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Cover of The Serpent's Shadow (Elemental Masters #1)

The Serpent's Shadow (Elemental Masters #1)

Mercedes Lackey

400 pages

A cozy, gaslamp-lit fairy tale reimagining where Edwardian manners meet elemental magic and found family.

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What it feels like

This gaslamp fantasy wraps the reader in a comforting, atmospheric embrace, blending the familiar beats of a fairy tale with the rich texture of Edwardian London. The pace is steady and deliberate, allowing you to settle into the cozy, fog-wreathed streets where magic and medicine intertwine. It feels like curling up with a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon; there is danger lurking in the shadows, but the overarching mood is one of warmth, resilience, and found family. The prose is accessible yet gently formal, perfectly capturing the era's sensibilities while centering a capable, pragmatic heroine who must navigate both supernatural threats and societal prejudice. It will thoroughly delight fans of historical fantasy who crave capable women, loyal animal companions, and a satisfying journey from isolation to empowered belonging.

Mood
  • cozy
  • atmospheric
  • gaslamp-lit
  • comforting
Tone
  • earnest
  • affectionate
  • adventurous
  • pragmatic
Pace
steady
Themes
finding one's power · cultural displacement · found family · science meeting magic · overcoming prejudice
The writing
Accessible and descriptive, with a warm, slightly old-fashioned cadence that suits the Edwardian setting.
The arc
The protagonist moves from a place of isolated, defensive grief to one of empowered belonging and shared strength.
Who it's for
Readers who love cozy historical fantasy, fairy tale retellings with capable heroines, and the comforting familiarity of classic fantasy tropes.
Content notes
  • racism and xenophobia
  • parental death
  • colonialism themes

About the book

Mercedes Lackey returns to form in The Serpent's Shadow, the fourth in her sequence of reimagined fairy tales. This story takes place in the London of 1909, and is based on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Lackey creates echoes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, pays affectionate homage to Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey (who plays an important role under a thin disguise), and turns the dwarves into seven animal avatars who masquerade as pets of her Eurasian heroine, Maya. Some of Maya's challenges come from the fact that she is not "snow white," and she has fled India for her father's English homeland after the suspicious deaths of her parents. Establishing her household in London, she returns to her profession as a physician, working among the poor. Her "pets" and loyal servants stand guard, and Maya herself uses what bits of magic she managed to pick up in childhood to weave otherworldly defenses as well. But the implacable enemy who killed her parents has come to London to search for her; if Maya can be enslaved, her enormous potential powers can be used to the enemy's ends. Fortunately, English magicians of the White Lodge have also noted a new, powerful presence in their midst, though they're having trouble locating her, too. They send Peter Scott, a Water Master, to track her down. He finds Maya beautiful and benign, and is determined to teach her to use the Western magic she is heir to, before her enemy discovers her.

Description from Open Library.

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