Red Waters Rising (The Devil's West, Book 3)

Red Waters Rising (The Devil's West, Book 3)
Laura Anne Gilman, 2018

Premise: Sequel to The Cold Eye. Isobel and Gabriel come at last to the banks of the Mississippi, to see the edge of the Devil's Territory and deal with problems there.

I still love this world and these characters, but I could ask for slightly more from the plot.

In this book we learn more about Gabriel and his relationship with water spirits, and more about Isobel's talents that are separate from her borrowed power as the Devil's Hand. They face the challenges of a city on the edge of the Territory, full of factions close enough to the outside world that they don't always respect the Agreement brokered between the land, the natives, and the settlers.

The writing continues to be evocative and lovely, and I like a lot of the new elements introduced in this volume. Isobel is coming into her own power, but the story isn't done by a long stretch.

So the main thing that worries me about this book is that I'm not sure whether there is more planned. The books read like a fevered dream, complete with the unsatisfying ending of trying to describe a dream after waking.

I liked the book a lot, but it doesn't bring the series to a satisfying landing in my opinion, so I hope there's more to come. (I know there's a set of short stories, but I haven't read them yet...)

4 Stars - A Very Good Book