Home From the Sea (Elemental Masters, #8)

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Home From the Sea (Elemental Masters #8)

3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 · rating details · 992 ratings · 160 reviews

Mari Prothero turns sixteen, and learns the family fishing luck depends on each generation marrying a sea-dweller, but she demands her choice of suitors and a teacher from the sea ruler. In London, the stuffy official magicians send a pair of friends to seek the new water mage, little knowing the three girls would become best friends.

Hardcover, Daw, 311 pages

Published June 5th 2012 by Penguin (first published June 2012)

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Sep 25, 2012 Jacalyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Too much rehashing of past scenes between Nan and Sarah from The Wizard of London. The villain(s) felt half-baked and other parts of the story felt rushed, but if you're looking for a quick read this book is alright.

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Jul 08, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 100-in-2012, audio

Not one of her best. I usually really like this series, but the dramatic tension wasn't there this time. The two 'villans' come across as petulant little boys. They can cause a great deal of trouble, but they hardly seem to know why they're doing it. The first 75% of the book is full of daily life. Another reviewer her compared it to Little Women, which I think is absolutely fair. It's Little Women with magic, which is neat, just not what I thought I was getting. So, I'm not sorry I read it, but...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Kimikimi rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book could have greatly benefited from an editor, and I'm surprised to find myself saying that given how long Mercedes Lackey has been a big name in the fantasy genre. At some points she had characters discussing knowledge that they couldn't possibly know, and she also gave the same information to the reader several times as though she had forgotten what she had written a few chapters ago. I generally don't make a big point of noticing or commenting on the crafting of a story, but in this c...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Elley Murray rated it 5 of 5 stars

I've actually owned this book since shortly after it came out, but made the mistake of reading reviews on it before actually reading it, and so I was put off and unsure if I even wanted to read it.

Pfft.

Many of the reviews on Goodreads complain that "half" of this book is just excerpts from The Wizard of London, or that it relies too heavily on The Wizard of London. There are 6 pages of text taken straight from The Wizard of London (yes, I went and counted), and all of them are bits describing ho...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, fantasy, romance

This is a fairly typical Mercedes Lackey novel. Girl finds out something extraordinary about herself (in this case she's a water mage and pretty much has to marry a Selch), girl does something about it (in this case bargains for the right to choose her own husband and get teaching), girl falls in love, girl defeats somebody, girl lives happily ever after. I did like that Nan and Sarah came back, and I also really liked that the book was less about Mari falling in love with a dude and more about...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Text Addict rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: british, fantasy, historical-fantasy

I finally ordered us a copy of this the other day and read it last week. I liked it mainly on the strength of enjoying the characters and setting; the story itself was singularly lacking in tension. Lackey would've been better off editing out the two London girls, whose presence added almost nothing to the plot, and publishing just Mari's story as a novelette. It had a pretty good plot for a novelette, with a nice dramatic ending. As a novel, though, I kept reading on and waiting for something t...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Doris rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is well written but seems somewhat formulistic, depending on constant discussion with the Master of London, aka the Wizard of London, a powerful mage, who just also happens to be the leader of The White Group of wizards that is headquartered in that city.

The story revolves around a young woman named Mari Prothero, who lives on the shore of Wales in a very nice little cottage that her family has owned for generations. She lives there with her fisherman father just outside a small villa...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Carol Gibson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was book seven in The Elemental Master series. As I have said before I sometimes have a love hate relationship with her writing. In this series it has mostly been love. Instead of the whiny angst filled characters of Valdemar we get strong woman who deal with what life has thrown at them.

Mari the protagonist of this story is that woman. At 18 she finds out that the luck her family of fisherman have always enjoyed was due to a bargain one of her ancestors made with the magical Selch half hum...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Erika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1st-read-dec-2012, fantasy, historical-fic

As a plain book, it was an enjoyable read.

As a Lackey fan, not one of her best, although I enjoyed the little update on Nan and Sarah.

The pages pulled from Wizard of London were unnecessary, could have just been a quick paragraph synopsis. The whole page of Shakespeare could have been done away with too. The characters had some dialogue and actions that could have been cut too, because readers don't forget that easily what the other main characters have done a few chapters ago.

(view spoiler)...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Gayle rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am a big fan of ML's Elemental Masters series and Five Hundred Kingdoms series, and was excited to read Home from the Sea. I mostly enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected.

Synopsis: Mari Prothero's father is the luckiest fisherman in their little Welsh village. When Mari learns that she must marry a Selch (seal-person) to maintain the luck, she uses her strength of mind and her latent mastery of water magic to strike a bargain more to her liking. Can her new allies from London, and from a p...more I am a big fan of ML's Elemental Masters series and Five Hundred Kingdoms series, and was excited to read Home from the Sea. I mostly enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected.

Synopsis: Mari Prothero's father is the luckiest fisherman in their little Welsh village. When Mari learns that she must marry a Selch (seal-person) to maintain the luck, she uses her strength of mind and her latent mastery of water magic to strike a bargain more to her liking. Can her new allies from London, and from a previous Elemental Masters story, help her keep her family together?

Good things: I liked the Welsh setting and Mari Prothero. Welsh heritage is big at my house, and I found the milieu very enjoyable, from the village, the isolated cottage, to the Manor and environs.

Bad things: ML really set me up for some great plot twists that never happened.
•First, what about all those dark magicky things with their eyes on her? (The constable doesn't count; he's merely annoying.) I thought the evil Mari Lwyd had some good potential, but alas, it was a non-starter.
•Second, the contract with the selches specifies one child goes with the selch parent and one stays with the human parent. Since Gethin snatched both children, Mari had a strong case for serious payback, especially after all the tit-for-tat business about dealing with magical folk. I was excited to see how that would play, but it never came up. This would have been a good time for Llyr to show up and wield some Oldest magic.
•Third, with all the Selch cousins/kinfolk rallying around her in Selchland, where was Mari's mother & brother? Not so much as a nod? I was watching for some kind of reunion to warm the sea-chilled cockles of my heart, even though Mari no longer mourned her lost kin. But nothing. Another plot strengthening device, wasted.
•Fourth, Puck keeps hanging around, but won't interfere with his counterpart, Llyr. Kind of expected Llyr to make an appearance, even in passing (see Second), but no.

I'm not sure how I feel about Nan and Sarah. My recollection of them is pretty dim, so I cannot rely on my previous reading of The Wizard of London to strengthen Home from the Sea. I find the girls less interesting, and don't feel their whole storyline did a whole lot to advance the plot, aside from tying it to the White Lodge thread of the series. Maybe if I remembered them more, it would help, but it's not my job to remember, it's ML's job to make the story stand on its own.

In short, I almost loved it, but the disappointments are real. (less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Stef rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, love-story, magic, romance

Mercedes Lackey opened my eyes to the world of adult fantasy writing. Home from the Sea is the most recent addition to her Elemental Masters series, which are basically retellings of classic fairy tales set in Edwardian England. Some of the stories that Lackey has tackled include Beauty and the Beast, Puss in Boots, and the Snow Queen. She has even used some more obscure fairy tales like Donkeyskin in her writing. This story has elements of the Irish fairy tale, Tam Lin, but focuses mainly on di...more Mercedes Lackey opened my eyes to the world of adult fantasy writing. Home from the Sea is the most recent addition to her Elemental Masters series, which are basically retellings of classic fairy tales set in Edwardian England. Some of the stories that Lackey has tackled include Beauty and the Beast, Puss in Boots, and the Snow Queen. She has even used some more obscure fairy tales like Donkeyskin in her writing. This story has elements of the Irish fairy tale, Tam Lin, but focuses mainly on different aspects of the whole genre of Selkie (seal people) tales.

One of the reasons I love this series is because the characters that Lackey creates don't just disappear at the end of her stories, many of them pop back up in other books as supporting characters. Home from the Sea reintroduces readers to the two little girls from The Wizard of London, but as grown ups instead of little girls. It was really nice to get to know these characters again as integral parts of the story and not just as supporting characters. They have been sent to observe a strange new Water Master in Wales and get drawn into ancient bargains, vindictive clan leaders, and stolen families.

As much as I love the stories that Lackey weaves, they are not great literature, and they certainly don't need to be. I believe that its a good thing to be able to pick up a book and know before you even open the pages that the baddies are going to be punished and the heroes will survive to live happily ever after. In this way Lackey is not really altering the fundamental heart of the fairy tale. These stories may be updated but they are certainly not Disneyfied. There is often the potential for terrible and gruesome punishments to be inflicted on evil magicians who have mismanaged their magical abilities. After all the Evil Queen in the original Snow White was forced to dance in red hot iron shoes until she burned up.

I have only given this story 4 stars because although it is a very good part of the series, there are a few other books that I enjoyed just a bit more (The Serpent's Shadow and Phoenix and Ashes). I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this series to anyone that loves fairy tales, or someone that wants a relatively easy read that will leave you with a smile on your face and a warm gooey feeling inside. (less)

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Sep 05, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction

Lackey's gotten fairly formulaic at this point, especially with her retellings of fairy tales in Victorian settings. But that's not necessarily a terrible thing. While there's nothing here that will surprise you, for those who like her warm, slightly angsty characters and well-earned happily-ever-afters, this is as familiar and comforting as a cup of cocoa.

Mari is pleasant enough, and has enough backbone to get a few good jabs in. Meanwhile, it's nice to see Sarah and Nan grown up and on their o...more

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Aug 09, 2012 DeAnn rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the latest installment to Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Mages series, and it's a real doozy, full of fascinating information on the folklore and mythology of Wales. The story takes place somewhere around the same time as Downton Abbey, I'd say about 1910, which gives it a bit of steampunkish flavor that I enjoyed. I also always love hearing about how the elemental mages come into their power and how they wield it. It always takes me aback, however, that Lackey seems to be firmly in the sch...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Deborah Ideiosepius rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three stars because I enjoyed it, if I was doing a literary critique it would have got two.

I liked the main character ‘Mari’ and her father, I liked the fact it was set in Wales. I suspect that a lot of research went into this book and I think a fair bit of the detail of the life of a fisherman in a small Welsh Fishing town was true – it was certainly very interesting as were the train trips around Britain.

I am fond of the elemental series, I think I have read them all so far but in this book th...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Jen A. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 03, 2012 Kira Yeversky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, mythology

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book follows the fairly predictable pattern of the other Elemental Masters books, but there is enough variation to keep it interesting. I like that the main villain(s) are different from those of previous books...no evil mages (or vindictive aunts/stepmothers who also happen to be evil mages) here, just elemental creatures and a bullying constable. I also enjoyed the return of Sarah and Nan from The Wizard of London as young adults, figuring out what they are going to do with their lives.

Th...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Shiloh (SnarkyWriter) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This review also appears on my blog.

2.5 stars

In the newest Elemental Masters novel, Mari Prothero learns that her father's preternatural fishing and sailing abilities aren't just skill; long ago her family made a pact with the Selchs, a type of Selkie, and in order to keep the pact, Mari must marry a Selch, have children, and give her husband and one child back to the sea. But what nobody counted on was Mari's abilities as a Water master and her genuine affection for the man she marries.

Anyone w...more This review also appears on my blog.

2.5 stars

In the newest Elemental Masters novel, Mari Prothero learns that her father's preternatural fishing and sailing abilities aren't just skill; long ago her family made a pact with the Selchs, a type of Selkie, and in order to keep the pact, Mari must marry a Selch, have children, and give her husband and one child back to the sea. But what nobody counted on was Mari's abilities as a Water master and her genuine affection for the man she marries.

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I'm a Mercedes Lackey freak. Her books helped get me through adolescence and they're still comfort-reads now. I love almost everything she's written, and will defend her themes and characters to the death.

I didn't love this.

Home from the Sea may be the weakest Lackey-only (not counting co-written books) work I've read to date, and that's including the Collegium Chronicles novels that I've fussed about (and am sincerely hoping the last one improves on). There are several reasons for this judgment:

1. There's no story here. Or rather, there's a story, but there's not enough story for a full-length novel, not even one that doesn't even hit 300 pages in ebook. There was a lot of padding, and not stuff that helped the plot or ending of the book at all. In several places, chunks of other stories or books (those involving Nan, Sarah, and their birds) were essentially copy-pasted rather than summarized, retold, or even discussed. And they were chunks that contained information that set up events later in the book, but we didn't need them verbatim. The actual story is a blend of several Celtic myths--Tam Lin, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, the Two Magicians, etc.--and could have been quite charming if the stuff not related to the story hadn't been such a slog.

2. The characters are utterly unsympathetic. I never really connected with Nan and Sarah, anyway, and they make up half the book. But then there's Mari, who in no way lives up to the usual spunky Lackey heroine--at least until the very end of the book, when the trials to reclaim her husband and sons begin. She's utterly flat, boring, and uninteresting. Her father, Daffyd, seems okay until Mari realizes that he's not as special as she thought because his fishing is augmented by the pact. At that point, she suddenly decides he's a cad. There's not enough character development or exposition to set this up for us; all we have is Mari's opinion.

3. The villains are mustache-twirlers of the first degree. The constable--who is utterly unnecessary to the plot at all except that the real villain spends all his time in the ocean--is a one-dimensional bully whose reasons for tormenting the Protheros are never revealed. The other characters speculate about his reasons, but nothing solid is ever offered. And then at the end, everyone--Nan, Sarah, the Water Elementals, Earth Elementals, and Robin Goodfellow himself--gangs up on him to make him look like a complete boob. The Selch chief is also a bully who hates it when something doesn't go exactly his way--even if it goes generally his way--and exists only to make life for Mari and her husband as miserable as possible.

4. There's no real tension. The story went forward, for the most part, with a very single-minded forward thrust that said that this is how this story goes and nothing is going to get in its way. Maybe it's just because it's based on a fairy tale and therefore the structure of the story was already laid out, but in this case I feel Lackey dropped the ball on staying within the structure but still giving us a story we could see possibly going terribly terribly wrong.

The ending isn't bad--it actually feels more like a classic Lackey than anything else in the book--but it doesn't make up for the drag it took to get to the end of the book.

I'm very sad that I didn't like this one and have to give it so few stars. I truly hope that the next few Lackey novels on their way make up for this fumble.(less)

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Jun 05, 2012 Angela Delgado rated it 3 of 5 stars

Contains mild spoilers
(Cross-posted to Amazon)

Mari is a Welsh fisherman's daughter who discovers on her 18th birthday that she is obligated to marry a 'Selch' (selkie) as part of a generations-long bargain between her family and the seal clan. At the same time, she learns that the fantastic sprites she's been seeing her whole life are actually indicative of her growing potential as a Water Master. Nan and Sarah (repeat characters who debuted in The Wizard of London) are sent by Lord Alderscroft...more Contains mild spoilers
(Cross-posted to Amazon)

Mari is a Welsh fisherman's daughter who discovers on her 18th birthday that she is obligated to marry a 'Selch' (selkie) as part of a generations-long bargain between her family and the seal clan. At the same time, she learns that the fantastic sprites she's been seeing her whole life are actually indicative of her growing potential as a Water Master. Nan and Sarah (repeat characters who debuted in The Wizard of London) are sent by Lord Alderscroft to investigate the reports that a new Elemental Mage is coming into power.

So much for the summary.... unfortunately, for three-fourths of the book, that's about all there is. It reads much more like a Louisa May Alcott accounting of daily life than the fantasy adventure in the previous Elemental Masters novels. There are minor points of conflict: Mari's reluctance to be bartered off as a bride, and her subsequent bargain with the Selch leader; and a new, bullying constable who's more of a nuisance than a threat to anyone. In the meantime, Nan and Sarah (now grown and returned from off-screen African adventures) conduct a failed experiment in teaching, debate what to do with themselves, and wander off for a sea-side holiday at Alderscroft's behest. Mari enjoys being courted by handsome young men, learning the extents of powers with a Selch Druid's tutelage, and harvesting various forms of seaweed to cook with. My Kindle showed 80% of the book completed before any sort of significant danger even began to reveal itself - and when it arrived, it was with insufficient justification based on the previous pages. There was almost no tension for most of the story.

It was a huge contrast to previous books in the series, where an antagonist is established almost immediately through his/her POV scenes, and slowly revealed to the heroes. Instead, the encounters preceding the climax seem incredibly mild, there are no antagonist POV scenes, and therefore the antagonist's major attack is very out of proportion and unbelievable in context. That being said, the writing is very pleasant, and a fun read overall; I just wish I'd known it would be so different from previous installments.

I do wonder if Lackey is planning future books to be The Nan And Sarah Show - this seemed more about an 'apprenticeship'-sort of way to set them up as roving detectives for the London mage's society than about anything you would expect from an Elemental Masters book. I'll still continue to read everything she puts out, but I feel like she's losing ground and it's hard to see a favorite author's quality continue to slip. (less)

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Jun 24, 2012 Amanda rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am so disappointed.

The story of Mari, destined to be wife to a selch and a water master in her own right, had potential. And honestly, I have loved the Elemental Masters series, especially since I find that they're based on faerie tales utterly charming.

However, this book has been infuriating.

Lackey has been especially formulaic and feel-good with this book. Gone is even the slightest hint of darkness. I'm disappointed with that -- Lackey used to be genuinely good at creating genuinely human c...more I am so disappointed.

The story of Mari, destined to be wife to a selch and a water master in her own right, had potential. And honestly, I have loved the Elemental Masters series, especially since I find that they're based on faerie tales utterly charming.

However, this book has been infuriating.

Lackey has been especially formulaic and feel-good with this book. Gone is even the slightest hint of darkness. I'm disappointed with that -- Lackey used to be genuinely good at creating genuinely human characters who confront painful topics. Maybe this is just more young-adult than usual.

I'm also more than halfway through the book (page 170) and I don't know who the villain is. I guess it could be the new constable, but we've only really seen him once. Puck's mentioned a couple of times that there are dark powers interested in Mari, but I've seen little to no evidence of it.

There has been hashing and rehashing of the same information, both information from Sarah and Nan from The Wizard of London, the way magic works, and of the information Mari has been given. I just stumbled over the second instance where she discovers the selch aren't immortal. Yes, twice. And the first one was only twenty pages or so ago.

Sarah and Nan are seeming especially powerless in this book, too; they came to town, toddled around, found the bookshop, declared themselves incapable of finding their quarry, and called on Puck to help after saying over and over that they didn't want to. For two young women reputedly trained in the Sherlockian methods of investigation, it seems especially wishy-washy.

This is honestly the very first Mercedes Lackey book that I have genuinely disliked. These books tend to be my go-to comfort books; I know what I'm getting and I like what I get, but this seems rushed and ill-thought out. It's like she settled on The Tempest but couldn't figure out how to deal with it, rather than writing the story and letting it fall out.

Anyway, grump. I'm only halfway through, and if by some miracle the book redeems itself in that time, I'll update my review. As it stands, I'm really sad, especially since Lackey is one of my top ten favorite authors.

Updated: the conflict in this book was so weak. I finished it, but I'm still really sad. I have LOVED the Elemental Masters series, and this one fell so flat. Some parts were really rushed, some were really slow, the villains were more..well..not very villainous, and Lackey left major characters out of the book (Daffyd) for long periods of time to just spontaneously pop up out of nowhere later. Grump. :/(less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'd put this somewhere in the 3.5 range. I really like the Elemental Masters series, but the first half of this book was rather slow--I literally had to go read it on the couch because when I tried reading in bed I kept falling asleep. It just felt like too much set-up. Once Mari finds out about her family's "bargain" and once Nan & Sarah get sent to Wales to hunt Mari down, it really picked up and I enjoyed it. The first part might have been more interesting if I'd actually been able to ret...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Lynda Tatad rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: series-r-us

This is Mercedes Lackey's 7th book in her Elemental Masters series, and I loved that two young ladies from a previous book are back! Nan and Sarah, who first appeared in The Wizard of London as young girls with psychic talents and special birds who looked after them, are back from spending time with Sarah's parents in Africa. Now that their schooling is done, they are trying to figure out where they fit and what they should do. They discover teaching at the school for 'gifted' children isn't rea...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Scratch rated it 5 of 5 stars

Even though I give this book 5 stars, its faults should be addressed:

Mercedes Lackey is definitely past her prime. Nevertheless, I read her books religiously anyway because they're enjoyable, and her truly *wonderful* works in the past still deserve some respect by recognizing her mediocre works of the present.

The villains of Home From the Sea were never fleshed out. To the point that you weren't even sure they *were* villains until late in the game, when you realized that the lack of emotional...more Even though I give this book 5 stars, its faults should be addressed:

Mercedes Lackey is definitely past her prime. Nevertheless, I read her books religiously anyway because they're enjoyable, and her truly *wonderful* works in the past still deserve some respect by recognizing her mediocre works of the present.

The villains of Home From the Sea were never fleshed out. To the point that you weren't even sure they *were* villains until late in the game, when you realized that the lack of emotional depth wasn't meant to conceal a heart of gold. It was just a lack of emotional depth.

In fact, halfway through the novel I wasn't even certain what exactly the "problem" of the story was meant to be. Mari, the protagonist, had agreed to a magical deal that did not seem manifestly unfair at face value. Nan and Sarah from "The Wizard of London" showed up again and waxed on about how their greatest problem was a bad case of idle hands. Halfway through the novel I felt myself enjoying Lackey's typical sensory details focusing on food and practicality, but I found myself seriously questioning whether the plot was going to go anywhere. After "Reserved for the Cat," I can say I have been burned by Lackey before.

Part of Lackey's problem is that she does not even pursue the interesting plot points she includes, half the time. In this novel it is established that the Prothero family is in the habit of taking selq brides, bearing two children, and giving over the selq bride and one child back to the sea in seal form. It is established early on that this took place with Mari's mother and brother. Early in the novel Mari learns of this family secret and meets with the selq folk. And... absolutely no character ever thinks to pursue the possibility that Mari could actually *talk* to her mother or brother. Or at least want to. What one would expect to be an *obvious* plot point to address, Lackey ignores entirely without explanation.

I was glad that the final quarter --perhaps final 8th?-- of the book resolved itself with at least *some* sense of suspense and an actual problem to be solved. But again, I feel like it has been years since Lackey wrote a proper novel with sufficient plot twists and suspense. It would help if she embraced a more Whedon-esque habit of killing main characters. Something. Anything. If another 100 pages could have been added to this novel with more nitty-gritty urban fantasy details, I would have been satisfied.

It should also be noted that I adore selkies above all other magical creatures so was dying to read this book as soon as I saw what it was about. So, I am infinitely grateful for the concept of the novel, if not the execution. (less)

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Feb 01, 2013 Mandolin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-inventory

Mari Prothero never thought to question the extraordinary luck her father, Daffyd, has as a fisherman on the Welsh coast. And, yet, for all her years of life, he has brought in more fish and survived more deadly storms than any of the men in the nearby village. On the morn of her eighteenth birthday, Mari learns his secret and its dreadful impact on her future, for he is the last in a long line of Prothero men who have made bargains with the half-human, half-Elemental Selch clan living in their...more Mari Prothero never thought to question the extraordinary luck her father, Daffyd, has as a fisherman on the Welsh coast. And, yet, for all her years of life, he has brought in more fish and survived more deadly storms than any of the men in the nearby village. On the morn of her eighteenth birthday, Mari learns his secret and its dreadful impact on her future, for he is the last in a long line of Prothero men who have made bargains with the half-human, half-Elemental Selch clan living in their waters and, in exchange for his prosperity, has bartered away his daughter's marital freedom and firstborn child. To seal the bargain, Mari must accept a husband from among the seal-like Selch men and give birth to at least one babe who will be taken from her the moment it is mature. Mari's heart is torn between loyalty to her father and her own rebellious independence. She soon learns, however, that she has a secret weapon: her own magical power that is so desperately needed by the Selch. With it, she can barter and change the bargain, forcing the clan leader to give her the choice of a mate and requiring him to send a teacher to guide her in becoming a Water Master. In doing so, she attracts the interest of the Wizard of London, who sends Nan and Sarah, recently returned from a visit to Africa and at their wits' end for something useful to do, to learn more about Mari and her future as an Elemental Master. With their help and the help of the Selch master who is sent to give her an education, Mari just may come out the victor in her battle of wits with the chieftain after all...But when she unexpectedly loses her heart in the process, will she be able to retain the upper hand? And will she be able to prevent the local constable, who seems intent on accusing her father of wrongdoing, from dragging her father away in chains?

There were so many negative reviews of this book that I almost put it down before even starting. How glad I am that I didn't. I've been so disappointed in several of the Elemental Masters' books, but this one was exactly what I needed. Granted, the mystery of the book is rather flimsy and the action does take quite a while to unfold, but the scenic descriptions and love story more than made up for those weaknesses. A light, refreshing tale that avoids the darker magic found in other books in the series, Home From the Sea was a pleasant escape that I enjoyed. (As a fan of the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, I also loved the allusions to Sitt Hakim!) All in all, though I know that the criticism given to this book by other reviewers does have some merit, I must say that I, for one, thought it was a great addition to the series and worth the read. Start it with expectations for descriptive, slow-paced read with just enough tension to keep it interesting and a nice love story to lighten your heart and you won't be disappointed. (less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

You know what's probably the only real positive about going to the emergency room? It gives you a lot of reading time. When I went on Wednesday evening, I was about 30 pages in, and wasn't sure if I was going to stick with it or not. Well, by the time we left, about five hours after arriving, I was in the early 200s. Not bad for three hours in the waiting room, with intermittent breaks!

I liked it. I started off a bit slow, but thankfully picked up. I couldn't help but think, towards the end, of...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Anne Langston rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked it quite a bit, however the large bits reprinted from Wizard of London were a distraction. I appreciate that they were framed as a flashback, rather than just sticking the same bit in different books (as Christopher Stashell has been known to do). But it still takes me right out of the story. I enjoyed seeing Nan and Sarah again, all grown up. I liked that it was clarified that Nan is somewhere between the Talented and Mages--but I was disappointed that her other self didn't make an appe...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Lucy added it

Shelves: fantasy

The newest Elemental Master is a Water master. Mari Prothero is the daughter of a fisherman on the west coast of Wales. At 18 she is told that she must marry a Selch man (not quite selkie) to keep the Bargain that has kept Prothero men safe for generations.
Two young women (non-masters, but talented in their own ways) who played a major part in The Wizard of London, are sent to find and observe the new Master. The fact that she is female is a big surprise to the Masters back in London, who feel...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, audiobook, reviewed

This is an excellent Mercedes Lackey story, and I'm giving it five stars even though I know that if someone else had written it I'd give it only four. What can I say? I'm well aware of Lackey's faults, but she's given me a lot of pleasure over the years (I've read all the books she's written herself and most of the ones she co-authored with other people) and I tend to judge her work by a separate set of standards. I know that's not fair. If you really can't be doing with a book where the two bad...more This is an excellent Mercedes Lackey story, and I'm giving it five stars even though I know that if someone else had written it I'd give it only four. What can I say? I'm well aware of Lackey's faults, but she's given me a lot of pleasure over the years (I've read all the books she's written herself and most of the ones she co-authored with other people) and I tend to judge her work by a separate set of standards. I know that's not fair. If you really can't be doing with a book where the two bad guys are Horrid People who do Horrid Things because they like being Horrible and where the three heroines are loved by one and all and possess not only all the virtues of their own societies but all the virtues of ours as well, go read something else. Seriously, this book will give you a migraine. But if you are willing to over look all that (plus one rather unfortunate chapter where key plot points of an earlier book in the series are told in tooth-grinding flashback) this is a glorious tale, full of Lackey's charm and her awe-inspiring attention to the minutiae of her character's domestic arrangements. Have you ever wondered how a magic raven & a magic parrot would manage to defecate on a long Victorian railway journey? Mercedes Lackey has, and she'll tell you not only how they manage it in first class but how they would have managed if they were traveling in less style as well.

This is the latest in the Elemental Masters series, and a sequel to the Wizard of London - you don't need to have read that to read this, owing to the extensive use of flashbacks, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you read them in order. Here we get to meet Sarah & Nan all grown up, back from a tour of Africa and looking to start their adult lives. At the same time we are introduced to Mari Prothero, the daughter of a Welsh fisherman, who is just starting to come into her power and who is faced with a distressing choice on her 18th birthday. Eventually the three of them meet and manage to sort things out together. There's a lot of delicious Welsh social history in here, and the whole comes together as a truly charming story.

I have this as an audiobook too, I alternated reading this book with listening to it, and I thoroughly enjoyed Kate Reading's performance, which is especially strong for the Welsh parts of the story. (less)

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Jul 06, 2012 Mirjam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Let me start this review by confessing that I have no clue how to write this review. On the one hand there is a lot about this book that's just so-so or even not so good, but on the other hand I love anything Lackey writes and truly did enjoy Home From The Sea. Being a big fan of Lackey's works, it's only natural that I look at her books through rose-coloured glasses! However, I owe it to you all to take those glasses off and give an honest opinion.

I think the main problem with Home From The Sea...more Let me start this review by confessing that I have no clue how to write this review. On the one hand there is a lot about this book that's just so-so or even not so good, but on the other hand I love anything Lackey writes and truly did enjoy Home From The Sea. Being a big fan of Lackey's works, it's only natural that I look at her books through rose-coloured glasses! However, I owe it to you all to take those glasses off and give an honest opinion.

I think the main problem with Home From The Sea is that there is not enough conflict or action to fill a whole book. Consequently it reads more like a diary which gives you a detailed description of someone's life, including all the ordinary and perhaps less interesting things. Mari does not care for her own part in her family's agreement with the Selch, so there is a conflict. Just not a life or death, good versus evil kind of conflict. The rest of the book is filled with descriptions of Mari's life, training her gift and falling in love with one of the Selch suitors. There was nothing that made me sit on the edge of my seat. In fact there is little action until the end of the book. No matter how nice it was to meet up with Nan & Neville and Sarah & Grey, they had very little to offer apart from reporting regularly to Lord Alderscroft. Although none of the above stopped me from enjoying the book, I can easily see it annoy readers who need a better plot and more action.

Lackey's characters always work for me and the characters in Home From The Sea are no exception. Mari is a nice woman who knows what she wants and who isn't going to let her ancestors marry her off just to procreate without bargaining for a few important changes to the old agreement. She may not like it, but she accepts that she has to marry a Selch who will leave in a couple of years with one of their children never to return again. However, she will pick her own husband and not have Gethin, the leader of the Selch, choose one for her. Mari definitely shows some backbone. Idwal is one of the Selch who arrive on her doorstep. Unlike the others he is not a suitor, but has come to teach her magic. Yet he is the one Mari feels attracted to. Nan, Sarah and their birds are some of my favourite characters in The Wizard of London. Their role may not have been important in this book, but I was delighted to catch up with them again. The girls have grown up and are looking for a way to make a living. Lord Alderscroft's offer to work for the White Lodge in an investigative role is quite a welcome one. Unfortunately their magical strength never came into play in this book. Of course their powers are of little use against the Selch, so that makes perfect sense. Neville and Grey are both intelligent and charming birds, who never fail to make me smile.

The lack of tension or action did not prevent me from loving this book, as the characters and the writing are as enjoyable as always. Home From The Sea was a light-hearted and fun read. It has to be said though, that this is not one of Lackey's better works. If you are not a fan and like your fantasy to be something of a roller coaster ride, this is not the book for you. (less)

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Sep 15, 2012 gremlin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I did like this, but as others have mentioned it's not really as interesting as prior books in the series.

Mari Prothero discovers near and on her 18th birthday that she's got magic and could be a Water Master, her family has a deal with the Selch from way back, and she's expected to marry a stranger nearly immediately. With a little help, she figures out how to work out a better deal for herself. Most of the tension in the story came from how Mari was going to get what she wanted, and the villia...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was fun, predictable, and short. Sarah and Nan came back from Africa and found out that they were now misfits in London. Meanwhile, out on the Welsh coast, a girl named Mari discovered that she was half-Selkie ("selch") and a water elementalist. Added in were one of the chiefs of the sea, a supporting role by Puck, and both of the girls' birds. For additional amusement, there was a villain who actually didn't do anything all that useful for or against the plot besides pad the meager pa...more

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About Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts &...more Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.

"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as `my job.' My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of `story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the `folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.

"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't `not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a `high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL [`There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the `evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.

"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:

"There's no such thing as `one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."

Also known as Misty Lackey.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/merced...(less)

More about Mercedes Lackey...

Books by Mercedes Lackey

Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1)

Magic's Pawn (Valdemar: Last Herald-Mage, #1)

Magic's Price (Valdemar: Last Herald-Mage, #3)

Magic's Promise (Valdemar: Last Herald-Mage, #2)

More…

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Home From the Sea (Elemental Masters #8)

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