Green Audiobook By Jay Lake cover art

Green

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Green

By: Jay Lake
Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
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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 readers mind for a long time.

©2009 Joseph E. Lake, Jr. (P)2009 Audible, Inc. Classics Fantasy

Critic reviews

"Lively and thought-provoking...Lake effectively anneals steampunk with geo-mechanical magic in an allegorical matrix of empire building and Victorian natural science." ( Publishers Weekly)
  • 2009 Recommended Reading (Locus Magazine)
All stars
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I picked this book up and was simply sure of reading just by the cover alone. The title and color Green was of interest and the cover art was perfect. I have never read a Science Fiction title of such Exquisite storytelling. From the performance of the book down to the story, this is a tale that you will carry with you forever.

Judged by the cover (A Master Piece)

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--and Necrolocutors, temples, ships, self-mutilation, violence, love, and more!

The fantasy world that Jay Lake depicts in Green is vivid enough, with gods, myths, different cultures, races, and sentient species. It's a medieval world in which some cultures use some steam and gunpowder, a religious world in which people may become gods and gods may answer prayers or even be killed, a magical world of ghosts and spells to extend life. The themes, concerning the relationship between gods and believers, the mixture of good and evil in human beings, and the difficulty of making the world a better place, are interesting. And Lake has created a strong protagonist in Green, a narrator of conscience and empathy who honestly tells the story of her lonely childhood and youth being trained into a mistress/spy but struggling instead to choose her own path in life. Green abhors the violence she must often use and discovers how difficult it is to act solely for oneself without causing unexpected harm.

The first half of the story is absorbing, as Green details her training in the Pomegranate Court of the Factor's House, but in the last third things get, perhaps, a little too frenzied, fabulous, and divinely influenced. The conclusion ties up the immediate story well enough but also leaves things open for future volumes in Green's autobiography.

Some listeners have objected to the lesbian love that plays a significant (though not overly graphic or frequent) role in the novel. Given Green's education, experiences, and personality, I find it appropriate (and even moving), though her interest in whipping and being whipped seems a bit far-fetched and excrescently kinky.

Katherine Kellgren gives a strong reading, just as she does for Bloody Jack, full of understanding and compassion, modified for different characters, and enhancing the story's exciting, scary, tender, or sad parts. But she has such a distinctive voice that at times I thought "Katherine" rather than "Green."

Gods, Cat People, Female Assassins, Whips--

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Jay Lake was such a talent, as was Katherine Kellgren. It’s incredibly sad that the world lost both of them so young. But both of them tell stories with such beauty and grace, and I’m thankful to both of them for sharing their gifts.

I miss Jay & Katherine

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I simply love this series. I'm on my third go-round with the trilogy and I savor it each time. From the Pomegranate Court to the ghosts haunting Copper Downs and the Blade Mothers, the Lily Goddess has indeed blessed, Green.

Jay, your imagination is epic.

And I must confess that I'm madly in love with Katherine Kellgren. Her voice is mellifluous. Her tone and timbre sublime. Her narration is simply superb.

3rd time I've read!

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There is nothing more annoying than a protagonist who is whiny, weak and indecisive. This book is none of that. The way a young girl is shoved into an adult world can be unsettling if you are a sensitive person, but this is life on the streets in all its brutal reality.
As for "god possession" and "no such thing as sin", this is Sci-Fi not bible literature, what did you expect?
Its actually a fairly short book, I was hoping for more, but that's how it is with all great stories. The author did a great job of wrapping things up. If you want a long book read Robert Jordan, that will put things in perspective.

Wonderful, Pushing the Envelope

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