Home From the Sea (Elemental Masters Series #8)

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Overview

Mari Prothero grew up in a tiny fishing village on the west coast of Wales where she lived alone with her father, Daffyd, a master fisherman. Although the sea had never harmed her father, Mari still worried, for her mother and older brother had been drowned by a rogue wave when she was just an infant. Her father was all she had left, and Mari was not blind to the possibility of losing him.

Mari and her father kept to themselves in their village. It would not be wise to call ...

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Home From the Sea (Elemental Masters Series #8)

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More About This Book

Overview

Mari Prothero grew up in a tiny fishing village on the west coast of Wales where she lived alone with her father, Daffyd, a master fisherman. Although the sea had never harmed her father, Mari still worried, for her mother and older brother had been drowned by a rogue wave when she was just an infant. Her father was all she had left, and Mari was not blind to the possibility of losing him.

Mari and her father kept to themselves in their village. It would not be wise to call attention to how much more prosperous the Protheros were than any other fisherman’s family; Daffyd was out in every storm, pulling in fish where no other man could, and his fish were always the fattest, the tastiest. But their unusual good fortune was not the only reason for their reclusive behavior.

For as long as she could remember, Mari had seen things—things that shouldn’t, that couldn’t be real: tiny manlike creatures that were mischievous and wore only seaweed, and tiny beings that spoke to her kindly but seemed to be made of water. When she was a child, she had asked her father about these creatures, but Daffyd was so upset by these conversations that Mari had given up trying to talk to him.

But on the morning of her eighteenth birthday, her father finally told her the great secret of the Prothero Luck — and what they must do to keep it. Her mother and brother were not truly dead, but neither were they human. They were shape-shifters of the sea, the half-human, half-seal people known as the Selch, and they had returned to their watery domain. Since ancient times, the Prothero family had kept a covenant with these magical creatures. In exchange for protection on the water, a member of the Prothero family would take a Selch to marry, only to relinquish their spouse and one of their children to the sea after a brief number of years.

Now Mari’s time had come, and her father told her that she must abide by her family’s ancient magical compact, or face dire consequences. But Mari was not without protectors: for the tiny creatures she had seen her whole life, which she now knew were real, counseled her to “bargain” with her mother’s people. While in faraway London, Lord Alderscroft, the head of the Elemental Masters, was aware that a powerful but untrained Water Master on the far coast of Wales was being threatened by some of the Elemental Elder Spirits, and he had dispatched some very unique champions to come to Mari’s aid….

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Editorial Reviews

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Mari Prohero has a serious dilemma: As a fledgling Water Master, she is expected to agree to an arranged marriage when she reaches the age of eighteen; but like any other self-respecting teenage mage, she rebels at the very idea. However, things become more complicated when she learns that she is descended from Selkies, magical beings who are able to transform themselves from seals to humans—and then things get even more knotty when she encounters two female allies. The seventh addition to Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series possesses a nice fairytale feel; now in mass-market paperback and NOOK Book.

Library Journal
Living with her father Daffyd in a cottage on the coast of Wales, Mari Prothero knows of the magic that protects her father as he goes to sea in all sorts of weather. When she grows older, she learns of the family pact with the selkies—or "Selchs"—that requires her to marry one of the sea creatures and give at least one of her children back to the sea. Mari insists on choosing her mate, and so three young males and a teacher to school her in her own magic come to stay long enough for her to make up her mind. The latest entry (after Unnatural Issue) in Lackey's popular series explores the nature of water and its inherent power as well as the Celtic legend of the selkie, while adding a meddlesome constable from London and a pair of young English women sent from London's White Lodge, home to those who use magic in the service of good. VERDICT Lighter in tone with more emphasis on romance than some of the previous titles, this fairy-tale homage offers a variant view on the usually tragic love between humans and selkies, and should attract both series fans and Lackey's sizable following.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780756407711
  • Publisher: DAW
  • Publication date: 6/4/2013
  • Series: Elemental Masters Series , #8
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 47,843
  • Product dimensions: 4.20 (w) x 6.70 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

Mercedes Lackey is a full-time writer and has published numerous novels and works of short fiction, including the best-selling Heralds Of Valdemar series. She is also a professional lyricist and a licensed wild bird rehabilitator. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, artist Larry Dixon, and their flock of parrots.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 25 )
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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 25 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 6, 2012

    Wonderful

    I've always loved Sarah and Nan. I loved them when they were two short stories in the back of an anthology, I loved them when they got their own novel, and I love them just as much all grown up!

    After reading The Magician of London, I'm always sad to say goodbye to Sarah and Gray, and Nan and Neville. I've often thought I'd like to read a story where they're all grown up and off fighting for the Light. Well here it is, and I sincerely hope it's not the last.

    2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 15, 2013

    One of my Favorite Authors

    I am especially fond of fantasy books especially ones with magic, dwarves, elves, dragons, etc. I always love a Mercedes Lackey book - haven't yet found one I didn't like. For me, Home From the Sea was a great read. If you love Mercedes Lackey you and her fantasies you should love this one as well

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 3, 2013

    Not my favorite in the series...

    I should preface this by saying that I REALLLY like Mercedes Lackey's work, from Valdemar to the 500 kingdoms. However, just like with the last book that centered on Sarah and Nan, I was pretty bored with extremely long passages of this book. The parts of this series that deal with the psychical adepts are nearly identical to a slew of other authors out there writing the same type of stuff. The reason to read this series is the rich and complex mythology behind the elemental masters, and being shunted sideways into pyschics with talking birds is immersion breaking. I loved the bits that centered on the heroine, Mari, but found myself putting the book aside when I came to the long, seriously unneccessary passages dealing with the bird friending, psychic detective duo. Sarah and Nan's role in the book was over emphasized, and the ling passages of italicized text that wete directly lifted from a previous book were boring and felt like a very lazy way to recap adventures from earlier in the series. What a disappointment after the stirring, adventure filled book that directly preceeded this in the series.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 17, 2012

    Good

    Good story. Quick read. A lot of young girl standing her ground getting what she wants. Of course mahic and skin shifting just add to the whimsy.

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  • Posted September 14, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    Great reading!!

    Mercedes Lackey has, once again, told a story that you don't want to put down. She has a talent with words that, no matter what the subject she is writing about, she makes it interesting. I would read anything she writes!

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  • Posted August 8, 2012

    Not the best in the Elemental Masters series, but a truly enjoya

    Not the best in the Elemental Masters series, but a truly enjoyable and fast read. It was good to catch up with Nan and Sarah, and I hope a future book in the series will give them more scope for their unique psychic talents. Mari is an engaging heroine, feisty and strong, though not Lackey's best creation. There was, for me, a delightful moment early on, when Lackey gives a brief and loving cameo to another author's redoubtable Victorian heroine. If you're a Mercedes Lackey fan, by all means read this one. If you're new to this author, or this series, read "The Wizard of London" first.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 16, 2012

    Enjoyed it Very Much

    I always enjoy Lackey's Elemental Masters books and this one had the added advantage of including Sarah and Nan from a previous book with a new character. Lackey merged the characters together in an interesting way and kept me reading happily to the end.

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    Posted August 6, 2012

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