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The Amazons Quartet #2
Bound the Restless Wave
The Queer "Left Behind Continues"--The suspense mounts in the second volume of this acclaimed new series by the bestselling author of The Queen's Slave Woman series. In Book 1, Strong to Save, we met the dynamic Naval officer Kris Nordstrom, forced to resign when Christian and Muslim fundamentalists join forces to capture the White House and make their anti-woman anti-queer agenda law. While Kris vacations with her sister's family and learned her teenaged niece is also a lesbian, Kris' friend, Andrea Santiago, secretly in love with her, plots a way to escape to the still liberal West Coast and take Kris along, hoping propinquity will lead to passion. In Bound the Restless Wave, the two women finally set sail together to California and become lovers. They meet Nicole Gervais and become a triad. Soon the three are making plans and joining forces with other women, determined to make a new life outside the U.S. None of then know that it is a decision that will land Kris and Andrea in deadly danger and lead to hairs-breath escapes, car chased, helicopter rescues, and intense shootouts. Meanwhile, Kris' nieces, Danielle and Carole, are forced to pretend to believe in the new fundamentalism, while trying desperately to find a way out of the clutches of their cult-like church and easily-led parents. A Queer counterpart to the Left Behind series, this is a series no liberal should miss. Cover: Mia Jennings Mia@somtel.net
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First published June 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 28, 2024
3 stars. Not as intriguing as the first book. The plot seemed to be tossed to the side for sex scenes and while the sex scenes were good, I wanted more of the interesting plot that book one had. I didn’t hate this but I really hope the next book gets back to the action.
April 15, 2016
This is the second novel in Susanna Valent's "Amazons' Quartet" series, and although a small blurb is provided at the beginning of the book, it will make little sense without reading the first novel. I would suggest the new reader starts with "Strong to Save"; be warned that this review will contain spoilers for that volume.
The cast and crew introduced in the first novel are back, and in this short (short) second book, Valent continues the themes introduced in "Strong to Save". Against a backdrop formed from the relentless pressure on the rights of women, Kris escapes dry land for the pleasures of the open sea. Andy, who has loved her from afar for years, joins her crew and together they navigate down the East coast of the United States on their journey through the Panama canal to San Francisco.
In the meantime the Nordstrom sisters - prisoners in their own home and at the mercy of their conservative parents - perform their roles like puppets as they wait against hope to be saved. As an aside, once again we see nothing like a mass protest or disobedience movement from women themselves; instead we get isolated stories from exceptional women, with the only logical inference being that the average woman is not strong or capable enough to save herself. The Nordstrom sisters are minors and brave, but they are still passive in their resistance. Once again, I lament the inherent sexism in such narrative choices. There were far fewer men's voices in this novel than the first; Kris' brother is the most interesting and complex. The others - a single young True Believer and the old/clearly evil villain were far less insightful.
It is an interesting subplot watching Kris' sister-in-law, by the way, as she strikes what in academia is called a 'patriarchal bargain' inside the framework of the church and society; essentially she works within the system for her own benefit but at the expense of her group (females) as a whole. She is after Kris' money, and is using her husband as a catspaw in order to do so. He, nominally in charge, carries out the symbolism of that leadership without any of the substance, or indeed seeming to notice the hollowness of his estate.
Anyway, otherwise the plot is pretty thin on the ground. Nik the astrophysicist makes a few brief appearances, as does new character Susanne (a tough oceanographer tactically retreating from her Texas spouse in order to protect her daughter). Nik is as competent as we have previously found, albeit her increasing feelings of isolation is leading her to take unwise risks. Koko the Lutheran minister also has a brief cameo, along with a (new) French television reporter interviewing the man at the epicentre of the crazy. But frankly, the remainder of the novel is all Kris and Andy.
I think this is the book where the author shows off her alternative line of literary porn; this book contained frequent sex scenes some of which made me wince. (Sand would get in unfortunate places, methinks).
Regardless of its place within the trilogy, this feels like filler to me. Things happen, but not enough to be its own book; perhaps this was split off from the first when the word-count was exceeded? I am not sure.
Three stars from me.
Ps. Again, what the heck is going on with the covers of this series? My version has some sort of blocky man-trunks waving at an MS Paintshop sea. I have no idea what the publisher was thinking, but nothing about the novel is reflected by that even in the slightest. I see the alternative to this is a strangely proportioned women wearing a slender bikini. WTF; did the artists commissioned not inquire as to the nature of the books they were illustrating for?
The cast and crew introduced in the first novel are back, and in this short (short) second book, Valent continues the themes introduced in "Strong to Save". Against a backdrop formed from the relentless pressure on the rights of women, Kris escapes dry land for the pleasures of the open sea. Andy, who has loved her from afar for years, joins her crew and together they navigate down the East coast of the United States on their journey through the Panama canal to San Francisco.
In the meantime the Nordstrom sisters - prisoners in their own home and at the mercy of their conservative parents - perform their roles like puppets as they wait against hope to be saved. As an aside, once again we see nothing like a mass protest or disobedience movement from women themselves; instead we get isolated stories from exceptional women, with the only logical inference being that the average woman is not strong or capable enough to save herself. The Nordstrom sisters are minors and brave, but they are still passive in their resistance. Once again, I lament the inherent sexism in such narrative choices. There were far fewer men's voices in this novel than the first; Kris' brother is the most interesting and complex. The others - a single young True Believer and the old/clearly evil villain were far less insightful.
It is an interesting subplot watching Kris' sister-in-law, by the way, as she strikes what in academia is called a 'patriarchal bargain' inside the framework of the church and society; essentially she works within the system for her own benefit but at the expense of her group (females) as a whole. She is after Kris' money, and is using her husband as a catspaw in order to do so. He, nominally in charge, carries out the symbolism of that leadership without any of the substance, or indeed seeming to notice the hollowness of his estate.
Anyway, otherwise the plot is pretty thin on the ground. Nik the astrophysicist makes a few brief appearances, as does new character Susanne (a tough oceanographer tactically retreating from her Texas spouse in order to protect her daughter). Nik is as competent as we have previously found, albeit her increasing feelings of isolation is leading her to take unwise risks. Koko the Lutheran minister also has a brief cameo, along with a (new) French television reporter interviewing the man at the epicentre of the crazy. But frankly, the remainder of the novel is all Kris and Andy.
I think this is the book where the author shows off her alternative line of literary porn; this book contained frequent sex scenes some of which made me wince. (Sand would get in unfortunate places, methinks).
Regardless of its place within the trilogy, this feels like filler to me. Things happen, but not enough to be its own book; perhaps this was split off from the first when the word-count was exceeded? I am not sure.
Three stars from me.
Ps. Again, what the heck is going on with the covers of this series? My version has some sort of blocky man-trunks waving at an MS Paintshop sea. I have no idea what the publisher was thinking, but nothing about the novel is reflected by that even in the slightest. I see the alternative to this is a strangely proportioned women wearing a slender bikini. WTF; did the artists commissioned not inquire as to the nature of the books they were illustrating for?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews