Lagoonfire

Regret, perseverance, and love drive Forrest’s sparkling second Tales of the Polity fantasy (following The Inconvenient God). Plucky administrator Thirty-Seven works for the Ministry of Divinities in the tropical totalitarian state of Sweet Harbor. Her job is to find deities who have lost their worshippers and decommission them into mortal retirement—but she fails to fully decommission Laloran-morna, the god of warm ocean waves, who retains command over some ocean water even as a mortal. So when a luxury hotel construction site is flooded in an act of sabotage, Thirty-Seven is ordered to question the elderly god to see if he sought revenge on the project’s destruction of coastal land. Laloran-morna denies it, but uses the interrogation to entreat Thirty-Seven to make a dedication to his former lover, Goblet, goddess of estuaries. Meanwhile, the officers of the Civil Order arrest archeologist Ninin Ateni for the crime, as Ninin has been vocal in his belief that the site holds the key to learning about the region’s original inhabitants and long-forgotten gods. As Thirty-Seven navigates this tricky situation, careful not to reveal a dangerous family secret, Forrest skillfully blends the oppressive society and curmudgeonly gods with the airy tropical setting. This evocative and ultimately uplifting story is sure to please. [em](Mar.) [/em]