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Elemental Masters #16
The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley
The sixteenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series follows sharpshooter Annie Oakley as she tours Europe and discovers untapped powers.
Annie Oakley has always suspected there is something "uncanny" about herself, but has never been able to put a name to it. But when Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show goes on tour through Germany, Bill temporarily hires a new sharpshooter to be part of his "World Wide Congress of Rough Riders": a woman named Giselle, who also happens to be an Elemental Master of Air. Alongside this new performer, Annie discovers that she and her husband, Frank, are not simply master marksman, but also magicians of rare ability.
As they travel and perform, Annie must use her newfound knowledge and rare skill to combat creatures of the night scattered across the countryside, who threaten both the performers and the locals. Annie's got her gun, and it's filled with silver bullets.
Annie Oakley has always suspected there is something "uncanny" about herself, but has never been able to put a name to it. But when Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show goes on tour through Germany, Bill temporarily hires a new sharpshooter to be part of his "World Wide Congress of Rough Riders": a woman named Giselle, who also happens to be an Elemental Master of Air. Alongside this new performer, Annie discovers that she and her husband, Frank, are not simply master marksman, but also magicians of rare ability.
As they travel and perform, Annie must use her newfound knowledge and rare skill to combat creatures of the night scattered across the countryside, who threaten both the performers and the locals. Annie's got her gun, and it's filled with silver bullets.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 11, 2022
146 people are currently reading
1103 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
431 books9,569 followersMercedes 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 writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"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 writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 165 reviews
December 24, 2022
Ahoy there me mateys! This be the 16th book in the Elemental Masters series which retells fairy tales in an alternate magical universe. I have only read one other book out of the series but from what I understand they can be read as standalones. I loved Lackey's work as a child and I love the Annie Oakley "myth" so I was excited to read this.
This ended up being okay. Lackey often seems to write in a way where ye are not sure of the intended audience. In this book Annie is a married woman who felt as though she was a young child at times in the tone of her thoughts and in the writing style itself. I expected the character of Annie to be more headstrong, fierce, and independent. She felt too much like a frail woman who was dependent on her husband. She also spent a lot of time focused on clothes and comfort. This just wasn't tied to the version I had of Annie Oakley growing up. Other readers may have more success with the character than I did.
I also thought the plot was kinda boring overall. So much of this novel was talking about the magic and not really using much. And what was explained of how the magic worked didn't seem very clear or detailed. I wouldn't usually expect a lot of explanation in a later book of a series except that Annie was learning about magic for the first time. Her training seemed nonsensical and haphazard. Not a lot seemed to happen while waiting for the final showdown that is blatantly going to happen. Even the circus portion of this book had no real descriptions except for how they loaded trains and the tours given of the encampment.
And the final showdown was lame. I mean seriously bad. I did think I was going to abandon this book around the midway point. Nostalgia for the author and Annie Oakley made me finish. I can't say that I would recommend this book to anyone but I am now more curious about other retellings in this series. I will have to track some down to satiate me curiosity given how much I remember enjoying the other book of this series that I read. Arrr!
Thank ye kindly DAW for the eArc!
This ended up being okay. Lackey often seems to write in a way where ye are not sure of the intended audience. In this book Annie is a married woman who felt as though she was a young child at times in the tone of her thoughts and in the writing style itself. I expected the character of Annie to be more headstrong, fierce, and independent. She felt too much like a frail woman who was dependent on her husband. She also spent a lot of time focused on clothes and comfort. This just wasn't tied to the version I had of Annie Oakley growing up. Other readers may have more success with the character than I did.
I also thought the plot was kinda boring overall. So much of this novel was talking about the magic and not really using much. And what was explained of how the magic worked didn't seem very clear or detailed. I wouldn't usually expect a lot of explanation in a later book of a series except that Annie was learning about magic for the first time. Her training seemed nonsensical and haphazard. Not a lot seemed to happen while waiting for the final showdown that is blatantly going to happen. Even the circus portion of this book had no real descriptions except for how they loaded trains and the tours given of the encampment.
And the final showdown was lame. I mean seriously bad. I did think I was going to abandon this book around the midway point. Nostalgia for the author and Annie Oakley made me finish. I can't say that I would recommend this book to anyone but I am now more curious about other retellings in this series. I will have to track some down to satiate me curiosity given how much I remember enjoying the other book of this series that I read. Arrr!
Thank ye kindly DAW for the eArc!
January 14, 2022
Anyone feel like Mercedes Lackey forgot she wrote this book already? This book is to From a High Tower what Steadfast was to Reserved for the Cat; a less than satisfactory retread. The blurb even mentions ‘Giselle’, the main character from From a High Tower, so I was hoping for a sequel. Instead I got a clone of Giselle (named Frida) and a different (yet the same) travelling Wild West show.
June 3, 2022
Eh? Least fav
I know not every book can be amazing and there will be some that lack the oomph but this one was very much a let down. There will be some spoilers ahead.
We are introduced to our villain pretty early, he is built up to be amazing. The entire rest of the book is just details about German life not much about the magic or folk lore at all. Then the villain makes his return its hinted at and then its done within a few pages. The abrupt ending of the book without much meat on its bones is such a let down. We are introduced to 2 of the greater elementals for no reason. Annie is given limitations but in the heat of the moment she just does the thing and then afterwards there is a blurb about how the other characters just happened to be nearby and why. Over all a huge let down, and if its being used a set up to expand the American Elemental Masters then its a poor way to do it. I hope the series can find its footing again because the premise is such a treasure trove.
I know not every book can be amazing and there will be some that lack the oomph but this one was very much a let down. There will be some spoilers ahead.
We are introduced to our villain pretty early, he is built up to be amazing. The entire rest of the book is just details about German life not much about the magic or folk lore at all. Then the villain makes his return its hinted at and then its done within a few pages. The abrupt ending of the book without much meat on its bones is such a let down. We are introduced to 2 of the greater elementals for no reason. Annie is given limitations but in the heat of the moment she just does the thing and then afterwards there is a blurb about how the other characters just happened to be nearby and why. Over all a huge let down, and if its being used a set up to expand the American Elemental Masters then its a poor way to do it. I hope the series can find its footing again because the premise is such a treasure trove.
March 28, 2022
A fun reimagining of history. One of the funnest parts of reading this book was reading the Wikipedia page for Annie Oakley alongside it. Much of the history is preserved, and even the werewolf connection is inspired by a couple that Oakley referred to as "the wolves."
A video review including this book is on my Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/FyK7hcbNrvc?t=322
Though this is the sixteenth book in the Elemental Masters series, it works as a standalone. This is the first Mercedes Lackey book that I have read, and it was a fine entry point to the series.
I was delighted by the vocabulary in this book. I learned many new words through reading. Lackey doesn't pull her punches here. It never feels confusing, but it does feel like you're reading an academic book.
This book is also very slow paced. This is because for large portions of the story, there aren't any real stakes. Though there is the hypothetical threat of werewolves looming, that isn't present or important to a majority of the story. Even when there is the final confrontation, it feels perfunctory.
In the end, this is a fun book with a cute married couple at its center. It has some action and a lot of love for Germany in 1901.
Thanks to DAW and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
A video review including this book is on my Youtube channel at https://youtu.be/FyK7hcbNrvc?t=322
Though this is the sixteenth book in the Elemental Masters series, it works as a standalone. This is the first Mercedes Lackey book that I have read, and it was a fine entry point to the series.
I was delighted by the vocabulary in this book. I learned many new words through reading. Lackey doesn't pull her punches here. It never feels confusing, but it does feel like you're reading an academic book.
This book is also very slow paced. This is because for large portions of the story, there aren't any real stakes. Though there is the hypothetical threat of werewolves looming, that isn't present or important to a majority of the story. Even when there is the final confrontation, it feels perfunctory.
In the end, this is a fun book with a cute married couple at its center. It has some action and a lot of love for Germany in 1901.
Thanks to DAW and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
May 2, 2022
“If what you saw the Wolves turn into was real . . . what else is out there? Was every nightmare creature from fairy tales real?”
Well-done historical fantasy. The sixteenth instalment of a series is not the recommended place to start, but Lackey fills the reader soon enough and fast enough that there no gagging on data dumps.
“Wear somethin’ that won’t show blood. Well, that ain’t ominous.”
Annie’s character, history, and inner voice are established before she becomes aware of the supernatural realm she's lived in all her life. A touch of humor.
Mama used to say, “All a poor person has is their reputation, so be careful never to lose it.”
Vocabulary and action appropriate for young adult readers, yet engaging reading for all ages. That said, like all Lackey stories, it’s all a bit too easy.
‘But part of her kept reminding her that she was not the heroine of a dime novel. That she was not, in fact, what she pretended to be in the Wild West Show.’
Well-done historical fantasy. The sixteenth instalment of a series is not the recommended place to start, but Lackey fills the reader soon enough and fast enough that there no gagging on data dumps.
“Wear somethin’ that won’t show blood. Well, that ain’t ominous.”
Annie’s character, history, and inner voice are established before she becomes aware of the supernatural realm she's lived in all her life. A touch of humor.
Mama used to say, “All a poor person has is their reputation, so be careful never to lose it.”
Vocabulary and action appropriate for young adult readers, yet engaging reading for all ages. That said, like all Lackey stories, it’s all a bit too easy.
‘But part of her kept reminding her that she was not the heroine of a dime novel. That she was not, in fact, what she pretended to be in the Wild West Show.’
January 11, 2022
Author Mercedes Lackey provides another Elemental Masters magical adventure in her latest book, The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley. It appears that Annie Oakley is an Elemental Master. I enjoyed reading along as Annie discovers her magical talents and learns how to use them. Her husband Frank Butler his talents too. Since Annie has a gun loaded with silver bullets potential readers can imagine how Annie might use them.
I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
I received an ARC and this is my honest review.
September 26, 2024
Seventeenth in the Elemental Masters historical fantasy series set in an alternate history and revolving around the sharpshootin' Annie Oakley on tour in Germany
My Take
I think Lackey cranked this out without paying much attention . . . She is using a third person global subjective point-of-view which allows a number of perspectives from various characters. Naturally, Annie's is the prime perspective.
This story reminded me very much of From a High Tower , 11, and I have to wonder why Lackey never referenced Giselle, considering how much Annie and Giselle had in common with the two Wild West shows — in Germany, no less. Then there are the German audience expectations Lackey had laid out in From a High Tower. Why wouldn't Frida have told Buffalo Bill, Annie, and Frank?
I gave The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley a 3 mostly because there wasn't any real conflict in this. Oh, sure there were minor battles as Annie and Frank helped in a few hunts, but it was primarily a story of Annie and Frank learning how to use their magic. It didn't help that I kept expecting to read of Giselle.
I am confused about the 14,000 people that can be seated. I'm thinking it must be the number of people the show can accommodate . . . or it's the number of people in the show, which would be a ridiculous number. Except it's in context with the cost to move the show. And then there's Lackey mentioning that "all eight thousand seats were sold out for both shows", so, wow. Fourteen thousand people!
The "Wolf" couple are so nasty, and stupid. What would it harm them to treat Annie well and pull them into their trap? They're the cause of Annie's internal issues about her childhood encounters.
That whine over, it is a fun story with all of Lackey's skill in showing the comforts and chills of the show wintering over in Strasburg and other cities. I did have to laugh at Annie's "description" of how much the English like their cold, lol. Annie also makes a point about how wrong people are in thinking the poor are poor because they are lazy.
There's an interesting story on how a cowboy like Jack came to Germany. It also underscores how supportive the good guys are of each other. Annie also learns the benefits of allowing a maid to help her and why masters and magicians prefer a happy household of family AND staff. A practical consideration from ALL angles.
Most of the "conflicts" are about the learning process, what being a master or magician entails in responsibilities which makes Annie consider whether it's worth it
It's fun to read of all the behind-the-scenes work that goes on as well as their efficiency in packing up and traveling and the marketing tricks. That efficiency allows Lackey to bring in some politicking about the kaiser with his spies.
As I said, it's a fun read, and you might want to keep a pot of coffee nearby . . .
The Story
Desperate to survive, Annie's mother needs her to earn money for the family, despite Annie hunting for all their meat. Her travails, and practice, lead to her starring in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
It's a fortuitous run when Annie and Frank encounter Frida, an Air Master, who has been tracking the couple for her own purpose, and Annie discovers that she and her husband, Frank, are not simply master marksman, but also Masters of rare ability.
As they travel and perform, Annie must use her newfound knowledge and rare skill to combat creatures of the night scattered across the countryside, who threaten both the performers and the locals.
The Characters
Ten-year-old Phoebe "Annie" Moss, a.k.a. Annie Oakley, Annie Butler, "Little Sure Shot" who was adopted by Sitting Bull, was bonded out to a couple in order to earn money for her family. Brownie is Annie's horse in the show. Baby Hulda is Annie's little sister, who is now a talented seamstress, and John is their jealous brother. Their father had died; their mother is a Quaker. Frank Butler is Annie's husband. Frank is also a representative for the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, the Remington Arms Company, and endorses others along with Annie. George, a poodle, had been part of Frank's original act.
The Wild West Show of . . .
. . . Colonel William "Buffalo Bill" Cody is touring Germany. Charlie is Buffalo Bill's parade horse. The Rough Riders of the World is a new act consisting of Frida, a top shootist for the Brotherhood (and an Air Master), and Cap'n "Jack" Jackson Cate, an American genuine cowboy who is a top roper and trick shootist as well as Frida's assistant (Fire). They also do a German horse act (Hoch Schule), that sounds amazing with ten-year-old Lippizans: Maestoso Eidelweisse, a.k.a. Dell, and Pluto Astarte, a.k.a. Arte. Johnny "The Cowboy Kid" Baker is a crack shot and trick rider. Jule Keen is the girl Johnny's been courting; her father is the show treasurer and paymaster. The cowboys include Fred Gibbs. Tony Esquival is a good singer. Black Elk is one of the Indians. Frank Richmond is the show's announcer. Ricardo, one of the vaqueros, and Esmeralda Sanchez, who helps with costumes, have a small child and Frida and Jake loan them their vardo for the winter. Animals include Jerry the Moose. Lillian "Princess Wenona" Smith had been a jealous sharpshooter.
Strasburg
Graf Theodor von Hirschberg, a Water Master, is the Lodge Leader and Grand Hunt Master. Sofi is his wife with no magic but who comes from a family that produces some. Wolfgang, Ludwig, and Anneliese (Earth) are Theodor and Sofi's children. Frau Schnee is Sofi's powerful mother, a Spirit Master. Matilde is one of the graf's servants.
Karl Mittelsman, a tavernkeeper, is the city host for the Strasburg Hunting Lodge, a magician, not a master. Gaspard is in the china trade. Thor Anzig is a professor of English and American Literature at the university. Pierre Lyon will teach Frank about his magic.
Lydia Martin, Cecilia Lavin, and Frau Schnee have a naughty story about their past.
Antwerp
Mathijs De Witt is good at summoning Greater Elementals.
The Bruderschaft von Jaegermeistern, a.k.a., the Brotherhood of the Foresters . . .
. . . are the arcane guardians, huntsmen who protect the populace from evil ( Blood Red , 10). Hunt Masters lead the hunt for monsters.
England
Lord Whitlesford recognized her aura of power. Lord Kelson provides aid to Frida.
She-Wolf and He-Wolf, a.k.a. Ernst, are the couple who "hired" Annie through the Darke County Infirmary, the county poorhouse in Mr and Mrs Edington's charge. Sarah and Meg had been fellow "inmates". This "Wolf" couple are a lazy and brutal pair you'll never want to meet.
The Shaws had been neighbors of the Mosses. Oakley is the man who helped Annie escape. Redhorse was a member of the initial show Jake was with. Frida's parents are a gamekeeper and a craftswoman who specializes in embroidery and laces. King Ludwig had been the ruler of Bavaria until forced from his throne. Kaiser Wilhelm and Chancellor Bismarck are a wicked, greedy pair.
Sylphs are the smallest and most helpful of the Air Elementals. The Greater Elementals are nearly gods in power and include dragons. Nehallenia is a Great Water Power. Telwaz is a Greater Elemental who renders justice. More elementals include pixies, Winds, zephyrs, Storms, and Tempests.
A Krampus is an Earth Elemental and punishes wicked children. Ernst Kauflber had definitely been an attractor. A nachtkrapp is a Raven-creature that preys on children. A buschgrossmutter and a hexe are more rubbish.
The Cover and Title
The cover is dark with its black-on-gray background of monsters. Off-center is a rectangular insert framed in black and cream with a golden sky and the front of a black locomotive emerging through the frame, steam wreathing the bottom with a be-hatted Annie, her long brown hair flowing down her back, a rifle propped over her shoulder, and wearing a belted "buckskin" dress. At the top is the author's name in white. To the left of the insert is the series info in white. The title begins to the left of the insert and continues below it in a gradated white to yellow.
The title is more a metaphor for what Annie discovers about herself and The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley.
My Take
I think Lackey cranked this out without paying much attention . . . She is using a third person global subjective point-of-view which allows a number of perspectives from various characters. Naturally, Annie's is the prime perspective.
This story reminded me very much of From a High Tower , 11, and I have to wonder why Lackey never referenced Giselle, considering how much Annie and Giselle had in common with the two Wild West shows — in Germany, no less. Then there are the German audience expectations Lackey had laid out in From a High Tower. Why wouldn't Frida have told Buffalo Bill, Annie, and Frank?
I gave The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley a 3 mostly because there wasn't any real conflict in this. Oh, sure there were minor battles as Annie and Frank helped in a few hunts, but it was primarily a story of Annie and Frank learning how to use their magic. It didn't help that I kept expecting to read of Giselle.
I am confused about the 14,000 people that can be seated. I'm thinking it must be the number of people the show can accommodate . . . or it's the number of people in the show, which would be a ridiculous number. Except it's in context with the cost to move the show. And then there's Lackey mentioning that "all eight thousand seats were sold out for both shows", so, wow. Fourteen thousand people!
The "Wolf" couple are so nasty, and stupid. What would it harm them to treat Annie well and pull them into their trap? They're the cause of Annie's internal issues about her childhood encounters.
That whine over, it is a fun story with all of Lackey's skill in showing the comforts and chills of the show wintering over in Strasburg and other cities. I did have to laugh at Annie's "description" of how much the English like their cold, lol. Annie also makes a point about how wrong people are in thinking the poor are poor because they are lazy.
There's an interesting story on how a cowboy like Jack came to Germany. It also underscores how supportive the good guys are of each other. Annie also learns the benefits of allowing a maid to help her and why masters and magicians prefer a happy household of family AND staff. A practical consideration from ALL angles.
Most of the "conflicts" are about the learning process, what being a master or magician entails in responsibilities which makes Annie consider whether it's worth it
It's fun to read of all the behind-the-scenes work that goes on as well as their efficiency in packing up and traveling and the marketing tricks. That efficiency allows Lackey to bring in some politicking about the kaiser with his spies.
As I said, it's a fun read, and you might want to keep a pot of coffee nearby . . .
The Story
Desperate to survive, Annie's mother needs her to earn money for the family, despite Annie hunting for all their meat. Her travails, and practice, lead to her starring in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
It's a fortuitous run when Annie and Frank encounter Frida, an Air Master, who has been tracking the couple for her own purpose, and Annie discovers that she and her husband, Frank, are not simply master marksman, but also Masters of rare ability.
As they travel and perform, Annie must use her newfound knowledge and rare skill to combat creatures of the night scattered across the countryside, who threaten both the performers and the locals.
The Characters
Ten-year-old Phoebe "Annie" Moss, a.k.a. Annie Oakley, Annie Butler, "Little Sure Shot" who was adopted by Sitting Bull, was bonded out to a couple in order to earn money for her family. Brownie is Annie's horse in the show. Baby Hulda is Annie's little sister, who is now a talented seamstress, and John is their jealous brother. Their father had died; their mother is a Quaker. Frank Butler is Annie's husband. Frank is also a representative for the Union Metallic Cartridge Company, the Remington Arms Company, and endorses others along with Annie. George, a poodle, had been part of Frank's original act.
The Wild West Show of . . .
. . . Colonel William "Buffalo Bill" Cody is touring Germany. Charlie is Buffalo Bill's parade horse. The Rough Riders of the World is a new act consisting of Frida, a top shootist for the Brotherhood (and an Air Master), and Cap'n "Jack" Jackson Cate, an American genuine cowboy who is a top roper and trick shootist as well as Frida's assistant (Fire). They also do a German horse act (Hoch Schule), that sounds amazing with ten-year-old Lippizans: Maestoso Eidelweisse, a.k.a. Dell, and Pluto Astarte, a.k.a. Arte. Johnny "The Cowboy Kid" Baker is a crack shot and trick rider. Jule Keen is the girl Johnny's been courting; her father is the show treasurer and paymaster. The cowboys include Fred Gibbs. Tony Esquival is a good singer. Black Elk is one of the Indians. Frank Richmond is the show's announcer. Ricardo, one of the vaqueros, and Esmeralda Sanchez, who helps with costumes, have a small child and Frida and Jake loan them their vardo for the winter. Animals include Jerry the Moose. Lillian "Princess Wenona" Smith had been a jealous sharpshooter.
Strasburg
Graf Theodor von Hirschberg, a Water Master, is the Lodge Leader and Grand Hunt Master. Sofi is his wife with no magic but who comes from a family that produces some. Wolfgang, Ludwig, and Anneliese (Earth) are Theodor and Sofi's children. Frau Schnee is Sofi's powerful mother, a Spirit Master. Matilde is one of the graf's servants.
Karl Mittelsman, a tavernkeeper, is the city host for the Strasburg Hunting Lodge, a magician, not a master. Gaspard is in the china trade. Thor Anzig is a professor of English and American Literature at the university. Pierre Lyon will teach Frank about his magic.
Lydia Martin, Cecilia Lavin, and Frau Schnee have a naughty story about their past.
Antwerp
Mathijs De Witt is good at summoning Greater Elementals.
The Bruderschaft von Jaegermeistern, a.k.a., the Brotherhood of the Foresters . . .
. . . are the arcane guardians, huntsmen who protect the populace from evil ( Blood Red , 10). Hunt Masters lead the hunt for monsters.
England
Lord Whitlesford recognized her aura of power. Lord Kelson provides aid to Frida.
She-Wolf and He-Wolf, a.k.a. Ernst, are the couple who "hired" Annie through the Darke County Infirmary, the county poorhouse in Mr and Mrs Edington's charge. Sarah and Meg had been fellow "inmates". This "Wolf" couple are a lazy and brutal pair you'll never want to meet.
The Shaws had been neighbors of the Mosses. Oakley is the man who helped Annie escape. Redhorse was a member of the initial show Jake was with. Frida's parents are a gamekeeper and a craftswoman who specializes in embroidery and laces. King Ludwig had been the ruler of Bavaria until forced from his throne. Kaiser Wilhelm and Chancellor Bismarck are a wicked, greedy pair.
Sylphs are the smallest and most helpful of the Air Elementals. The Greater Elementals are nearly gods in power and include dragons. Nehallenia is a Great Water Power. Telwaz is a Greater Elemental who renders justice. More elementals include pixies, Winds, zephyrs, Storms, and Tempests.
A Krampus is an Earth Elemental and punishes wicked children. Ernst Kauflber had definitely been an attractor. A nachtkrapp is a Raven-creature that preys on children. A buschgrossmutter and a hexe are more rubbish.
The Cover and Title
The cover is dark with its black-on-gray background of monsters. Off-center is a rectangular insert framed in black and cream with a golden sky and the front of a black locomotive emerging through the frame, steam wreathing the bottom with a be-hatted Annie, her long brown hair flowing down her back, a rifle propped over her shoulder, and wearing a belted "buckskin" dress. At the top is the author's name in white. To the left of the insert is the series info in white. The title begins to the left of the insert and continues below it in a gradated white to yellow.
The title is more a metaphor for what Annie discovers about herself and The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley.
November 8, 2022
I have been a fan of Mercedes Lackey’s “Elemental Masters” series for a long time. My favorite so far is Phoenix and Ashes, a Cinderella story where the prince is a WWI veteran with PTSD. I grabbed the latest with anticipation. Annie Oakley with Elemental Master powers? How will she use her silver bullets?
The story begins with a nightmare memory of her impoverished childhood and the malevolent nature of the couple she’s hired out to work for. I expected the man whom she calls “He-Wolf” and who plants a curse on her would loom throughout the book as the Big Bad, that her internal struggle would free herself of her fears, and that a showdown would involve silver bullets (against werewolves, according to canon). The action itself opens on a European tour of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and the introduction of Frida, a German woman sharpshooter, who happens to be an Elemental Master of Air. To no one’s surprise, not mine, both Annie and her husband have rare magical abilities, which they proceed to hone by studying with Frida and her husband. During the winter, they join in the hunt for nasty supernatural creatures, and Annie’s superb marksmanship and magical abilities prove an asset.
Most of the story reads like a leisurely travelogue of Europe, with details of places they travel through, the meals they eat, daily life in the show, how to take down and put up tents, their hosts in every town, and so forth, not to mention the magical exercises and mystical creatures, all lovingly laid out on page after sedate page. Characters talk at length about what is going to happen and who they are going to meet before the events themselves. Everything is so predictable that the sense of danger is minimal when it’s present at all, even during the nocturnal hunts. The confrontation with He-Wolf doesn’t come about until the very last pages, and even then, Annie is not in any real danger. She has one brief moment of childhood panic before she resolves the situation. There’s no internal struggle, no doubt of the outcome, and no remorse at what she’s done. While she was notable in negotiating with supernatural creatures during the Hunt, she never attempts to do that with the He-Wolf, which would have been a compassionate overture but also a huge step toward recovery from her childhood trauma.
The pacing, the resolution, the flat dramatic arc, and the overall sedate pace lag when compared to earlier “Elemental Masters” books. I’ve noticed that Lackey’s recent Valdemar books are written less tightly than the early ones, but they have more dramatic impact than this one. I presume that long-time fans enjoy a leisurely stroll through their favorite fantasy world. The “Elemental Masters” books are stand-alones, so the stories must be complete and engaging. I hope The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley is not a forewarning of a tedious future.
The story begins with a nightmare memory of her impoverished childhood and the malevolent nature of the couple she’s hired out to work for. I expected the man whom she calls “He-Wolf” and who plants a curse on her would loom throughout the book as the Big Bad, that her internal struggle would free herself of her fears, and that a showdown would involve silver bullets (against werewolves, according to canon). The action itself opens on a European tour of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and the introduction of Frida, a German woman sharpshooter, who happens to be an Elemental Master of Air. To no one’s surprise, not mine, both Annie and her husband have rare magical abilities, which they proceed to hone by studying with Frida and her husband. During the winter, they join in the hunt for nasty supernatural creatures, and Annie’s superb marksmanship and magical abilities prove an asset.
Most of the story reads like a leisurely travelogue of Europe, with details of places they travel through, the meals they eat, daily life in the show, how to take down and put up tents, their hosts in every town, and so forth, not to mention the magical exercises and mystical creatures, all lovingly laid out on page after sedate page. Characters talk at length about what is going to happen and who they are going to meet before the events themselves. Everything is so predictable that the sense of danger is minimal when it’s present at all, even during the nocturnal hunts. The confrontation with He-Wolf doesn’t come about until the very last pages, and even then, Annie is not in any real danger. She has one brief moment of childhood panic before she resolves the situation. There’s no internal struggle, no doubt of the outcome, and no remorse at what she’s done. While she was notable in negotiating with supernatural creatures during the Hunt, she never attempts to do that with the He-Wolf, which would have been a compassionate overture but also a huge step toward recovery from her childhood trauma.
The pacing, the resolution, the flat dramatic arc, and the overall sedate pace lag when compared to earlier “Elemental Masters” books. I’ve noticed that Lackey’s recent Valdemar books are written less tightly than the early ones, but they have more dramatic impact than this one. I presume that long-time fans enjoy a leisurely stroll through their favorite fantasy world. The “Elemental Masters” books are stand-alones, so the stories must be complete and engaging. I hope The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley is not a forewarning of a tedious future.
January 27, 2022
If you've been reading The Elemental Masters series for a while, chances are you've already read From A High Tower. If you start reading this book and think, "Hmm... This seems awfully familiar," you would be correct. The setting is certainly recycled, and a good portion of the plot is too. The addition of real-life sharpshooters Annie Oakley and her husband Frank Butler is new. Even with them and a few new plot points, the book still feels fairly stale.
To make matters worse, apparently Mercedes Lackey was originally going to use the main character from From A High Tower, Giselle, but later on changed her mind and renamed the character Frida. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that change registered on all rungs of the publishing ladder, because the book's summary still has the name of Giselle on the book jacket... I was pretty confused for a while until I looked to Goodreads and discovered that other readers had the same experience. I was expecting The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley to be either a sequel or continuation of From A High Tower and instead got a reshaped version taking place slightly later in history.
The outcome was that I was mostly bored with this book. Plus, I don't love when Lackey introduces other established characters, whether they're actual historical figures (such as Annie Oakley and Frank Butler) or another author's invention (such as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.) Trying to situate well-known characters into a world of her own devising seems forced and in the case of this book, a little uncomfortable.
I'm torn at this point. As I've mentioned in reviews of this series in recent years, I've been enjoying the books less with each installment. I'm definitely still glad Lackey's moved away from the Sarah and Nan storylines, and Jolene was a step in the right direction, but now it feels like with this book, that momentum has stalled again. I'm hoping for better, but I think I need to reread an old favorite like The Gates of Sleep to help me remember exactly what it is that these recent books are missing.
To make matters worse, apparently Mercedes Lackey was originally going to use the main character from From A High Tower, Giselle, but later on changed her mind and renamed the character Frida. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that change registered on all rungs of the publishing ladder, because the book's summary still has the name of Giselle on the book jacket... I was pretty confused for a while until I looked to Goodreads and discovered that other readers had the same experience. I was expecting The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley to be either a sequel or continuation of From A High Tower and instead got a reshaped version taking place slightly later in history.
The outcome was that I was mostly bored with this book. Plus, I don't love when Lackey introduces other established characters, whether they're actual historical figures (such as Annie Oakley and Frank Butler) or another author's invention (such as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.) Trying to situate well-known characters into a world of her own devising seems forced and in the case of this book, a little uncomfortable.
I'm torn at this point. As I've mentioned in reviews of this series in recent years, I've been enjoying the books less with each installment. I'm definitely still glad Lackey's moved away from the Sarah and Nan storylines, and Jolene was a step in the right direction, but now it feels like with this book, that momentum has stalled again. I'm hoping for better, but I think I need to reread an old favorite like The Gates of Sleep to help me remember exactly what it is that these recent books are missing.
January 16, 2022
Very disappointing. I enjoyed Jolene very much as a return to form after all the Sherlock Holmes books which were just OK and was excited to read another book set in the US, but this was not, it was in Europe again. Long long descriptions of the circus train, the food, the comfy beds and loving descriptions of the vardo (wagon) and tents as ALWAYS. It started off so well with a flashback to Annie's childhood trauma and then about 85% of the book was kind of boring and then literally 3 pages of action and then it ended. How did the villain get to Europe? Why was she so important to him? I used to buy all these books in hardcover and I stopped a while ago because of this sort of lazy writing.
July 1, 2022
I'm not sure if her writing style has changed, or if I've outgrown it. While the pacing wasn't necessarily bad, the story genuinely had to drag me along through more sections than I would have liked. 'Annie Oakley - Monster Hunter' has such a nice ring to it, and I genuinely hoped it would be more treacherous and terrifying.
The culmination of two hundred pages of foreshadowing had an encounter ending in less than two pages. It was certainly lackluster, and it nearly ruined the rest of the book. This didn't feel like a seriously won victory. It felt flat and hollow.
The culmination of two hundred pages of foreshadowing had an encounter ending in less than two pages. It was certainly lackluster, and it nearly ruined the rest of the book. This didn't feel like a seriously won victory. It felt flat and hollow.
May 30, 2022
Super similar to The High Tower. The biggest action/conflict comes to a head in the last two pages and is resolved super quickly/way too easily. Also, it's about Annie Oakley, but there isn't that much about shooting or werewolves?
January 11, 2022
I was granted eARC access to The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. Thank you for access! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.
The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley is the 16th installment in the Elemental Masters series, which happens to be my favourite Mercedes Lackey series, and the first I've been able to ARC review since starting my NetGalley journey. I was so excited to get my hands on an early copy and the book did not disappoint! I will say, however, that I was hoping this would be a continuation of From a High Tower (#10) which features a young woman who turns out to have air magic and ends up joining a travelling show as a sharpshooter type performer. Sounds exactly like the setup for an "Annie Oakley was an air mage" story, doesn't it? I suppose in that way this book disappointed just a little, both in that this isn't the continuation I hoped it would be and in that this now feels like a bit of a duplicate character in this world. I guess that's going to happen at some point in such a long-running series that tells a new person's story each time, though, right?
Oddly enough, however, while this book wasn't the continuation of the book I thought it might be, it does give a lot more information about an element of this world that snagged my interest in book 9, Blood Red. We learn a lot more about the hunting brotherhood of masters in Europe and how they serve the world in secret. We also learn more about paranormal wolf shifters in this version of the world, and they're definitely nothing like the furry rival of certain sparkly vampires, if you catch my drift.
I've seen some reviewers complain that this book spends too much time on days of magic lessons and days of travelling show performance, but that really is the formula of the series and part of the charm I love. Although there are some characters that make re-appearances here and there throughout the series, each book stands on its own and reading the series in order truly isn't required. By following the protagonist through every part of their journey from believing they're mundane humans to discovery of magic to mastery of it, readers entering at absolutely any point in the series can follow along without trouble. I do also feel like we learn new things about the different elementals and associated magic with each magic-learning journey, especially since the series covers magicians of all 4 elements living on multiple continents in various different times in history. Lackey hasn't run out of new things to introduce yet.
The books in this series that are more based on history than fairytales and folklore are not my favourites. I strongly prefer installments like The Fire Rose (Beauty and the Beast) and The Gates of Sleep (Sleeping Beauty,) though I also adore Reserved for the Cat and I'm not entirely sure what I'd classify that as. It was this love for the fairytale-inspired books that made me pick up Beauty and the Werewolf, which turned out to be part of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series instead and lead me to read the rest of those books. These Elemental Masters books that re-write history and focus on a real or mythical historical figure rather than a completely invented character or a fairytale protagonist always feel a little more forced than the others, and the ones that put Americana in Europe, in particular, occasionally feel a little cheesy.
With that said, this is a solid addition to my favourite Lackey series and I do think fans of Mercedes Lackey and of elemental magic flavoured fantasy in general will enjoy this ride.
The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley is the 16th installment in the Elemental Masters series, which happens to be my favourite Mercedes Lackey series, and the first I've been able to ARC review since starting my NetGalley journey. I was so excited to get my hands on an early copy and the book did not disappoint! I will say, however, that I was hoping this would be a continuation of From a High Tower (#10) which features a young woman who turns out to have air magic and ends up joining a travelling show as a sharpshooter type performer. Sounds exactly like the setup for an "Annie Oakley was an air mage" story, doesn't it? I suppose in that way this book disappointed just a little, both in that this isn't the continuation I hoped it would be and in that this now feels like a bit of a duplicate character in this world. I guess that's going to happen at some point in such a long-running series that tells a new person's story each time, though, right?
Oddly enough, however, while this book wasn't the continuation of the book I thought it might be, it does give a lot more information about an element of this world that snagged my interest in book 9, Blood Red. We learn a lot more about the hunting brotherhood of masters in Europe and how they serve the world in secret. We also learn more about paranormal wolf shifters in this version of the world, and they're definitely nothing like the furry rival of certain sparkly vampires, if you catch my drift.
I've seen some reviewers complain that this book spends too much time on days of magic lessons and days of travelling show performance, but that really is the formula of the series and part of the charm I love. Although there are some characters that make re-appearances here and there throughout the series, each book stands on its own and reading the series in order truly isn't required. By following the protagonist through every part of their journey from believing they're mundane humans to discovery of magic to mastery of it, readers entering at absolutely any point in the series can follow along without trouble. I do also feel like we learn new things about the different elementals and associated magic with each magic-learning journey, especially since the series covers magicians of all 4 elements living on multiple continents in various different times in history. Lackey hasn't run out of new things to introduce yet.
The books in this series that are more based on history than fairytales and folklore are not my favourites. I strongly prefer installments like The Fire Rose (Beauty and the Beast) and The Gates of Sleep (Sleeping Beauty,) though I also adore Reserved for the Cat and I'm not entirely sure what I'd classify that as. It was this love for the fairytale-inspired books that made me pick up Beauty and the Werewolf, which turned out to be part of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series instead and lead me to read the rest of those books. These Elemental Masters books that re-write history and focus on a real or mythical historical figure rather than a completely invented character or a fairytale protagonist always feel a little more forced than the others, and the ones that put Americana in Europe, in particular, occasionally feel a little cheesy.
With that said, this is a solid addition to my favourite Lackey series and I do think fans of Mercedes Lackey and of elemental magic flavoured fantasy in general will enjoy this ride.
July 6, 2022
Occasionally, I'll go on a binge of reading books by a certain author. Lately, it's been Mercedes Lackey. I've been going through and reading the many entries in the Elemental Masters that I'd skipped over the years. Some have been delightful. Some not so much.
I checked this book out of the library, rather than buy it, because I had my suspicions that it was not my cup of tea. My instincts were correct. I'm always a little concerned when a writer uses a real person as a basis for fiction. It's a difficult thing to do--to determine how much of the original person to keep and how much to add via fiction. I do think that Lackey did a good job incorporating Annie Oakley into her Elemental Masters world. That said, since Lackey didn't seem to want to change the trajectory of Oakley's known life, the book was limited in what stories it could tell and what options were placed before Oakley. I found that disappointing.
I was also disappointed because Frida was not Giselle from the book From a High Tower. Despite several similarities (long blonde braids, Air Mastery, sharpshooter skills aided by air elementals), they were two different characters. I almost felt like Frida was a chance for Lackey to revisit Giselle and change her ending .
The last few Elemental Masters books that I've read have not had a romance component, and I'll admit that I miss that. I like a good adventure, but sometimes I also like an adventure romance. (Since I have not read every book in the series, I don't make a claim about all of the books in the series.) In this case, a romance plotline would have directly conflicted with reality, as the real Oakley was married during the time in which this book was set, and no one has apparently questioned whether she and her husband were happy.
Overall, this book did not appeal to me. You may like it. My reasons for lack of engagement were based in what I want to see in a book, but your standards may be different from mine.
I checked this book out of the library, rather than buy it, because I had my suspicions that it was not my cup of tea. My instincts were correct. I'm always a little concerned when a writer uses a real person as a basis for fiction. It's a difficult thing to do--to determine how much of the original person to keep and how much to add via fiction. I do think that Lackey did a good job incorporating Annie Oakley into her Elemental Masters world. That said, since Lackey didn't seem to want to change the trajectory of Oakley's known life, the book was limited in what stories it could tell and what options were placed before Oakley. I found that disappointing.
I was also disappointed because Frida was not Giselle from the book From a High Tower. Despite several similarities (long blonde braids, Air Mastery, sharpshooter skills aided by air elementals), they were two different characters. I almost felt like Frida was a chance for Lackey to revisit Giselle and change her ending .
The last few Elemental Masters books that I've read have not had a romance component, and I'll admit that I miss that. I like a good adventure, but sometimes I also like an adventure romance. (Since I have not read every book in the series, I don't make a claim about all of the books in the series.) In this case, a romance plotline would have directly conflicted with reality, as the real Oakley was married during the time in which this book was set, and no one has apparently questioned whether she and her husband were happy.
Overall, this book did not appeal to me. You may like it. My reasons for lack of engagement were based in what I want to see in a book, but your standards may be different from mine.
April 15, 2022
Little Annie Moses is hired from a local infirmary to work for a couple who treat her cruelly. She ends up running away after a terrible beating. Fast forward many years and Annie Moses is now Annie Oakley, traveling in Germany with her husband, Frank Butler, with Wild Bill's Wild West Show. She and Frank meet another couple who are also trick shooters, but Annie can see that Frida's bullets are guided by sylphs. Turns out Annie is a Air Magician and Frank is a Water Magician. Frida is an Elemental Master who begins to teach Annie about being a magician. Turns out the couple who treated Annie Moses so badly are werewolves and it becomes apparent the alpha werewolf is still stalking her. As Annie learns her magic, she becomes more and more powerful. I do enjoy this rather pedestrian series because of the world Lackey has created.
October 21, 2024
I love the elemental series! This was hard for me to dip into for some reason. The beginning was hard for me to read. I actually put it away trying it again recently. Interesting idea incorporating Annie Oakley into this series. The author did a good job researching Annie Oakley and her life. Lots of details. Not so much magic until later in the book.
January 14, 2022
While I loved the relationship between Frank & Annie, I found the middle part rather boring (and I hate to say that about *any* Mercedes Lackey book). The ending itself was rather abrupt, but I can see a set-up for sequels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2023
How?! Lackey … how have you made such a badass concept so bloody dull!! Less mundane bullshit and more monster hunting needed here 🤦🏼♂️
April 7, 2022
This book takes surprising twists and turns beginning right off the bat with little Annie Moses living a hellish existence as the servant (read slave) to a horrible couple in the Ohio woods. As we begin to wonder how such a situation can ever be resolved in Annie's favor, the book skips forward to an adult Annie, who is traveling Europe with her husband Frank in Buffalo Bill's wild west show and is the celebrity of the day. She meets Frida, who joins the show in Germany and senses that Annie has particular magical abilities. Annie is both terrified and excited to experience this new reality as she trains as an Air Master and ultimately will be able to defeat the terror that has lurked and haunted her since childhood. Lackey is always an entertaining writer and in this 16th book in this series is no less a good read than the others--elements of horror bring the book to a slightly more interesting level of fairy tale fantasy. Older teen, adult.
December 19, 2021
I’ve enjoyed this series. I like that the series is teen/preteen appropriate. Bad things happen but they aren’t described in gory horrible detail. The message that with power comes responsibility is a good one. It’s also a good message that if you’re minding your own concerns and are attacked defending yourself is okay but you shouldn’t glory in it. The series is well worth reading if you like gentle fantasy and like the sound of the settings. You could read this one as a stand alone though.
February 20, 2022
Enjoyable characters, but the pacing was kind of lumpy
February 4, 2022
The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey
This is in the Elemental Master series. Annie Oakley is married to Frank Butler and they work in the Wild Bill western show. They discover they have elemental talents and are taught by Frieda and Jack both Elemental Masters. They hunt and deal with evil supernatural creatures.
It’s interesting that the book draws a distinction between supernatural creatures that are merely being supernatural and those that are evil. It struck home for me. As a high school guidance counselor I had some law-breaking “bad” kids who for the most part were coming out of family situations that their behavior was fitting their personal norm. I also had the rare evil kid. One who reveled in hurting others for no apparent reason. Luckily the evil ones were few. Regardless, the book makes a distinction which I felt was pertinent.
Lackey has always struck me as an author who carefully crafts her characters. In this case, that was done but the accompanying action or adventure was minimal. It wasn’t plodding but close to it.
It shocks me to say that the book was average and I don’t think I’ve ever described a Mercedes Lackey book as average prior to now.
This is in the Elemental Master series. Annie Oakley is married to Frank Butler and they work in the Wild Bill western show. They discover they have elemental talents and are taught by Frieda and Jack both Elemental Masters. They hunt and deal with evil supernatural creatures.
It’s interesting that the book draws a distinction between supernatural creatures that are merely being supernatural and those that are evil. It struck home for me. As a high school guidance counselor I had some law-breaking “bad” kids who for the most part were coming out of family situations that their behavior was fitting their personal norm. I also had the rare evil kid. One who reveled in hurting others for no apparent reason. Luckily the evil ones were few. Regardless, the book makes a distinction which I felt was pertinent.
Lackey has always struck me as an author who carefully crafts her characters. In this case, that was done but the accompanying action or adventure was minimal. It wasn’t plodding but close to it.
It shocks me to say that the book was average and I don’t think I’ve ever described a Mercedes Lackey book as average prior to now.
October 10, 2022
I think it's time I leave off chasing the new works of Mercedes and admitted to myself they just don't entertain me anymore.
While I think it's admirable she's still writing at her age, something irks me about the editing missing all the typos or the repeated exposition dumps in quick succession (sometimes the same information within a couple of pages), and the crux of the story being resolved in the last few pages of the novel in her most recent works.
I don't tend to skim books, but I found myself jumping over the descriptions of rooms, camp logistics and the tour dates in this one, just waiting to find some character work or action. And those pieces were still fun, but the surrounding material was a nope.
I'll always have a fond spot for her works being an entry point to "adult" fantasy for my younger self though, even if I don't end up reading her again.
While I think it's admirable she's still writing at her age, something irks me about the editing missing all the typos or the repeated exposition dumps in quick succession (sometimes the same information within a couple of pages), and the crux of the story being resolved in the last few pages of the novel in her most recent works.
I don't tend to skim books, but I found myself jumping over the descriptions of rooms, camp logistics and the tour dates in this one, just waiting to find some character work or action. And those pieces were still fun, but the surrounding material was a nope.
I'll always have a fond spot for her works being an entry point to "adult" fantasy for my younger self though, even if I don't end up reading her again.
February 25, 2022
Despite the jacket copy, Giselle does not feature. I kept wondering if Frida was Giselle incognito and continue to do so (though in fact I do not, as I have finished the book and no longer care). This was very distracting.
The story itself is similar to From a High Tower. I think this one is slightly better, but suffers from the similarity if you've already read the first one. However, it isn't another Sherlock Holmes story, Thank Anoia.
The story itself is similar to From a High Tower. I think this one is slightly better, but suffers from the similarity if you've already read the first one. However, it isn't another Sherlock Holmes story, Thank Anoia.
January 13, 2022
Another extremely good read, as all Mercedes Lackey books are.
History is kept actual with the addition of the arcane, just like the Elizabethan series.
It gives you a good idea what it was like to be in the show with the rapid tear down and set up with military precision. It is no wonder why the Kaiser & von Bismarck was interested in details. It made me think of blitzkrieg with its precession.
Power identified and taught to come into their own.
The book is fast read and well worth the time.
History is kept actual with the addition of the arcane, just like the Elizabethan series.
It gives you a good idea what it was like to be in the show with the rapid tear down and set up with military precision. It is no wonder why the Kaiser & von Bismarck was interested in details. It made me think of blitzkrieg with its precession.
Power identified and taught to come into their own.
The book is fast read and well worth the time.
January 14, 2022
Originally published at Reading Reality
When I read the first few books in the Elemental Masters series – as they came out back in the early 2000s – I loved these retellings of classic fairy tales set in an alternate, slightly steampunkish late Victorian/early Edwardian era for the way that they mixed a bit of magic with a bit of alternate history to put a fresh face on a tale that was oh-so-familiar.
Now that I’m thinking about this the series is an alternate version of another of Lackey’s alternate ways of telling fairy tales, her Five Hundred Kingdoms series (begin with The Fairy Godmother) where the purpose of the story was to subvert the fairy tale to keep it from subverting someone’s life.
I digress.
I stopped reading the Elemental Masters series after Reserved for the Cat as a consequence of the “so many books, so little time” conundrum that all of us who live in books are faced with so often. But I came back when the series switched from fairy tales to legendary characters with A Study in Sable and the three books that followed (A Scandal in Battersea, The Bartered Brides and The Case of the Spellbound Child) because the legendary character that was introduced and followed in this subseries of the series was none other than Sherlock Holmes.
I can never resist a Holmes pastiche, and these were no exception.
But after following the “World’s Greatest Consulting Detective”, even an alternate version thereof, through an alternate version of Holmes’ London, the series took itself across the pond to the Americas while briefly turning to its roots of retelling fairy tales with Jolene. Which I have yet to read – even though just the title is giving me an earworm of Dolly Parton’s marvelous song – which I’m sure was the intention.
I was, however, all in to read this latest book in the series, The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley, because I was wondering how the author would blend this historical character into this world where magic is hidden just beneath the surface.
It turns out that Annie Oakley herself, the real one, provided her own introduction to this world. As this story opens, we’re with Annie as she is in contracted servitude to a married couple she only refers to as “the Wolves” in her diary. Her real, historical diary.
The Wolves – whose identity has never been conclusively determined – starved her, cheated her, threatened her and physically and mentally abused her at every turn for two years, beginning when Annie was nine years old.
In this story, those two years of hell on earth become Annie’s introduction to the magic of this alternate world. Not just because the people she calls “the Wolves” turn out to be actual wolves – or rather werewolves – but because her desperate escape from the Wolves is facilitated by the magic of this alternate world – both the magic of the fairies AND magic of Annie’s very own.
After that shocking and heartbreaking beginning, the story shifts to Annie Oakley as an adult, the star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, traveling in Europe.
Where she discovers that her childhood rescue by fairies was not the fever dream she tried to convince herself that it was. And that the magic she has hidden from herself all these years is hers to command – if she is willing to learn.
And that she’ll need all the training and assistance that she can get. Because the wolves are still after her.
Escape Rating A-: When I was growing up – back in the Dark Ages – there weren’t nearly enough biographies of women in my elementary school library. Honestly, there weren’t nearly enough, period. While there still aren’t, the situation has improved at least a bit.
Annie Oakley ca. 1903
One of the few that was always available was Annie Oakley. It was easy to find stuff about her, and as someone who read as much of that library as humanly possible, I found what there was. She’s a fascinating person, as a woman in the late 19th and early 20th century who was famous for what she herself DID, and not for who she married, who she killed (I’m looking at you, Lizzie Borden) or who or what she was victimized by. Nor was she famous for her beauty. (I’ve included a picture to let you judge for yourself on that score, but whether you like her looks or not they are not what made her famous.
Her ability to shoot a gun, accurately and at a distance, is what made her famous. It also put food on the table when she was young and her family was broke.
Blending her real history and real talents into this magical story, and keeping reasonably close to what is known about her while expanding it into this created world was fascinating and fun. This was also a terrific story to get new readers into this long running series, as Annie is an adult when she finds out that she has magic, and her training in her newly discovered powers helps the reader get on board with the way that this world works AND is fascinating in its own right.
So this story’s blend of history with magic just plain worked for me – even more than I expected it to. More than enough to make me not miss the Sherlock Holmes of the earlier stories in the series too much.
Obviously, I really enjoyed this particular entry in this long-running series. MORE than enough that I’ll be back the next time the author returns to it. In the meantime, I have plenty of entries in the series that I missed to dip into whenever I’m looking for this blend of magic, myth and history.
When I read the first few books in the Elemental Masters series – as they came out back in the early 2000s – I loved these retellings of classic fairy tales set in an alternate, slightly steampunkish late Victorian/early Edwardian era for the way that they mixed a bit of magic with a bit of alternate history to put a fresh face on a tale that was oh-so-familiar.
Now that I’m thinking about this the series is an alternate version of another of Lackey’s alternate ways of telling fairy tales, her Five Hundred Kingdoms series (begin with The Fairy Godmother) where the purpose of the story was to subvert the fairy tale to keep it from subverting someone’s life.
I digress.
I stopped reading the Elemental Masters series after Reserved for the Cat as a consequence of the “so many books, so little time” conundrum that all of us who live in books are faced with so often. But I came back when the series switched from fairy tales to legendary characters with A Study in Sable and the three books that followed (A Scandal in Battersea, The Bartered Brides and The Case of the Spellbound Child) because the legendary character that was introduced and followed in this subseries of the series was none other than Sherlock Holmes.
I can never resist a Holmes pastiche, and these were no exception.
But after following the “World’s Greatest Consulting Detective”, even an alternate version thereof, through an alternate version of Holmes’ London, the series took itself across the pond to the Americas while briefly turning to its roots of retelling fairy tales with Jolene. Which I have yet to read – even though just the title is giving me an earworm of Dolly Parton’s marvelous song – which I’m sure was the intention.
I was, however, all in to read this latest book in the series, The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley, because I was wondering how the author would blend this historical character into this world where magic is hidden just beneath the surface.
It turns out that Annie Oakley herself, the real one, provided her own introduction to this world. As this story opens, we’re with Annie as she is in contracted servitude to a married couple she only refers to as “the Wolves” in her diary. Her real, historical diary.
The Wolves – whose identity has never been conclusively determined – starved her, cheated her, threatened her and physically and mentally abused her at every turn for two years, beginning when Annie was nine years old.
In this story, those two years of hell on earth become Annie’s introduction to the magic of this alternate world. Not just because the people she calls “the Wolves” turn out to be actual wolves – or rather werewolves – but because her desperate escape from the Wolves is facilitated by the magic of this alternate world – both the magic of the fairies AND magic of Annie’s very own.
After that shocking and heartbreaking beginning, the story shifts to Annie Oakley as an adult, the star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, traveling in Europe.
Where she discovers that her childhood rescue by fairies was not the fever dream she tried to convince herself that it was. And that the magic she has hidden from herself all these years is hers to command – if she is willing to learn.
And that she’ll need all the training and assistance that she can get. Because the wolves are still after her.
Escape Rating A-: When I was growing up – back in the Dark Ages – there weren’t nearly enough biographies of women in my elementary school library. Honestly, there weren’t nearly enough, period. While there still aren’t, the situation has improved at least a bit.
Annie Oakley ca. 1903
One of the few that was always available was Annie Oakley. It was easy to find stuff about her, and as someone who read as much of that library as humanly possible, I found what there was. She’s a fascinating person, as a woman in the late 19th and early 20th century who was famous for what she herself DID, and not for who she married, who she killed (I’m looking at you, Lizzie Borden) or who or what she was victimized by. Nor was she famous for her beauty. (I’ve included a picture to let you judge for yourself on that score, but whether you like her looks or not they are not what made her famous.
Her ability to shoot a gun, accurately and at a distance, is what made her famous. It also put food on the table when she was young and her family was broke.
Blending her real history and real talents into this magical story, and keeping reasonably close to what is known about her while expanding it into this created world was fascinating and fun. This was also a terrific story to get new readers into this long running series, as Annie is an adult when she finds out that she has magic, and her training in her newly discovered powers helps the reader get on board with the way that this world works AND is fascinating in its own right.
So this story’s blend of history with magic just plain worked for me – even more than I expected it to. More than enough to make me not miss the Sherlock Holmes of the earlier stories in the series too much.
Obviously, I really enjoyed this particular entry in this long-running series. MORE than enough that I’ll be back the next time the author returns to it. In the meantime, I have plenty of entries in the series that I missed to dip into whenever I’m looking for this blend of magic, myth and history.
February 7, 2022
Eh. It kind of just rehashed what From a High Tower was like, only not as good. Annie was not a strong character and despite what the summary says, Giselle is not in this book. Instead it is mostly a clone called Frida. The big enemy was a letdown too. I did like reading about some of the monsters/creatures that are native to German legend. But other than that it does not stand out from the other Elemental Master books.
February 3, 2022
Very disappointing, seems like she's just taken unused chapters of an earlier book and changed the names. The main underlying plot is resolved in 2 pages after a huge build up for the rest of the book. Almost an aside.
December 1, 2025
3.5 stars (may bump up to 4) I did enjoy it for the characters, but felt the pacing was off, and much too rushed at the end. Full review to come.
March 20, 2022
Fun Historical Twist
The sixteenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series follows sharpshooter Annie Oakley as she tours Europe and discovers untapped powers.
Annie Oakley has always suspected there is something "uncanny" about herself, but has never been able to put a name to it. But when Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show goes on tour through Germany, Bill temporarily hires a new sharpshooter to be part of his "World Wide Congress of Rough Riders": a woman named Giselle, who also happens to be an Elemental Master of Air. Alongside this new performer, Annie discovers that she and her husband, Frank, are not simply master marksman, but also magicians of rare ability.
As they travel and perform, Annie must use her newfound knowledge and rare skill to combat creatures of the night scattered across the countryside, who threaten both the performers and the locals. Annie's got her gun, and it's filled with silver bullets.
One of things I’ve always admired about Mercedes Lackey’s writing is the way that she creates compelling characters and long standing series that keep readers engaged. This novel is no exception. As the sixteenth novel in the Elemental Masters series, Mercedes Lackey keeps finding new twists to keep the series fresh. In this novel, she explores an actual historical figure, Annie Oakley, and finds a way to make her story fit into the magical world of the Elemental Masters.
One of the reasons that Mercedes Lackey has created a compelling story with such a historical figure is that she mixes the truthful and accurate accounting of Annie Oakley with the magic and fiction of her world. Most of the facts surrounding Annie Oakley, her marksmanship, her journey with the show, her husband, and her family, are all true. Where it deviates is in adding the magic to those facts and that we really cannot have known Annie Oakley’s true thoughts. Mercedes Lackey creates such a skillful accounting of the character, though, that it feels accurate and realistic.
The other compelling and fun element to the novel is the way the story weaves together magic and mythical creatures from folklore to create a magic world that is interesting and engaging. While there are slow moments, the action keeps the reader interested in Annie’s world and in the series of the Elemental Masters, illustrating characters outside of England and America. We get a feel for Germany at the time period close to World War I and we also get to see the fiction of how magic works in the area where the novel takes place. It is wonderful mix of fantasy and fact.
If you love historical fantasy, this novel is a fun historical twist on a very real person. It is a story that will keep you reading at all hours. The story develops the world of Mercedes Lackey has created and made me want to read more of this group of characters. I can’t wait for the next novel in the Elemental Masters series.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Masters
The sixteenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series follows sharpshooter Annie Oakley as she tours Europe and discovers untapped powers.
Annie Oakley has always suspected there is something "uncanny" about herself, but has never been able to put a name to it. But when Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show goes on tour through Germany, Bill temporarily hires a new sharpshooter to be part of his "World Wide Congress of Rough Riders": a woman named Giselle, who also happens to be an Elemental Master of Air. Alongside this new performer, Annie discovers that she and her husband, Frank, are not simply master marksman, but also magicians of rare ability.
As they travel and perform, Annie must use her newfound knowledge and rare skill to combat creatures of the night scattered across the countryside, who threaten both the performers and the locals. Annie's got her gun, and it's filled with silver bullets.
One of things I’ve always admired about Mercedes Lackey’s writing is the way that she creates compelling characters and long standing series that keep readers engaged. This novel is no exception. As the sixteenth novel in the Elemental Masters series, Mercedes Lackey keeps finding new twists to keep the series fresh. In this novel, she explores an actual historical figure, Annie Oakley, and finds a way to make her story fit into the magical world of the Elemental Masters.
One of the reasons that Mercedes Lackey has created a compelling story with such a historical figure is that she mixes the truthful and accurate accounting of Annie Oakley with the magic and fiction of her world. Most of the facts surrounding Annie Oakley, her marksmanship, her journey with the show, her husband, and her family, are all true. Where it deviates is in adding the magic to those facts and that we really cannot have known Annie Oakley’s true thoughts. Mercedes Lackey creates such a skillful accounting of the character, though, that it feels accurate and realistic.
The other compelling and fun element to the novel is the way the story weaves together magic and mythical creatures from folklore to create a magic world that is interesting and engaging. While there are slow moments, the action keeps the reader interested in Annie’s world and in the series of the Elemental Masters, illustrating characters outside of England and America. We get a feel for Germany at the time period close to World War I and we also get to see the fiction of how magic works in the area where the novel takes place. It is wonderful mix of fantasy and fact.
If you love historical fantasy, this novel is a fun historical twist on a very real person. It is a story that will keep you reading at all hours. The story develops the world of Mercedes Lackey has created and made me want to read more of this group of characters. I can’t wait for the next novel in the Elemental Masters series.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Masters
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