Green [Paperback]

Jay Lake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2011

Her exquisite beauty and brilliant mind were not enough to free her from captivity. That took her skills with a knife, plus the power of a goddess.

She was born in poverty, in a dusty village under the equatorial sun. She does not remember her mother, she does not remember her own name--her earliest clear memory is of the day her father sold her to the tall pale man. In the Court of the Pomegranate Tree, where she was taught the ways of a courtesan…and the skills of an assassin…she was named Emerald, the precious jewel of the Undying Duke’s collection of beauties. She calls herself Green.

The world she inhabits is one of political power and magic, where Gods meddle in the affairs of mortals. At the center of it is the immortal Duke’s city of Copper Downs, which controls all the trade on the Storm Sea. Green has made many enemies, and some secret friends, and she has become a very dangerous woman indeed.

Acclaimed author Jay Lake has created a remarkable character in Green, and evokes a remarkable world in this novel. Green and her struggle to survive and find her own past will live in the reader’s mind a long time after the book is closed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lake (Escapement) makes a shift from steampunk to lush fantasy filled with exotic locales and exquisite descriptions. Sold as a child, raised and educated as a courtesan and secretly trained as an assassin, strong-willed Green retains her unyielding sense of independence, leading her to make drastic, unwise choices. Often used as a pawn and occasionally betrayed, she perseveres in trying to gain a measure of control over her life and a place to call home. Her goals become harder to reach when she's caught up in the machinations of immortals and power games of meddling gods. Despite an occasionally episodic feel and some rocky pacing that suggests it might have worked better split over several installments, the story is nicely powered by strong mythic undertones and a fresh take on the relationship between gods and mortals. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Praise for GREEN:

“A fascinating, difficult character, Green lives in a remarkable world, in which gods walk the earth, and not all people are human. Lake’s world-building is stellar, even with as idiosyncratic a narrator as Green, and the story she tells thrills.”--Booklist

“I adored Green the character and loved Green the novel. I highly, highly recommend this book, particularly if you’re looking for a strong female protagonist.”--Mary Robinette Kowal

“Running with Green over the city's gilded rooftops, plunging through sewers with her to confront a skinless avatar of the God of Pain, readers will feel the exhilaration of freedom deeply prized, unceasingly sought, and hard-won.”--Seattle Times (Tiptree Award-winning author Nisi Shawl)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (February 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765326477
• ISBN-13: 978-0765326478
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #636,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jay Lake lives in Portland, Oregon, where he works on numerous writing and editing projects. His 2010 books are _Pinion_ from Tor Books, _The Baby Killers_ from PS Publishing, and _The Sky That Wraps_ from Subterranean Press. His short fiction appears regularly in literary and genre markets worldwide. Jay is a winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and a multiple nominee for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. Jay can be reached through his Web site at jlake.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A bi-polar story that's constantly at odds with itself, December 26, 2009

By 

Keonyn (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Green (Hardcover)

This book is a three part story that tells the story of a girl sold in to slavery at a very young age, trained to be a concubine, only to escape and take and become a powerful assassin. That's only part of the story though, as a major part of the story in this book is actually the gods of her world, and their power struggles and manipulation of humanity. The story told at the books core is actually pretty sound and interesting, unfortunately it's constantly at odds with Greens more personal story, which is often weird and seems to consist of little more than pointless exhibition.

The first part is great. We live through this girls "training" to essentially become a wife so she can be married off in high society to primarily benefit her "factor", or owner. This first part is great, though brutal as one can imagine such "training" would be. It suffers somewhat from some pacing problems as it gets a tad redundant at times, but it's otherwise quite interesting. The part that makes it the most interesting is where the author is going with it, and how our main character is going to use this training to her advantage, since it's clear cooperation is not in her nature. The gods at work in the world are also hinted at points in this section, though this is left a bit vague yet.

Unfortunately the first part ends, and things start to go south in the second section, and on in to the third. The plotline with the gods and the cultures becomes more prevalent in the second part, and takes on an even bigger role in the third part. This part of the story is sound and well told, and I found it to be quite interesting as well. The difficult part is that in spite of it being the primary focus and direction of the book, it actually spends the majority of the second and third part of the book playing second fiddle to the weirder, sometimes disturbing, and altogether pointless aspects of Greens life.

At its core this book starts to feel less like a fantasy book about an Asian themed world with varying cultures and a power struggle between imperfect factions and gods, as well as the societies they are related to. It instead feels like an exhibitionist novel about a girl in her early teens and her sexual escapades, which ranges from everything to orgies to bondage/S&M to inter-species relations and so on. It could be with her fellow students in her Sisterhood, or her instructors, or in a jail cell with a fellow inmate while she's imprisoned, or just checking out some woman who helps her even if her life is at risk at the time, and there's even a man tossed in there for good measure; and all in her early to mid teens. If it's going to be a book about some little girls sex life in a fantasy world then so be it, but it comes with the pretense of a fantasy world and a greater story told about these clashing societies and the clashing gods, which pops up only now and again. Honestly, I felt more like I was reading an erotic novel than a fantasy book.

Now the other plot that sits in the backseat for most of the book is actually rather interesting, and I'm actually interested to see how that plays out. But all the unnecessary and strange erotic material makes me weary as it simply doesn't interest me, and it pretty much always felt completely out of place, as though it were just exhibition put in place just to prove the book is for adults.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Memoirs of a Girl Assassin, August 24, 2009

By 

Clare OMalley "A book lover never goes to bed... (Irvine, Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Green (Hardcover)

One of her earliest memories is being carried away by the tall man, while her father, who never meets her eyes, or says goodbye, accepts a small bag of coins. The girl is raised in isolation, trained through intense study and frequent beatings to become a concubine or to be a rich noble's wife. Addressed only as "Girl" from age three until age 11, she is raised under the sadistic and jealous eye of her jailer and tutor, Mistress Tirelle. Girl swallows her rage, her fire, her stubbornness and waits for something, anything to improve. Hope comes when the Dancing Mistress enters her life and teaches Girl how to move. The Dancing Mistress teaches poise, confidence and self-defense. This early section is only about a third of the book, yet it was the most fascinating for me. We move along with dread yet fascination, waiting for something to happen, something to change, as Girl's narrative, and the lessons of her many teachers make for a compelling read. When the factor visits her, and dubs her Emerald, I got excited about seeing Emerald maneuver through court life, politics and also be able to use her finely trained skills.

In one horrible night, Green escapes in an attempt to get back home, to the memory of her simple life before she was sold. Her journey home and beyond were quite touching and flowed naturally, but about halfway through, the book stops being enjoyable and just gets weird. I would have liked the book so much more if we had seen Emerald living the life she had been training for, and then perhaps using the marriage or courtship as a way to return home, rather than as a fugitive. The contrast then between her old life and new would have been even greater. All the lessons she received or had beaten into her were wasted, both in the characters life and in the storytelling. Is it lazy writing? Poor editing? There were brief scenes where the style and mood fit what I enjoyed earlier in the book, but I really was forcing myself to finish.

First part of the book? Five stars! Middle part? Three stars. Last part? One star.

66 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Misogyny, Furries, Debauchery, Oh my!, December 31, 2009

By 

Bailey Arsenault "Bailey" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Green (Hardcover)

In my defense, the cover is kind of cool, and green is one of my favorite colors. The ridiculously [...] anecdote was obscured by the library code, so I would have put the book back on the shelf if only for that-- "Her exquisite beauty and brilliant mind were not enough to free her from captivity. That took the power of a goddess... and her skill with a knife." PLEASE.

Anyway, it's a story about a little girl from an impoverished farm country (with incredibly inconsistent topography and environment, let me tell you) who is bought by a man referred to as having skin the color of maggots. APPARENTLY, in her miserable country, there is nothing white to which she can compare this man but maggots? Are there not clouds? Nor froth nor snow nor ice or stars that are white?

In case you're wondering, yes, the cover is totally inaccurate. Green, the ~beautiful assassin~ is actually dark-skinned. It's pounded into your brain constantly. Exoticism at its best. Or worst, as you'll soon learn...

...Green is swept away to some foreign country full of ~maggot people~ and is trained to be a courtesan and completely holed away from any men except for Federo, the maggot man. He's referred to alternatively as a fop and a dandy-- for the record, that's offensive to both parties. Fops and dandies are NOT the same thing, Mr Lake. I know you were skirting around calling him gay, but really? Get your ostentatious socialites straight. (Oh-ho, a double entendre! I wasn't even trying!)

Anyway, so eventually she learns about ~sex~ and how she's expected to be compliant and please whatever man she's with without any regard to her own pleasure.

Why, yes! This IS written by a man! BUT IT GETS BETTER OR WORSE, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. The mistress who teaches Green about sex lets her play around with...

...

Get this...

...

Her sweetpocket. Let me repeat that.

SWEETPOCKET.

Meditate on that a while. More craziness ensues. Green is taught to become a ninja at night by her dancing instructor, who is A FURRY. I wish there was a picture of this creature, but she's like a large, anthropomorphic MOUSE WOMAN.

Anyway, I skipped around and found a scene where Green is being flogged for having killed someone and promptly GETS OFF ON IT. Her hotpocket-- I mean, sweetpocket filled with heat and blah blah blah blah stuff ew. It was out of context (even with me flipping back a few pages to see what led up to it) and was a pointless, unpleasant scene.

There's also a short bit concerning homosexuality-- men together is SO DISGUSTING but ladies together is a-okay! Good to know our societal bearings on what relations are acceptable and which aren't reflect on this fictional world. This is justified by Green saying that the opinion was taught to her in the Pomegranate Court. Sorry, Mr. Lake. That's not good enough.

OH AND THEN LATER ON SHE HAS SEX WITH THE MOUSE LADY. I WISH I WAS KIDDING. They have been locked up in a jail together and apparently, the mood is just right and they 'do the deed'. You know what I mean.

I think the worst part about this book, above all, is that it's dedicated to the author's daughter. What kind of screwed up author dedicates a book about misogyny, sex slavery, furries, sadomasochism, and all kinds of other screwed up subjects to his DAUGHTER?

I can, therefore, conclude that this book (the writing of which was encouraged by Mr Lake's 'supportive blogging community', aka, LJ friends list full of Inu Yasha and Bleach fans) is a very, very poorly written RP that somehow, by powers unknown to me, was published.