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The Breathing Sea II: Drowning (The Zemnian Series Book 4) Kindle Edition

by E.P. Clark (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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Gifts from the gods are never free.

Dasha’s magical gifts have always seemed more like a curse. Now on her first journey as a woman grown, Dasha has to learn to control her magic before it destroys her. But those to whom she turns for help often seek to use her for their own ends.

And the stakes are greater than just Dasha’s survival. Foreigners are poised on the borders of Zem’, threatening not just the safety of Dasha’s people, but their very way of life. Meanwhile, the spirits of the forest are demanding their due. Caught between these warring factions, Dasha must find a way to restore harmony to her people and her land. But she herself may be torn apart in the process.

The conclusion of the award-winning The Breathing Sea mini-series, The Breathing Sea II: Drowning is a subversive combination of satire and high fantasy. If you loved Deathless or The Bear and the Nightingale, come immerse yourself in the land of Zem’, where trees walk, animals talk, and women rule.

With discussion questions at the end.

Reading order for the Zemnian Series:

The Zemnian Series: Slava’s Story
The Midnight Land I: The Flight
The Midnight Land II: The Gift

The Zemnian Series: Dasha’s Story
The Breathing Sea I: Burning
The Breathing Sea II: Drowning
The Singing Shore I: Sea and Song
The Singing Shore II: Sky and Stone
The Singing Shore III: Spirit and Flame

The Zemnian Series: Valya’s Story
The Dreaming Land I: The Challenge
The Dreaming Land II: The Journey
The Dreaming Land III: The Sacrifice
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  1. Book 4 of 10
    The Zemnian Series
  2. Print length
    490 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    July 21, 2017
  6. File size
    1513 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I began writing The Breathing Sea in fall, and, four years later almost to the day, I ended it in the fall. Which seems only appropriate for a story about spring.

The Breathing Sea is a river-to-sea narrative, in which our heroine starts by a river, and ends up by an ocean. It's also a re-imagining of the story of the (de)flowering of a maiden, one that strives to put the maiden in the center of her own fate and her own power. And it's a meditation on society, and selfishness, and how hard it is to do even a little bit in the world--but how that's no excuse not to try.

Readers familiar with Russian literature, myths, and fairy tales will recognize many elements in both parts of this mini-series. In Part I we have Baba Yaga, Hedgehog in the Fog, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and Chekhov's "In the Ravine" all thrown together. In this second part of the series we have house-spirits (domovye), water-spirits (vodyanye), water-maidens (rusalki), Gray Wolf, and various Slavic Midsummer customs.  In mixing all this together, my aim was not to create a work of anthropological fidelity, but a rich and vivid culture that could be appreciated by insiders and outsiders alike.

Happy reading!
Elena

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0745GHRNK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Helia Press (July 21, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 21, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1513 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 490 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

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E.P. Clark

E.P. Clark

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

E.P. Clark starting writing fiction as soon as she deigned to learn to read, which was not particularly early--she spent a good deal of her childhood doing more important things, such as pretending to be a unicorn. Slightly later, she wanted to be a world-class equestrian. But, much to her surprise, the heavy finger of fate pointed her way and she ended up moving to Russia, which led, very circuitously, to her earning graduate degrees in Russian from Columbia University and UNC-Chapel Hill, and her current employment teaching Russian at Wake Forest University, along with some odd travel opportunities. The picture, for example, was taken in Finnish Lapland, shortly before she was almost trampled by stampeding reindeer. She continued writing fiction throughout all this, however, and has published multiple short stories and novels. She loves hearing from her readers and can be found at https://epclarkauthor.net/.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Andrea L. Stoeckel
5.0 out of 5 stars After all this,Can Dasha really been seen?
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
Why can’t they see what you really are?” “Because they are not looking, Tsarinovna,” the domovaya told her. “Now come. We must hurry.”

This is the continuation of a book I read earlier this summer: “Breathing Sea 1: Burning”. This book takes up almost in the same moment Burning ended, as, according to the author, much like Tolkien, they split up the book so it was less intimidating. By the end, everyone’s perceptions have changed and Dasha, Tsarinovna of Zem’ is seen as a much better equipped ruler-in-training. But what she has to go through, what she has to endure to get there and understand her magic and how it works, on top of simple maturity is an amazing journey...a journey to be seen...and known as something more than a child.

I decided to read both parts of this story during a summer reading challenge because of what Author Clark had written in Book 1. I also own the first two books in the series, so they are next. These are challenges as the books together run almost 1200 pages, however, it is a satisfying tale that will stay with you. Highly recommended 5/5
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Making Good Stories
4.0 out of 5 stars Embracing Exceptional Endowments
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2018
As adventures continue, a greater understanding of the Tsarinorvna's magical powers is explored in the culmination of her coming to terms with her fate in The Breathing Sea II: Drowning by E.P. Clark.

As Dasha's powers seem to be dominating her life through fits she doesn't understand and can't seem to control, she flees her traveling companions for the woods and the aid of the spirits her mother had bargained with for her very existence. While trying to learn more about her powers and how to harness them as she travels, Dasha is confronted with the harsh and startling realities that her people face on a daily basis. With war looming on the horizon from the threat of raiding parties into Zem' there's much at stake for the future of Zem' and her life as Dasha tries to keep the promise she made with the gods to do no harm.

Picking up immediately where The Breathing Sea I: Burning ends, this installment focuses closely upon Dasha as she grapples to understand and control her magical abilities; though necessary to progress Dasha's experience and the narrative as a whole, the intense focus solely on her highlighted her annoying and immature behavior, making the overall read a bit frustrating. Filled with lots of travel, that at times made the story feel rather repetitive, the narrative was invigorated with something new and refreshing when characters from the previous books in the series finally came together toward the end of this installment of the series. Though the ending leaves things a bit vague, the long-game combination of fantasy and mythology was well crafted.

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
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lucyblue
5.0 out of 5 stars astonishing conclusions
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
really really good! The Breathing Sea 1 was also a great book and flowed into this one beautifully. I am so impressed with this author - amazing story, lots of depth, and breadth - this one was definitely a page turner - and a female lead who doesn't devolve into romantic nonsense is SUCH a breath of fresh air. I absolutely loved the internal exploration of dasha, and how she finally managed to integrate what she knew with what she felt and what she SAW - I read the previous books last year (midnight land???) and reading this conclusion has me looking to reread the beginning ones that tells the story of dasha's female line before her. WOW, that's the most descriptive thing i can say about this conclusion - just wow.
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Christa
5.0 out of 5 stars I recommend getting both The Breathing Sea I and II I was glad I started with I and thrilled to already have II in hand!
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2017
The Breathing Sea I Burning and The Breathing Sea II Drowning are Books three and four, respectively, of The Zemnian Series. I haven't read the first two books in the series and I want to address a little bit about that first. Anytime I do choose a book that happens to be part of a series I realize I'm taking a gamble of feeling like I'm missing information needed to fully understand the plot and/or characters. I'm happy to say that was not the case with TBS I Burning! It wasn't until the end that I was reminded it was part of a series but crafted so well that unless you knew otherwise it could pass as book one of a series! Usually if I'm going to be reviewing more than one book in a series I write my review at the end of each before I start reading the next. This time I couldn't do it! Author Elena Clark had captured my attention from the start of TBS I Burning, kept it throughout it's many pages (about double of the average fantasy ebooks, more bang for your buck) until the cliffhanger at the end!! I had the next book in my possession ......It was too late that night to work on a review but too early to go to bed...... I had to know what happened, so yes, I started the next book fully intending to write the review in the next day or two! But once started I couldn't put it down! TBS II Drowning does pick up exactly, I stress exactly, where TBS I Burning ends. That was why I was so thrilled to already have it on hand! Clark gives a good synopsis on the first couple pages for those who did not read Burning first but obviously the experience would be drastically different if I hadn't read Burning first. I sooo enjoyed these books and want future readers to have the same full experience so I decided to do this joint review without giving any specifics (spoilers) but to encourage future readers to read the book as it was meant to be! In my opinion Clark is doing what she was meant to do! Often times it seemed as if I was watching a movie, she brought these characters to life in such a way that I felt true emotion towards them all, varying levels of good or bad but never indifferent. Clark's skillful writing made it easy to picture them, what they were doing and where they were, showing she has a knack for painting a picture with her words where others fail by getting too wordy or adding too much fluff. Do not let the length of the books deter you, it's a bonus here, the storyline is kept on track adding new and interesting characters along the way with events continuing to unfold adding more dimension to the plot without any lulls or fluff! Magic is the running theme throughout in its various forms, some new and never seen before and some going far back in mans history. But human nature in its various forms is just as much a running theme showing both the good, moral, tender side of humanity as well as the dark, mean spirited and even evil side.

I obviously enjoyed these books and encourage reading TBS I Burning first if you happened to have stumbled on to TBS II Drowning first, you won't regret it! Its been quite sometime that a book became so vivid in my mind, with characters that I felt emotionally invested in and a storyline that was completely engaging from beginning to end! I definitely want to get my hands on the other books in the series!!
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