The Serpent [Paperback]

Jane Gaskell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 317 pages
• Publisher: Tandem (1963)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000XA7BSQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No other princess-locked-in-a-tower was ever like Cija!, June 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Serpent (The Atlan Saga, No 1) (Paperback)

The journey to Atlantis begins with Cija's being freed from the tower in which she spent her childhood. Raised thinking that males no longer existed, and that women had evolved beyond them and hatched from eggs, Cija is rudely thrust into the real world with the task of seducing and killing the first man she has ever seen. This is great fantasy by, for, and about an unusual woman

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Zerd frowned.", April 11, 2007

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Serpent (The Atlan Saga, No 1) (Paperback)

I have to confess that I was a little bit nervous about revisiting The Atlan Saga. Lately, I have been re-reading a number of the fantasy series which I enjoyed the most as a child. Some of the writers have stood up well, but others have been disappointing. I admit that I kind of suspected that Gaskell would be among the writers who might disappoint me.

Cija was one of my favorites of the sexy little heroines who seemed to populate so many of those fantasy series as a preteen. I liked her better than Shebat. I liked her better than Estri. I thought that she had a beautiful name and I re-read the Atlan books multiple times.

I'm happy to say that The Serpent held up better over time than other similar books. Gaskell is a talented writer, and even when she works in stereotypes she manages to make it interesting. The book does have something of a dated quality, but it was written in 1963-- so I guess that's allowed. In all truthfulness, it is probably more of a three star read than a four star read. That extra star is for the nostalgia value.

By the way, I read this as a very young teenager and am a little bit shocked by that now. There is some very adult material in The Serpent. Parents may want to consider its appropriateness carefully.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Part 1 of the Atlan saga, June 9, 2007

By 

Michael Dea (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Serpent (The Atlan Saga, No 1) (Paperback)

The first in the Atlan series, we are introduced to young princess Cija and her adventure across prehistoric South America. Cija is taken hostage by the half-reptilian general Zerd, of the Kingdom of the North, as he travels across the continent to invade the kingdom of the South. She has a series of adventures with her faithful terror bird mount.
The Serpent starts off very interesting but turns into a series of episodes that don't really lead into anything. The story ends rather abruptly with no real resolution- but not a cliff hanger either. I'm not really compelled to find the sequel.