false 13997 4 Mercedes Lackey returns to form in <I>The Serpent's Shadow</I>, the fourth in her sequence of reimagined fairy tales. This story takes place in the London of 1909, and is based on <i>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs</i>. Lackey creates echoes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, pays affectionate homage to Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey (who plays an important role under a thin disguise), and turns the dwarves into seven animal avatars who masquerade as pets of her Eurasian heroine, Maya.<p> Some of Maya's challenges come from the fact that she is <I>not</I> "snow white," and she has fled India for her father's English homeland after the suspicious deaths of her parents. Establishing her household in London, she returns to her profession as a physician, working among the poor. Her "pets" and loyal servants stand guard, and Maya herself uses what bits of magic she managed to pick up in childhood to weave otherworldly defenses as well. But the implacable enemy who killed her parents has come to London to search for her; if Maya can be enslaved, her enormous potential powers can be used to the enemy's ends. Fortunately, English magicians of the White Lodge have also noted a new, powerful presence in their midst, though they're having trouble locating her, too. They send Peter Scott, a Water Master, to track her down. He finds Maya beautiful and benign, and is determined to teach her to use the Western magic to which she is heir before her enemy discovers her.<p> Some will find the author's Kiplingesque descriptions of India and Hindustani culture offensive. Lackey describes Maya's enemy as a powerful devotee of the goddess Kali-Durga, though she carefully shows that the avatars of the other deities will not attack her, and has Kali-Durga repudiate her servant in the climactic confrontation. And, though the story is layered, its surface is as glossy and brightly colored as an action comic. But readers who enjoy late Victorian London, Sayers, Sherlock Holmes stories, and a page-turning tale will want to take this one home. <I>&mdash;Nona Vero</I> 2616 1 3 2001 The Serpent's Shadow (Elemental Masters, #2) total:1139|5:327|4:420|3:315|2:66|1:11| 1139 4403 1422 44 4 0 false false Thu May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 13:33:05 -0700 2009 Thu May 28 13:48:47 -0700 2009
I began this book with reluctance, feeling a little tired of fairy tale retellings. I know it's shocking, bu...more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue May 26 12:38:09 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 12:53:29 -0700 2009 The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy because of the realness that Vanyel's ambivalence about his life gave the series. There wasn't just an existence of good guys and bad guys, and the guys that did things that were bad but repented in the end; but, since then, this shal...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Jun 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 12:00:24 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 24 17:02:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 22:29:39 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 12:14:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Aug 18 03:53:11 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 21 09:01:25 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 09:25:56 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 09:27:59 -0800 2009 The Fire Rose_), Lackey tries to integrate colonial Indian culture and myth into her Victorian London.

I'm not sure how well she succeeds -- it comes off a bit more as having been written in the period in question ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 01 13:15:26 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 13:15:26 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Nov 16 04:48:48 -0800 2007 Fri Nov 16 04:49:54 -0800 2007
Dr. Maya Witherspoon has left India and is running away f...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Sep 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 19:46:22 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 30 19:48:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 17:36:18 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 30 08:08:15 -0700 2009 1 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 18:46:59 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 18:54:19 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Sep 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 11:22:32 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 09:46:55 -0700 2009 The Serpent's Shadow was very enjoyable. It's a (very different) retelling of the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Though I enjoyed it and I definitely look forward to continuing this series, I did enjoy the first book, The Fire Rose...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Sep 05 22:06:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 22:06:00 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon May 19 09:00:31 -0700 2008 Mon May 19 09:13:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 21 14:24:01 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 21 14:26:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 19:39:58 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 19:43:58 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 18 08:07:27 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 08:07:27 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Aug 07 19:58:31 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 19:58:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Mar 19 22:41:04 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 17:13:55 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 19:05:36 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 10:38:53 -0800 2009