Tristaine Rises

Tristaine #3

by Cate Culpepper

On the run from the City soldiers, the Amazons of Tristaine seek refuge deep in the mountains, where an even greater danger awaits.

In their new mountain stronghold, a battle rages for the lives and souls of the Amazons of Tristaine. While Jess and her warriors fight a ghostly army, their weakened leader, Shann, must find a way to defeat a powerful demon queen. Shann’s only hero is to reveal long-held secrets that will change Brenna and Jess’s life forever. The Thesmephoria moon rises over the last bloody confrontation between two great Amazon tribes—the living and the dead—and when the sun dawns, only one queen rules the village.

Genres: Fantasy, Lesbian, Science Fiction, Lesbian Fiction, LGBT, Science Fiction Fantasy, Queer

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Cate Culpepper grew up in southern New Mexico, where she served as the state lesbian, before moving to the Pacific Northwest twenty-five years ago. She has won one Lambda Literary Society Award, three Golden Crown Literary Society Awards, one Lesbian Fiction Readers' Choice Award, and an Alice B. Toklas Award for her body of work.

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gah. Sigh... Oh yea the feels. So book 3 was everything I hoped for and then some. Absolutely brilliant. It's framework is similar to others in the series, some slow built around a big clash. And that's fine. But by far for me it's the best of the first 3. No idea what the next one is about, I stopped reading the blurbs after book 1 except to make sure I don't stray outside and be spoilery. Not even sure how to sum it up, they're Amazons, they kick ass. Nuff said. And the Jess/Denna dynamic just gets better and better.

[Natsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow story. Much fun. Such twists. Ha ha ha!

This review is currently brewing, please try again later....

LATER...

I've slept on it and I still think Tristaine Rises is way better than 
the first 2 books in the Tristaine series. I'm thinking 4.5 because 
there were some side story/ies that I would have liked to have read more 
about.

This is the 3rd book in the Tristaine Series which picks up right after 
the events in Battle for Tristaine. It starts off with the Amazons find 
a new place where they can settle. Everything seems fine (weird but 
fine) until people start behaving erratically while some fell ill and 
some perish. They discover that an evil which they believed to be a 
legend threatens to wipe them out and they would have to fight (again) 
but this time not only for themselves but for those Amazons who have 
fallen.

We see Brenna getting used to being a "seer." She gets to switch from healer to oracle to warrior and back at different stages of the story with the help of Shann, Jess, and a few of their departed sisters. A number of 
reunions happen within the story (some short-lived but all bittersweet). 
Dana is learning and getting used to the Tristaine Amazons' way of life 
but not without a few hostilities flung towards her due to her role in 
the previous book but it's not all hostile, she also gets good-natured 
ribbing. Kyla is still mourning the loss of Camryn, but finds comfort in 
Shann, Brenna, and Dana. I can't help but mention Aria and how she 
chastised Dana's alleged "slander" of the food she prepared. :D

Tristaine Rises is bursting with surprises and cameos. There was one
twist that I totally did not expect it was like the author thought "what 
the heck, let's put that on there and shock 'em!"

This kept me turning pages and only paused or had to stop because I 
needed to get back to work or some other important stuff. It also 
dragged my "J'heika" curiosity on up until the last chapters, extra 
brownie points for Ms. Culpepper because I wasn't able to find out what 
it meant until Shann explained it.

Funny moments, check (Jess' "in the throes of passion" monologue in the 
tent wins the Volcanic Nipple Comedy award). Mystery, check. Gore, 
check. Shock factor, check.

[Ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is addictive, but this really was a my favorite by far, well at least of the first three.

[Clo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3rd book of Tristaine series was more constructed that the others.
A different threat is upon the clan and we learn much more of Amazon culture and mythology.

Characters are deeper - if you forget the butch-protecting aspect - and their relation too.

I liked it a lot, and would have given 5 stars if it weren't for the usual flaw of the saga : no big surprise and everything is pretty much expected.

[Vervada · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! I just like these books so much: the characters are strong, intelligent, loyal and passionate women that you can't help but root for, the plot is captivating and the main romance is so tender and loving. In this book some secrets are revealed and I can't wait to see what will happen in the next instalment (though I do wish that it wasn't the last one).

[MJSam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favourite of the Tristaine series thus far. The story of the tribe finding an abandoned village and the ensuing battles with the demon that haunts it is absorbing. We also get to visit with some past characters and the progression of the various storylines from the previous two novels.

I liked that Caster wasn't in this story, and that this villain felt like a real threat and also served as a mechanism to bring forth a truth about Brenna and her family that I'd suspected in the previous story. That the story manages to be both sweet and tense is a testament to Culpepper's way with words and characters. Looking forward to the next installment.

[D. Omars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good sequel for this series. The major difference this time, is that it contains ghosts, but mostly at the near end of this book. Unlike the other volumes, it contain mostly suspense and drama, instead of action or romance. There is some action and new romances, but it's like at the middle and end of the book. It had some unexpected moments in the story, but like the other stories in the series, it's short. Overall, it's a good and quick story, but not amazing.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this trip down memory lane with the Tristaine series. It’s still just as great as I remember it being the first time I read they books years ago. I love and miss all adventure, community, and love between the sisters with in its pages. Jesstin, Brenna, and the other Amazons will forever hold a special place in my heart. Cate Culpepper is truly missed.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd go 3.5 on this one, too. I don't know, maybe I will round up this time to 4. I did get misty eyed a couple of times and I didn't see one of the plot twists coming. And I still do like the Amazons a lot. Ok, 4 it is!

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damn you Tristaine for being so addictive...

[Alena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd love to give it 3,5 stars. So far this is my favorite in the Tristaine series and I think that the series is improving with each book.

[liz]

Not terribly great, but not entirely bad.