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Tristaine #2
Battle for Tristaine
Jesstin, the Amazon warrior, and Brenna, the Clinic medic, are on the run in a race against time to save Tristaine, their mountain stronghold, from destruction.
Five beleaguered, fugitive Amazons camp in a high mountain meadow, healing from the wounds inflicted by a posse of City soldiers. Word reaches Jesstin and Brenna of a grave danger threatening the Amazon village of Tristaine. While Brenna struggles to find her place in the clan and the love between her and Jess grows, Tristaine is threatened with destruction when a crucial betrayal brings the City soldiers down upon the village. Brenna's emerging psychic gifts aid Jess and her warriors in a final bloody confrontation against the forces bent on destroying the Amazon way of life.
Five beleaguered, fugitive Amazons camp in a high mountain meadow, healing from the wounds inflicted by a posse of City soldiers. Word reaches Jesstin and Brenna of a grave danger threatening the Amazon village of Tristaine. While Brenna struggles to find her place in the clan and the love between her and Jess grows, Tristaine is threatened with destruction when a crucial betrayal brings the City soldiers down upon the village. Brenna's emerging psychic gifts aid Jess and her warriors in a final bloody confrontation against the forces bent on destroying the Amazon way of life.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
9 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Cate Culpepper
11 books52 followersCate 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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 25, 2018
Still liked it a lot, but maybe not as much as the first one. I think the Brenna/Jess arc could have used a bit more love but it's cool, there's a ton of action that needed to fill in the blanks. Not stepping outside the blurb much, the City wants Tristaine's resources as well as a propaganda campaign to discredit the Amazons. And Brenna kinda comes into her own a little bit here. I'm curious to see how that develops in the next one.
January 2, 2015
I'd say maybe halfway between 3 and 4...
Something about Caster just isn't right. Bloody obsessive city banshee. Funding was pulled but she manages to do what she did???
Brenna's self-doubt in terms of being a Julia follower got a little bit annoying. I hope that there's less of it in the future. A confident Brenna is better on the eyes.
Anyway, I really got into the story when I reached Chapter 7. I don't know, things before that seemed too slow for me. I wish there had been more Cam-Ky moments, although I did love the "bullet vs pig bite" argument. Ky is something of a comedian.
Twists and revelations seem to leap out one after the other in those last chapters. I'm moving forward with the series (but I'm going to take a breather by reading an unrelated title first) because I want to see if the pace gets better. I also want to find out more about the J'heika thing so I can see if my guess is right or not. I also want to know what happens to Sam.
Something about Caster just isn't right. Bloody obsessive city banshee. Funding was pulled but she manages to do what she did???
Brenna's self-doubt in terms of being a Julia follower got a little bit annoying. I hope that there's less of it in the future. A confident Brenna is better on the eyes.
Anyway, I really got into the story when I reached Chapter 7. I don't know, things before that seemed too slow for me. I wish there had been more Cam-Ky moments, although I did love the "bullet vs pig bite" argument. Ky is something of a comedian.
Twists and revelations seem to leap out one after the other in those last chapters. I'm moving forward with the series (but I'm going to take a breather by reading an unrelated title first) because I want to see if the pace gets better. I also want to find out more about the J'heika thing so I can see if my guess is right or not. I also want to know what happens to Sam.
March 6, 2022
An awesome sequel, filled with action, romance and sisterhood. Finally, we got to see the Amazon community and learn more about them. Caster was just as awful as in the first book and I can't wait to see her get what she deserves. Some parts were heartbreaking and some were inspiring and satisfying. I'm really curious about how the story will continue especially after that ending.
January 22, 2018
Second book of the series, the action takes place right after the first one. it could have been just one book.
I liked the Amazon culture that created a nice background, the landscapes descriptions were lovely and made me travel. I got attached to the many characters and their personalities.
However, I felt like no one had complex emotions. Good is good and evil is evil : nothing in-between. We can guess the plot from miles away, and there is no surprise. Some decisions made by Brenna or Jesstin felt like they were designed just to create a twist, as if they totally lack any common sense.
If you like strong women, good adventure and simple story, this book is for you.
I liked the Amazon culture that created a nice background, the landscapes descriptions were lovely and made me travel. I got attached to the many characters and their personalities.
However, I felt like no one had complex emotions. Good is good and evil is evil : nothing in-between. We can guess the plot from miles away, and there is no surprise. Some decisions made by Brenna or Jesstin felt like they were designed just to create a twist, as if they totally lack any common sense.
If you like strong women, good adventure and simple story, this book is for you.
April 20, 2023
Cate Culpepper is now a favorite author. I love this series.
October 15, 2020
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.
In book two Jess, Bren, Cam, Kyla, and Shann finally return to Tristaine, but all is not well. They are at the end of the deadline that the mothers have sent to Bren. They are able to safely sent several of the Amazons to safety but a betrayal leaves several of the Amazons held captive. I cried so hard when one of my favorite Amazons is murdered in an attempted on Jess’s life. Caster is as evil as ever and seeks to revive her reputation with the continuation of the experiments and trials she was preforming on Jess in the Clinic. When the Amazons who betrayed Jess and Bren learn of Casters true colors they fight along side them to flood Tristaine and save if from the governments clutches. So many brave Amazons lost for the battle of Tristaine.
In book two Jess, Bren, Cam, Kyla, and Shann finally return to Tristaine, but all is not well. They are at the end of the deadline that the mothers have sent to Bren. They are able to safely sent several of the Amazons to safety but a betrayal leaves several of the Amazons held captive. I cried so hard when one of my favorite Amazons is murdered in an attempted on Jess’s life. Caster is as evil as ever and seeks to revive her reputation with the continuation of the experiments and trials she was preforming on Jess in the Clinic. When the Amazons who betrayed Jess and Bren learn of Casters true colors they fight along side them to flood Tristaine and save if from the governments clutches. So many brave Amazons lost for the battle of Tristaine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2015
The second story in the Tristaine series moves the threads from the first story along. We see how Brenna learns more about the Amazons, and the development of her gift. We also get to spend some time in Tristaine with all of the Amazons, which provided some of my favourite scenes.
The village is under threat though, and Caster (who I have to admit to seeing as a cartoonish villain and therefore just not all that fearsome a bad guy) makes a reappearance. There's disharmony in the ranks, and this, and Caster's appearance, leads to the 'Battle for Tristaine' which takes up just under half of the book. It went on a bit too long for me, so even though this is where the 'action' takes place, it's where I felt the story got bogged down. There were some emotional high points within this passage though and the ending and what's hinted at there was enough for me to purchase the last two stories.
Culpepper's writing is crisp and I look forward to spending more time with these characters, especially Shann and Brenna. I'm intrigued to see what happens to them in the next instalment.
The village is under threat though, and Caster (who I have to admit to seeing as a cartoonish villain and therefore just not all that fearsome a bad guy) makes a reappearance. There's disharmony in the ranks, and this, and Caster's appearance, leads to the 'Battle for Tristaine' which takes up just under half of the book. It went on a bit too long for me, so even though this is where the 'action' takes place, it's where I felt the story got bogged down. There were some emotional high points within this passage though and the ending and what's hinted at there was enough for me to purchase the last two stories.
Culpepper's writing is crisp and I look forward to spending more time with these characters, especially Shann and Brenna. I'm intrigued to see what happens to them in the next instalment.
July 25, 2012
This was a good sequel for this series. It had good drama, but not the amazing. The suspense was amazing with it's unexpecting moments. The action was good too, but it could have been better. The romance was acceptable, but not that special. The problem that it had the other volume is still here, and that problem is: it's still kind of short. For a sequel, it didn't improve that much, but it was a good quick read.
January 20, 2008
It is not a bad book really it is pretty decent. But very light reading stuff. I only felt shock at one point in the book then I remembered I had expected that particular plot point to happen anyway. But if you have read the first book continue on with this series, I think you shall rather enjoy it.
October 14, 2012
While I like this series, the setting and the characters, i had a sense if disappointment with the plot as the whole Caster set piece at the end just didn't ring true to me. I understand why the story went there, but I always felt that it was a little forced. Still, I will be pushing on to the next in the series as I am intrigued to see where these characters go next.
August 2, 2012
I enjoyed it. It was more predictable than I had hoped it would be but it was still very enjoyable. I'm moving on to the third in the series now.
March 21, 2017
Second book hits all the beats that seemed inevitable after the conclusion of the first. It's fine. If you like the idea of a secret vaguely rural Amazon society with at war with a threatening dystopian city, I liked Jane Fletcher's Celaeno series better.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews