(By the way, I am completely offline today, which will probably do me good.)

Second paragraph of third chapter of Dangerous Waters:

His casual gesture indicated the smirking man at his side.

Second paragraph of third chapter of Darkening Skies:

Jilseth had always been awe-struck by the Archmage’s talents. A stone mage by birth, hs instinctive affinity was with the soil and rock. Yet he had such effortless control over all the magics of fire, water and even of the air, the element most opposed to his own. There couldn’t be more than a handful of other wizards in this whole city so dedicated to the study and perfecting of magic who could work a scrying spell combined with a clairaudience.

These are the first two of the Hadrumal Crisis series, which I got from the author back in 2018. As usual, intensely detailed secondary world, where a rogue magician troubles the mages and corsairs trouble respectable coastal folks, with it gradually becoming clear how the two plot lines intertwine. Both are very long (well over 500 pages) but I found myself carried along by the narrative. The central characters, Jilseth the young woman mage and battle-hardened warrior Corrain, are especially well drawn. You can get Dangerous Waters here and Darkening Skies here.

These were the sf books that had lingered longest unread on my shelves (sorry Jools). Next on that pile is Redeemer, by C.E. Murphy (sorry Catie).