A Study in Sable (Elemental Masters)

I found the connection between new and existing characters rushed and underdeveloped. Also found certain aspects of the plot felt forced and out of character. M. Lackey has been a favorite author for some time but this story could have easily done with better development of the characters. This book relies to an incredible degree to the characterization and development found in the previous book. If you had not read the first book there would be no connection or understanding of the main characters and in my opinion very little liking either. Truly disappointed especially at $13 for an e-book.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. There was plenty of rising and falling action to keep the storyline interesting; the characters were varied and engaging, and the antagonist was a worthy opponent to the protagonists. I was prepared to call this a wonderful book right up until Sarah fell under the influence of the villain and everyone got mad at her. I do not like victim blaming not even in a fantasy situation. I do not like the fact that multiple characters expressed a desire to hit, shake or otherwise physically harm Sarah for her behavior under the influence of the antagonist, while they KNEW she was being influenced and had no idea what was causing it. After she rid herself of the influence, her ability to contribute any further was almost completely discounted and her worth was questioned. The reactions of Sarah's so called friends during this situation ruined the whole book for me.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I loved all the side mysteries as well as the main one. There were so many plot twists! But it never got into the ‘too many’ category, and it wasn’t confusing.

It was quite funny how Watson had to twist magical explanations so that they sounded scientific instead, to make Sherlock Holmes believe or go along with them. Holmes was adamant that magic wasn’t real, and he was often loudly derisive about it. He did believe in Nan’s ability to read minds though, mostly because she proved it in such a way that he couldn’t think of any other explanation for how she did it.

I loved that we got to see Puck, and that while Holmes did appear a number of times in the book, he wasn’t a central character. It was fun getting to know all the side characters, and I hope we get to meet up with the Priest of Tyr again.

The birds are as always, some of my favorite characters. They have so much personality, without ever going so far as to be unbelievable as birds.

I had an idea about what was going on with the bone and hair bow, but no idea at all about how the opera singer was so popular. I also wasn’t expecting the twist with her at the end, but totally loved it! If you haven’t read any books in this series yet, you are missing out. And if you have read others in this series, you need to pick this one up as well.

(cross-posted to my blog)

As one of Mercedes Lackey’s biggest fanboys, It almost shames me to admit that I had never read any of her Elemental Masters books before receiving a copy of A Study In Sable to review. I was never all that interested in the idea behind the series, so I was a little bit worried that I wouldn’t enjoy the books if I read them, and I didn’t want anything negative to make me second guess buying her other books. I’m pleasantly surprised however, but how fun and exciting a story I found A Study In Sable to be, like any other Mercedes Lackey book I was unable to stop reading.

One of the things I think most about Lackey is her ability to create richly detailed worlds full of wondrous creatures and magic, as well as characters so realistic I half expect them to step right off the page. In A Study In Sable she continues that trend, only she has done so in an alternate history where well beloved characters like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson exist alongside psychics, mediums, and other practitioners of magic. I can’t tell you how many times I laughed seeing Watson and his wife Mary, both Elemental Masters, helping to solve a mystery that Sherlock Holmes can’t properly assist with, as he is a firm non-believer in all things magic.

I enjoyed reading this enough that I’m going to have to go back and read the previous books in the series, as I think it will help me enjoy this book a little bit more than I already do. I feel lilke there were a lot of inside jokes and character references made throughout the book that I would have picked up on much easier if I had read the previous 11 books first. Not that it really took away from my enjoyment of the book, I just believe it would add to it a bit more. If the previous books in this series are as good as A Study In Sable, I think I have a new series to binge read over the next couple weeks. I now don’t know why I waited nearly 15 years to start this series.

I would recommend this book to just about anyone who enjoys fantasy, but I think fans of Mercedes Lackey, Sherlock Holmes, or Fairy Tales will really enjoy this the most. Whether they have read the previous books or not!

I received a free copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.

A Study in Sable unabashedly appropriates Sherlock Holmes, and more importantly, John and Mary Watson, into the late Victorian world of Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Magic. While the super-rational Holmes refuses to believe in magic or take cases involving it, the Watsons of Lackey’s imagination are Masters of Water and Air, respectively. The book also reintroduces Nan Killian and Sarah Lyon-White, last seen in Home from the Sea, who possess not magic but psychic talents. I’m fond of Nan and Sarah, and even fonder of their avian sidekicks, Neville and Grey, and enjoyed the chance to see them again as young women making their way in the world. They’ve taken on a young apprentice or fosterling, who is really delightful.

Holmes is not the central character or even the main investigator in this book, magic being both beyond his abilities and something his scientific mind rejects. But he plays an important subsidiary role, and I enjoyed his reactions to the realms of magic and psychic phenomena, and his involvement in the mystery. Lackey also introduces at least one historical character; I can’t tell you who without giving too much away, since their real-life identity is only revealed in the last fifth of the book.

The books in this series are usually retellings of (or at least inspired by) fairy tales. In A Study in Sable, it’s a ballad or folk tale that serves as the major inspiration. “The Twa Sisters” exists in a number of variants (“Binoorie”, “The Cruel Sister”) in both English and Scandinavian folk culture. I’m not going to tell the story here, in part because spoilers and in part because, as usual, Lackey introduces her own twists, the involvement of the Baker Street residents being only one of them.

The plot is somewhat episodic, with three more-or-less separate problems for Nan, Sarah, and the Watsons to tackle, but it flows pretty well from one to another; one investigation actually takes place during the course of the major, ballad-based plot.

All in all, A Study in Sable was an entertaining read, and better than some of its immediate predecessors.

REVIEW ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED on The Bookwyrm’s Hoard blog:[...]
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.

Twelfth in the Elemental Masters paranormal history series set in Victorian England (usually) and revolving around a loose group of magicians who command the Elements. The focus is on Sarah Lyon-White and Nan Killian, all grown up.

My Take
We've met Sarah and Nan before, and it's before I started taking notes on the characters. I do know they had a mission in Home From the Sea , 8. I want to say they first appeared in The Wizard of London , 5, but I'm just guessin'.

I did enjoy meeting up with them again, although I did become disappointed. The adventures were enjoyable enough, even if it did feel as if Lackey were stringing events together to fill out the book, but it was Nan's attitude about Sarah's descent into idolatry that didn't ring true and colored my assessment.

Another contributing factor to my disappointment was Lackey tossing Holmes and Watson into the mix, but without any real reason for doing so. Any detectives could have done as well for the characters. It may even have made for a better story if Lackey had put her mind to creating her own characters instead of inhibiting them with Holmes and Watson.

I don't know if these later books aren't selling as well or if Lackey is lacking imagination for new ideas. But adding Watson and Holmes into the mix felt odd. There are tidbits in here about Sherlock (and his brother with a dribble of Moriarty) interacting a bit with the girls, but that's really as close as it comes.

It's also weird that Watson and his wife are obsessing over paranormal cases and have almost no interaction with Holmes, who doesn't believe in the paranormal. Yes, there is the odd consultation between them, but it feels contrived.

I suspect Sarah's absorption in her opera singer was to have given the story more depth, but it only made Sarah and Nan look bad, albeit for different reasons.

And so it begins with a hint of the main conflict of the story tucked in with a host of small “adventures” in which the foursome, er, sixsome?, solve mysteries and handle hauntings. Some of these adventures bring in previous characters Nan and Sarah have encountered, so it is a chance to "catch up".

The Story
It's a skeptical Holmes the girls must convince, if they want to join in on his investigations.

A participation that will have to wait for one of the girls though. In particular, a contract between Sarah and the opera diva, Magdalena von Dietersdorf, who is beset with ghosts. It's a lucrative job, but as Sarah is exposed to Magadalena's lifestyle, the more she appears to abandon her values.

The Characters
Nan Killian, a psychometrist who manifests on the astral as a Celtic warrior-woman, and Sarah Lyon-White, a medium, have been best friends forever; Neville, Nan's raven, and Grey, Sarah's parrot, are both Astral Guardians to Nan and Sarah. Suki is a young (psychic) orphan girl who lives with the girls and works as their servant and apprentice. Mrs. Horace is their landlady who also provides them with meals.

221 Baker Street
Dr. John (a Water Master) and Mary (an Air Master) Watson live anonymously in the flat above Holmes' place. Sherlock Holmes is a private detective who uses Mister Meier and Rev. Tellworth as alter egos. Mycroft Holmes is his brother. Mrs. Hudson is the landlady.

The White Lodge is…
…a ruling magical body based in London with Lord Alderscroft, a.k.a., The Wizard of London , 5, as its leader. He is also a Member of the House of Lords, the unofficial Minister of Magic to the Crown, and a confidant of the Prime Minister.

The Harton School for Expatriate Children is…
…a school for the children of expatriates and psychically gifted children. Isabella Harton, a.k.a., Memsa'b, runs it along with Sahib, Mr. Frederick Harton. Karamjit, Selim (the strongest magically), and Agansing work at the school teaching self-defense in mental and physical combat.

The Irregulars are…
…led by Wiggins. Tommy Grimes, a street Arab, is his right-hand man. The Major pays well for information.

Beatrice Leek is an unconventional Earth Magician who keeps an eye on the artistic set. Alexandre is a vicious weasel with driblets of ability. Rhodri is a selkie ( Home From the Sea , 8) who brings greetings from Sally Anne and better news about Gethen who is still the chief of Selch Seren y Gogledd. Lyr is one of the Sea Lords. Freddie Smart is the cabbie the girls retain; Crumpet is his gelding with the instincts of a polo pony. Mr. Doyle is the writer of Watson's and Sherlock's adventures.

Master Nigel Hopkins left very complicated instructions. Mrs. Agatha Hopkins and her son, Neddy, end up quite pleased to see our investigative group. Franklin works for a solicitor. Trevor Howard is a bank manager, and Alan is his son and an assistant manager.

The Boisier of 1713 is a Stradivarius owned by Maestro Pablo Sarasate, a Spanish violinist who is a Spirit Master.

Magdelena von Dietersdorf is an opera star from Berlin staying at the Langham Hotel. Alicia is her maid. Johanna is her missing sister. Herr von Dietersdorf is their worried father. Helmut Reicholt is the undisappointed fiancé. George William Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, the fourth Marquess of Ailesbury, a.k.a., Willie, is but one of Magdalena's admirers and has a home, Tottenham House, in Wiltshire. Annie will be the maid assigned to Sarah. Willie's stablemaster is an Earth Magician.

Professor James Moriarty is a highly respected professional educator and genius mathematician.

Sevenoaks, Kent, is…
…where Cedric and Agatha Edmondson live on Sennoke Farm.

Fomorians are…
…from Celtic legend and said to be the first people, extremely powerful magicians and monsters who were conquered by the Tuatha De Danaan. Balor was their leader.

Ladies' Rational Dress is a style of dress that allows women freedom of movement. The Exeter Club is a men's club and houses the Hunting Lodge of London with its own archive room loaded with eight generations' worth of tomes on Elemental Magic. Puck's Blessing is the ability to see elementals, and those who possess the gift are usually recognized by those same elementals. Sons of Adam are humans. Lucid dreaming is dreaming to order…man, would I like to be able to do that…all those gorgeous male celebrities…*grin* Psychometry is the ability to read the history of an object by handling it.

The Cover and Title
The cover is dark in its deep green close-up of a cityscape with an inset image of Pablo in quilted navy dressing gown, playing his violin in a library. The graphic is bordered in plain old gold and overlaid with a purple swirling stream of skulls, skeletons, and heads emanating from a skull-shaped meerschaum pipe in the lower left corner. Grey and Neville are positioned in the upper left and lower right corners, battling the stream. The author's name is at the top in a metallic embossed font while the title is smaller and at the bottom in an embossed old cream.

The title, a A Study in Sable, plays off one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels, A Study in Scarlet.

The last few Elemental Masters books weren't nearly as interesting for me as this one. I crowed with delight when I realized she had brought in Holmes, Watson, and Mary, and that this was a book featuring Nan and Sara. I enjoyed that the characters got some surprises in how they thought or assumed things worked (magic)... people are all too prone to assume that the all that is known in their circles, is all there is to know.

I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Nan and Holmes: it's no mean feat to earn the man's respect for logic and intelligence. Although Mycroft was off-screen, his actions made him a very known presence, and I enjoyed the hints about Moriarty---hints I hope will play out in another book. I would dearly love to see the main characters in this book working with Holmes, Watson, and Mary again.

Several fun and unanticipated twists in this book, and even the ones that I could anticipate were decently enjoyable. I much preferred it to the Tower of London book. As to another reviewer's objections to Nan and Sara gaining additional powers, who wants a static character? It's normal and natural for people to grow more skilled and expand their skills as they work hard and practice, and we first met the two as CHILDREN. These are young ladies quite willing to work hard, practice, and stretch their minds and bodies toward new skills and abilities, and I'm quite pleased to see their long efforts bearing fruit.

This is going in my favorites of Elemental Magic books, right up there with The Serpent's Shadow, The Gates of Sleep, The Fire Rose, and Blood Red.

Sherlock Holmes meets the Elemental Masters. What would the master of logic do if confronted with real magic? Find out in this fun story filled with twists and turns worthy of any case tackled by the estimable Sherlock Holmes. This page turner is filled with clues that will keep you guessing to the very end. Another fantastic tale by the fabulous Mercedes Lackey.

There were no wasted words. Every word had a purpose, advancing the story. Tightly composed and thoroughly enjoyable. I recommend this, along with the rest of the books in the series, to fans of the Victorian era.

Elemental Masters series takes place in 1800s London... its only a wonder that it took this long for Sherlock Holmes to show up.

Nan and Sara interview with Holmes, but really want to work with the Watsons, who are both Air Masters. Each girl tackles a problem over a few episodes, and then they sort of come together again. And surprise, their case and Holme's case turn out to be one and the same.

I heartily enjoyed reading this book. It took all sorts of exciting turns, with one trial after another. I also cast all the Doyle characters with their BBC Sherlock players and thoroughly enjoyed watching Mary, John, and Sherlock run around in my head dealing with magic, ghosts, and monsters.

Another lackluster effort from a formerly great author. Lack of depth in all the characters, a lack of empathy from the characters who respond to Sarah's troubles. I struggled to finish it and am so glad it was a library rental. I love her first works in this series but am giving up on her recent works.

This book was so incredibly boring that I couldn't even finish it, because I didn't care what happened. And I have been a big Lackey fan in the past. This book had no redeeming features, as far as I am concerned.

Elemental masters and Sherlock Holmes -- what a combination! Appropriately enough, this is a blend of mystery and fantasy with a good many twists. I was quite surprised at some turns in the book. I love the idea that Dr. Watson and Mary are elemental masters in their own right. Add in familiar characters from other the elemental masters books and this is a fun read.

Sarah and Nan along with their companions of Grey and Neville take center stage here. Throw in a German opera singer, her missing sister, and the Holmesian background and there is enough to keep most people turning the pages (or flicking the screen in my case).

You do need to have some degree of familiarity with the world of the elemental masters to fully enjoy the book. If you've become a bit bored or tired of the series, I urge you to try this one. The addition of the Holmes and Watson, along with the mystery, seems to have given Mercedes lackey a fresh look at her world. Do block out some time for it as you may find yourself not wanting to put the book down.

Always like Mercedes works. Great talent, just stay away from PC...and will always read... If writers are chosen by race, creed, nationality or gender instead of talent and able to write; I will not purchase from random house or penguin publishers in future.

Very different from what I expected but most enjoyable. Two of my old favorite girls are now adults and, with the help of their raven and parrot, aid Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes against an unworldly nemesis.

I have absolutely adored Sarah & Grey and Nan & Neville since their first short story appearance. So pleased that we are getting glimpses of their adventures as they grow and explore the world. Hopefully there are many more waiting in the wings for us to enjoy. ;)

Ah, at last, two of my favorite characters are back! I have really especially enjoyed Sarah (and Grey) and Nan (and Neville)!

The best part is that Sarah and Nan now have "jobs" as adults, since they had long since outgrown their schooldays and discovered that neither girl was suited to be a teacher at the Harton School.

We also find out that John Watson, since early in his career with Sherlock Holmes, has been assisting people in need of his magical abilities for years now. These are clients whom Sherlock had turned away because they didn't need a detective. They needed an Elemental Magician or (better yet) an Elemental Master. Turns out that John Watson is a Water Master and his wife Mary is an Air Master.

Sherlock, of course, remains convinced magic is most certainly "not real" but he has come to recognize that Sarah (a "real" medium) and Nan (a "real" telepath) may have Talents that can be of vital assistance in solving some of his most difficult cases.

Plus, John and Mary, of course, work closely with Lord Alderscroft and the White Lodge in London. So, in this sense, A Study in Sable is a traditional Elemental Masters tale. [Sarah and Nan had worked with Lord Alderscroft as consultants in previous books but now they are part of a team!]

A Study in Sable is also, in part, a retelling of the Sirens whom Odysseus encountered in Greek mythology. And mythology is not so far removed from fairy tales, after all.

Did I say that I really liked the new core cast of characters [Sarah, Nan, John, Mary, etc.] for this series?

Highly recommended, indeed!