!
Continuing the joy started in hunting, warpaint couldn't be better. It flowed it sang and I loved it. I want wishbone conspiracy!
July 8, 2015
I was lucky enough to be offered an ARC of Warpaint, a bonus of having Holly as a friend, but her timeline for notes was really tight, and I was away for most of it with no time to read (see Monday’s post). I didn’t think I’d make it, and I’m later than I like to be on posting a review (almost gave up on posting a review today), but despite everything, and despite having a splitting sinus headache, I couldn’t stop reading. Wow, just wow.
Warpaint is all the wonderful parts of Holly’s writing with her characters, twisty situations, and crazy logic that makes all kinds of sense even though it isn’t the first thought people would have. It’s an action-packed adventure; it’s a story of human determination and the good that exists in people even when faced with the loss of everything.
But don’t get the sense that it’s some sort of utopia, because it isn’t. Warpaint has all the bad bits of humanity too, the parts where greed, power-lust, and the dark side of people win over the good. It’s a race against time and against the evil that exists in all of us. It’s a voyage of discovery, and hope, and despair.
Let’s just say this novel is not one I was able to sit back and read without it touching me. I saw the faces of people I’ve known on both sides of the equation, and situations parallel at the root if not in facts to ones I’ve faced. And yet, it’s a space adventure with vampires and nano tech, ships and battles, courage in all its forms, and loss and betrayal too.
Okay, this isn’t so much of a review as a rave, but the fact of the matter is that I became friends with Holly after I’d become her fan as a writer. This takes me back to her earlier books, less twisted, more idealistic, and yet still as hard hitting as ever.
I enjoyed Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood. This one, though, is better. It’s less a personal journey than a stripping down to the core and finding out what’s lurking inside, both the good parts and the bad. But more, it’s about what you do with that knowledge and the choices you make fully informed without the self-delusions that support us.
Eh, I’ve said enough. You’ll have the chance to see for yourself any time now. It’s worth the journey.
Warpaint is all the wonderful parts of Holly’s writing with her characters, twisty situations, and crazy logic that makes all kinds of sense even though it isn’t the first thought people would have. It’s an action-packed adventure; it’s a story of human determination and the good that exists in people even when faced with the loss of everything.
But don’t get the sense that it’s some sort of utopia, because it isn’t. Warpaint has all the bad bits of humanity too, the parts where greed, power-lust, and the dark side of people win over the good. It’s a race against time and against the evil that exists in all of us. It’s a voyage of discovery, and hope, and despair.
Let’s just say this novel is not one I was able to sit back and read without it touching me. I saw the faces of people I’ve known on both sides of the equation, and situations parallel at the root if not in facts to ones I’ve faced. And yet, it’s a space adventure with vampires and nano tech, ships and battles, courage in all its forms, and loss and betrayal too.
Okay, this isn’t so much of a review as a rave, but the fact of the matter is that I became friends with Holly after I’d become her fan as a writer. This takes me back to her earlier books, less twisted, more idealistic, and yet still as hard hitting as ever.
I enjoyed Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood. This one, though, is better. It’s less a personal journey than a stripping down to the core and finding out what’s lurking inside, both the good parts and the bad. But more, it’s about what you do with that knowledge and the choices you make fully informed without the self-delusions that support us.
Eh, I’ve said enough. You’ll have the chance to see for yourself any time now. It’s worth the journey.
December 19, 2012
A must for sci-fi readers: Cadence Drake’s back in Warpaint!
by Claudette J. Young
This is a book review from: Warpaint: A Cadence Drake Novel (volume 2) (Paperback)
This heroine of the star lanes has started along the war trail, painted and ready to face the enemy. With her stand four souls who’ve seen the worst that humanity can hand out, and they’ve come out swinging to save that very humanity from a fate beyond death—an immortality that feeds on death.
Holly Lisle’s Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood left the reader knowing that Cadence had sworn vengeance on the Legends. One would never anticipate that for her to fight and succeed, Cady would have to become worse than vengeful. She had to become her worst enemy.
Lisle has packed enough twists and nuances into this 452 page wonder with greater understanding of the human condition than most writers will ever be able to emulate. The subtle back story and foreshadowing slip by unnoticed until the last second when the reader has that “Ah-ha” moment as the fragments all come together.
Misdirection, nuance, and mastery bring the reader into the story with Cady, Herog, Wire, Bluejay, and Tarko, never letting go until that last paragraph that whispers hints of things that might come to light, or might fade into the darkness.
This rousing tale of human kind’s ambitions, compassion, and motives takes monsters, makes them into Legends, and then works to destroy those Legends that mindlessly strive to destroy all decency in the universe. Lisle proves her mastery in the spaces between the words where imagination and the mind’s eye reside.
Any reader who wants and needs adventure that hangs on the edge of destruction and salvation will not be disappointed in this multi-layered look into a future grown from the past.
Disclosure: This review was from an advance PDF copy of the paperback.
August 22, 2013
While Warpaint wasn’t as graphic blood/guts-wise or as heart-pounding as “Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood”, it definitely delivers on sci-fi adventure. I love the impossible situations Holly Lisle puts her characters in. She’s got guts as a writer and that shines through in this series! The MC, Cady Drake, a freelance detective-of-sorts (she hunts for lost items) also has a lots of guts as she takes on the bad guys. I was very excited to see the new cast of characters that assisted her in her quest to rid space from Legends (aka vampires*). The places in the book are rich with details and you get a good feel for the unique space stations/worlds.
I liked the “Emergency Cookie” reference throughout the book – that added a smile to the story. I also really liked the ending with the character Herog and its future book possibilities (Man, it is hard to write a review without spoilers!).
Can’t wait for the next Cadence Drake book! In the meantime, there are a lot more Holly Lisle books for me to read. ;0) She is fast becoming a favorite.
*I don’t usually read vampire books because most romanticize the dark and evil, but this series doesn’t. Here, Cady fights vampires to save humanity.
I liked the “Emergency Cookie” reference throughout the book – that added a smile to the story. I also really liked the ending with the character Herog and its future book possibilities (Man, it is hard to write a review without spoilers!).
Can’t wait for the next Cadence Drake book! In the meantime, there are a lot more Holly Lisle books for me to read. ;0) She is fast becoming a favorite.
*I don’t usually read vampire books because most romanticize the dark and evil, but this series doesn’t. Here, Cady fights vampires to save humanity.
December 27, 2012
I loved the first novel in this series, Hunting the Corrigan's Blood. This one was just as good, delving much deeper into the character motivations and world of Cadence Drake. I loved the intense save-humanity plot and stayed up late into the night reading.
Science fiction is not normally a genre I read, but I stumbled on this author in search of writing courses, which she also provides, and I have become engrossed in the worlds she creates.
Science fiction is not normally a genre I read, but I stumbled on this author in search of writing courses, which she also provides, and I have become engrossed in the worlds she creates.
January 19, 2013
It was an enjoyable book, a good story, kept me up during a peaceful night shift until I finished it. I'll continue with reading the series. I just can't warm up to Cady very much, however. I mean, it's easy to want her to win and all that, but the love part of the story, admittedly not in the central view of the plot, just didn't work for me. Maybe I need to reread the book. Regardless, a good read and to be recommended.
January 23, 2015
I liked it a lot. It seemed to be a lot more straight forward than the first book in the series, because I saw most of it coming. And I'm not sure I believe the ending would have gone that way. So only 4 stars instead of 5.
October 8, 2015
This book is one that I return to, often, because I am entranced with both the action of the story and the intense emotional reaction I have to its themes, every time. This is a book not easily forgotten and one you'll read, and read again. Space vampires, what's not to like, after all?
April 25, 2013
Unexpected twist, face pace space tale, enjoyed the read
January 16, 2013
I love Cady - and Holly Lisle's books!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews