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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not This Misty Fan's Cup of Tea, August 5, 2001
The Serpent's Shadow is, disappointingly, a jumbled rehash of Ms. Lackey's past work, material that has already been stretched thin. Where The Fire Rose (the first of her attempts to rewrite classic fairy tales) is fresh in its approach and stands as one of my all-time favorite books, The Serpent's Shadow struggles through a pale, undeveloped plot, see-through characters, and a villain that's absolutely ridiculous in her motivations and mannerisms. There's no element of surprise in this book whatsoever, and while Ms. Lackey's prose occasionally shines, it's all in a scene of a kind we've seen before from her. (Example, from The Serpent's Shadow: "She liked his handshake; strong without being over-bearing, a warm, dry hand, neither too familiar nor too distant." And from The Fire Rose: "His grip was firm and quite strong, and she had the feeling that if she had not been wearing gloves, she would have found his hand to be warm, the skin of his palm dry.") Ms. Lackey seems to be running out of steam and interest in her own topic throughout The Serpent's Shadow. The 400-page book leads up to a climax that is resolved in two pages, as if the author is as anxious to get to the book's end as the reader. While her characters are not completely devoid of personality, they're too one-sided -- the good guys are Beautiful People, kind, thoughtful, intelligent, witty, caring, etc, while the villains are motivated purely by greed or "evil"; after years of reading and admiring Ms. Lackey's work, I would very much like to see a villain that doesn't scowl and rely on "sex and blood magic" for his/her power. The book's primary villain, Shivani, is a pathetic caricature of a bad guy who brings the story to a lower, often eye-rolling level ("Then the campaign of terror would begin," we are told in one of Shivani's more melodramatic scenes; her reasons for playing a chess game of power and death are weak at best). Coming after the brilliance of The Fire Rose, The Serpent's Shadow isn't much. Ms. Lackey contradicts the rules of Elemental magic that she herself set in the first book, where it had been established that Masters of the same element could not stay in the same vicinity without rivalries and difficulties. In London, where The Serpent's Shadow takes place, there is a whole club of Elemental Masters, who all seem to be living in the same city without any difficulty whatsoever. The characters and plotline of this book leave much to be desired. Maya Witherspoon, the heroine, is basically flawless -- beautiful, an accomplished doctor and surgeon at twenty-five, a powerful mage, and of course, selfless and liberal-minded. Ms. Lackey often goes off on tirades, via her characters, about the cruel and repressive upper class and especially the malevolence of men, as well as the never-ending struggling of the downtrodden poor, and while these are valid and important points, after a while it feels like we're being preached at. Not to mention that she can't seem to think of any new male names (there are two Peters, a Paul like in The Fire Rose, and a Simon -- again used in The Fire Rose). Maya's romantic interest is a Water Master (her Element is Earth; in The Fire Rose, the focus was on Air and Fire Masters), and from the moment we see him, it's obvious that they're intended to become romantically involved. There isn't any element of surprise whatsoever in The Serpent's Shadow, and from start to incredibly predictable ending, there isnt a moment that leaves one anxiously turning pages to see what will happen. Mayas story is supposed to be a retelling of Snow White, and Ms. Lackey throws in a few elements of the classic fairy tale -- magic mirror, seven guardians, poison, a life-saving kiss -- but never fully develops the parallel between the two stories. Her early twentieth-century London is never given much detail, though she will occasionally toss in a few British slang words as if to proudly prove that yes, she did her research, despite the fact that some readers might have no idea what shes talking about. And Mayas seven guardians -- the dwarf substitute -- are bound to offend some followers of Hinduism, as they are supposed to be the major Hindu gods -- given the form of pets. The gods dazzling histories and personalities, which might have added some spark to the book, are never explored at all; theyre used only as a convenient names to throw around. The Serpents Shadow has a few well-written, fun scenes, and Elemental magic is an interesting topic in Ms. Lackeys hands. But the crumbling, transparent plot and pointless, shallowly crafted characters detract from what could have been a good book. For long-time Misty fans, The Serpents Shadow comes as a disappointment. Those seeking a masterful, magical retelling of a well-known fairy tale should look to Ms. Lackeys The Fire Rose, and not to this uninspired imitation.
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by Mercedes Lackey
by Mercedes Lackey
by Mercedes Lackey
by Mercedes Lackey
by Mercedes Lackey
