Emily B. Martin

Ambassador Veran of Alcoro has traveled a long way to continue in-person his correspondence with Prince Iano of Moquoia in hopes of officially ending the local slave trade. However, he finds Iano to be sullen and standoffish, nothing like the politician of his letters. It turns out that Iano’s anti-slavery chief advisor (and secret lover) Tamsin has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Iano suspects the Sunshield Bandit, scourge of the local desert, but Veran knows that they only hold up slavers’ caravans. Could Veran possibly team up with a notorious bandit to find and rescue the Moquoian advisor and end slavery in the region? And who is this bandit anyway?

A kind of political-fantasy-western. This book is technically a sequel series to the Creatures of Light series which starts with Woodwalker. It can be read on its own but the worldbuilding is complex and is easier to follow with the background from the prior series. I really enjoyed it. Martin (who I knew in college, before she wrote any books) is clearly growing as an author and this book felt much more unique and a little more political, but has the same intricate twists and turns. It does end abruptly, so I’m planning to read the sequel right away.… (mehr)

[disclosure: I was in college marching band with Emily during undergrad, so like, I know her!]

Gorgeously illustrated and based on sound ecology for aquatic habitats, A Field Guide to Mermaids should ignite the curiosity of children and adults alike. While aimed at a middle grade audience, A Field Guide acts as a general overview and introduction to thinking about habitats: what does something need to live in an environment? Are there specialist functions needed to thrive?

I really like how there's an assortment of mermaids for each habitat, from tiny nudibranch merfolk in tide pools to mysterious giant squid cryptids in the abyssal depths!

As a kid who constantly looked for evidence of lake monsters after reading [b:The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep|98779|The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep|Loren Coleman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347743356l/98779._SY75_.jpg|95224], this reminds me of a fantastical way to learn and think about the natural world.… (mehr)

Oops, accidentally stayed up too late to inhale the rest of this, which is always a sign of a good book!

My darlings found themselves imperiled at the end of [b:Sunshield|52219046|Sunshield (Outlaw Road, #1)|Emily B. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573869338l/52219046._SY75_.jpg|73010489], having a lot of complicated Feelings with the party split and pursued by various authorities. They have adventures, experience dehydration, and tackle reforming a country's labor system (or at least, starting the process) and it ties up quite satisfyingly.

The one thing the Outlaw Road duology handles well is characters' (yes, multiple) disabilities and the frustrations and triumphs that come with figuring out how to navigate the world with them. Also, the complicated feelings when meeting long-lost or distant family as an adult and whether or not they'll accept you as family (I'm guessing it wasn't intentional, but I can see this having resonance for adoptees).

Plenty of red herrings for the Big Bad; I had maybe half a guess after team did their plan at Giantess but maybe people more perceptive than I can figure it out earlier.

Also, was quite pleased to see our old friends from the Woodwalker trilogy at the end, still recognizable with the maturity of age on them.… (mehr)

Reread thoughts: Still just as exhilarating, and now I can go directly to [b:Floodpath: A Novel|54110078|Floodpath A Novel|Emily B. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610435829l/54110078._SY75_.jpg|84457409] now that it is out!!!


Original review:
First thing to mention if you haven't read any of Emily's works before: she is also an accomplished artist and draws concept art/style sheets for her characters- you can see this art on href="https://www.instagram.com/emilybeemartin/" rel="nofollow" target="_top">her instagram here!

Sunshield is the first of a duology in the Woodwalker world, set 20 years after the trilogy. Moving westward on the continent and in genre, three first-person viewpoints are deftly woven into a compelling narrative that pulls no punches about how geopolitical actions affect the common folk with minor but just as important mentions of how modernity changes our ecology in ways that can harm us. A couple characters menstruate and the issue of it happening while roughing it is described- something you don't see often in books, but unsurprising for a series that takes so much from Martin's park ranger/scout camper background. Sunshield is also fun: Lark's horse and dog are very much parts of her found family, Veran figuring out how to clomp around in Moquoian heels is a great visual, etc.

Lark is a former captive turned outlaw, raiding stagecoaches and targeting slave wagons bound for Moquoia in the far Alcoran desert. Her biggest priority is fiercely defending her found family and figuring out how to eventually get them to their homes. Thinking about it, Lark's empathy and passion for ridding Moquoia of slavers is the kind of thing I was missing from Throne of Glass's Aelin, who has a similar backstory to Lark but then gets distracted by finer things of privileged society (and magical geopolitics too, I guess). She's a very capable heroine and when presented with opportunities to change things with movers and shakers of the world, she points out that serving the wealthy for a single job feels like a betrayal to everything she's fought for so far.

Tamsin is a mysterious captive, in a lot of pain (particularly in the headspace) but witty and also our introduction into how Moquoian bond labor functions. Definitely want to hear more from her.

Veran, sweet baby boy is out in the world on his first big international diplomatic mission as translator and totally sticking his foot into it. Literally related to Woodwalker folk, his viewpoints are the connections to characters from the previous trilogy (though you don't necessarily need to read it to read Sunshield- if you start here, consider them a bonus trilogy about people's parents). He's a contrast to his mother in several ways (with her voice echoing in his head occasionally), but a soft sweetie and just wants to do good in the world. I have faith in him.

The worldbuilding is as strong as it was in previous books- Moquoia and the Ferrino Desert have distinct feels to them, and with enough geographic distance Moquoia stands culturally distinct from the Eastern Countries (which do have their differences but share a language, conveniently enough). Big trees were referenced a lot but we didn't actually see them so hopefully they show up in the second half of the duology?? The eastern countries are heavily influenced by natural landscapes of the American Southeast, so I am eager to see how Martin illustrates her fantastical West.

also hot damn, the last 40 pages have a lot going on.

Miscellaneous thoughts:
-Hey Lark if you wanted to make your camp permanent you should've stolen Prof. Colm's permaculture books in chapter 1 JUST SAYIN'.

-When I started the book, I wondered where or who Moira Alastaire would be- clearly not Tamsin as she remembers her scribe parents, and Lila seemed somewhat obvious but maybe too obvious in a red herring way (and Emily's style sheet for Lark's crew made that impossible- Moira is described as being similar in coloration to Eloise, and they don't look similar in art). Definitely going to have to go back and compare the Lark portraits to Moira now.

-WHO IS VEGA PALTO and also is this an anagram??

-I can't decide if Obvious Political Villain really is our court bad guy or if there's someone else around... and knowing Emily's previous work, there's likely a twist I haven't intuited yet but will make sense in hindsight/on rereads.

Anxiously awaiting the second Outlaw Road book.… (mehr)