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The Maquisarde
Near the end of the 21st century, the murder of her husband and daughter by terrorists drives Ebriel Serique to venture beyond her charmed life to confront the truth about the world. And while she never would have suspected it, Ebriel discovers that she has the courage for anything--even violence.
385 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Louise Marley
37 books130 followersLouise Marley, a former concert and opera singer, has published nineteen novels. As Louise Marley, she writes fantasy and science fiction, including THE TERRORISTS OF IRUSTAN and THE CHILD GODDESS. Writing as Cate Campbell, she published the historical trilogy BENEDICT HALL.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 5, 2010
This book was a nice surprise. I was just scanning the sci-fi shelves at may favorite local bookstore, auntie's, when I saw this one, with a sticker denoting it was an autographed copy. When I looked closer, I could see that there was a woman on the cover (and not the stereotypical fantasy heroine, straight out of Wagner). Then I read the synopsis and had to pick it up!
The book is set in the not-too-distant future, where the world has basically been divided into the haves and the have-nots, due to a combination of economic crisis, wars and disease. The haves are loosely organized into an association of nations, and they have drawn a line in the sand, as it were, separating themselves from the poor countries. Those who live in the protected area live much like most of the current first-world nations. Those outside the line, live like the worst of the current third world. There is one small catch, however, for those living in the protected area - the government censors news and controls a global police/army force that maintains border safety (aka kills those who try to enter the protected area, or those who are deemed 'enemies' of the state).
Our heroine, Ebriel, is a conert flutist living in Paris with her husband and daughter - safe, secure and not really concerned about what goes on "out there". However, events occur which cause her to closely examine her government, her beliefs and her very self. She ends up connecting with the resistance - the Maqui, or the Chain - and her world is turned upside down.
I really enjoyed the portrayal of this character, and how she changed throughout the book. She is very believable, and doesn't come across as larger than life. I could see her as a real person. And it's nice to have a mature protagonist, and not th typical teen or twenty-something. :-)
While there were a couple of things I could predict, there were many plot points that I didn't expect, including the ending, which is extremely realistic, and not a sappy, story-book ending (small spoiler: but don't worry - it doesn't have a SAD ending - it just doesn't take the easy, predictable way out.)
In general, this didn't feely "science fiction-y" - the characters seemed real, the world seemed real, the story was believable. I think that even those who don't think they like science fiction would like this book.
The author has written other award-winning books, and I will definitely be on the lookout to pick them up!
The book is set in the not-too-distant future, where the world has basically been divided into the haves and the have-nots, due to a combination of economic crisis, wars and disease. The haves are loosely organized into an association of nations, and they have drawn a line in the sand, as it were, separating themselves from the poor countries. Those who live in the protected area live much like most of the current first-world nations. Those outside the line, live like the worst of the current third world. There is one small catch, however, for those living in the protected area - the government censors news and controls a global police/army force that maintains border safety (aka kills those who try to enter the protected area, or those who are deemed 'enemies' of the state).
Our heroine, Ebriel, is a conert flutist living in Paris with her husband and daughter - safe, secure and not really concerned about what goes on "out there". However, events occur which cause her to closely examine her government, her beliefs and her very self. She ends up connecting with the resistance - the Maqui, or the Chain - and her world is turned upside down.
I really enjoyed the portrayal of this character, and how she changed throughout the book. She is very believable, and doesn't come across as larger than life. I could see her as a real person. And it's nice to have a mature protagonist, and not th typical teen or twenty-something. :-)
While there were a couple of things I could predict, there were many plot points that I didn't expect, including the ending, which is extremely realistic, and not a sappy, story-book ending (small spoiler: but don't worry - it doesn't have a SAD ending - it just doesn't take the easy, predictable way out.)
In general, this didn't feely "science fiction-y" - the characters seemed real, the world seemed real, the story was believable. I think that even those who don't think they like science fiction would like this book.
The author has written other award-winning books, and I will definitely be on the lookout to pick them up!
September 13, 2008
Ebriel Serique is living a life of luxury in late 21st century Paris. That is, until her husband and young daughter are murdered on the family yacht, supposedly by terrorists. It was in the Mediterranean, allegedly on the wrong side of the Line of Partition. Parts of the world have been ravaged by various biological plagues, so no chance are taken. The yacht is destroyed, and the bodies are cremated.
After another worldwide economic collapse, the International Cooperative Alliance (InCo) rules what has been called the “First World” (North America, Europe, Russia and Japan). The rest of the world is on the other side of the Line of Partition; no contact is permitted between them. Ebriel abandons her life of privilege and goes to InCo headquarters in Geneva to see General Glass, the InCo ruler. She is forced to publicly dig out the ID chip in her wrist, that all InCo citizens have, to get a chance to see General Glass, who treats her like an insect. She is sent to an isolated, but luxurious, prison, where she is sedated most of the time.
Ebriel’s outburst is shown on the underground news nets, not on the official ones, and is noticed by a man named Ethan Fleck and a group called The Chain. Suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis, Fleck and others live on what was to be an orbiting hotel. They keep out of InCo’s way by giving any inventions or bits of technology they develop. The Chain is a resistance group whose purpose is to pick up young people from the poor part of the world, bring them to the hotel, teach them things like proper hygiene and nutrition, then send them back home to teach others. Ebriel agrees to join the Chain for the express purpose of killing General Glass. Later, when she gets her chance to do it, she finds that she just can’t pull the trigger.
James Bull is a Blackfoot Indian from Montana, and a loyal member of InCo security. He is part of the security detail the day that Ebriel almost kills General Glass. Knowing that she isn’t a real terrorist, James does some digging in the InCo archives and finds that the official story concerning the deaths of Ebriel’s husband and daughter has little to do with the truth. They fall in love and he saves her life, more than once.
This book is excellent. It’s a tale of one person finding out what they are made of on the inside. It’s interesting, and plausible, and really well done.
After another worldwide economic collapse, the International Cooperative Alliance (InCo) rules what has been called the “First World” (North America, Europe, Russia and Japan). The rest of the world is on the other side of the Line of Partition; no contact is permitted between them. Ebriel abandons her life of privilege and goes to InCo headquarters in Geneva to see General Glass, the InCo ruler. She is forced to publicly dig out the ID chip in her wrist, that all InCo citizens have, to get a chance to see General Glass, who treats her like an insect. She is sent to an isolated, but luxurious, prison, where she is sedated most of the time.
Ebriel’s outburst is shown on the underground news nets, not on the official ones, and is noticed by a man named Ethan Fleck and a group called The Chain. Suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis, Fleck and others live on what was to be an orbiting hotel. They keep out of InCo’s way by giving any inventions or bits of technology they develop. The Chain is a resistance group whose purpose is to pick up young people from the poor part of the world, bring them to the hotel, teach them things like proper hygiene and nutrition, then send them back home to teach others. Ebriel agrees to join the Chain for the express purpose of killing General Glass. Later, when she gets her chance to do it, she finds that she just can’t pull the trigger.
James Bull is a Blackfoot Indian from Montana, and a loyal member of InCo security. He is part of the security detail the day that Ebriel almost kills General Glass. Knowing that she isn’t a real terrorist, James does some digging in the InCo archives and finds that the official story concerning the deaths of Ebriel’s husband and daughter has little to do with the truth. They fall in love and he saves her life, more than once.
This book is excellent. It’s a tale of one person finding out what they are made of on the inside. It’s interesting, and plausible, and really well done.
July 30, 2008
Wow! Marley takes her characters through hell and back and transform them beautifully. Best book I've read for a while.
February 12, 2009
This was a fun read. The Maquisarde is a noble renegade.
June 11, 2011
Bought for $1 at Dollar General. Pleasant surprise. Very fine work. Reminded me of Ursala LeGuin.
October 8, 2010
Grew on my as I read it. Slow to start I think.
April 6, 2026
I have been a fan of Louise Marley since reading The Glass Harmonica years ago. I'm glad I found this book. It was outstanding science fiction, rebellion, characters, world-building, and how it was told. One of my favorite aspects of a well-told story is watching the main character grow and change through the book. In this case, it's Ebriel, a rather famous French flutist in a prestigious Paris orchestra, who has her cozy life ripped away from her and no one will listen to her. She protests, is put away in a sanitarium, escapes with the help of a resistance group. She learns to how to survive and be stronger than she thought she could.
You definitely have to read this book to appreciate what Ebriel goes through. It's science fiction that is easily read, it's not heavy tech, it just happens to happen in the future. A sort of dystopian future where the powerful have the best life and will do anything to keep it that way. Then there are the resistance people who want life to be better for all. It's a lot like WWII and the Maquis. Named for the tough plant life along the Mediterranean coast that withstands the harshest conditions.
I feel a tattoo idea coming on.
I can absolutely recommend this book and author.
You definitely have to read this book to appreciate what Ebriel goes through. It's science fiction that is easily read, it's not heavy tech, it just happens to happen in the future. A sort of dystopian future where the powerful have the best life and will do anything to keep it that way. Then there are the resistance people who want life to be better for all. It's a lot like WWII and the Maquis. Named for the tough plant life along the Mediterranean coast that withstands the harshest conditions.
I feel a tattoo idea coming on.
I can absolutely recommend this book and author.
October 31, 2021
I am going through a phase of rereading books that I own (and have owned for many years). Some have stood the test of time and will remain on my shelves or be donated for some else to enjoy.
I enjoyed this when I read it almost 20 years ago but appreciated it much more with this reading. It seems disturbingly prescient of a world divided into haves and have-nots that was precipitated by a pandemic, economic collapse and fear/ignorance of others. In the middle of the upheaval, a despot controls the information and the borders. Ebriel was a “have” until her family was destroyed. Her attempt to find information and justice takes her to the world of the “have-nots”. The book is about Ebriel’s journey but the book is full of characters that make you ache and think carefully about the world.
I enjoyed this when I read it almost 20 years ago but appreciated it much more with this reading. It seems disturbingly prescient of a world divided into haves and have-nots that was precipitated by a pandemic, economic collapse and fear/ignorance of others. In the middle of the upheaval, a despot controls the information and the borders. Ebriel was a “have” until her family was destroyed. Her attempt to find information and justice takes her to the world of the “have-nots”. The book is about Ebriel’s journey but the book is full of characters that make you ache and think carefully about the world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2020
A century from now, a French flautist tries to solve the murder of her family by terrorists.
March 9, 2017
It has been years since I have been so emotionally invested in a story. This made me laugh, cry, it made me feel sick and it made me feel overjoyed. Marley has painted a beautiful picture with this one and I am both sad and relieved that it is now over. I can see this being one i would go back to read again, maybe in a couple of years.
February 26, 2008
I had not been exceptionally impressed with the Singers of Nevya series by Marley, which is one reason I didn’t read others of hers as I saw them coming on the market. After The Child Goddess, though, I checked to see what else she had published, and found one of those titles, The Maquisarde at the library. Speed read through it in one evening. It was enjoyable, but ultimately, not well-resolved, I thought – in fact, it felt as though it was the first book in a series, although I see no evidence from Marley’s web site that there are other related titles in the works. The main story line was about a woman whose husband and child are killed, and who is driven by the desire for revenge to join a resistance movement. The emotional drive of it actually reminded me quite a bit of Iris Johansen’s book "The Ugly Duckling", although the protagonist of The Maquisarde was most definitely not an ugly duckling. Perhaps I couldn’t get into it because revenge as a motive for functioning doesn’t resonate with me. Midway through the book, the revenge story turns into a love story, and the story really went downhill from there as far as I was concerned. There was a subplot about a young Hindu woman who is rescued from her husband’s funeral pyre; she turns out to be brilliant, but autistic, and the parts of the book that deal with her struggle to function and with the role she takes within the resistance community were very interesting. But that story, like the story of the protagonist after she finds love again, is left hanging. Perhaps the fact that protagonist finds love again would be enough for a romance novel, but it wasn’t enough for this story – so for me this book was ultimately unsatisfying.
April 5, 2013
This book was a pleasant surprise. I picked it up used for only a few dollars to satisfy a craving I'd been having lately for science fiction. The description on the back was nothing special, nor was the first chapter or so, but yet, I had a -feeling-, so I grabbed it anyway. To be honest, I expected it to be nothing more than a forgettable, 3-star story at the most--yeah, oops!
Most of the characters (but not all--I'm looking at you, Ty!) are well-developed, diverse, interesting, and overall likeable. Ebriel in particular is a very well-done protagonist--she's strong and badass in her own way, yet (thankfully) never ends up turning into the super-ultra-mega terminator action hero I was partially expecting, given the story premise. She takes a pretty wild ride through hell and back, though.
The world building was also extremely well-done. The author paints a vivid (and quite plausible) image of the future, and best of all, it's done in a way that never once leaves you feeling like the victim of a massive info dump.
So yeah, great book overall. If I could, I'd actually rate this closer to 4.5/5, but alas, General Glass (the antagonist) was a bit cartoonish at times.
Most of the characters (but not all--I'm looking at you, Ty!) are well-developed, diverse, interesting, and overall likeable. Ebriel in particular is a very well-done protagonist--she's strong and badass in her own way, yet (thankfully) never ends up turning into the super-ultra-mega terminator action hero I was partially expecting, given the story premise. She takes a pretty wild ride through hell and back, though.
The world building was also extremely well-done. The author paints a vivid (and quite plausible) image of the future, and best of all, it's done in a way that never once leaves you feeling like the victim of a massive info dump.
So yeah, great book overall. If I could, I'd actually rate this closer to 4.5/5, but alas, General Glass (the antagonist) was a bit cartoonish at times.
October 13, 2007
This is the 3rd Marley I've read in a short span of time. Enjoyment has decreased with each book.
This one sets up an interesting future of Earth, filled with chaos and politics (complete with the blind privileged and the lying bastard leader). Lies come too close, privilege doesn't protect, and everything comes crashing down. So far so good.
The ending doesn't fit this world. It's sugar coated saccharine with a grafted-on love story that just doesn't work. The 2 aren't compatible; they're "love" is told, not shown. The end of the action is anti-climactic and feels like a cheat. The dénouement "twist" is foreshadowed with the sledgehammer of subtlety and frankly stinks.
This one sets up an interesting future of Earth, filled with chaos and politics (complete with the blind privileged and the lying bastard leader). Lies come too close, privilege doesn't protect, and everything comes crashing down. So far so good.
The ending doesn't fit this world. It's sugar coated saccharine with a grafted-on love story that just doesn't work. The 2 aren't compatible; they're "love" is told, not shown. The end of the action is anti-climactic and feels like a cheat. The dénouement "twist" is foreshadowed with the sledgehammer of subtlety and frankly stinks.
September 27, 2012
Picked this one up at a used book sale. Easy read. Interesting world created by Marley. Straight forward plot. I figured out early on that Ebriel and James hooked up. Oops! Is that a spoiler? Not sure about the world spanning solar powered helicopters. Seems like a uncomfortable way to travel.
September 2, 2010
This was excellent, but the ending was a little bit of a letdown.
April 6, 2016
Although ultimately a romance, I enjoyed this science fiction story. It's focus is on a grieving artist and lost children who claim their place in the world and that gives it humanity and strength.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews