The Fire Opal

Lost Continent #4

by Catherine Asaro

Deep in the sun-drenched desert, priestess Ginger-Sun carries the power of shape mages. And whispers abound: Is she descended from the beloved Sunset Goddess, or are her nighttime rituals filled with wickedness? Ginger herself is uncertain, until a stranger is left for dead at her feet.

Thence her magic begins to burn.

Fate makes Ginger the stranger’s wife and therefore a target for those who would murder this man to crown another—and force her magic into twisted ferocity. For unless Ginger masters her dark powers, violence will rein in Taka Mal…and in her soul.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Fantasy Romance, Fiction, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy

313 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

The author of more than twenty-five books, Catherine Asaro is acclaimed for her Ruby Dynasty series, which combines adventure, science, romance and fast-paced action. Her novel The Quantum Rose won the Nebula® Award, as did her novella “The Spacetime Pool.” Among her many other distinctions, she is a multiple winner of the AnLab from Analog magazine and a three time recipient of the RT BOOKClub Award for “Best Science Fiction Novel.” Her most recent novel, Carnelians, came out in October, 2011. An anthology of her short fiction titled Aurora in Four Voices is available from ISFiC Press in hardcover, and her multiple award-winning novella “The City of Cries” is also available as an eBook for Kindle and Nook.

Catherine has two music CD’s out and she is currently working on her third. The first, Diamond Star, is the soundtrack for her novel of the same name, performed with the rock band, Point Valid. She appears as a vocalist at cons, clubs, and other venues in the US and abroad, including recently as the Guest of Honor at the Denmark and New Zealand National Science Fiction Conventions. She performs selections from her work in a multimedia project that mixes literature, dance, and music with Greg Adams as her accompanist. She is also a theoretical physicist with a PhD in Chemical Physics from Harvard, and a jazz and ballet dancer. Visit her at www.facebook.com/Catherine.Asaro

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love Asaro's voice. I loved The Fire Opal even with its YA/NA undertones (the heroine is 18 and very naive).

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the heck out of this book! I wasn't sure when I started reading it as it took a while to get used to some of the words and the world this book took place in, but after a couple of chapters I was fine! Ms. Asaro has crafted a very interesting fantasy with really interesting characters, it is a good old fashioned romance with a damsel in (a lot) of distress (often) and a dashing hero who is sweet and sometimes awkward with her.
The only complaint I have is that Ginger-sun finds herself in a LOT of distress, a lot of times she just about gets herself out of it before someone/thing can save her. Although she comes across as naïve and simple she has a lot of power and a strength in herself that she finds on her journey.
We don't know a lot about Darz as this book is all about Ginger-Sun so nothing from his point of view. Even with that though you still get a good feeling of his character, strong and somewhat commandeering but with a kindness and caring of Ginger that is sweet.
There is some intrigue and by the end you REALLY don't like the Elders of Sky Flame but I was engrossed and am so glad I finally got the chance to read this! I am going to be looking for the other books in this series!!

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read one of her books before and she is pretty good this story has to do with a young priestess who helps heal up a warrior found left for dead...in helping him she endangers her own life but soon things change for her and what she knew and where she grew up goes away and a new life begins for her as the consort to the Topaz Prince..interesting book..

[Door Person · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good example of Asaro's work, and it works even if you haven't read the previous three in the Lost Continent series (although you might miss out on the sense of "Ohhhhhh" that I got when I made the connection). It's interesting in that it comes from the perspective of a girl from tiny village in a country completely alienated from the geometric- and color-magicks so involved in the other three books. This isn't to say that such magic isn't present, it is, it's just very different. Also new is that the story is told from the heroine's perspective and hers alone, and she's a very likable heroine. She's naive without being irritating, and innocent but not lacking in common sense. And she's realer and tougher than most heroes one finds.

Another nice thing about this book is its brevity. I love how intelligent the other Lost Continent books are, but in the last especially they were very heavy on warfare and diplomacy. There's some of that here, but (again) as it's told through the eyes of a rural priestess, one doesn't get bogged down in strategy and military jargon.

[Alix · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I really loved Asaro's short story in Charmed Destinies, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get through an entire fantasy romance novel without being bored or frustrated like I have been in the past. With The Fire Opal, there were parts that made me uncomfortable, most specifically the notion that if there's a pretty girl around all the men want her (even gods!) and (pretty much) all the women are jealous of her. And the editor let a few things slip past ("he" where there should be "she" and visa versa mostly), which was jarring. But otherwise, I enjoyed it despite myself. It's a mostly well-woven, if predictable, tale in an interesting universe with an engaging female main character.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know, I was okay with this being a fantasy-romance novel and all, but the naivety of the heroine and her love interest really started to grate on my nerves as the ill-fated lovers tumbled into one another again and again leaving her breathless. It was kind of obnoxious how there were so many references to what a great beauty the priestess was and how all the men seemed to want her--it was almost over done in this book and that's the only thing that really bothered me. Aside from that, I do so much enjoy learning about the shape mages and how their magics are affected by their skill with certain shapes and colors. I thoroughly appreciate the depth Asaro gives to her cultures and the land of Aronsdale. I enjoyed exploring Taka Mal with the main character.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fire Opal - Catherine Asaro (7/10)
Romantic fantasy; book 4 in the Lost Continent series.
I personally think Asaro writes science fiction much better than fantasy and this book reinforces that opinion. It was a fine, pleasant read, but she can do much better. It was very slow to start, but picked up about halfway through to have a satisfying ending. I also liked the touch that suggested this "world" is some sort of appearing/vanishing continent in our world. I like these books, but I'm hanging out more for the next Skolian book.

[Copied from LibraryThing.]

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story felt like an afterthought. I enjoyed it, though I confess I knew who Darz was from the beginning, and although I pride myself in sighting foreshadowing, I hate when I know key elements to the story before it’s time. It was cute, and felt like somewhat of a coming of age story with a love twist. Seriously? More torture? Asaro, I think you have a torture issue. Aside from all that, the story was fun for an afternoon and another addition to the lost continent series.

[Elar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best in series so far, this time there was less overused situations and storyline was fairly ok. Although through the series you have to wonder if really women feel like they are oppressed on every turn and they always find their prince in rough covers (not one white horse as usual, but mainly masked into forced weddings, rough language and manners etc.)

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of the Lost Continent Books I have read and am really interested in reading more. Romance, Magic, Faith and Gods - sounds more like a Terry Pratchett novel I know, but really it is a gem in it's own right with lots going on within the depth of the realms.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a fantasy novel and ended up with a sappy romance.

[Toks · Rating 2 out of 5]

the romances in these are a bit shrill, but it's still forgivable for the most part.

[Melissa Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The romance was nice and the adventure was exciting. I found the female lead to be a little simple and sugar sweet but it was an interesting novel overall.

[John Loyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fire Opal (2006) 313 pages by Catherine Asaro

Ginger-Sun is a Temple priestess in Sky Flames, a small town near the Taka Mal border with Jazid. Miners bring in a dead man for his last rights. Only he’s not dead. Ginger is well liked in the town, but also resented. Some women are jealous of her beauty, men longing for her, but unobtainable because of her job. The town elders put heavier restrictions on her than they would if she were dowdy. Having this soldier of unknown origin in the Temple brings the resentment to the forefront and causes a slew of problems for Ginger.

Ginger has some magical ability like Chime, Mel, Drummer, etc. that we met in earlier books in the Lost Continent series, but is totally untutored and hers seems only to work at night. We follow Ginger the whole way. The first half or more is dealing with the locals. Only when she is forced to leave Sky Flames do we further the series plot. Which is fine. The first part was great and showed her dealing with the misogynistic cultural bias, at times leading to brutality. It was a bonus when the story connected to the previous works. 4.8 stars.

[Ven Newby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t decide who I disliked more Ginger or Darz. I was hoping that having a female author would equal a stronger female protagonist. This book heavily relies on the damsel in distress. Plus her love interest pretty much had no interest in her, except for sex. It was his fault she got trafficked in the first place. Ugh I’m pissed.

[Alayna Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I somehow came across this at a fairly young age, and this definitely caused a sexual awakening in me, and I’ve reread it several times, therefore I have to give it the respect it deserves, which is 4 stars (not 5 because I’m sure you could find some heavy flaws in it)

[Mamak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again this book in the series was just “ok”. Will read the last book and hope it brings some type of resolution to the 5 books.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The priestess was an awesome character. Brave, naive, confused, unsure about her own power, she makes a very compelling female lead. Baz is just as we left him in The Dawn Star which I rather liked. I have to say I always had this sneaky suspicion that Darz was Baz. It started when he said he was supposed to marry his cousin, but she married a skinny boy in his place. I really became suspicious when he said he lived with his cousin and her husband.

The three deities coming down to Ginger was really intriguing to me. It's also interesting that Ginger could only do mage-craft at night. But what I really want to know is how in the world a common Aronsdale man ended up married to a Taka Mal woman and living in Sky Flames. That could've been fleshed out more.

Though I don't particularly like people being tortured, the torture scene in this book was much better than the one in The Dawn Star The agony felt more real, and it really aggravated my senses.

I usually have something bad to say about the dialogue, but the dialogue in this book wasn't too bad. It was great up until the epilogue. For some reason, it takes a "campy" turn at that point.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ginger-Sun is a priestess for the Dragon-Sun in a provincial town that both fears her and seeks to control her. When she protects a stranger left for dead, she finds herself in grave danger from both the town and an outside conspiracy that seeks to bring down Taka Mal.

It was a little unclear how this book fit in with the series towards the beginning, but things slowly fell into place. Ginger-Sun is a little different from the other heroines in the series, very educated and tender-hearted, and I actually enjoyed reading her scenes. I was disappointed with a few things, namely that once again the heroine ends up kidnapped, although to the author's credit, her heroines typically rescue themselves (eventually). Things are also left massively hanging, and I believe the next book will focus on different characters, so I'm curious how things will tie together.

[Soopi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I did like this one more than the first. I can see by her anthology that I've a lot more reading to do of books by this author. This is apparently the 4th book in the cycle ... I missed the second all together and the third I've read out of sequence ... but that's what comes of relying on Australian booksellers.
There is something about the writing of these books that annoys me. I can't put my finger on it exactly but I think it comes down to lack of real tragedy. Does that make sense? You kinda know nothing really bad is going to happen in the end. But it's good bubble gum for the mind and I'll keep chewing.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. Without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't read it I can't say much. But I will say that it was a great view on a man we know little to nothing about at this point. And it made me love him too. This is another great book for the series and I feel a slight sadness that the next book, The Night Bird, is the last for now in the series. I truly hope Catherine Asaro will be writing another one.

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was part of a series, but it was okay. At least there weren't any references to past books (that I noticed anyway). It's such a simple tale... At first it seemed to go very slow. I didn't enjoy the naivette of the main character. However once bad events started happening, the book became more interesting. Still it's a simplistic tale.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a delight. It made my heart do 'flip-flops', could not put it down and was dancing (or if you could call it dancing) when some parts hit me (I was cupid shot). I would love to read more of her books (if I can find them here) they were definitely a treat! Thank you Jessie for lending your copy to me!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great fantasy to read during the summer. I liked reading about the characters, and the description of this world is very well done. I definitely need to read more of this series. It was a nice book to escape in.

[Melissa Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love the story line. i kust love sort of science fiction!does have one graphic scene i would get rid of but other than that very clean book!

[Natalia]

Book 4 of Lost Continent Collection

[Alicia]

I liked the romance

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Its the first that I've read of Catherine Asaro.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different from her Misted Cliff series, but still pretty good. Sometimes you get frustrated by how naive Ginger is....

[Karen Desmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

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