Home From the Sea (Elemental Masters)

I liked this story- then again I generally like anything that Lackey writes. She takes an interesting turn when she discusses Selkies. Lackey is always fun to read. I was put off at first by a few poor reviews that I had read but am now glad I downloaded this to my Kindle.

While iagreewiyh a negative review that some content is from earlier books, that was ok with me as it helped me remember the earlier stories. I found this an agreeable read - maybe not one of her best but still worth the money and time.

I LOVED the references to Elizabeth Peters' wonderful heroine Amelia Peabody. This is the "mentor" with the parasol that the girls met in Egypt.

These stories do stand alone, but this is an interesting addition to the Elemental Masters series. A bit darker and more melancholy than some of the tales, this one features a different type of heroine with the fun addition of revisiting old friends.

Mercedes continues her excellent writing. It is hard to wait between each book as the series continues. A very fertile imagination and writing skill. Everyone should read all of the elemental master series.

Home from the Sea is Mercedes Lackey's most recent addition to her Elemental Masters series. As usual fairly fast paced and an easy read. A couple of old friends are reintroduced. A good read if a little lightweight.

Mercedes Lackey delineates her characters so that I feel as if they are real, including the birds.
This book is a sequel, and I find that I would not have enjoyed it without having read the first one. Much would have been lost without knowledge of the background.
I would not recommend it as a stand alone story.

This was a well written story. Each of the carracters had their own plot that kept you interested in each and then brought them together to a well written climax. The story makes you want to read more about these carracters.

I love Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series. I enjoy new takes on old tales and haven't been disappointed. I'm still not, sort of. I bought "Home from the Sea", quite pleased that it was about, or at least included Selkies. The story swims the surface, the protagonist, Mari, has to marry a Selkie in order to honor a generations old agreement between the sea folk and her family. She is resistant to this forced marriage but manages to set terms she can live with, to a certain extent. Lackey deals very little with the Selkies themselves. She does relate the basic "facts" about Selkies but she never really develops the Selkies and their culture as a whole. She sets up a conflict between one of the Selkie leaders with Mari but never really gives any reason for the Selkie's animosity. There is a "bad cop" but with no real resolution of the antagonism between him and the town, Mari, and her Dad.
In addition, an uncommon amount of this book was in the form of flashbacks. I haven't counted pages but there are so many passages from "The Wizard of London" incorporated into this book that I felt as if I were reading "The Wizard" again. I got the feeling that Lackey was rushed for deadline or that her heart wasn't in the story. I don't regret buying the book but I am a bit disappointed in this addition to the Elemental Masters series.

Mercedes Lackey delineates her characters so that I feel as if they are real, including the birds.
This book is a sequel, and I find that I would not have enjoyed it without having read the first one. Much would have been lost without knowledge of the background.
I would not recommend it as a stand alone story.

This was a well written story. Each of the carracters had their own plot that kept you interested in each and then brought them together to a well written climax. The story makes you want to read more about these carracters.

The Elemental Masters series is one of my favorite Lackey series and this book delighted me. It is one that will get re-read, which is my personal criteria for a 5 star rating.

The pace is rather leisurely, the bad guys/bad situation didn't generate a lot of tension and but the two schoolgirls in my favorite book of this series (Wizard of London) returned with a major role. Now young ladies just a year out of school, their investigation involves a new main character and fae group. A very pleasant visit with characters I enjoyed in their initial appearance.

As always, the sense of place, the historical setting and the minor characters all seem very well defined.

i am disappointed. too many important parts of the story are quotes taken from a previous book. she's doing this more and more, and what could have been great is boring. i'm giving it to my friend who has a used book store. and i don't normally part with books, but this one is not a keeper.

The seventh novel in Lackey's “Elemental Masters” series (which is written, and can be read, out of chronological order) is set sometime in the 1890's (David Lloyd George has recently become an M.P., and in Africa “a lot of justified uprisings” are occurring against European occupation) and is a sequel to "The Wizard of London," whose stars, school pals Nan and Sarah and their birds Neville (a rook) and Grey (an African parrot), play a pivotal role in its resolution. The girls have just returned to England after visiting Sarah's parents, who are medical missionaries, and making sure that if the unrest gets too close for comfort they have a means of escape. But they've little chance to rest upon their laurels, for their teacher, Isabelle “Memsa'b” Harton, and their patron, Lord Alderscroft, have a job for them. In the fishing village of Clogwyn, on the remote Welsh coast, Alderscroft and the other Elemental Masters have sensed the blossoming of a new Water Master, whom they believe to be in danger from dark forces. In an era when an interest in spiritualism is burgeoning—and some of the spiritualists, being frauds or incompetents, may lay the Realm open to harm from “ghastlies and ghoulies”—it's the Masters' duty to do whatever they can to stave off just such trouble, and Alderscroft thinks Nan and Sarah would make excellent agents. But many of his fellows have a certain prejudice against females, so he's decided to send the girls to Wales to investigate the new Master as a kind of test of their suitability.

Meanwhile, on the wild Welsh seacoast, Mari Prothero has just discovered that her family isn't entirely human (thanks to a long-ago Bargain made with the North Star Clan of the Selch, half-mortal folk who can live in the sea as seals or on land as people), that she is required to take a Selch husband and give up one of her children to the Clan, and that her mother and older brother, whom she thought drowned when she was only an infant, actually “went back” after the conclusion of her fisherman father's phase of the Bargain. But Mari is a wild Welshwoman with the fighting spirit of her people, and of no mind to tamely accept any husband foisted on her, even to guarantee her father's continued luck and prosperity—and she has magic of her own; she's been seeing Elemental creatures since she was very young. She requires of Gethin, the North Star clan chief, that she be properly courted—and given a teacher who can show her how to properly use her powers. Gethin is furious, but he accedes and sends four of his clan's “young bulls” to compete for her hand and an elder, Idwal, to serve as her instructor. Mari, who had few hopes for this mandatory union, soon finds that she's attracted, not to any of “the boys,” but to Idwal. Meanwhile, a nosy constable has established himself in Clogwyn, apparently to ferret out “anarchists” and labor agitators, neither of whom exist there—not that he believes that. And Gethin isn't at all pleased at being outmaneuvered by a mere slip of a girl. It all comes together when Mari's father is accused of murdering Idwal and his and Mari's twin infant sons—who have, in fact, been kidnapped by Gethin—and Mari, Nan, and Sarah, with the help of the latter's old friend Puck, must free him from jail before Mari braves the sea and the clan to rescue the rest of her family. There's also a mysterious reference to some archaeologists in Egypt who gave Nan and Sarah sanctuary in a dangerous time, and whom I suspect of being another author's creation (many readers may guess just who I mean, though no names are mentioned). With plenty of magic, suspense, and peril both occult and mortal, plus a deftly drawn Victorian background, this is another highly enjoyable fantasy by the prolific Lackey, whose tally currently stands at 44 novels and eight edited anthologies from DAW alone; her legion of fans shouldn't be disappointed—I know I wasn't.

This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon.com. Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.

Nan and Sarah have been charged with a task now that they have returned from Africa - to find the brand new Water Master who has sprung up on the coast. Little do they know that this Water Master has a bit of a surprise in store for them - definitely not what Lord A was expecting either!

After reading some less than flattering reviews of this novel on the store, I wasn't feeling all too positive about it, and I didn't pick it up from the library the moment I knew it was out. I've had a couple of disappointments with Lackey's work recently, which is sad.

Since I wasn't expecting much, I wasn't disappointed in this one! For the first parts of the novel, it really felt like nothing was happening, and I didn't get a bigger picture of what could go wrong. Just not that great in my opinion.

Number 8 in the Elemental Masters series and I feel like it's losing its momentum. There are only so many times that you can redo the theme, and relying heavily on fairytales (such as Mari's three trials) is getting a bit stale for me, at least from Lackey.

I think Nan and Sarah's characters were really flat. Completely flat. They had hardly any motivations, and half the time it just seemed like they were picnicking on the surf without a care in the world. Mari was a bit better, but even her insights into her father felt stilted. More could have been done with the seals too.

Some parts of the novel also felt repetitive within the novel, which could be a problem with the editing team, or something else, like them thinking the reader is too dumb to remember somethign that happened at the start of the book. Either way, I want them to expect more from me! I'm not a stupid reader, and I really want to get into a good book, not pick on it.

I didn't really get a sense of threat from the Constable, and only a brief worry about the Selkie chief. The ending was a bit abrupt too. It's not to say I didn't enjoy it, and I did find it difficult to put it down in the second half, but I think that may have been because I wanted to know what Mari was going to do next.

For adults and teens alike this one. But I wouldn't start with this novel if you're a new reader of Lackey's works. It's not a good example of her brilliance.

I loved the Welsh aspect of this story right from the beginning. Plus, I’m excited to finally be reading a water-centric Elemental Master book!

I’m also glad I read ‘Wizard of London’ first. I had read that it didn’t matter if you read that or not before reading ‘Home from the Sea’, however while it’s not necessary to enjoy both stories independently, they work better as a set and when read in the proper order.

I also really enjoyed Nan and Sarah being back in this story. Their characters really add to the overall theme of friendship. But I highly recommend readers reach ‘Wizard of London’ first!

SPOILERS: When Mari transforms into a seal, I was ecstatic! I saw it coming and wondered why she was being so daft, but then figured it was the author’s intent to leave it as a surprise, albeit a predictable one. It was a great addition to the overall plot!

Overall, an excellent addition to the Elemental Masters series! I loved it!

Rating: 5/5

Mari Prothero never thought to question the extraordinary luck her father, Daffyd, has as a fisherman on the Welsh coast. And, yet, for all her years of life, he has brought in more fish and survived more deadly storms than any of the men in the nearby village. On the morn of her eighteenth birthday, Mari learns his secret and its dreadful impact on her future, for he is the last in a long line of Prothero men who have made bargains with the half-human, half-Elemental Selch clan living in their waters and, in exchange for his prosperity, has bartered away his daughter's marital freedom and firstborn child. To seal the bargain, Mari must accept a husband from among the seal-like Selch men and give birth to at least one babe who will be taken from her the moment it is mature. Mari's heart is torn between loyalty to her father and her own rebellious independence. She soon learns, however, that she has a secret weapon: her own magical power that is so desperately needed by the Selch. With it, she can barter and change the bargain, forcing the clan leader to give her the choice of a mate and requiring him to send a teacher to guide her in becoming a Water Master. In doing so, she attracts the interest of the Wizard of London, who sends Nan and Sarah, recently returned from a visit to Africa and at their wits' end for something useful to do, to learn more about Mari and her future as an Elemental Master. With their help and the help of the Selch master who is sent to give her an education, Mari just may come out the victor in her battle of wits with the chieftain after all...But when she unexpectedly loses her heart in the process, will she be able to retain the upper hand? And will she be able to prevent the local constable, who seems intent on accusing her father of wrongdoing, from dragging her father away in chains?

There were so many negative reviews of this book that I almost put it down before even starting. How glad I am that I didn't. I've been so disappointed in several of the Elemental Masters' books, but this one was exactly what I needed. Granted, the mystery of the book is rather flimsy and the action does take quite a while to unfold, but the scenic descriptions and love story more than made up for those weaknesses. A light, refreshing tale that avoids the darker magic found in other books in the series, Home From the Sea was a pleasant escape that I enjoyed. (As a fan of the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, I also loved the allusions to Sitt Hakim!) All in all, though I know that the criticism given to this book by other reviewers does have some merit, I must say that I, for one, thought it was a great addition to the series and worth the read. Start it with expectations for descriptive, slow-paced read with just enough tension to keep it interesting and a nice love story to lighten your heart and you won't be disappointed.

The book begins as two separate stories of young women from far different ends of the British Isles, but soon enough, the two groups meet and slowly learn about the magic the others possess.
Lackey's Elemental Masters books have turned me around from having little interest in fantasy stories to finding them, and her writing, the kind of stories that keep me up layer than expected.

While Lackey's London and American based books work well and give a flavour of the locations there really wasn't a sense of the country side in this book. I've been to Wales and there is so much potential in the descriptive language Lackey has wielded elsewhere

Nan and Sarah are two of my least favorite of her characters - probably in part because they seem to have so little character. They're too nice and gifted with everything - funds, powerful magical friends (both animal and supernatural) and past lives that spring up to make everything seem easy. The lily is gilded into unpleasant tawdryness. The baddy is also impotently bad without ever feeling like the characters are threatened or giving us a character to dislike or make us wonder about his motive..

I found that the jumping back and forth between the two different groups of people really jarred in this text. I jumped over large parts of Nan and Sarah's doings altogether as they really didn't add to the story much for me and only irritated me with their English school-chum blather and suppositions.

Unfortunately I accidentally bought two copies. I disliked this so much I didn't even want to hand it on to friends. Instead I donated them to the local library anonymously. If you are going to read any of this series go with The Fire Rose or In the Shedow of the Serpent. Those I can highly recommend.

Lackey's Elemental Masters novels have been a great favorite of mine since the start. This story tells of one young woman's struggle to keep her home and power in the face of difficult odds and overbearing patriarchs. Characters from prior novels make appearances and Lackey explores more of the darker side of the strange creatures that inhabit her fantastical world.

The book is not the best in the Elemental Masters series but it was a fun read. I enjoyed the further adventures of Nan and Sarah. I hope that something more is done with their characters. And with some of the Selch. I particularly enjoyed the little tribute to Elizabeth Peters characters. The Sitt Hakim would certainly like Nan!

Honestly I usually enjoy Ms. Lackey's books but this one was so horrible! Ugh! **Spoilers, please be aware**

It was so in depth with the how/what/whys of magic usage that it contained a very poor story that was swept under the rug. I honestly still have no idea what Ann/Nan contributed to the story, other than they have very talkative birds. I would have loved to see the actual "story" of the Selkies come alive and breathe new life into the legends and mysteries surrounding them. Instead, we are forced to suffer a ten page beginning/middle/end that is the Story of the Selkies. Horrid! Please dear readers, do not waste the $10 and the time and effort on this book. It is simply not worth it. I found myself skipping large chunks of chapters just so I could read the ending and to know what happens.

One of the finest books I have read! Using strong women to carry the tale, Mercedes Lackey has once again provided her readers with a fine story that carries everyone to the very heights of fantasy. Perhaps better when read as part of the series, this book can still stand alone as a satisfying read. I recommend this book to the fen of all ages.

As other reviewers have said, this is not Ms Lackey's best work. My favorite part was the reference to meeting a woman in Eygpt with a wonderful parasol (shout out to Amelia Peabody!). Too much of the back story was copied or paraphrased from The Wizard of London, literally pages and pages that I skimmed through. I expected the battle for Mari's husband and children to be a big ordeal, and it was kind of boring, both for Mari and for me!

When Sarah and Grey were introduced to us years ago I hoped we would see lots more of them...and I am glad we have...this story was a galloping good ride. As always we are given a good story that if you let yourself will take you away. Good honest characters, lots of old magic and creatures what else do you really need?

Mercedes Lackey is a wonderful story teller. She draws you in with her wonderful characters and stories.
While you read her books you are transported into magical worlds full of adventure, fun and thrills and are captivated by the characters and the plot that surrounds them.

A really good story, although a little slow at the beginning, but as I read on some of the characters from "A Study in Sable" appeared (Nan and Sarah and Grey and Neville),and the story moved along quicker. Recommended reading.

Home from the Sea (2012) is the seventh Fantasy novel in the Elemental Masters series, following Unnatural Issue. but it is a sequel to The Wizard of London. The initial work in this series is The Serpent's Shadow.

In the previous volume, Sarah was still lonely at Harton, although she loved the Mems'b. She got along with the other students, but lacked real friends among the children. She also missed Grey.

Since she was more used to conversing with adults than children, her best friends were the Gurkha, the Sikh and the Muslim warriors who protected the school. One day she was asked to help Karamjit pass on a basket of food to poor children at the back gate. There she met Nan.

After several talks and one very frightening experience, Nan joined the school as a student who paid her way by helping in the nursery. Sarah and Nan bunked together and become best friends. One day Sarah and Nan accompanied Mems'b to a seance and exposed a fraudulent medium. After this incident, word of Sarah's ability becomes common knowledge among the Talented set.

In this novel, Nan is a gifted child of the streets of London, who is able to channel a Celtic Warrior ancestory. Her parents are dead. Her animal friend is a raven from the unkindness of the Tower of London named Neville.

Sarah Jane Lyon-White is a medium and can see ghosts. Her parents are missionary doctors in Africa. Her animal friend is a Gray Parrot named Grey.

Isabelle Helen Harton is headmistress of the Harton School For Boys and Girls, a boarding school for the children of expatriates in India and elsewhere. She is known to the East Indian servant and the students as the Mems'b and her husband as Sahib Harton.

Lord Alderscroft is the Wizard of London. He is the most powerful Elemental Master in England and maybe of the British Empire. He is head of the White Lodge, the organization of Elemental Mages throughout the Empire.

Mari Prothero is the daughter of Daffyd and lives near the village of Clogwyn in Wales. Her mother and brother were lost to a freak wave that washed them out to sea when shw was a baby. She is seeing little people and wondering if she is mad.

Ewynnog is a constable in the Welsh territory. He is rather stupid and arrogant.

Gethin is the chieftain of the local selch, humans who have returned to the sea as seals. He is clever, but somewhat of a bully.

Idwal is a selch Druid and Water Adept. He works for Gethin.

Trefor, Siarl, Rhodro, and Mabon are selch youths. They belong to Gethin's clan.

Robin Goodfellow is the eldest of the land Old Ones. Puck is an old acquaintance of Susan and Nan.

In this story, Mari is seeing little green women again. She had seen them as a child, but her father had reacted so strongly to her tales that started ignoring the little ones. But now they seem to pop up everywhere.

One little green woman tells her that she is growing strong in magic and needs to be trained. She ignores the woman and her advice. Yet she can't help wondering.

Mari learns about a new constable coming to Clogwyn. The village has never had a constable before, but Daffyd says that he was sent because of the miner's strike. The village is very irritated at Ewynnog's arrogance.

Then she learns that her family has a pact with the local selch. She is expected to have two children by a selch lad. Mari is very angry at the whole idea and tells off Gethin to his face. They conclude a pact where she gets taught magic and picks her own mate.

The next day, Gethin returns with Idwin -- her teacher -- and four lads willing to court her. They seem to differ greatly, from the handsome to the shy. When Gethin leaves, Idwin starts her lessons. The four lads turn their hands to chores around the house.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Nan return from a visit to Africa. They lived in the village where Sarah's parent have their medical mission. Then they explored elsewhere, including Egypt.

Mems'b meets them at the dock and takes them to the school. They try to fit themselves back into school life, but find that they are not good teachers. Lord Alderscroft offers them another possibility.

Lord A tells them of a new Water Master on the Welsh coast. He would like them to investigate the new mage and possibly offer aid from the White Lodge. So Sarah and Nan ride a series of train to Criccieth, a town near the new mage.

Sarah and Nan move into the Lion Hotel in Criccieth, but soon move out to a cottage belonging to the local squire. They have trouble locating the nexis of the water magic, so they call upon Puck.

Puck tells them about Mari and describes the Prothero cottage. He also tells them that he will not be interfering with the eldest of the Sea. Sarah and Nan start observing Mari in her daily chores.

This tale brings Sarah and Nan to Mari. Constable Ewynnog tries to question Mari, but she plays shy and only gives brief answers. One of the little green ones start playing pranks on the constable and soon drives him off.

Naturally Mari solves her own problems with a little help from Sarah and Nan. The next installment in this sequence is Elemental Magic, a collection of stories.

Highly recommended for Lackey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of various magics, covert relations, and a bit of romance. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

In Edwardian England, magic has faded from the minds of most people while psychic powers are thought to be evil. In Clogwyn, Wales, Mari Prothero's father Daffyd does not blink when going out in storms to fish in his coracle as he always comes home regardless of the fury of the torrent with a boatload filled with the catch.

On her eighteenth birthday, Daffyd tells his daughter that the first Prothero made an arrangement with the clan leader of the Selch (a seal who can turn into a human and vice versa).

A Selch and a Prothero would copulate and give birth to twins and the Selch and one of the twins would return to the sea. Mari is so furious she makes her own deal with the Selch clan leader leader Gethin. He would send some Selch to court her and another to teach her to use her powers as a Master Water Elemental. Master of Masters Lord Alberscroft sent two psychicals Nan and Sarah to help Mari from the enemies who want her dead.

With a nod to the Nordic tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, the latest Elemental Masters historical fantasy (see Unnatural Issues and Reserved for the Cat) is a thrilling tale due to the brave heroine who will fight for those she cherishes and to keep what is rightfully hers. She possesses the protection of Puck, a Power who used to be worshiped as a god. Nan and Sarah (see Wizard of London) with their respective bonded birds enhance the tale of a world in which magic is becoming a forgotten force.

Harriet Klausner

Normally I buy everything instantly by Lackey. I did so this time--and regret it!! This is poorly written and seems to contain large chunks of copy lifted from previous books. It is also way over-priced!!!

Normally I buy everything instantly by Lackey. I did so this time--and regret it!! This is poorly written and seems to contain large chunks of copy lifted from previous books. It is also way over-priced!!!