Customer Reviews

The Serpent

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

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.

i have read many fantasy and science fiction books, and this one is frankly one of the best i've ever come across. it is the first of a series following the travels of a naive girl-child goddess set in a harsh land. cija, our resilient protagonist, is a purely original character who defies ready classification. she is not alone, as we come across other memorable figures who are not easily understood. the story itself is many things. it is sometimes comic and tragic, but also a rousing adventure. there is lust, love, suffering, and cruelty. give it a chance.

Written by a pseudo-goddess emerging into adulthood, this book is set in an amazingly well imagined prehistoric fantasy world. Although much of the the content is exhiliratingly strange, it contains the very human emotions of lust, platonic love, grief and the pain of adolescence.

I've read all 5 books and I still have them. They're very worn but I love the author and her writing. She doesn't disappoint! Great fantasy writer!!

Although it has been years since I first read this book, it remains one of the best fantasy/romance genre books I have ever read. It is creative, imaginative, and packs a punch. A winner!

I found this book on my mom's bookshelf when I was 12. I loved it then and loved it 13 times more. Then I wanted to name my daughter "Cija." Instead I named a dog that. Twenty years later, I was reading Ms. magazine (remember that?) and discovered The Serpent was the first in a series of 5 books. I ran to my university bookstore to order the next one. I discovered that my copy was the first two books. I ordered the rest...they got pretty wierd and I didn't like Cija as much as time went on. She was my hero in adolescense.

Cija is the Goddess incarnate, just one of the reasons she was isolated in a tower and never permitted to see the outside world until the tender age of seventeen, when she is pushed into the real world and expected to perform an assassination to deflect a very bad prophecy.

The Serpent was mildly entertaining, in a comedic sort of way, but the feeling fell by the wayside ... probably at the same place the plot started to wander. By the time the end came, I was glad. But it wasn't an ending at all, just a stop. Yes, there are four more books in the series, but shouldn't each be a complete story in itself? The writing had my attention at the beginning, but deteriorated hand in hand with the plot. The low moment came when Gaskell offered up a series of absurd coincidences so her characters could all be conveniently and properly arranged for the next chapters, which dragged anyway. If there's one thing I find unforgivable in a novel, it's a stack of lame coincidences. Despite those major annoyances, the story itself (which we are only given quick tastes of) was intriguing, and I would have liked to see more of it. Kudos, also for a female heroin who doesn't act like a man.