| $@%&! level: Low “Bedroom” level: None (aside from a few ladies of the night who show up as patients) Violence level: Medium-Low (several people are killed, but everything happens off-screen) Back Cover: “Maya Witherspoon had lived most of the first twenty-five years of her life in her native India. As the daughter of a prominent British physician and Brahmin woman of the highest caste, she had known only luxury. Trained by her father in the medical arts since she was old enough to read, she graduated from the University of Delhi as a Doctor of Medicine by the age of twenty-two. But the science of medicine was not Maya's only heritage. For Maya's aristocratic mother Surya was a sorceress—a former priestess of the mystical magics fueled by the powerful and fearsome pantheon of Indian gods. Though Maya felt the stirring of magic in her blood, her mother had repeatedly refused to train her. 'I cannot,' she had said, her eyes dark with distress, whenever Maya asked. 'Yours is the magic of your father's blood, not mine...' Surya had never had the chance to explain this enigmatic statement to her daughter before a mysterious illness claimed her life. Yet it was Maya's father's death shortly thereafter that confirmed her darkest suspicions. For her father was killed by the bite of a krait, a tiny venomous snake, and in the last hours of her mother's life, Surya had repeatedly warned Maya to beware 'the serpent's shadow.' Maya knew she must flee the land of her birth or face the same fate as her parents. In self-imposed exile in Edwardian London, Maya knew that she could not hide forever from the vindictive power that had murdered her parents. She knew in her heart that even a vast ocean couldn't protect her from 'the serpent's shadow' which had so terrified her mother. Her only hope was to find a way to master her own magic: the magic of her father's blood. But who would teach her? And could she learn enough to save her life by the time her relentless pursuers caught up with their prey?” |
Snow White, meet Edwardian London. It's surprising reading this to realize just how much of the original fairytale is simple suspense with Snow White hiding from the evil queen. This one has a bit of added mystery because the Snow White (Maya) in this case has no idea who is hunting her or why, and has to figure it out. Also, she has to learn how her magic works, which luckily leads to the handsome prince (or in this case a shop-owner/former sea captain/elemental water master).
I think a lot of what's going on here is social commentary more than anything. Lackey has a lot to say about the way women were treated during this time period, and she's probably covertly saying a few things about how some women are treated now. Luckily, she does have at least a few male characters who aren't complete jerks, but the overall impression is that the masculine psyche tends to be domineering, condescending, and generally terrified by the idea that women might be able to take care of themselves. Of course, Maya does get saved by her prince charming in the end, so the feminist message might be a little mixed.
So, the going is a bit slow as the suspense builds up, and there's a lot of description plus the feminism to fill in space, but the action is actually pretty interesting. The climax is poetic, and they have to go through a funhouse of demonspawn to get there. And it's nice that the seven dwarfs (in this case Maya's seven pets) get a proper role to play in the rescue.
Altogether, it probably isn't one of Mercedes Lackey's best efforts, but it does lead into a whole series, some of which are totally worth the effort of getting through the rest.