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Book Review of Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits

Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits
althea avatar reviewed on + 774 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


A fantasy collection based on the theme of sea magic, from husband & wife Peter Dickinson and Robin McKinley.
Id say, as far as reading level, this book is probably aimed at young teens, but like classic fairytales, the stories are such as can be enjoyed by all Young women striving against repressive environments is a recurring theme hardly a new motif, but its generally done effectively. The ending of the last story made me cry!

Mermaid Song PD
A young girl in a strict, Puritan-type community is able to pay back a generations-old secret debt and also escape her abusive home life.

The Sea-Kings Son RM
A young woman narrowly avoids marrying a man who does not love her and finds a more magical future; in the process eliminating a curse that has lain on her village for years.

Sea Serpent PD
A fantasy of the end of the times of the chthonic goddess, and her replacement by the gods of men, and their courage and ingenuity. A surprisingly non-strident voice is used to describe the mens theft of the standing stones of the goddess, and their heroic battle against the priestess sea serpent.

Water Horse RM
A young and unappreciated woman travels from her village to apprentice as a Guardian one of the magicians who guards their island against the encroachment of the waves. Although unprepared and untried, her unconventional perspective may save her people.

Kraken PD
A pair of illicit lovers jumps into the sea as a last resort a young mermaid princess tries to save them, but the unknown kraken of the depths may take more than just the bodies of the drowned lovers

A Pool in the Desert RM
Set in the world of Damar (The Blue Sword, The Hero & the Crown). A young woman in a restrictive family environment has been having vivid dreams of a vibrant desert land it seems real, but when she looks up names and places on the Internet and in the encyclopedia, the nomenclature is out of long-ago legend and myth. Will she have to give up on her dreams and settle for obeying her father and keeping the accounts for his dreary shop?