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Tremontaine #2.1-2.13
Tremontaine: The Complete Season Two
Welcome to Tremontaine, where ambition, love affairs, and rivalries dance with deadly results. In this novel Ellen Kushner and a team of writers return readers to the world of scandal and swordplay introduced in her cult-classic novel Swordspoint. Readers familiar with the series will find a welcome homecoming while new fans will learn what makes Riverside a place they will want to visit again and again. Tremontaine follows Diane, Duchess Tremontaine, whose beauty is matched only by her cunning; Rafe Fenton, a handsome young scholar with more passion than sense; Ixkaab Balam, a tradeswoman from afar with skill for swords and secrets; and Micah, a gentle genius whose discoveries herald revolution. Sparks fly as these four lives intersect in a world where politics is everything, and outcasts are the tastemakers. Tread carefully, dear reader, and keep your wit as sharp as your steel.
Originally presented in serial form by Serial Box Publishing, Tremontaine is brought to you by Ellen Kushner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese, Paul Witcover, Tessa Gratton, and Mary Anne Mohanraj.
Originally presented in serial form by Serial Box Publishing, Tremontaine is brought to you by Ellen Kushner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese, Paul Witcover, Tessa Gratton, and Mary Anne Mohanraj.
625 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2017
13 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Kushner
139 books606 followersEllen Kushner weaves together multiple careers as a writer, radio host, teacher, performer and public speaker.
A graduate of Barnard College, she also attended Bryn Mawr College, and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She began her career in publishing as a fiction editor in New York City, but left to write her first novel Swordspoint, which has become a cult classic, hailed as the progenitor of the “mannerpunk” (or “Fantasy of Manners”) school of urban fantasy. Swordspoint was followed by Thomas the Rhymer (World Fantasy Award and the Mythopoeic Award), and two more novels in her “Riverside” series. In 2015, Thomas the Rhymer was published in the UK as part of the Gollancz “Fantasy Masterworks” line.
In addition, her short fiction appears regularly in numerous anthologies. Her stories have been translated into a wide variety of languages, including Japanese, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Latvian and Finnish.
Upon moving to Boston, she became a radio host for WGBH-FM. In 1996, she created Sound & Spirit, PRI’s award-winning national public radio series. With Ellen as host and writer, the program aired nationally until 2010; many of the original shows can now be heard archived online.
As a live stage performer, her solo spoken word works include Esther: the Feast of Masks, and The Golden Dreydl: a Klezmer ‘Nutcracker’ for Chanukah (with Shirim Klezmer Orchestra). In 2008, Vital Theatre commissioned her to script a full-scale theatrical version. The Klezmer Nutcracker played to sold-out audiences in New York City, with Kushner in the role of the magical Tante Miriam.
In 2012, Kushner entered the world of audiobooks, narrating and co-producing “illuminated” versions of all three of the “Riverside” novels with SueMedia Productions for Neil Gaiman Presents at Audible.com—and winning a 2013 Audie Award for Swordspoint.
Other recent projects include the urban fantasy anthology Welcome to Bordertown (co-edited with Holly Black), and The Witches of Lublin, a musical audio drama written with Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom (which one Gabriel, Gracie and Wilbur Awards in 2012). In 2015 she contributed to and oversaw the creation of the online Riverside series prequel Tremontaine for Serial Box with collaborators Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Patty Bryant.
A dauntless traveler, Ellen Kushner has been a guest of honor at conventions all over the world. She regularly teaches writing at the prestigious Clarion Workshop and the Hollins University Graduate Program in Children’s Literature.
Ellen Kushner is a co-founder and past president of the Interstitial Arts Foundation, an organization supporting work that falls between genre categories. She lives in New York City with author and educator Delia Sherman, a lot of books, airplane and theater ticket stubs, and no cats whatsoever.
A graduate of Barnard College, she also attended Bryn Mawr College, and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She began her career in publishing as a fiction editor in New York City, but left to write her first novel Swordspoint, which has become a cult classic, hailed as the progenitor of the “mannerpunk” (or “Fantasy of Manners”) school of urban fantasy. Swordspoint was followed by Thomas the Rhymer (World Fantasy Award and the Mythopoeic Award), and two more novels in her “Riverside” series. In 2015, Thomas the Rhymer was published in the UK as part of the Gollancz “Fantasy Masterworks” line.
In addition, her short fiction appears regularly in numerous anthologies. Her stories have been translated into a wide variety of languages, including Japanese, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Latvian and Finnish.
Upon moving to Boston, she became a radio host for WGBH-FM. In 1996, she created Sound & Spirit, PRI’s award-winning national public radio series. With Ellen as host and writer, the program aired nationally until 2010; many of the original shows can now be heard archived online.
As a live stage performer, her solo spoken word works include Esther: the Feast of Masks, and The Golden Dreydl: a Klezmer ‘Nutcracker’ for Chanukah (with Shirim Klezmer Orchestra). In 2008, Vital Theatre commissioned her to script a full-scale theatrical version. The Klezmer Nutcracker played to sold-out audiences in New York City, with Kushner in the role of the magical Tante Miriam.
In 2012, Kushner entered the world of audiobooks, narrating and co-producing “illuminated” versions of all three of the “Riverside” novels with SueMedia Productions for Neil Gaiman Presents at Audible.com—and winning a 2013 Audie Award for Swordspoint.
Other recent projects include the urban fantasy anthology Welcome to Bordertown (co-edited with Holly Black), and The Witches of Lublin, a musical audio drama written with Elizabeth Schwartz and Yale Strom (which one Gabriel, Gracie and Wilbur Awards in 2012). In 2015 she contributed to and oversaw the creation of the online Riverside series prequel Tremontaine for Serial Box with collaborators Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Patty Bryant.
A dauntless traveler, Ellen Kushner has been a guest of honor at conventions all over the world. She regularly teaches writing at the prestigious Clarion Workshop and the Hollins University Graduate Program in Children’s Literature.
Ellen Kushner is a co-founder and past president of the Interstitial Arts Foundation, an organization supporting work that falls between genre categories. She lives in New York City with author and educator Delia Sherman, a lot of books, airplane and theater ticket stubs, and no cats whatsoever.
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May 2, 2017Season two is as well-written, convoluted, and vivid as season one. It's also equally heart-wrenching, bloody-minded, graceful, and just when you think you can't bear any more tension or tragedy, humor strikes a match.
I don't think it hit as many highs as season one (highs as in delirious happiness or emotional exaltation) but there is I think more tension, the stakes higher for the characters we know.
The thing that impresses me the most, though, is how well-put together this multi-author experiment is. Kushner has picked writers whose styles complement the nervy, fraught world of Riverside and the Hill, with fascinating tidbits about the Traders.
I think the most interesting character is the Duchess, who is there at the center of all Riverside stories, even if we don't see her. This series is establishing how she got the way we see her in Swordspoint and Privilege of the Sword. Even when you want to hate her, she will do or say something that upends all emotional expectations. She can't be predicted, though there's one amusing prospect .
I don't think it hit as many highs as season one (highs as in delirious happiness or emotional exaltation) but there is I think more tension, the stakes higher for the characters we know.
The thing that impresses me the most, though, is how well-put together this multi-author experiment is. Kushner has picked writers whose styles complement the nervy, fraught world of Riverside and the Hill, with fascinating tidbits about the Traders.
I think the most interesting character is the Duchess, who is there at the center of all Riverside stories, even if we don't see her. This series is establishing how she got the way we see her in Swordspoint and Privilege of the Sword. Even when you want to hate her, she will do or say something that upends all emotional expectations. She can't be predicted, though there's one amusing prospect .
July 29, 2017
If possible, I loved the second season more than the first.
January 1, 2017
Tremontaine Season 2
Episode 1: "Convocation"
by Ellen Kushner,
Convocation is the part of the series that sets up season 2, it gives the background of the story, providing remarkable convolutions of power and prestige. It is the meeting of lords, and traders that will govern the world. Tremontaine is the wife of a lord who is laid low by illness. Her rise to control of the family trust has not been unremarked. She has reestablished the family wealth and has remarkable ability to corner the market on trade.
Tremontaine Season 2 Episode 2: "Old in Mischief"
by Ellen Kushner, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese, Paul Witcover, and Tessa Gratton
The Riverside town is the heartbeat of the world, it is the trade center, the place where boats from foreign lands tie up and empties their wares that are traded throughout the city. The elements of the city leak into Riverside, as the elements of Riverside sleek into the city. The scholars come to earn a little cash, the cutpurses and cutthroats follow the unsuspecting victims to their homes outside the reaches of Riverside. The characters of both parts of the world overlap and overlay each other as hired swords are rubbing shoulders with the lords and ladies.
Fireworks (Tremontaine Season 2 Book 3) Mary Anne Mohanraj
Fireworks of various nature find themselves enraptured by the love and lives of the players in the game. Whether the nobility or the commons their rapturous entanglements make a tapestry of the background of the book. Despite the plans and conundrums of the noble or the common man it is their ignition that brings fireworks to the story. This is the most erotic part of the book so far with the liaisons beginning to come to fruition.
All that Glitters (Tremontaine Season 2 Book 4)
by Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese, Paul Witcover, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner , Tessa Gratton, Mary Anne Mohanraj
Looking into all the artistry and aristocratic comings and goings in the busy and very graphically explicated story. The world of spies and plots has created a remarkable world of desires, and autocratically creators of superiors battles. Although the entertainment of the masses of the aristocracy social world, is sex and violence.
Alive, and Home Here (Tremontaine Season 2 Book 5)
by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Finding little of her mystery thief of the Chocolate stores, Princess Kaab has many indirect lines of investigation. She uses her ability to disguise herself to find out about the comings and goings of the other Kinwiinik families. But even her mission to gain tamales has a cost to her on going tumultuous relationship with Tess.
The comings and goings of the plot has made a tapestry of remarkable mosaic book.
Blood and Silk (Tremontaine Season 2 Episode 6)
by Mary Anne Mohanraj
The plots and schemes are coming to a head. The only solution is to either draw blood or find a way to spin a new plot. Kaab, is losing it, she misses her family but she loves Tess. She has to find a way to bind her two worlds together.
Duchess Diane Tremontaine has a plan, if she can help Kaab find her thief, then maybe she can have more connections to the trade franchise. With that and the agreement of the council to make her the heir of the Tremontain providence she will have control of her future. The only spur in her saddle is the daughter who has betrayed her with her marriage has returned looking for her father.
Esha has found that her partnership with Lionel has late blooming fruit, the way out of her stocker problem is having his protection.
I great chapter in the unfolding story, one that begins to lay the lines of the direction of this remarkable mosaic story.
The Duchess Gambit (Tremontaine #2.7)
by Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese , Paul Witcover, Mary Anne Mohanraj , Tessa Gratton , Ellen Kushner, Alaya Dawn Johnson
The Duchess is using her skills to manipulate those council members that she has not changed their minds. Using what she has learned is something she could not keep to herself. The Duchess is building her arsenal of support for her bid to be named the heir of Tremontaine duchy. A drunken episode may erod all she has struggled to accomplish, her secrets is out.
Rafe is consolidating his connections to find his lost love, will he be able to find the one place that Duchess Tremontaine hid her husband.
A Rushing of Wings (Tremontaine #2.8)
by Paul Witcover
Its a plan to find his love, a plan to save his loves life, would he risk it all. He needed to use his connections to the country side, to find transport and a place to hide, what he did not count on was how risky it would be to save Will. What really is wrong with Will, is he poisoned or is he crazy?
The Heart A Liability (Tremontaine #2.9)
by Tessa Gratton
This is the point where Arthur realizes that he is the one who gave the secrets of his family and the trade business that he has always despised. He gave it a way for a touch a second of attention from a man who refused his affections.
He has to correct his mistake.
News travels to Duchess Tremontaine that the meeting that will decide her future is sooner than she thought. Only to be eclipse from news about William Tremontaine, and the reader finds that despite all that she has done to hide him away her affection is strong and true, and seeing him in his illness is beyond her tolerance.
This chapter reveals things that have been hidden throughout the series.
The Coming Night (Tremontaine #2.10)
by Joel Derfner
Duchess Tremontaine has foiled the plan of the forces against her. She has captured Rafe and Micah in Highcombe under her control. Using her ability to persuade and manipulate others to make it so her plans come to fruition. Rafe lets the cat out of the bag.
In the Shadow of Riverside (Tremontaine #2.11)
by Tessa Gratton
The plans are laid out, and everyone who has a stake in the game have shown their true colors. Duchess Tremontaine has a solution to her problems. She will keep Micah as house mathematician. She will solve the trade problems with her co-conspirators by getting rid of one or both of the swordsmen (woman) in her way. Everything's coming together but the Dragon who thinks that he has the upper hand, but she has a plan to deal with that too. This is the bloodiest and deadliest chapter in the series. Very dark ending to the sparkles of light in the story.
Can't wait to see how it wraps up.
Smoke and Ashes (Tremontaine #2.12)
by Mary Anne Mohanraj
Through the smoke and the ashes Duchess Tremontaine has found the answer to her problems, if only she could translate what she has.
Vincent is injured and ill, his inflicted cut from the dual has become inflamed and will take his life if he does not have help.
The road home is not always the path we are willing to tread.
Dissolution (Tremontaine #2.13)
by Ellen Kushner (Goodreads Author), Alaya Dawn Johnson (Goodreads Author), Paul Witcover, Racheline Maltese (Goodreads Author), Tessa Gratton (Goodreads Author), Mary Anne Mohanraj (Goodreads Author), Joel Derfner (Goodreads Author)
The final chapter.
Duchess Tremontaine has become the heir apparent, and is able to establish her own line of inheritance and found away to escape being tied to the Dragon. She also knows where William can be safe and care for.
Kaab has awoken to a new world, she is back with her family. She knows she must return to her former life, with Arthur gone she knows that it was an illusion that she would fit in Riverside.
Rafe has all he dreamed of, and the moment to say goodbye to William. It is a resolution may not be the romantic end to his story but a resolution.
This was a great series with dynamic and heart rendering stories of personal struggle and personal triumph. A great book to look at the meaning behind the story, and the motivation of the character.
Episode 1: "Convocation"
by Ellen Kushner,
Convocation is the part of the series that sets up season 2, it gives the background of the story, providing remarkable convolutions of power and prestige. It is the meeting of lords, and traders that will govern the world. Tremontaine is the wife of a lord who is laid low by illness. Her rise to control of the family trust has not been unremarked. She has reestablished the family wealth and has remarkable ability to corner the market on trade.
Tremontaine Season 2 Episode 2: "Old in Mischief"
by Ellen Kushner, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese, Paul Witcover, and Tessa Gratton
The Riverside town is the heartbeat of the world, it is the trade center, the place where boats from foreign lands tie up and empties their wares that are traded throughout the city. The elements of the city leak into Riverside, as the elements of Riverside sleek into the city. The scholars come to earn a little cash, the cutpurses and cutthroats follow the unsuspecting victims to their homes outside the reaches of Riverside. The characters of both parts of the world overlap and overlay each other as hired swords are rubbing shoulders with the lords and ladies.
Fireworks (Tremontaine Season 2 Book 3) Mary Anne Mohanraj
Fireworks of various nature find themselves enraptured by the love and lives of the players in the game. Whether the nobility or the commons their rapturous entanglements make a tapestry of the background of the book. Despite the plans and conundrums of the noble or the common man it is their ignition that brings fireworks to the story. This is the most erotic part of the book so far with the liaisons beginning to come to fruition.
All that Glitters (Tremontaine Season 2 Book 4)
by Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese, Paul Witcover, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner , Tessa Gratton, Mary Anne Mohanraj
Looking into all the artistry and aristocratic comings and goings in the busy and very graphically explicated story. The world of spies and plots has created a remarkable world of desires, and autocratically creators of superiors battles. Although the entertainment of the masses of the aristocracy social world, is sex and violence.
Alive, and Home Here (Tremontaine Season 2 Book 5)
by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Finding little of her mystery thief of the Chocolate stores, Princess Kaab has many indirect lines of investigation. She uses her ability to disguise herself to find out about the comings and goings of the other Kinwiinik families. But even her mission to gain tamales has a cost to her on going tumultuous relationship with Tess.
The comings and goings of the plot has made a tapestry of remarkable mosaic book.
Blood and Silk (Tremontaine Season 2 Episode 6)
by Mary Anne Mohanraj
The plots and schemes are coming to a head. The only solution is to either draw blood or find a way to spin a new plot. Kaab, is losing it, she misses her family but she loves Tess. She has to find a way to bind her two worlds together.
Duchess Diane Tremontaine has a plan, if she can help Kaab find her thief, then maybe she can have more connections to the trade franchise. With that and the agreement of the council to make her the heir of the Tremontain providence she will have control of her future. The only spur in her saddle is the daughter who has betrayed her with her marriage has returned looking for her father.
Esha has found that her partnership with Lionel has late blooming fruit, the way out of her stocker problem is having his protection.
I great chapter in the unfolding story, one that begins to lay the lines of the direction of this remarkable mosaic story.
The Duchess Gambit (Tremontaine #2.7)
by Joel Derfner, Racheline Maltese , Paul Witcover, Mary Anne Mohanraj , Tessa Gratton , Ellen Kushner, Alaya Dawn Johnson
The Duchess is using her skills to manipulate those council members that she has not changed their minds. Using what she has learned is something she could not keep to herself. The Duchess is building her arsenal of support for her bid to be named the heir of Tremontaine duchy. A drunken episode may erod all she has struggled to accomplish, her secrets is out.
Rafe is consolidating his connections to find his lost love, will he be able to find the one place that Duchess Tremontaine hid her husband.
A Rushing of Wings (Tremontaine #2.8)
by Paul Witcover
Its a plan to find his love, a plan to save his loves life, would he risk it all. He needed to use his connections to the country side, to find transport and a place to hide, what he did not count on was how risky it would be to save Will. What really is wrong with Will, is he poisoned or is he crazy?
The Heart A Liability (Tremontaine #2.9)
by Tessa Gratton
This is the point where Arthur realizes that he is the one who gave the secrets of his family and the trade business that he has always despised. He gave it a way for a touch a second of attention from a man who refused his affections.
He has to correct his mistake.
News travels to Duchess Tremontaine that the meeting that will decide her future is sooner than she thought. Only to be eclipse from news about William Tremontaine, and the reader finds that despite all that she has done to hide him away her affection is strong and true, and seeing him in his illness is beyond her tolerance.
This chapter reveals things that have been hidden throughout the series.
The Coming Night (Tremontaine #2.10)
by Joel Derfner
Duchess Tremontaine has foiled the plan of the forces against her. She has captured Rafe and Micah in Highcombe under her control. Using her ability to persuade and manipulate others to make it so her plans come to fruition. Rafe lets the cat out of the bag.
In the Shadow of Riverside (Tremontaine #2.11)
by Tessa Gratton
The plans are laid out, and everyone who has a stake in the game have shown their true colors. Duchess Tremontaine has a solution to her problems. She will keep Micah as house mathematician. She will solve the trade problems with her co-conspirators by getting rid of one or both of the swordsmen (woman) in her way. Everything's coming together but the Dragon who thinks that he has the upper hand, but she has a plan to deal with that too. This is the bloodiest and deadliest chapter in the series. Very dark ending to the sparkles of light in the story.
Can't wait to see how it wraps up.
Smoke and Ashes (Tremontaine #2.12)
by Mary Anne Mohanraj
Through the smoke and the ashes Duchess Tremontaine has found the answer to her problems, if only she could translate what she has.
Vincent is injured and ill, his inflicted cut from the dual has become inflamed and will take his life if he does not have help.
The road home is not always the path we are willing to tread.
Dissolution (Tremontaine #2.13)
by Ellen Kushner (Goodreads Author), Alaya Dawn Johnson (Goodreads Author), Paul Witcover, Racheline Maltese (Goodreads Author), Tessa Gratton (Goodreads Author), Mary Anne Mohanraj (Goodreads Author), Joel Derfner (Goodreads Author)
The final chapter.
Duchess Tremontaine has become the heir apparent, and is able to establish her own line of inheritance and found away to escape being tied to the Dragon. She also knows where William can be safe and care for.
Kaab has awoken to a new world, she is back with her family. She knows she must return to her former life, with Arthur gone she knows that it was an illusion that she would fit in Riverside.
Rafe has all he dreamed of, and the moment to say goodbye to William. It is a resolution may not be the romantic end to his story but a resolution.
This was a great series with dynamic and heart rendering stories of personal struggle and personal triumph. A great book to look at the meaning behind the story, and the motivation of the character.
October 3, 2017
Tremontaine is a prequel to Ellen Kushner’s Riverside books (a series made up of three stand alone novels). However, you don’t have had to have read any of Kushner’s books to enjoy Tremontaine. I do suggest that you start at the beginning of Tremontaine, with season one. If queer fantasy of manners sounds like your thing, you’ll probably enjoy this series.
If your not familiar with Serial Box, they’re a publishing company that releases serialized stories, of which Tremontaine is one. Think of it as written fiction in a format akin to television. Each episode has its own arc, but they flow together to make up a greater, season arc. Hence the large number of authors working on this project. With season one, I sometimes found the changes in styles from one episode to the next jarring, but season two was a lot smoother. I never felt any episodes were clunky, and the writer’s styles felt a lot more consistent. Tremontaine‘s gotten into groove.
Tremontaine follows a cast of characters in an unnamed city, from the scheming noble houses (most notably Tremontaine itself) to merchant families to the slums of Riverside. Diane Duchess of Tremontaine has maneuvered her husband Will out of the way, and his lover Rafe desperately looks to find him. However, Diane isn’t concerned with Rafe. She’s got a whole new plot in mind: getting herself made Duchess of Tremontaine in her own right, without appearing to do so out of an ambition unsuitable for a woman. Meanwhile, Kaab is investigating whose been stealing from her family’s warehouse and feeling increasingly torn between her family and homeland and the desires of her Riverside lover, Tess.
The conflict between Kaab and Tess is trying at times, but at least it feels believable and real, not one of the flimsy miscommunications so often used to cause conflict in fictional romantic relationships. Tess feels like Kaab is putting her second to her family and is unappreciative of all Tess does for her. But Kaab can’t understand why Tess expects her to disregard her own family and responsibility, which are immensely important to her. And Kaab also misses her homeland and culture, especially the food. Tess is never going to leave Riverside for Kaab’s home, and Kaab can never leave her culture behind for Tess. The two struggle to meet in the middle.
To be honest, I’m not super invested in Kaab or Tess. My favorites remain Diane, with all her intricate schemes, and Micah, who has no schemes at all. This season, I actually got to see the two of them interact, and I can’t have enjoyed it more. I also grew fond of a new character, a foreign swordswoman working as a courtesan. I hope to see more of her in season three.
I’m also glad that Tremontaine continues to expand the diversity of the cast and world. The original novel, Swordspoint, was published in the 80’s. While it was groundbreaking for the time, the genre’s come a long way since then, and the book’s notably lacking in racial or gender diversity. In it’s first season, Tremontaine introduced Kaab and her family, merchants from a Meso-American inspired culture who supply the fine chocolates the nobles drink (warning: this series will make you crave chocolate). In season two, Tremontaine continues to add characters of color, and it also introduces a nonbinary supporting character. While the character has a small role, I’m very happy that Tremontaine is expanding the queer representation this world offers. It’s always been focused on lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters without any hint that trans characters existed, so I’m glad that I can finally call this series “LGBT” without any reservations.
Pretty soon the future, I’ll be reviewing season three on a per episode basis. And I can’t wait to get started! Season two was such fun, and I can’t wait to see what the next season has in store.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
If your not familiar with Serial Box, they’re a publishing company that releases serialized stories, of which Tremontaine is one. Think of it as written fiction in a format akin to television. Each episode has its own arc, but they flow together to make up a greater, season arc. Hence the large number of authors working on this project. With season one, I sometimes found the changes in styles from one episode to the next jarring, but season two was a lot smoother. I never felt any episodes were clunky, and the writer’s styles felt a lot more consistent. Tremontaine‘s gotten into groove.
Tremontaine follows a cast of characters in an unnamed city, from the scheming noble houses (most notably Tremontaine itself) to merchant families to the slums of Riverside. Diane Duchess of Tremontaine has maneuvered her husband Will out of the way, and his lover Rafe desperately looks to find him. However, Diane isn’t concerned with Rafe. She’s got a whole new plot in mind: getting herself made Duchess of Tremontaine in her own right, without appearing to do so out of an ambition unsuitable for a woman. Meanwhile, Kaab is investigating whose been stealing from her family’s warehouse and feeling increasingly torn between her family and homeland and the desires of her Riverside lover, Tess.
The conflict between Kaab and Tess is trying at times, but at least it feels believable and real, not one of the flimsy miscommunications so often used to cause conflict in fictional romantic relationships. Tess feels like Kaab is putting her second to her family and is unappreciative of all Tess does for her. But Kaab can’t understand why Tess expects her to disregard her own family and responsibility, which are immensely important to her. And Kaab also misses her homeland and culture, especially the food. Tess is never going to leave Riverside for Kaab’s home, and Kaab can never leave her culture behind for Tess. The two struggle to meet in the middle.
To be honest, I’m not super invested in Kaab or Tess. My favorites remain Diane, with all her intricate schemes, and Micah, who has no schemes at all. This season, I actually got to see the two of them interact, and I can’t have enjoyed it more. I also grew fond of a new character, a foreign swordswoman working as a courtesan. I hope to see more of her in season three.
I’m also glad that Tremontaine continues to expand the diversity of the cast and world. The original novel, Swordspoint, was published in the 80’s. While it was groundbreaking for the time, the genre’s come a long way since then, and the book’s notably lacking in racial or gender diversity. In it’s first season, Tremontaine introduced Kaab and her family, merchants from a Meso-American inspired culture who supply the fine chocolates the nobles drink (warning: this series will make you crave chocolate). In season two, Tremontaine continues to add characters of color, and it also introduces a nonbinary supporting character. While the character has a small role, I’m very happy that Tremontaine is expanding the queer representation this world offers. It’s always been focused on lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters without any hint that trans characters existed, so I’m glad that I can finally call this series “LGBT” without any reservations.
Pretty soon the future, I’ll be reviewing season three on a per episode basis. And I can’t wait to get started! Season two was such fun, and I can’t wait to see what the next season has in store.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
June 8, 2018
A return to the world of Riverside. Lots of melodrama, intrigue, chocolate, and a little fencing. Slow in the middle but with a solid tragic ending. Some of the suspense is lost due to this being a prequel, so you know where certain characters have to end up, in order to appear in Swordspoint.
August 31, 2017
"Tremontaine: Season Two" is a collection of chapters written by different authors under the auspices of the series originators, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman, published serially. Although they might not technically be short stories, in an anthology, I marked this as both because of the collaborative author situation.
"Tremontaine" is a prequel to Kushner and Sherman's "Riverside" series (3 novels plus the Tremontaine serials), which spans generations in an unnamed fancy rich city and the slum (that used to be a fancy rich city) bordering a river. The serials focus on Diane, Duchess Tremontaine, who is a pretty major player in Riverside. This tells the story of where she came from, and how and why she seized the power she had. It's a marvelous exploration of how a woman in a society where women are meant to be nothing more than ornamental can wind up influencing and controlling that same society.
I really enjoyed the first season of the serial but didn't find this one quite as sparkling, although Micah remains delightful. I still enjoyed it and am glad I bought and read it, and am looking forward to the next season.
One thing that's notable is Kushner's editorial chops. She manages to take different authors with different voices and make a very cohesive narrative with none of the jarring shift from author to author that happens sometimes. Season one was the same.
The Riverside series is incredibly bisexual where men are concerned, which is a little odd because Kushner and Sherman are women who are married to each other (they are partners AND they are partners). Dudes bang dudes left, right, and center... it's an accepted facet of society. It's different for women, socially. They are expected to come to their marital beds untouched virgins, and be faithful to their husbands. If they are lucky enough to be widowed they can take lovers if they are very secretive about it, and of course some women have affairs anyway, but they tend to be with men. It's hinted that Lady Kathrine and Artemesia have a romantic relationships, chronologically later in the series, but it's not at all explicit in the text (Lady K does seem to have the hots for ladies in general, or is she just going through puberty?). Maybe they're just Green Gabling it up, so to speak. "Tremontaine" seasons 1 and 2 add some explicit lady on lady loving, though, which makes up for the previous lack of it.
"Tremontaine" is a prequel to Kushner and Sherman's "Riverside" series (3 novels plus the Tremontaine serials), which spans generations in an unnamed fancy rich city and the slum (that used to be a fancy rich city) bordering a river. The serials focus on Diane, Duchess Tremontaine, who is a pretty major player in Riverside. This tells the story of where she came from, and how and why she seized the power she had. It's a marvelous exploration of how a woman in a society where women are meant to be nothing more than ornamental can wind up influencing and controlling that same society.
I really enjoyed the first season of the serial but didn't find this one quite as sparkling, although Micah remains delightful. I still enjoyed it and am glad I bought and read it, and am looking forward to the next season.
One thing that's notable is Kushner's editorial chops. She manages to take different authors with different voices and make a very cohesive narrative with none of the jarring shift from author to author that happens sometimes. Season one was the same.
The Riverside series is incredibly bisexual where men are concerned, which is a little odd because Kushner and Sherman are women who are married to each other (they are partners AND they are partners). Dudes bang dudes left, right, and center... it's an accepted facet of society. It's different for women, socially. They are expected to come to their marital beds untouched virgins, and be faithful to their husbands. If they are lucky enough to be widowed they can take lovers if they are very secretive about it, and of course some women have affairs anyway, but they tend to be with men. It's hinted that Lady Kathrine and Artemesia have a romantic relationships, chronologically later in the series, but it's not at all explicit in the text (Lady K does seem to have the hots for ladies in general, or is she just going through puberty?). Maybe they're just Green Gabling it up, so to speak. "Tremontaine" seasons 1 and 2 add some explicit lady on lady loving, though, which makes up for the previous lack of it.
January 15, 2018
this second season of Tremontaine has a somewhat different set of contributors, although Ellen Kushner is still in command in the first and last chapters. the blending of writing styles is proceeding nicely, though the fantasy of manners occasionally falls to the level of straight regency romance with a side of melodrama, not really my cup of tea. plus side, one minor addition also adds a trans character to the mix, and there's a great new Asian character startup. all the characters are strong, and the relationship between the villain and the autistic mathematician is rather priceless. although the villain remains a villain, in one subplot you end up cheering for her just the same. there is considerable growth in the characters, and quite a lot happens, a little piled up into the ending, which moves the plot and the relationships considerably forward. my favourite part is that Riverside itself becomes a coherent almost-speaking character at this point too. i look forward to season 3, installments of which are now apparently in progress on the net for a small fee per installment, and audio editions of chapters are also available; altogether an interesting publishing experience on the part of Serial Box. but me, i'll wait (impatiently) for the complete season to collate, cause i prefer to binge my books. and meanwhile, i'll reread the Swordspoint trilogy, which chronologically comes later.
May 30, 2018
Tremontaine: the Complete Season 2 takes of where Season 1 left us and offers more of the same. This is mostly a good thing, as Season 1 was a ton of fun. The first season introduced a wonderful set of characters and it was a pleasure to spend some more time with them, even if the second season did not gave most of them a lot of new things to do.
In this second season, Diane (duchess Tremontaine)'s storyline stood out as tremendous fun, but the storylines involving the other characters, which all retreaded a lot of ground already covered in the first season, were less powerful. Overall the second season was enjoyable, but it lacked the freshness and the strong twists and turns of the previous season.
On the plus side, this second season was a little more smooth than the first. The first season at times suffered from a few jarring inconsistencies between different episodes that highlighted that the different chunks of story were written by different writers (I especially remember Ixkaab Balam's intelligence and competency fluctuating quite a bit over the episodes and her recalling very different (far less sensible) motivations for her actions in the first few episodes later on in the season). During the second season there weren't any such conflicts that I noticed.
In this second season, Diane (duchess Tremontaine)'s storyline stood out as tremendous fun, but the storylines involving the other characters, which all retreaded a lot of ground already covered in the first season, were less powerful. Overall the second season was enjoyable, but it lacked the freshness and the strong twists and turns of the previous season.
On the plus side, this second season was a little more smooth than the first. The first season at times suffered from a few jarring inconsistencies between different episodes that highlighted that the different chunks of story were written by different writers (I especially remember Ixkaab Balam's intelligence and competency fluctuating quite a bit over the episodes and her recalling very different (far less sensible) motivations for her actions in the first few episodes later on in the season). During the second season there weren't any such conflicts that I noticed.
August 14, 2017
Simultaneously tremendously fun and beginning to frustrate me with the (very TV series-like) lack of resolutions. While I enjoy the characters I feel very of them have clear aims anymore - there's no grand plan or endgame (the Dutchess of Tremontaine's plotting notwithstanding) that anyone is really striving for. It's interesting to see how engaging the series is despite that quibble, and I'm looking forward to the new season this fall.
November 19, 2017
What if your favorite queer writers wrote fan fiction for one of your favorite fantasies, but along a story arc sketched out by the author? Well, it's here, it's queer, there's a genderqueer character, it's Tremontaine the serial, Season Two. If you liked Swordspoint, or if you're a fan of Maryanne Mohanraj, Tessa Gratton, etc., as well as of Ellen Kushner, run, do not walk....
June 1, 2018
oh gosh, forgot how much i love Esha and Kaab and Diane, can't wait for more
August 5, 2017
I devoured the first series and then double-devoured the second! GIMME SEASON THREE, STAT!
June 25, 2020
Dianne, the duchess is looking for a new secretary, a new lover, and probably a new husband… although she likes being duchess and she gets the title by marriage, so the duke will live, for the moment. She has a plan to make an application to the council to claim the Duchy from her own family history. But first she has to get them all to vote for her.
Rafe is trying to find the missing duke, his lover, who has been declared mad and sent away. Meanwhile he works for his father, and is annoyed that the warehouse stock numbers don’t match the actual stock.
Mica is still pretending to be a boy and a maths student, but her friends are leaving her more on her own, which is probably not a good idea.
Tess the Hand had to let her lover Kaab move in when she left her family, but for Kaab, it’s a ruse. [as IF she’d ever give up her family?]
Arthur Chel, desperate to fit in in this new land, sells his family trade secrets too cheaply.
Vincent Applethorpe, the swordsman, is recognised by the new ambassador in town. [oh now… an old love of his - you are the man who broke him, his servant accuses.]
Dianne meets a tea drinking female sword wielder and lady companion who seems to have her own agenda. They have shared a man or two.
Kaab is trying to find the thieves who are stealing their stock; her family status as First will be lost if they cannot solve the mystery.
Local Riverside thugs, Florian and Shade pressure Tess to do some forging work for them and both Vincent and kaab are too busy to defend her.
Again, everyone is bisexual!
I haven’t read Riverside, so I have no clue where everyone ends up or IF they make it to the end; this series is a prequel. But these are always entertaining.
And curse you for making me like Dianne for the way she handles Micah. Grrr
4 stars
Rafe is trying to find the missing duke, his lover, who has been declared mad and sent away. Meanwhile he works for his father, and is annoyed that the warehouse stock numbers don’t match the actual stock.
Mica is still pretending to be a boy and a maths student, but her friends are leaving her more on her own, which is probably not a good idea.
Tess the Hand had to let her lover Kaab move in when she left her family, but for Kaab, it’s a ruse. [as IF she’d ever give up her family?]
Arthur Chel, desperate to fit in in this new land, sells his family trade secrets too cheaply.
Vincent Applethorpe, the swordsman, is recognised by the new ambassador in town. [oh now… an old love of his - you are the man who broke him, his servant accuses.]
Dianne meets a tea drinking female sword wielder and lady companion who seems to have her own agenda. They have shared a man or two.
Kaab is trying to find the thieves who are stealing their stock; her family status as First will be lost if they cannot solve the mystery.
Local Riverside thugs, Florian and Shade pressure Tess to do some forging work for them and both Vincent and kaab are too busy to defend her.
Again, everyone is bisexual!
I haven’t read Riverside, so I have no clue where everyone ends up or IF they make it to the end; this series is a prequel. But these are always entertaining.
And curse you for making me like Dianne for the way she handles Micah. Grrr
4 stars
July 7, 2023
Not quite as good as the first season. The writing quality isn't at the same level: in particular some of the authors seemed to struggle with the right voice for Micah (autistic isn't the same as stupid and I think the character--despite being amazing overall-was short-changed in a few chapters) and Kaab (her relationship with Tess seemed to really stain the ability of some of the writers to render in an authentic fashion). And the overall main A-plot with Diane felt like it wrapped up with too much fortuitous slight-of-hand vs the deep intrigue we've come to expect from Riverside (maybe forgivable since this is still her proto-stage vs the fully formed version in Swordspoint but it still didn't feel of a piece). But those are minor quibbles when set against how enjoyable it is to spend more time in this city.
February 3, 2020
This is really astonishingly good, especially for a shared universe. It's well-realized, the world and characters are engaging, and the standard of writing is high overall.
Nothing can be allowed to stand in my way as I race to download Seasons Three and Four, particularly to see what happens next to Shade and Florian, whom I've fallen love with despite their villainy.
Nothing can be allowed to stand in my way as I race to download Seasons Three and Four, particularly to see what happens next to Shade and Florian, whom I've fallen love with despite their villainy.
October 12, 2018
Broad, textured, interwoven
Managed to be a swashbuckling series without ever traveling long distances in water. Shares moments with renfaires, the reign of the sun king, Shogun, all woven into a fine intersectionality.
Managed to be a swashbuckling series without ever traveling long distances in water. Shares moments with renfaires, the reign of the sun king, Shogun, all woven into a fine intersectionality.
November 20, 2020
Very fun! Feels less like an novel than the first one, more like a TV show, which is part of the intent of the experiment, so that's not a bad thing. Highly amusing and romantic, light, but deceptively simple, like a soufflé.
September 4, 2018
I just want someone, anyone, to get a happy ending and I'm not liking my chances.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2022
The story is tighter in season two and our cast of voice actors, particularly Nick Sullivan, really give the audio edition life.
September 21, 2020
Another fun and refreshingly gay genre read, though not as compellingly dramatic or romantic as the first Tremontaine book. Foreign trader and budding swordswoman Kaab struggles to reconcile her diplomatic and filial duties with her passion for Riverside forger, Tess, who wants more of Kaab than she can give, and whose boobs are described just a little too often in just a few too many tonally incongruous scenes for this reader. After thoroughly incapacitating her husband with regular dosings of fantasy ayahuasca, razor sharp Diane Tremontaine has him shipped off to the countryside and sets about insinuating her way into the hearts and minds of all the noblemen she can manage, angling to become Duchess Tremontaine in her own right. Lovelorn Rafe Fenton abandons his scholarly pursuits to join his family’s business, hoping through money and status to rescue his beloved Duke Tremontaine from his wife’s machinations. And relieved of Rafe’s grand academic ambitions, guileless autistic Micah makes a name for herself at the university.
It’s the sweet, selfless friendship between Rafe and Micah that forms for me the compelling heart of this sprawling, twisting story, which broadens the tight ensemble of the first Tremontaine season and seems chiefly interested in its portrait of the lawless Riverside ghetto. Unfortunately, I found most of that portrait pretty juvenile and trite. Maybe the comparably shallow, aestheticised treatment of the upper-class Hill in the first book didn’t irritate me as much because I’ve never been rich and don’t care for rich people, I don’t know. Either way, the mix of romantic period poverty and vague, unresolved collectivist sentimentality didn’t do much for me, and by the end had me wincing with embarrassment. I also found it difficult to be very interested in most of the newly introduced or newly centred characters, particularly master swordsman Vincent Applethorpe, whose romantic subplot seemed poorly integrated with the rest of the narrative and whose philosophical devotion to the sword was maybe the most egregiously, exhaustingly trite part of this often very trite book. The cartoonishly horny and evil Florian and Shade, also, were so poorly drawn and on the nose as villains that it was sometimes difficult to listen to their segments of the story.
HOWEVER. I know I’m not exactly the target demographic for this series, since I generally have little patience with either urban fantasy or Victorian swashbucklers. And having taken this into account, I still really enjoyed it. Diane’s ruthless politicking is always delightful, and seeing her interact, finally, with other women who understand and respect her, is extremely satisfying; Rafe’s helpless devotion to her sacrificed husband is sweet and romantic, though I do wish he’d had a little more to do through the first half of this book. And whatever complaints I have about it, the fact remains that I listened to this entire 20-hour-long book in a day. So, you know. On we go!
It’s the sweet, selfless friendship between Rafe and Micah that forms for me the compelling heart of this sprawling, twisting story, which broadens the tight ensemble of the first Tremontaine season and seems chiefly interested in its portrait of the lawless Riverside ghetto. Unfortunately, I found most of that portrait pretty juvenile and trite. Maybe the comparably shallow, aestheticised treatment of the upper-class Hill in the first book didn’t irritate me as much because I’ve never been rich and don’t care for rich people, I don’t know. Either way, the mix of romantic period poverty and vague, unresolved collectivist sentimentality didn’t do much for me, and by the end had me wincing with embarrassment. I also found it difficult to be very interested in most of the newly introduced or newly centred characters, particularly master swordsman Vincent Applethorpe, whose romantic subplot seemed poorly integrated with the rest of the narrative and whose philosophical devotion to the sword was maybe the most egregiously, exhaustingly trite part of this often very trite book. The cartoonishly horny and evil Florian and Shade, also, were so poorly drawn and on the nose as villains that it was sometimes difficult to listen to their segments of the story.
HOWEVER. I know I’m not exactly the target demographic for this series, since I generally have little patience with either urban fantasy or Victorian swashbucklers. And having taken this into account, I still really enjoyed it. Diane’s ruthless politicking is always delightful, and seeing her interact, finally, with other women who understand and respect her, is extremely satisfying; Rafe’s helpless devotion to her sacrificed husband is sweet and romantic, though I do wish he’d had a little more to do through the first half of this book. And whatever complaints I have about it, the fact remains that I listened to this entire 20-hour-long book in a day. So, you know. On we go!
April 9, 2017
Amazing, fun, and full of so many great characters it's hard to pick a favorite!
Read
June 5, 2018If hubris had effected the downfall of some of history's most famous charlatans, Diane comforted herself with the fact that history would never, of course, record the lies and outrageous dares of its more successful players. [loc. 2644]
The cast of Tremontaine reassembles, configurations and allegiances still shifting. In the City -- whether Hill, University or Riverside -- nothing is safe: nothing stays the same.
Rafe Fenton is desperate to find his lover William, who is imprisoned at Highcombe by his loving wife Diane. The family ledgers, which Rafe is examining in an excess of filial duty, are distractingly perplexing: the figures never seem to add up quite right. Perhaps he could engage Micah's help? But Micah (who is delightfully unaware that several of her closest acquaintances think she's a boy) has thrown herself with gusto into the life of a mathematics student.
Ixkaab, meanwhile, is still deeply in love with Tess (whose fair skin is likened by Kaab to ant eggs). But Tess is increasingly alienated by Kaab's devotion to her family, and Kaab's habit of secrecy -- also a family trait.
New characters are introduced, too: an exotic courtesan who is in no way demeaned by her liaisons; a charming ambassador who secretly mourns his lost lover; and the differently-charming Florian, whose lover Shade is very much present, homicidal and prone to theft, scheming and backstabbing.
And as ever at the heart of everything is Diane, who has ambitions to become Duchess Tremontaine in her own right rather than simply because her ailing husband is Duke. No woman has ever held such a high position. Place your bets.
There are a number of startling developments at the end of Season 2: luckily, I was able to embarque instantly upon Season 3 ...
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