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Elemental Masters #2
The Gates of Sleep
Marina is the cherished daughter of the wealthy Roeswood family, practitioners of Elemental Magic. But all is not well in this elegant, aristocratic household. Evil portents have warned her father that Marina will be killed before her eighteenth birthday—by the hand of her own aunt. And no one is sure is the family magic is powerful enough to overturn the prophesy.
389 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2002
270 people are currently reading
2778 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,527 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 287 reviews
January 15, 2012
I am not so much a fan of this one, although it's probably closer to the traditional Sleeping Beauty story than the previous ones have been to their source material. It's not bad, just terribly unfocused.
The whole series seems to have a pacing problem. We're given fully a third of the book of scene-setting that has, ultimately, nothing at all to do with the main conflict, another third of villainous cackling, and then a lightning-fast resolution with a bonus! romance thrown in with very little development.
These villains are at least a little more believable - they're amoral and are amassing power for its own sake, which isn't terribly nuanced but it's better than Lackey's default "suffering and misery is so much fun to cause!" villain, which she slides back to distressingly often in this series. And the mechanism of their evil is quite clever. Sadly, it doesn't make up for the rest of the book.
The whole series seems to have a pacing problem. We're given fully a third of the book of scene-setting that has, ultimately, nothing at all to do with the main conflict, another third of villainous cackling, and then a lightning-fast resolution with a bonus! romance thrown in with very little development.
These villains are at least a little more believable - they're amoral and are amassing power for its own sake, which isn't terribly nuanced but it's better than Lackey's default "suffering and misery is so much fun to cause!" villain, which she slides back to distressingly often in this series. And the mechanism of their evil is quite clever. Sadly, it doesn't make up for the rest of the book.
June 27, 2016
I nearly didn't re-read this, remembering being bored with it and, yeah. I was mostly bored with it - I stopped at about 1/3 of the way through for a few days before powering through.
Like a couple of other stories in this series, I think my main issue is the pacing - there are so many pages devoted to set-up with an abrupt unsatisfying climax, not to mention the chapters devoted to the gloating, eeeeeeevil antagonists' point of view.
For this particular book, I found myself frustrated with elements that made no sense, or seemed ready to go somewhere but that were left dangling. For instance (and in no particular order):
So, those were some of the random bits and pieces that irked me.
The other major one, and one I've seen several other reviews mention, is the abrupt nature of the romance. Marina and Andrew meet each other - as far as I can tell - only a few times, and he comes across to her as rather pompous and condescending. I did enjoy the fact that Marina found healing something that was meaningful to her, and I could see the two of them developing a great working relationship that could turn into romance, but it was really out of left field and abrupt to have her decide that she "must have fallen in love without realising it".
I felt that there was no narrative reason that Marina needed a romance to give her impetus to get herself home. She spent a lot of the novel grieving and in despair over being separated from her guardians, who she now knows have come to rescue her - why can't her desperation to get back to THEM be what she needs to inspire her?
Plus - as with other novels in this series - the super evil antagonist is defeated with hardly any input from our heroine, especially not the satisfying defeat I really wanted. I wanted Marina to confront Arachne about what she did and have a victory, but nope, never happened.
At the end of the day, I don't think I'll bother re-reading this one.
Like a couple of other stories in this series, I think my main issue is the pacing - there are so many pages devoted to set-up with an abrupt unsatisfying climax, not to mention the chapters devoted to the gloating, eeeeeeevil antagonists' point of view.
For this particular book, I found myself frustrated with elements that made no sense, or seemed ready to go somewhere but that were left dangling. For instance (and in no particular order):
So, those were some of the random bits and pieces that irked me.
The other major one, and one I've seen several other reviews mention, is the abrupt nature of the romance. Marina and Andrew meet each other - as far as I can tell - only a few times, and he comes across to her as rather pompous and condescending. I did enjoy the fact that Marina found healing something that was meaningful to her, and I could see the two of them developing a great working relationship that could turn into romance, but it was really out of left field and abrupt to have her decide that she "must have fallen in love without realising it".
I felt that there was no narrative reason that Marina needed a romance to give her impetus to get herself home. She spent a lot of the novel grieving and in despair over being separated from her guardians, who she now knows have come to rescue her - why can't her desperation to get back to THEM be what she needs to inspire her?
Plus - as with other novels in this series - the super evil antagonist is defeated with hardly any input from our heroine, especially not the satisfying defeat I really wanted. I wanted Marina to confront Arachne about what she did and have a victory, but nope, never happened.
At the end of the day, I don't think I'll bother re-reading this one.
May 6, 2020
3.5 stars. The Gates of Sleep dragged a bit towards the middle, but in general it was still an appealing book. I loved the double twist on the fairytale and the villains were, if still somewhat eyeroll-worthy, then at least less so than in The Serpent’s Shadow.
Seeing the Water magic performed was interesting, and the love story was less in focus this time around. Everything was much subtler. I like Maya better than Marina, purely in terms of ‘colour’ - she has a stronger force of personality and a more distinctive role - but I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Marina as the country lady kept captive in the city. There was a real sense of domesticity and of Marina’s connection to her aunt and uncle and the local village people. All the characters were wonderful.
There were also none of the appropriation issues found in the previous book. So based on that alone, it would merit half a star.
Seeing the Water magic performed was interesting, and the love story was less in focus this time around. Everything was much subtler. I like Maya better than Marina, purely in terms of ‘colour’ - she has a stronger force of personality and a more distinctive role - but I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Marina as the country lady kept captive in the city. There was a real sense of domesticity and of Marina’s connection to her aunt and uncle and the local village people. All the characters were wonderful.
There were also none of the appropriation issues found in the previous book. So based on that alone, it would merit half a star.
July 9, 2012
Not as good as Fire Rose, better than Serpent's Shadow; this is another one where's she spent too much time building the settings, forgot about creating suspense or romance, and then wrapped everything up in a hasty and ridiculous conclusion. Even through the slow build, I was enjoying the book and for some reason that I can't pinpoint, connected better with Marina than I did with Maya in Serpent's Shadow, even though Maya had more potentially interesting aspects to develop as a character. The love interest didn't appear until about 200 pages in, only appears a couple times, and while I liked him, there was no chemistry and no time to develop it. I also found it odd how we were introduced to the vicar, and spent some time with him and then he becomes a nonentity. The servants who side with Marina instead of her aunt also had potential to add to the story, but instead hover in the background. Marina's guardians are ridiculous. I liked them at first, but after her evil aunt abducts her, they just shrug and hope for the best. So by the time they reappear, I was annoyed at them and didn't care if they could contribute anything at that point. I also realized at some point that this book mimics it's fairy tale better than Serpent's Shadow did, and that was the only reason I felt any suspense...because I knew what had to be coming. I actually liked Archane as a bad guy, but there was no sense of urgency as far as the curse's deadline, though they discussed it occasionally. Reggie, on the other hand, was just along for the ride up until a point where they implied there may be a rift between mother and son, which seemed very intriguing. And then totally fizzled out. And Marina visits a pottery, which holds potential for conflict and further development of the storyline of the paintresses and Ellen. Which also goes nowhere. Such a shame that the book rushes to an ending right when things could have gotten interesting. But as usual with Lackey's books, she does enough right to keep me hoping that the next book will be the one where all the potential will come to fruition.
November 20, 2017
I'm so happy I found this series! Full disclosure I started reading it because we got the latest in at work and it features Sherlock Holmes (!) and I am the biggest sucker for anything Holmes related, but I can't start a series towards the end, so I decided I needed to go back and start at the beginning. One of life's great joys is finding a long running series that you had no idea existed but now you get to catch up on. I liked the this one was easier to guess which fairy tale it was based on, but that Lackey didn't do a slavish rendition of it. There were enough nods, but it wasn't hitting you over the head the whole time. The raging feminist inside me also appreciated that the main character rescues herself, instead of waiting for a man. I actually ordered the next in the series, since I can already tell this is one that I'll want own!
September 24, 2015
This book is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. I've been a fan of the author's earlier works (her Valdemar series--especially the early books--was excellent). I'm a bit ambivalent about this one. The author does a vivid and convincing job of setting up the magical world, which is one of her strengths. And the first half of the book, describing how Marina (the heroine) is cursed and her life with her guardians and how she discovers and controls her magic is well done. It's only after Marina goes to live with the Maleficent equivalent that the book deteriorates. You never get a good explanation as to why Maleficent is so bitter and hateful, and the love story with Marina is completely unconvincing. (In essence, there are several interactions where the hero behaves like a boor, and then Marina suddenly realizes she's in love with him. Whatevs.) It's almost as if the author realized she hit her page limit but couldn't bear to cut any of the earlier story (understandably) and just rushed headlong into the climax and ending.
I do like the Elemental world that the author has created with this retelling of fairy tales and am likely to give the series one more try, but this book, while I liked it well enough, was far from the authors' best work.
I do like the Elemental world that the author has created with this retelling of fairy tales and am likely to give the series one more try, but this book, while I liked it well enough, was far from the authors' best work.
April 29, 2008
A pretty pleasurable read overall. Mercedes Lackey, when I was 12 or so, was my first "favorite author" of my life, but I haven't read any of her books in years. Due to a passionate interest in the Pre-Raphaelites, (the main character is brought up among Pre-Raphaelite style artists) I had this book recommended to me, and decided to try her work again. Overall, this book is quite enjoyable, don't get me wrong. But there's a reason it's not a 5-star book.
The 'bad guys' are absolutely flat-as-cardboard stereotypical baddies. They make foolish mistakes, and one never really gets a sense of a serious threat to any of the 'good guys' because you can see how many mistakes the bad guys are making. Also, the book seemed rather disjointed at times...information was brought up that seemed important, but was never used, and Lackey wasn't entirely successful with believably combining Victorian England with Elemental Magic.
Because of these things, the book was more light a read than it seemed to be intended to be. It was, however, still enjoyable.
The 'bad guys' are absolutely flat-as-cardboard stereotypical baddies. They make foolish mistakes, and one never really gets a sense of a serious threat to any of the 'good guys' because you can see how many mistakes the bad guys are making. Also, the book seemed rather disjointed at times...information was brought up that seemed important, but was never used, and Lackey wasn't entirely successful with believably combining Victorian England with Elemental Magic.
Because of these things, the book was more light a read than it seemed to be intended to be. It was, however, still enjoyable.
September 19, 2024
Third in the Elemental Masters historical paranormal fantasy series and revolving around magical masters and mages of England. The focus is on the young Marina Roeswood and is based on Sleeping Beauty.
My Take
A cozy tale of friendship, yet with a horrible evil awaiting the babe cursed at her christening.
I adore the sound of Marina's bedroom in Cornwall. The painting of the walls and the furniture carved especially for her. Sigh. Lackey describes the farmhouse and the surrounding lands with such skill that I want to live there. Although, I would want to upgrade a number of things. Indoor plumbing, for one. Similar to The Serpent's Shadow , 2, the good guys are amazing in their work and treatment of their fellow man and the world around them.
It's a free-spirited household with intelligence, conversation, and compassion and a daily round of tasks. I certainly enjoyed the talk of the meals they enjoyed — that kitchen magic from Margherita's Earth ability comes in extra handy.
Then there's Briareley. I adore Dr Pike's motives and plans for those who are suffering.
There's a bit on the restrictions suffered by women and each social class in this world. Lackey also points out the environmental issues harming the world of this time period as well as the state of the poor. Issues we still ignore.
Lackey uses third person global subjective point-of-view from the perspectives of a variety of characters, so we know what many of them are thinking, feeling, and doing. We certainly learn a lot from Marina and her conflicted feelings about her "abduction".
As for Madame? Ick, those meals, the lessons, that maid!!
The sound of the work involved in renovating Briareley — and the type of aid Pike got, lol. I could use some of that, *more laughter*. At the least it makes a healthy contrast to the evil of Arachne and Reggie. Evil. Pure evil!
It's full of everyday action that can be good or bad with extreme characters and a story that moves along.
The Story
It's Marina's christening and her parents' friends have gathered to grant their child gifts. Then Arachne appears at the child's crib and grants her — Death, a curse to take effect before her eighteenth birthday.
An evil gift that Marina's parents and their friends counter by sending Marina away from them. With friends who will love and teach her until all is safe.
It's now Marina's seventeenth year and her aunt and uncles are terrified . . .
The Characters
Oakhurst Manor
Located in Devon, Hugh and Alanna Roeswood, both Earth Masters, celebrate the birth of baby Marina, born with an affinity for Water, who will develop a love for music.
Sebastian and Margherita Tarrant are artists — he's a successful painter and a Fire Master while she's an Earth Master, particularly of hearth and home, skilled with needle and tapestry-shuttle. Thomas Buford, Margherita's brother, is also an Earth Master whose gift comes out in woodworking. All three live together in a farmhouse, Blackbird Cottage, in Cornwall in a small village of a few hundred people and are childhood friends of the Roeswoods. Sarah does the plain cooking and other kitchen work. Jenny does the housecleaning and is the maid-of-all-work. Hired John Parkin, Sarah's nephew, does the yardwork and whatever the "uncles" can't do. John Junior wants to learn carpentry.
Maggie Potter is the local seamstress. Peter and Rosie Hunter run the grocers, dry goods, and post office. "Madame Deremiere" is a more skilled dressmaker located in Holsworthy.
The outspoken and fashionable Elizabeth, Lady Hastings, a Water Master, a Magus Major, was Alanna's first friend outside her schoolmates. Stephen, Lord Hastings, is her normal husband who knows nothing of his wife's abilities. Lady Helene Overton, an Air Master, was Hugh's and Alanna's parents' contemporary. Roderick Bacon, a yeoman farmer and Air Master, is very powerful.
Arachne Chamberton neé Roeswood is Hugh's estranged older half-sister without magic. She had married Allan Chamberton, a manufacturer of pottery. Reginald "Reggie" is their son and a lazy, cunning, and arrogant defrocked "priest". Mary Anne is the wicked "maid" assigned to Marina. Oakhurst's original staff include Sally, a sympathetic maid who's seeing Peter, a footman who knows the social requirements, Mrs Hunter, and Hibdon. Brownie is the steadiest horse in the stables while Beau, an iron-mouthed hunter, has a wilder side.
Briareley Hall is . . .
. . . a great estate that had to be sold. Dr Andrew Pike, an Earth Master (with an Air Mage mother), bought it for a sanitarium. His patients include Ellen; Simon Ashford; Craig Newton, who is a chess prodigy; the old Roger Smith who adores chess; Diana Gorden; and, Jamie Cooper among others. His staff includes Diccon and Eleanor, who is the Sensitive female ward nurse. Pansy is the lone horse.
The Reverend Clifton Davies is intelligent with a love for chess, a bit of a rebel, and a Clairvoyant Sensitive with some Air magic. Mrs Havershay is the eldest of the Parish Society. Miss Horn, a younger part of the Parish Society, has some concerns about Marina. Miss Eldergast is the very fashionable dressmaker.
London
A Circle of Masters are based in London and led by the misogynistic Lord Aldercroft.
Exeter is . . .
. . . where one of the Chambertons' potteries is located. Dr Thane is the alcoholic doctor Arachne employs.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a background of deep purple with paler purple, elaborate wrought iron gates with flowers and skulls. An insert on the right, framed in the same wrought iron showcases Marina, her hair piled on her head, sitting in a leafy bower, raising water up from the brook at her feet. Even here skulls surround her, peering at her. At the very top is a questioning epigraph in white, as is the author's name below it, just above the top of the frame of the insert. The title is in a light turquoise to the left of the insert. Beneath that, in white, is the series info.
The title is where Marina is forced, into The Gates of Sleep.
My Take
A cozy tale of friendship, yet with a horrible evil awaiting the babe cursed at her christening.
I adore the sound of Marina's bedroom in Cornwall. The painting of the walls and the furniture carved especially for her. Sigh. Lackey describes the farmhouse and the surrounding lands with such skill that I want to live there. Although, I would want to upgrade a number of things. Indoor plumbing, for one. Similar to The Serpent's Shadow , 2, the good guys are amazing in their work and treatment of their fellow man and the world around them.
It's a free-spirited household with intelligence, conversation, and compassion and a daily round of tasks. I certainly enjoyed the talk of the meals they enjoyed — that kitchen magic from Margherita's Earth ability comes in extra handy.
Then there's Briareley. I adore Dr Pike's motives and plans for those who are suffering.
There's a bit on the restrictions suffered by women and each social class in this world. Lackey also points out the environmental issues harming the world of this time period as well as the state of the poor. Issues we still ignore.
Lackey uses third person global subjective point-of-view from the perspectives of a variety of characters, so we know what many of them are thinking, feeling, and doing. We certainly learn a lot from Marina and her conflicted feelings about her "abduction".
As for Madame? Ick, those meals, the lessons, that maid!!
The sound of the work involved in renovating Briareley — and the type of aid Pike got, lol. I could use some of that, *more laughter*. At the least it makes a healthy contrast to the evil of Arachne and Reggie. Evil. Pure evil!
It's full of everyday action that can be good or bad with extreme characters and a story that moves along.
The Story
It's Marina's christening and her parents' friends have gathered to grant their child gifts. Then Arachne appears at the child's crib and grants her — Death, a curse to take effect before her eighteenth birthday.
An evil gift that Marina's parents and their friends counter by sending Marina away from them. With friends who will love and teach her until all is safe.
It's now Marina's seventeenth year and her aunt and uncles are terrified . . .
The Characters
Oakhurst Manor
Located in Devon, Hugh and Alanna Roeswood, both Earth Masters, celebrate the birth of baby Marina, born with an affinity for Water, who will develop a love for music.
Sebastian and Margherita Tarrant are artists — he's a successful painter and a Fire Master while she's an Earth Master, particularly of hearth and home, skilled with needle and tapestry-shuttle. Thomas Buford, Margherita's brother, is also an Earth Master whose gift comes out in woodworking. All three live together in a farmhouse, Blackbird Cottage, in Cornwall in a small village of a few hundred people and are childhood friends of the Roeswoods. Sarah does the plain cooking and other kitchen work. Jenny does the housecleaning and is the maid-of-all-work. Hired John Parkin, Sarah's nephew, does the yardwork and whatever the "uncles" can't do. John Junior wants to learn carpentry.
Maggie Potter is the local seamstress. Peter and Rosie Hunter run the grocers, dry goods, and post office. "Madame Deremiere" is a more skilled dressmaker located in Holsworthy.
The outspoken and fashionable Elizabeth, Lady Hastings, a Water Master, a Magus Major, was Alanna's first friend outside her schoolmates. Stephen, Lord Hastings, is her normal husband who knows nothing of his wife's abilities. Lady Helene Overton, an Air Master, was Hugh's and Alanna's parents' contemporary. Roderick Bacon, a yeoman farmer and Air Master, is very powerful.
Arachne Chamberton neé Roeswood is Hugh's estranged older half-sister without magic. She had married Allan Chamberton, a manufacturer of pottery. Reginald "Reggie" is their son and a lazy, cunning, and arrogant defrocked "priest". Mary Anne is the wicked "maid" assigned to Marina. Oakhurst's original staff include Sally, a sympathetic maid who's seeing Peter, a footman who knows the social requirements, Mrs Hunter, and Hibdon. Brownie is the steadiest horse in the stables while Beau, an iron-mouthed hunter, has a wilder side.
Briareley Hall is . . .
. . . a great estate that had to be sold. Dr Andrew Pike, an Earth Master (with an Air Mage mother), bought it for a sanitarium. His patients include Ellen; Simon Ashford; Craig Newton, who is a chess prodigy; the old Roger Smith who adores chess; Diana Gorden; and, Jamie Cooper among others. His staff includes Diccon and Eleanor, who is the Sensitive female ward nurse. Pansy is the lone horse.
The Reverend Clifton Davies is intelligent with a love for chess, a bit of a rebel, and a Clairvoyant Sensitive with some Air magic. Mrs Havershay is the eldest of the Parish Society. Miss Horn, a younger part of the Parish Society, has some concerns about Marina. Miss Eldergast is the very fashionable dressmaker.
London
A Circle of Masters are based in London and led by the misogynistic Lord Aldercroft.
Exeter is . . .
. . . where one of the Chambertons' potteries is located. Dr Thane is the alcoholic doctor Arachne employs.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a background of deep purple with paler purple, elaborate wrought iron gates with flowers and skulls. An insert on the right, framed in the same wrought iron showcases Marina, her hair piled on her head, sitting in a leafy bower, raising water up from the brook at her feet. Even here skulls surround her, peering at her. At the very top is a questioning epigraph in white, as is the author's name below it, just above the top of the frame of the insert. The title is in a light turquoise to the left of the insert. Beneath that, in white, is the series info.
The title is where Marina is forced, into The Gates of Sleep.
April 18, 2017
4/5
A very enjoyable read, and though it followed the constraints of the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty", it was a small feature to the historical detail and elemental magic decorating the main plot. I read mixed reviews in between beginning this story which made a tad apprehensive, but I'm glad I stuck on. It seems slow moving stories when dressed up with historical tidbits are my cuppa tea. In some reviews it was described as aimless, and I do agree that the story meandered, however this was something I appreciated.
The Story
Set in early 1900s, the prologue starts off with a party of people, mostly artists and elementals, attending a christening. This follows with the classic scene of the evil witch placing a curse on the young child, which spells death on her 18th birthday. In this case the evil one is the estranged aunt Arachne, and the baby, her niece Marina Roeswood, daughter to Alanna and Hugh, the earth mages and gentry of Oakhurst, England. The magic is elemental, and the curse is dulled by a guest water mage.
Marina is consequently sent off in hiding to live with her godparents, Thomas, Sebastian and Sebastian's wife Margherita Tarrant. She grows up in the English countryside, with none of the confines of the upper class, growing up with the natural surroundings, learning history and politics and magic, becoming a liberal minded and educated young woman. Her talent is water magic, while her guardians are earth and fire mages. She views them as her true family, though she maintains a distant relationship with her estranged parents via letters.
As it nears her 18th birthday, she starts receiving lessons for water magic, by Elisabeth, the godparent who reduced the severity of her curse. She learns to control and wield defensive shields and speak to the elementals such as Undines. However just before Christmas, suddenly bad news arrives at her door, in the form of lawyers. Her parents are dead and her aunt, whom she has never heard of has taken control of her guardianship. Literally kidnapped from the hands of those she loves, she is dragged back to her parents' home under the command of autocratic Arachne.
Arachne maintains two different faces, one where she plots against Marina, and the other where she carefully sets traps of social grace for Marina under the guise of teaching her what is acceptable in 'polite society'. Her son Reggie is part of the plan and they both use sinister magic, despite having no power themselves. Marina through her own devices manages to undermine her despite being naïve to her true intentions.
There is a lot of plot points, from the original fairy tale arc, the plight of the working class, the elemental magics in action and some more.
Things I wasn't a fan of
It started off very wordy and just the introduction of the characters in the prologue was enough to make my head bend. And throughout the book there were many instances where the paragraphs rambled from one topic to another (which I didn't mind, my mind often goes that way too), but then suddenly repeated or reverted back to its original topic (which I do mind), and this was jarring or irrelevant. There was also random little tidbits of information, or plot points which looked like they would become something bigger but then trailed off. Like the fact Marina wanted to become a musician. And then nothing came of it.
Also I found it hard to understand, that despite the fact her guardians, or as uncles and aunt, as she sees them, make it clear her parents are alive and well and she receives regular letters from them, they never explore with her the reasons for their estrangement. Her nature, though not timid is one that seems to want to please those she cares for and though she always wonders why they left her in others care, she feels like this topic is one to leave unexplored. Her personality is believable so its understandable why she doesn't push something that she believes might be harmful to her relationships. On the other hand, this is not the case for her guardians, and its not explained why they never gave her an inkling of the reasons she was under their care. Its very vague. I'm not at all satisfied by the explanations. It seems as this was just another device to keep her under the impression of Arachne being just an overbearing yet concerned relative.
Though the author draws Arachne well enough to show the facets of her personality, and her evil and hateful intentions, her aspirations for more power and wealth, the original reason for her putting the curse is not explored. Again another vague plot device. Especially since its showed how meticulously she has worked for years to form a plan to take full control. Reggie, her son, just comes off as an asnine BUFFFOOOON, who somehow has a more evil mask that is shown nearer the end. I just didn't totally buy it.
The rushed romance at the end was also a bit off. From Marina and Andrew's first meeting, I enjoyed their chemistry. But the groundwork wasn't laid well enough for this to transform into a realistic romance, especially in between all the other major events happening.
Things I very much enjoyed
I loved how the author built up the descriptions of Marina's world, from the middle class artistic and liberal upbringing, the natural surroundings, the village.
Marina was a fun character, not a strong badass, but more someone who worked hard to use her own resources. She was pretty mature for a 17 year old, and someone who had a strong sense of responsibility. She was also very naïve, but not in an annoying or unbelievable way.
The historical aspects were pretty detailed and cleverly woven in. Working class plights from the new farming laws, the plight of factory workers, lead poisoning, lack of provisions and such were described. The fashions of society women, and the social graces were a prominent feature in the latter part of the book.
The addition of Dr Andrew's sanitarium was nice, and gave an opening to a magical ally while she was under Arachnes power. It was another chance to see a different way to use elemental magic to cure mental patients.
The elemental magic was explained well, with the strengths of the different magics shown throughout the story. I especially liked the elementals that appeared for each of the different elemental magics, fom Sylphs for Air mages to Fauns for Earth mages (having now read a few other books side to side of the elemental series it seems that other books mention gnomes for Earth mages instead...continuity errors..as other readers have said, I'm starting to notice this frequency)
Overall
Though it may seem like I had more stuff I didn't enjoy they were pretty small things in the bigger story. I would have liked to have the more sinister magic and its history explored further. I loved the pacing personally, and it read like a dream.
A very enjoyable read, and though it followed the constraints of the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty", it was a small feature to the historical detail and elemental magic decorating the main plot. I read mixed reviews in between beginning this story which made a tad apprehensive, but I'm glad I stuck on. It seems slow moving stories when dressed up with historical tidbits are my cuppa tea. In some reviews it was described as aimless, and I do agree that the story meandered, however this was something I appreciated.
The Story
Set in early 1900s, the prologue starts off with a party of people, mostly artists and elementals, attending a christening. This follows with the classic scene of the evil witch placing a curse on the young child, which spells death on her 18th birthday. In this case the evil one is the estranged aunt Arachne, and the baby, her niece Marina Roeswood, daughter to Alanna and Hugh, the earth mages and gentry of Oakhurst, England. The magic is elemental, and the curse is dulled by a guest water mage.
Marina is consequently sent off in hiding to live with her godparents, Thomas, Sebastian and Sebastian's wife Margherita Tarrant. She grows up in the English countryside, with none of the confines of the upper class, growing up with the natural surroundings, learning history and politics and magic, becoming a liberal minded and educated young woman. Her talent is water magic, while her guardians are earth and fire mages. She views them as her true family, though she maintains a distant relationship with her estranged parents via letters.
As it nears her 18th birthday, she starts receiving lessons for water magic, by Elisabeth, the godparent who reduced the severity of her curse. She learns to control and wield defensive shields and speak to the elementals such as Undines. However just before Christmas, suddenly bad news arrives at her door, in the form of lawyers. Her parents are dead and her aunt, whom she has never heard of has taken control of her guardianship. Literally kidnapped from the hands of those she loves, she is dragged back to her parents' home under the command of autocratic Arachne.
Arachne maintains two different faces, one where she plots against Marina, and the other where she carefully sets traps of social grace for Marina under the guise of teaching her what is acceptable in 'polite society'. Her son Reggie is part of the plan and they both use sinister magic, despite having no power themselves. Marina through her own devices manages to undermine her despite being naïve to her true intentions.
There is a lot of plot points, from the original fairy tale arc, the plight of the working class, the elemental magics in action and some more.
Things I wasn't a fan of
It started off very wordy and just the introduction of the characters in the prologue was enough to make my head bend. And throughout the book there were many instances where the paragraphs rambled from one topic to another (which I didn't mind, my mind often goes that way too), but then suddenly repeated or reverted back to its original topic (which I do mind), and this was jarring or irrelevant. There was also random little tidbits of information, or plot points which looked like they would become something bigger but then trailed off. Like the fact Marina wanted to become a musician. And then nothing came of it.
Also I found it hard to understand, that despite the fact her guardians, or as uncles and aunt, as she sees them, make it clear her parents are alive and well and she receives regular letters from them, they never explore with her the reasons for their estrangement. Her nature, though not timid is one that seems to want to please those she cares for and though she always wonders why they left her in others care, she feels like this topic is one to leave unexplored. Her personality is believable so its understandable why she doesn't push something that she believes might be harmful to her relationships. On the other hand, this is not the case for her guardians, and its not explained why they never gave her an inkling of the reasons she was under their care. Its very vague. I'm not at all satisfied by the explanations. It seems as this was just another device to keep her under the impression of Arachne being just an overbearing yet concerned relative.
Though the author draws Arachne well enough to show the facets of her personality, and her evil and hateful intentions, her aspirations for more power and wealth, the original reason for her putting the curse is not explored. Again another vague plot device. Especially since its showed how meticulously she has worked for years to form a plan to take full control. Reggie, her son, just comes off as an asnine BUFFFOOOON, who somehow has a more evil mask that is shown nearer the end. I just didn't totally buy it.
The rushed romance at the end was also a bit off. From Marina and Andrew's first meeting, I enjoyed their chemistry. But the groundwork wasn't laid well enough for this to transform into a realistic romance, especially in between all the other major events happening.
Things I very much enjoyed
I loved how the author built up the descriptions of Marina's world, from the middle class artistic and liberal upbringing, the natural surroundings, the village.
Marina was a fun character, not a strong badass, but more someone who worked hard to use her own resources. She was pretty mature for a 17 year old, and someone who had a strong sense of responsibility. She was also very naïve, but not in an annoying or unbelievable way.
The historical aspects were pretty detailed and cleverly woven in. Working class plights from the new farming laws, the plight of factory workers, lead poisoning, lack of provisions and such were described. The fashions of society women, and the social graces were a prominent feature in the latter part of the book.
The addition of Dr Andrew's sanitarium was nice, and gave an opening to a magical ally while she was under Arachnes power. It was another chance to see a different way to use elemental magic to cure mental patients.
The elemental magic was explained well, with the strengths of the different magics shown throughout the story. I especially liked the elementals that appeared for each of the different elemental magics, fom Sylphs for Air mages to Fauns for Earth mages (having now read a few other books side to side of the elemental series it seems that other books mention gnomes for Earth mages instead...continuity errors..as other readers have said, I'm starting to notice this frequency)
Overall
Though it may seem like I had more stuff I didn't enjoy they were pretty small things in the bigger story. I would have liked to have the more sinister magic and its history explored further. I loved the pacing personally, and it read like a dream.
May 28, 2015
This book was a bit of a change from previous installments of the Elemental Mage series as no one really goes to London. There are some inconsistencies with the magic system Lackey had established in previous works, but I actually sort of like that element as it gives a feeling that magic is still a little unknown and some of the “facts” various characters impart are more like traditions and folk wisdom. In this installment, Marina is cursed in her cradle and hidden with friends of her parents. Marina barely begins her magical training when a mysterious aunt shows up and whisks her away. Marina is a bit different from Lackey’s other heroines as she tends to be more outwardly passive, carefully observing and thinking before making her move. There is also a lot more in this book about “traditional” womenhood and training to become a proper lady and I found these details interesting. Overall, another enjoyable escapist read!
June 15, 2012
As often happens in a series, after a few books the author starts phoning it in. You need to engage in some serious suspension of disbelief in order to make it through this book. Not with regards to any of the magical stuff, but on a basic plot level. A lot of the plot relies on people not communicating super basic information. I think two letters/telegrams could have chopped this book in half.
Possibly the best part of the book is a throw away line that a character is a priggish, smug, self righteous satanist.
Possibly the best part of the book is a throw away line that a character is a priggish, smug, self righteous satanist.
October 15, 2016
idk not for me i guess. i know certain people really like mercedes lackey and i can understand that but not for me. it was insanely slow. not much happened. even to the end i thought something exciting might happen. it was set up to be more than it ended up being, if that makes sense. there was so much magic introduced and never mentioned again. good not great. would read more lackey if i happen upon it.
March 1, 2008
Spent way too much time describing the foster parents' home when we never saw it again. Marina began as an almost sue-ish character. I had trouble believing she adjested so easily, or was that outspoken. I liked the scheme that the Aunt and her son had going, but there should have been more development from the aunt, the cousin, and the maid.
May 13, 2009
Okay, I love Sleeping Beauty stories, but this one was just awful. The character seemed a bit dim and the romantic hero wasn't even introduced until closer to the end. I was not feeling this one.
March 4, 2021
The incredibly prolific Lackey writes a series of fairy tale retellings set in an alternate late Victorian world where elemental (earth, water, air, fire) magic exists. This is her take on Sleeping Beauty. As with the other books in the series, it's a pretty loose retelling, and Lackey uses the fairy tale as a jumping off point, rather than trying to keep strictly to a story line.
Objectively speaking, this book has some problems. The pacing is pretty wonky, and nothing much happens until the last third of the book. A lot of the exposition is absolutely shameless, and dumped out in big chunks convenient to what's going to happen next. There's no dawning realization on the part of the reader here. (Though she generally shows us how characters are feeling about something, rather than spelling it out, something that I find far more irritating than exposition infodumps.)
BUT. Sometimes I just want to read a book where things are mostly nice, except for the villainous villain. Sometimes I want to read a book where we hear about what they have for tea (currant buns, devilled ham sandwiches), and sumptuous descriptions of clothes (dove grey walking suits, trimmed with black soutache and black riding habits). Sometimes I want lots of escapist detail about swimming with water spirits in the summer and dancing lessons with an odious cousin in the ballroom.
If you are looking for a fast paced, plot driven book, or a book where the character arcs are strong and well defined, don't pick this up. But if you want a book that immerses you into a cozy world that feels like wrapping yourself in a big fleece blanket right out of the dryer, and ends with a wedding, pick this up.
Objectively speaking, this book has some problems. The pacing is pretty wonky, and nothing much happens until the last third of the book. A lot of the exposition is absolutely shameless, and dumped out in big chunks convenient to what's going to happen next. There's no dawning realization on the part of the reader here. (Though she generally shows us how characters are feeling about something, rather than spelling it out, something that I find far more irritating than exposition infodumps.)
BUT. Sometimes I just want to read a book where things are mostly nice, except for the villainous villain. Sometimes I want to read a book where we hear about what they have for tea (currant buns, devilled ham sandwiches), and sumptuous descriptions of clothes (dove grey walking suits, trimmed with black soutache and black riding habits). Sometimes I want lots of escapist detail about swimming with water spirits in the summer and dancing lessons with an odious cousin in the ballroom.
If you are looking for a fast paced, plot driven book, or a book where the character arcs are strong and well defined, don't pick this up. But if you want a book that immerses you into a cozy world that feels like wrapping yourself in a big fleece blanket right out of the dryer, and ends with a wedding, pick this up.
May 4, 2021
The next brilliant retelling of a well-known fairy-tale - this time it's the Sleeping Beauty, which sets the frame for the story. And like the original, its romantic, thrilling, magic ... and absolutely worth the time to read it! Enjoy!
July 20, 2024
Sleeping beauty retelling with a touch of magic. The love story part was a little rushed. But I love this series!
November 25, 2021
This was not my usual genre at all, but my mother rarely steers me wrong when she recommends or lends me a book, and much to my surprise, I did enjoy this fanciful fairy tale. There were dark elements and a few parts where it seemed to drag a bit, but the writing was very good, and I enjoyed the thought of fauns, nymphs, sylphs and other beings sharing our world. A fun, escapist read, which is sometimes just what one needs.
August 1, 2013
I love Mercedes Lackey's Elemental series, the Victorian setting for fairy tales respun with magic from the four elements. But this one... was full of holes, and dragging on and on.
Marina Roeswood's life is cursed by her evil aunt Arachne on her christening day. Her other godfathers and -mothers can not give her more magical gifts to protect herself (why?)... but they do whisk her away for her never to see her parents again. Huh? That's protection? Anyone could trace the packages Marina's parents will send her all her life - especially if one can get into a lawyer's office and destroy their will by magical means!! Also there is no preventive action, no keeping up with the would-be murderer, no looking into her motives AT ALL after that. They all just ignore her. (??)
Marina is brought up by her godparents, with the dire curse hanging over her - yet they never tell her about it, nor who it's from, nor how to protect herself - the latter when the time is almost up, and whaddya know? She is found, literally and legally kidnapped and brought to her aunt, who has no perceptible whiff of evil about her even though she's a black magic practitioner... And her guardians - who KNOW either Marina or her aunt must die from the curse - just stay in their backcountry and apparently wring hands and do NOTHING!? Please! Too many holes! I need a story to be at least a little believeable!
Also annoying is Lackey's tendency to justify things after the fact. Example: The young doctor is happy to have a good butler because he could be living in an inhospitable part of the country - which he actually does not, since his neighbors are very kind - although they could be annoying nonetheless - which is why it's a good thing he has a good butler. Huh? Always, good things - that could be very bad! - but are not. The author tries to raise the stakes after the fact, almost as an afterthought. It feels she's justifying herself, and adds up stuff because she didn't think to set the stage properly in advance. This is actually consistent with Lackey's inconsistency (sorry;0) with her whole universe; she set up rules in Fire Rose and The Serpent's Shadow that keep contradicting themselves. And she justifies them badly, and again, too late. The rules of Magic are always used as a wild card to explain why something 'can't' happen, but they change too much to be believable.
I wish I could be more positive about it, truly :0( I guess I am demanding because there ARE many things I love about the universe. The Serpent's Shadow was my favorite...
Marina Roeswood's life is cursed by her evil aunt Arachne on her christening day. Her other godfathers and -mothers can not give her more magical gifts to protect herself (why?)... but they do whisk her away for her never to see her parents again. Huh? That's protection? Anyone could trace the packages Marina's parents will send her all her life - especially if one can get into a lawyer's office and destroy their will by magical means!! Also there is no preventive action, no keeping up with the would-be murderer, no looking into her motives AT ALL after that. They all just ignore her. (??)
Marina is brought up by her godparents, with the dire curse hanging over her - yet they never tell her about it, nor who it's from, nor how to protect herself - the latter when the time is almost up, and whaddya know? She is found, literally and legally kidnapped and brought to her aunt, who has no perceptible whiff of evil about her even though she's a black magic practitioner... And her guardians - who KNOW either Marina or her aunt must die from the curse - just stay in their backcountry and apparently wring hands and do NOTHING!? Please! Too many holes! I need a story to be at least a little believeable!
Also annoying is Lackey's tendency to justify things after the fact. Example: The young doctor is happy to have a good butler because he could be living in an inhospitable part of the country - which he actually does not, since his neighbors are very kind - although they could be annoying nonetheless - which is why it's a good thing he has a good butler. Huh? Always, good things - that could be very bad! - but are not. The author tries to raise the stakes after the fact, almost as an afterthought. It feels she's justifying herself, and adds up stuff because she didn't think to set the stage properly in advance. This is actually consistent with Lackey's inconsistency (sorry;0) with her whole universe; she set up rules in Fire Rose and The Serpent's Shadow that keep contradicting themselves. And she justifies them badly, and again, too late. The rules of Magic are always used as a wild card to explain why something 'can't' happen, but they change too much to be believable.
I wish I could be more positive about it, truly :0( I guess I am demanding because there ARE many things I love about the universe. The Serpent's Shadow was my favorite...
June 20, 2015
Sleeping Beauty! Perhaps the one fairy tale in which the heroine does the absolute LEAST! Surely that'll make a great heroine-centered book, right? Well, no, not really.
The first 120 pages of the book could have been cut and it wouldn't have mattered, because NOTHING happens. The whole thing is a long, boring ramble on the social conditions of the time and how terrible it would have been to be poor back then. Another situation which I am powerless to rectify, and also, not a first act of a story, which, when that annoying interlude is removed from my mind, was still horrible. The first event is a mother's baby being taken away without her even getting a chance to get used to the idea, when that kind of urgency was totally uncalled for, and the next interesting thing that happens (120 pages later) is the same child being taken away from her new parents without being given any inkling of the danger she's headed for.
And, when the curse finally takes effect on the girl, her guardians go into fits. What did you THINK would happen when the woman you've been hiding from this entire time got her hands on the EXACT THING she wanted? HELLO?! The stated reason why they didn't come to rescue her at the beginning was that "as long as we didn't hear anything, we assumed the witch hadn't figured out how to curse her." So, they just waited to hear something. Um, okay.
I didn't really hate the characters, but I didn't like them either. They were all so unremarkable that they might as well not exist at all. I enjoyed the book more than I'm letting on, and the villains were fantastic (and the book was freakishly similar to Hotel Transylvania for some reason). Read it if you're a completionist, love Sleeping Beauty, or just like this series and want to look at some of the intricacies of the magic system Lackey's created, but otherwise you won't miss much if you skip it.
The first 120 pages of the book could have been cut and it wouldn't have mattered, because NOTHING happens. The whole thing is a long, boring ramble on the social conditions of the time and how terrible it would have been to be poor back then. Another situation which I am powerless to rectify, and also, not a first act of a story, which, when that annoying interlude is removed from my mind, was still horrible. The first event is a mother's baby being taken away without her even getting a chance to get used to the idea, when that kind of urgency was totally uncalled for, and the next interesting thing that happens (120 pages later) is the same child being taken away from her new parents without being given any inkling of the danger she's headed for.
And, when the curse finally takes effect on the girl, her guardians go into fits. What did you THINK would happen when the woman you've been hiding from this entire time got her hands on the EXACT THING she wanted? HELLO?! The stated reason why they didn't come to rescue her at the beginning was that "as long as we didn't hear anything, we assumed the witch hadn't figured out how to curse her." So, they just waited to hear something. Um, okay.
I didn't really hate the characters, but I didn't like them either. They were all so unremarkable that they might as well not exist at all. I enjoyed the book more than I'm letting on, and the villains were fantastic (and the book was freakishly similar to Hotel Transylvania for some reason). Read it if you're a completionist, love Sleeping Beauty, or just like this series and want to look at some of the intricacies of the magic system Lackey's created, but otherwise you won't miss much if you skip it.
January 10, 2012
Cursed by her evil aunt at birth, Marina is bundled up to be hidden in the Devon countryside, where she is raised in the loving, bohemian home of her three godparents. Each a talented artist and Elemental Master, they foster Marina's blossoming talents, both magical and academic, and lavish upon her the love and affection that she sorely misses from her parents. Unaware of the curse that orchestrated her strange upbringing, Marina grows into a beautiful young woman who, nonetheless, senses an evil menace hovering on the edges of her life. Her fears come suddenly to light when the premature deaths of her parents forces her out of her childhood home and away from the substitute parents she loves so much and into the dark, cold home of her new guardian, the aunt she's never met. Determined to once and for all uncover the secrets of her birth, Marina begins to probe the past and search for clues to explain the frightening sense of foreboding and threat that she feels closing in around her. Will she succeed before the dark curse that still looms over her comes to fruition?
As a story in its own right and as a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, this novel is an absorbing and entertaining read, full of very likable (and detestable!) characters. The prose flows like poetry and it's quite easy to become absorbed in Marina's story. Although there are very dark aspects of the novel, it's overall feel is one of light and magic, just what a book about a Water Mage should be! I think it is my favorite Elemental Masters book so far and is yet another wonderful example of Mercedes' Lackey's talent!
As a story in its own right and as a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, this novel is an absorbing and entertaining read, full of very likable (and detestable!) characters. The prose flows like poetry and it's quite easy to become absorbed in Marina's story. Although there are very dark aspects of the novel, it's overall feel is one of light and magic, just what a book about a Water Mage should be! I think it is my favorite Elemental Masters book so far and is yet another wonderful example of Mercedes' Lackey's talent!
July 8, 2015
I liked the basic thrust of the story: it's a version of Sleeping Beauty, set in the Victorian era that also acknowledges magic. Marina, the main character, has been hidden with friends of the family since she was a baby to help her avoid a spell put on her by an evil aunt. She never sees her parents, though they write and send presents now and again. Her adopted family sees to her education as a Water Master, but before her 18th birthday, she learns her parents have been killed in an accident and now she is in the legal custody of her aunt. She is abruptly ripped from a family she never knew into the evil Arachnae's, where she not only fights for her life but the life of the young women who work in her aunt's pottery (a mass production facility that is poisoning the girls and the land).
The biggest problem with the book is the lack of the hand of a good editor. The plot gets bogged down in a lot of details about the various Elemental forces and the mundane aspects of life in the household. This happens in a lot of the early books, but this one suffers the most from it. I'm glad I started with another book in the series. Reading this one first would likely have discouraged me from the others.
The biggest problem with the book is the lack of the hand of a good editor. The plot gets bogged down in a lot of details about the various Elemental forces and the mundane aspects of life in the household. This happens in a lot of the early books, but this one suffers the most from it. I'm glad I started with another book in the series. Reading this one first would likely have discouraged me from the others.
October 30, 2015
I do feel like the Elemental Masters books are getting stronger as they go. There are still issues. It feels like the magic system is made up as the story goes. I think it is a bit like that in Valdemar as well. People can and do do what is needed to progress the story and everyone has unheard of nearly unlimited powers. Which is part of what makes it feel like fanfiction.
But Misty does weave an addicting story. And I think the female is better developed here than in previous stories. She perhaps isn't quite as effective in her own cause as she could be, failing to communicate with anyone for some significant period of time despite numerous opportunities. And perhaps other failings.
The villain is perhaps somewhat weaker and ambiguous. And the relationship somewhat under developed. But it is always fun to see the infinite forces unleashed at the last minute.
And the girl got to fight her own final battle, even if it was against only a woman.
But Misty does weave an addicting story. And I think the female is better developed here than in previous stories. She perhaps isn't quite as effective in her own cause as she could be, failing to communicate with anyone for some significant period of time despite numerous opportunities. And perhaps other failings.
The villain is perhaps somewhat weaker and ambiguous. And the relationship somewhat under developed. But it is always fun to see the infinite forces unleashed at the last minute.
And the girl got to fight her own final battle, even if it was against only a woman.
June 16, 2008
I liked this one much better than the first book by Lackey that I read. This one is set in Victorian England and revolves around a community of magicians, true magicians, who deal in natural elements. What I liked most about it was the way in which the magic was made to seem like nothing out of the ordinary, and it didn't feel like a 'fantasy' novel at all, just another novel. It was all totally normalized, and the story was more about the characters and their battle with evil than about the fact that they could do magic.
It was well written, as well, without a lot of the dated slang from the Children of Darkness novel by the same author, which was most likely due to that one being set in 1980's America. I was also drawn in by her period details, and I think she did a good job of capturing the era.
It was well written, as well, without a lot of the dated slang from the Children of Darkness novel by the same author, which was most likely due to that one being set in 1980's America. I was also drawn in by her period details, and I think she did a good job of capturing the era.
July 7, 2017
This was rather difficult for me to finish because it seemed to just drag on and on for so much of the book. Perhaps I am so used to the style of today's authors that I can no longer appreciate Mercedes Lackey's workmanship. I used to love her books when I was in my 20s and 30s and maybe even in my early 40s. But now I'm in my early 60s and jus don't find them as entertaining. Then again, it may just be this series. I have read 2 books and couldn't finish one. Out of the 3 I only really liked 1. Sadly, this wasn't it.
March 22, 2022
I apparently read this book a while ago. I then kept it. I remembered I wanted to read the first few books in the series. So I read the 2 earlier in the series in early 2022. I didn't hate them, didn't love them. Then reread this one. Came back to rate it 3 stars, to find that I'd already rated it 3 stars a few years ago. So maybe this series just isn't for me, despite the fact that I usually love fairy tales/revisiting fairy tales with a twist. Oh well.
September 22, 2015
If this were not Lackey, it'd be a three. Like her other fairy tale stories, it has a lot of logistics issues and inconsistencies. She seems to have foregone editing too.
February 22, 2017
Love this book - probably my favourite from this series. It has so much more connection to the fairy tale it is based on and the country setting really lends itself to the type of magic described.
July 13, 2023
Read a little over 100 pages but wasn't interested in going further than that.
To Be Donated Pile
To Be Donated Pile
March 26, 2021
I recently listened to The Gates of Sleep written by Mercedes Lackey and narrated by Kayla Fell. This is the second book in the Elemental Masters series.
Before we begin I should clarify two things. The first is that I actually like Mercedes Lackey, despite this specific book review. The second is that there is no reasonable way to review this particular book without offering some spoilers. If spoilers are an issue for you, I suggest you stop reading now.
This book is an attempt to reinvent the Sleeping Beauty story. It hews fairly true to the original, the child's birth, the dark witch, (who is also her evil aunt,) spurned and giving the child a curse, the last wizard giving a blessing after the fact to change the spell. Like the original the child is sent into hiding in the country with some wizards, in order to protect her. So far so good.
This is pretty much the first third of the book. A ton of detail is poured into specific moments of bucolic splendor and the delights of being raised by artists and artisans, for these wizards were those too. None of these details contributed to the story in any meaningful way.
Appreciate the first third of the book. Despite its complete uselessness to the rest of the plot, it's the best part of the book. The rest of the story hinges on key facts which, from a plot perspective, simply don't seem plausible.
First, her guardians and family never mentioned the curse. In fact, they never curtailed her movements or stressed the threat to her in any way. Secondly, despite the witch realizing her curse could rebound and kill her, none of the participants took any precautions to protect themselves from her. Third, the will that would have seen to it such ill fortune could not endanger the child went missing and, despite knowing the witch might try something of this sort, no backup will had been left with noble friends of the household. Lastly, when she is snatched away, her guardians literally stand by and rub their hands together in grief. They do nothing to protect her.
As if this wasn't bad enough the witch has, apparently, bore a son as vile as she. They hatch a plan to force her to marry her aunts son, the girls first cousin, in order to seize her family estates. Since this was supposed to be an Edwardian novel, the very concept of this would have been wholly unacceptable socially. Even a hint of this could have destroyed any social standing they hoped to achieve.
Finally, to cap off the entire thing, a cringe worthy romance springs up at a critical moment to fix everything. While a slight friendship had been established previous to that, it was nothing that would have indicated the passionate commitment that sprang from nowhere as though being hit on the head by a falling anvil. Never you mind. We don't need to worry where that anvil fell from.
The narrator Kayla Fell chose to read the book with accents. I usually enjoy these, but couldn't help but notice the child's accent was subtly different than that of her guardians. This seemed odd as they would have taught her how to speak. Additionally, there were a number of instances of unusual pronunciations. It's possible they were due to the accents, but it's worth noting. This being said, she did a fairly good job with the material she was given.
Conclusion: While I have often enjoyed Mercedes Lackey books and, likely, will again, I cannot recommend this book. The plot was poorly written and faults from it lie strewn through the book. I personally will be discontinuing the series and I suggest you forego this rats nest of a tale.
Before we begin I should clarify two things. The first is that I actually like Mercedes Lackey, despite this specific book review. The second is that there is no reasonable way to review this particular book without offering some spoilers. If spoilers are an issue for you, I suggest you stop reading now.
This book is an attempt to reinvent the Sleeping Beauty story. It hews fairly true to the original, the child's birth, the dark witch, (who is also her evil aunt,) spurned and giving the child a curse, the last wizard giving a blessing after the fact to change the spell. Like the original the child is sent into hiding in the country with some wizards, in order to protect her. So far so good.
This is pretty much the first third of the book. A ton of detail is poured into specific moments of bucolic splendor and the delights of being raised by artists and artisans, for these wizards were those too. None of these details contributed to the story in any meaningful way.
Appreciate the first third of the book. Despite its complete uselessness to the rest of the plot, it's the best part of the book. The rest of the story hinges on key facts which, from a plot perspective, simply don't seem plausible.
First, her guardians and family never mentioned the curse. In fact, they never curtailed her movements or stressed the threat to her in any way. Secondly, despite the witch realizing her curse could rebound and kill her, none of the participants took any precautions to protect themselves from her. Third, the will that would have seen to it such ill fortune could not endanger the child went missing and, despite knowing the witch might try something of this sort, no backup will had been left with noble friends of the household. Lastly, when she is snatched away, her guardians literally stand by and rub their hands together in grief. They do nothing to protect her.
As if this wasn't bad enough the witch has, apparently, bore a son as vile as she. They hatch a plan to force her to marry her aunts son, the girls first cousin, in order to seize her family estates. Since this was supposed to be an Edwardian novel, the very concept of this would have been wholly unacceptable socially. Even a hint of this could have destroyed any social standing they hoped to achieve.
Finally, to cap off the entire thing, a cringe worthy romance springs up at a critical moment to fix everything. While a slight friendship had been established previous to that, it was nothing that would have indicated the passionate commitment that sprang from nowhere as though being hit on the head by a falling anvil. Never you mind. We don't need to worry where that anvil fell from.
The narrator Kayla Fell chose to read the book with accents. I usually enjoy these, but couldn't help but notice the child's accent was subtly different than that of her guardians. This seemed odd as they would have taught her how to speak. Additionally, there were a number of instances of unusual pronunciations. It's possible they were due to the accents, but it's worth noting. This being said, she did a fairly good job with the material she was given.
Conclusion: While I have often enjoyed Mercedes Lackey books and, likely, will again, I cannot recommend this book. The plot was poorly written and faults from it lie strewn through the book. I personally will be discontinuing the series and I suggest you forego this rats nest of a tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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