Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Home From The Sea - Mercedes Lackey

Home From The Sea: An Elemental Masters Novel
Mercedes Lackey
Daw Hardcover
Copyright: June 5, 2012
978-0756407278

The amazon.com product description:
New in the extraordinary series hailed as “a true frolic into fantasy” (Fantasy Bookspot) by a “Master Magician.” (Midwest Book Review)

In Edwardian Britain, magic is real. And Masters of the Elements control Fire, Water, Air, and Earth...

Mari Prothero has lived all her life with her father, Daffyd, in a tiny fishing village on the coast of Wales. Though Daffyd takes his boat out on the sea regardless of weather, Mari has learned not to fear for his safety, for her father is a Water mage, and always comes home safely with a large catch. Mari knows that in her family, children are expected to marry at eighteen, to an appropriate stranger. However, Mari is a fledgling Water Master with a rebellious nature. She has no intention of agreeing to any arranged marriage. But Mari has yet to learn the truth of the magical heritage that must be protected by these very marriages. For the Protheros are descended from Selkies—magical beings who are able to change from seals to humans—and to continue her line, she must marry a full-blooded Selkie...
Honestly, Home From The Sea was as good as I'd expected or better. It certainly had some surprises in it too, including two of my favourite characters from Wizard of London. The whole cast of characters were intriguing and interesting, as was the setting and legend/tale used: Wales and the stories of the Selkies. Not to mention the twist that Mercedes Lackey adds to the story.

Mercedes Lackey is one of my favourite authors, and Home From The Sea certainly lived up to my expectations. I ended up finishing it the same day I got it, not something I do that often anymore. There just something about the way she writes these stories that makes it easy to sit and read, cover to cover. And then, to do it again sometime later as a re-read.

All too often, I was laughing at Nan, Sarah, Neville and Grey and their antics (mostly those of the birds), not to mention those of the various elementals, but there were some more serious moments to the story too, like the bargain that Mari's family had with the Selkie clan.

Overall, Home From The Sea is in the running to be my favourite book for the month of July. And, another neat note: in the list of Mercedes Lackey's books at the front, coming soon: Redoubt, the fourth book in the Collegium Chronicles series (Valdemar). I've seen a few reviews that said that Changes was the final book in the set, and it just didn't feel "finished" to me, so it's nice to see that there is more to Mags' story after all.

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