The Serpent's Shadow

The Serpent’s Shadow: A Penny Dreadful Review

            Exotic ancient magic and a progressive suffragette. A secret society and a well-known fairy tale. One of my favorite authors and Edwardian London. The Serpent’s Shadow, by Mercedes Lackey, is the first of her Elemental Masters series. It is an excellent, engrossing story set in a detailed world. It also contains a very subtle rebelling of Snow White, which I did not realize until somebody poisoned an apple. I found that to be a delightful surprise.

            Dr. Maya Witherspoon has recently emigrated to London from her native India. She flees from the dark magic that has slain her parents. She opens a women’s health clinic to help the chorus girls and streetwalkers of London’s underclasses. She makes a comfortable home for herself, protected by her loyal servants, her several pets, and her cobbled-together magical knowledge. Though her mother was a sorceress, Maya knows very little. Has the mysterious force, the serpent’s shadow, that her mother feared followed her to this small foggy island?

            Mercedes Lackey has a gift for creating interesting heroes. They seem like genuine people. This makes any book by her hand a treat. The Edwardian setting is well-researched and vividly evoked. I feel as if I could take a train to London and actually locate Maya’s clinic.

            I rate The Serpent’s Shadow at four and a half gears out of five. I certainly intend to read the volumes that follow, and I recommend you do the same. It is different, intriguing, and scented with all the species of India.

Your Correspondent from the Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Jack Cloudie

Jack Cloudie: A Penny Dreadful Review

            Young Jack Keats escapes the noose to serve on an airship no one wants, on a mission no one really things they will survive. Omar ibn Barir is freed by his master moments before everyone he knows is slaughtered. These two boys hold the fate of their continent in their hands. One wrong step, and their countries are plunged into war.

            Master author Stephen Hunt has done it again. Jack Cloudie is fascinating, frightening, and fantastic. The story never quite goes in the direction the reader anticipates, and at times the events are quite brutal. It cannot be said that Mr. Hunt goes easy on his characters. For instance, I was heartbroken at the outcome of poor Omar’s love story, but not for the reasons one might think.

It is a deeply violent and problematic world these characters inhabit. I can’t go too far into the villain’s secrets without spoiling the book, but if only that society were a little more open and equal, a lot of people would still be alive! Then again, if Omar’s society held more equality, then Jack would likely still be in prison and the airship Iron Partridge would be scrap.

            Four and a half gears out of five. This book makes one think and has the reader on the edge of their seat the entire time.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather

Steam Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories

Steam Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories, A Penny Dreadful Review

            I just read the most delightful anthology. Steam Powered introduces us to Steampunk lesbians from five continents. They are from cities, deserts, and jungles, the future, the past, and places that never were. They are cyborgs and pirates, spies and runaway brides, madwomen and scientists. The editor, JoSelle Vanderhooft, has masterfully assembled this brilliant conglomeration. It reminds me a bit of a bright rainbow quilt – every piece wildly different, and the whole a masterpiece.

            I must mention a few tales of adventure and romance in particular. “Brilliant,” by Georgina Bruce, features lush descriptions of a beautiful Cairo and strangers on a train. “Steel Rider,” by Rachel Manija Brown, introduces the reader to damaged people in large suits of mysterious armor. “Love In The Time Of Airships,” by Meredith Holmes, is a crown jewel of a novella at the center of this anthology. It is sweet, sexy, intriguing, and exciting. “Effluent Engine,” by N. K. Jemisin, happens to be my personal favorite. There’s Haiti, New Orleans, spies, and the uncovering of a scientific mind. Also, a daring escape on an airship. I can never resist a daring escape on an airship.

            Not all these tales have happy endings. Perhaps that is because not all real-life lesbians have happy endings. Perhaps that is because some romances are doomed. At any rate, this is not a book of happily-ever-afters. It is a book of adventures that will stick with you.

I give Steam Powered four gears out of five. I highly recommend that you seek out this fantastic collection and read it immediately.

Your Correspondent From The Bookstore,

Penny J. Merriweather