The central players include Zanja na'Tarwein, a tribal warrior woman whose clan was destroyed by the Sainnites; Karis, a half-giant metalsmith who possesses powerful healing abilities but has long been addicted to a drug that slowly but surely kills its users; and Emil Paladin, a scholar who finds himself leader of a company of Shaftali rebels.
A character-driven fantasy series, Elemental Logic is particularly notable for its prominent LGBT themes (the first two novels both won the Gaylactic Spectrum Award) and its presentation of a fantasy setting in which men and women are equally likely to be farmers or soldiers, healers or craftsmen.
Books in the series include:
- Fire Logic (2002)
- Earth Logic (2004)
- Water Logic (2007)
- Air Logic (2019)
This series contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Zanja na'Tarwein, katrim of the Ashawala'i. Interestingly enough, Karis, despite her great size and muscular build, is a healer, and rarely fights — but she can certainly hold her own when she does. The series is notable, however, for avoiding the Double Standard inherent in both this trope and Non-Action Guy, as pretty much any occupation one can think of is equal-opportunity and one never sees the "She's a soldier and also a woman OMG!" attitude found in other series.
- Action Mom: Norina in the later books; Zanja and Karis might also count, since by Shaftali custom all the adults in a household are considered the children's parents.
- Amazonian Beauty: Karis, described as possessing "musculature and form that might make a sculptor weep."
- Badass Bookworm: Emil Paladin, scholar and respected commander.
- "Be Quiet!" Nudge: J'han to Norina when she's about to recount Zanja's death in front of their five-year-old daughter.
- Big Fancy House: The house used as Karis's seat of government starting from the end of Earth Logic. It's the only building in the town large enough for the purpose; unfortunately, it is also so spectacularly ugly that Karis immediately names it "Travesty". The name sticks.
- Big Labyrinthine Building: The House of Lilterwess was this before its destruction.
- The Black Death: A subplot in Earth Logic concerns the main characters' attempts to stop an epidemic of this disease.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Norina and J'han's daughter Leeba. Zanja calls her "Little Hurricane" with good reason.
- The Chosen One: Karis, who was chosen as Harald G'deon's successor and then quickly shipped off to a remote mining village when her addiction to smoke was discovered.
- Cool Old Guy: Emil isn't quite elderly, but is at least described as gray-haired. Zanja also refers to him as "our elder" when describing the family to Karis's mother's people.
- Dead Guy Junior: Clement names her son Gabian, after her dead mother.
- Deadpan Snarker: Other characters have their moments, but Clement and Gilly are the most consistent about it.
- Death by Childbirth: Alrin.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The smoke drug, a substance provided by the conquerors of a once-proud people, now the addiction of many Shaftali — much like a certain real-world drug.
- Elemental Powers: A subtle interpretation thereof, typically used more in reference to personality traits than actual powers. Earth bloods are healers, air bloods are Truthken, water bloods control the weather and fire bloods are seers and oracles.
- Empathic Weapon: Played with. The knife Karis crafts for Zanja isn't alive, but Karis is able to sense when Zanja kills someone with it, and who she's killed. This is important later in Fire Logic when Zanja decides to commit suicide rather than be captured, and Karis sends assistance the moment the blade touches Zanja's throat.
- Encyclopedia Exposita: The sections of Fire Logic all begin with one quote each from Mackapee's Principles for Community, Mabin's Warfare, and Medric's History of My Father's People. Two of the three authors are characters in the series proper; the other, Mackapee, was the first G'deon and basically responsible for Shaftal's culture prior to the arrival of the Sainnites.
- Fantastic Drug: Smoke.
- Fantastic Racism: Between the Shaftali and Sainnites. Medric fears what people will think of him for being half-Sainnite. Karis fears the same persecution. In the second book, Garland has been drifting for years because he's afraid to tell people he's Sainnite, and can't settle down anywhere while keeping the secret.
- The third book reveals that this used to be a problem between the Shaftali and the border tribes.
- Fantasy Contraception: The Shaftali have this; the Sainnites don't.
- Fantasy Gun Control: Averted. Guns are used throughout the series, by both Sainnites and Shaftali.
- Feminist Fantasy: Both the Shaftali and Sainnite cultures are egalitarian in regards to gender, as are the border tribes that we see, and there's no shortage of strong and important female characters.
- Forging Scene: A memorable one occurs shortly before the conclusion of Fire Logic, when Karis forges the spike that she then drives into Mabin's heart, using her power to keep her alive anyway. Her ability to do this proves to everyone present that she is, in fact, the G'deon.
- Gambit Roulette: Except for Clement's subplot, basically everything that happens in Water Logic is part of a a plan by Grandmother Ocean to get the G'deon of two centuries ago to rearrange the land where her tribe lives.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Annis, particularly when it comes to inventing rockets and explosives. She even seems to have invented napalm.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: The conflict between the Shaftali and the Sainnites isn't quite as black-and-white as everyone assumes.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Played with. Karis is often described as half-giant. However, this turns out not to be literal. Karis meets her mother's family in Earth Logic, and they're human—just really, really tall. Everyone keeps calling them giants, though.
- Happily Married: As of the second book, Zanja and Karis, Norina and J'han, Emil and Medric. Also Harald G'Deon and Dinal, although they die before the series begins.
- Healing Hands: Karis, who is able to bring Zanja back from near-death and restore her body after she was imprisoned for months,
her toes cut off one by one and her back broken. - Hopeless War: By the second book, the Shaftali and Sainnites are both entirely aware that the war between them is a hopeless one for both sides, and the main characters' chief concern is how to defeat the Sainnites without sacrificing the soul of Shaftal in the process. At the end of Earth Logic, Karis, after much deliberation, finally puts her foot down and ends the conflict by declaring the Sainnites to be Shaftali, thus eliminating one side altogether without the need for further bloodshed.
- La Résistance: The Paladins have become this by the start of the series, although they existed before the Sainnites' arrival and used to have a different role.
- Last of Her Kind: Zanja is the last of the Ashawala'i.
- Living Lie Detector: Norina, and Truthken in general.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: In Book Two, Karis meets the Sainnite general Cadmar, and the resemblance between them is such that everyone there except Cadmar figures it out on the spot. It doesn't affect either of their actions, though.
- Mad Oracle: Zanja could be interpreted as a toned-down example on all counts: the slaughter of her people and her time imprisoned by the Sainnites have clearly left her unbalanced and prone to hallucinations, but she isn't babbling or incoherent, and her visions and card-readings are intuitive more than outright magical. Other characters tend to view most fire bloods as mad oracles by nature.
- Medical Monarch: The G'deon, ruler of Shaftal, is always an earth witch. Earth talents include healing, and Karis can fix physical ailments and injuries easily.
- Never Mess with Granny: Grandmother Ocean from Water Logic. She’s not a fighter physically, but even so, you really don’t want her mad at you.
- Non-Action Guy: Medric, Garland, probably J’han—respectively, a seer, a cook and a healer. Medric is the only one who’s ever criticized for it, and that was by the Sainnites before his Heel–Face Turn.
- Oh, My Gods!: Many characters swear by the country of Shaftal. In a more exact use of this trope, there's the Ashawala'i "By the nine gods!" and Medric's "Gods of my father!"
- Overly Long Name: The Juras tribesmen often have names well over eight syllables long. Justified in that the syllables of a Juras name are taken from surviving relatives and True Companions. It's considered a sad thing to have one's name grow shorter with age.
- Rape as Backstory: It's never stated outright, but Clement is quite certain Gilly was sexually abused by Cadmar when he was first taken in off the streets.
- Reluctant Warrior: Emil would rather be a scholar than a leader of La Résistance.
- Rescue Romance: A Zig-Zagging Trope, played every which way by Zanja and Karis.
- Rightful King Returns: In the first book, we learn that Karis is the rightful heir to Harald G’deon, not just a vessel to hold his power and eventually pass it on. In the second, set eight years later, Karis finally announces herself publically, putting an end to official warfare in Shaftal.
- Statuesque Stunner: Karis is extremely tall and muscular.
- The Storyteller: Zanja becomes one in Earth Logic, and is only referred to as "the storyteller" for a time.
- Straight Gay: Almost everyone. Zanja, Karis, Emil, Medric, Annis, Clement, Seth...
- Strong Family Resemblance: Karis and her father, Cadmar. The first time they meet, most of the onlookers guess their relationship.
- Superpower Lottery: The G'deon, in addition to his or her own power as an earth witch, also has the collective power of all the previous G'deons. The result is that the G'deon is immensely powerful, but has to be very careful about choosing when to act. Another example would be the water witches, who can control the weather and time.
- Time Travel: A power of water witches, and a major element in Water Logic.
- UST: Zanja and Karis, and how. You can cut it with a knife from the moment they meet. Often borders on Belligerent Sexual Tension. They finally get together at the end of Fire Logic.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Mabin. She truly wants the best for Shaftal—but her rigidity, prejudices, and her anger at the Sainnites prevent her from seeing what the "best" is.
