The Serpent's Egg is Caroline Stevermer's first fantasy novel, an odd little book that doesn't quite satisfy, though it's annoyingly difficult to pin down why. Parts of The Element of Fire reminded me of this, but upon re-reading, I realized I was conflating a few different characters. Yes, there's a strong queen and a throne in peril from a wicked duke, duels and magic, in a vaguely post-medieval court, but the scale and tone are somewhat different.
The Element of Fire also feels much more vivid to me; there are some promising portions of The Serpent's Egg, but I never really felt that I had a firm grasp on the story—or it on me, whichever you prefer. Perhaps it is too short, in something of the way that The Dragon Waiting just skirts being. At any rate, it's quite hard to find, so most of my readers won't have to worry about it.
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- all posts about Caroline Stevermer (8 total)
Comments:
#2 :: Kate wrote on March 26, 2002 at 8:56 PM:
I think you'll like When the King Comes Home--the narrative voice is much more distinctive, the tone is less, hmmm, arch, than the others you've read, and when the plot starts up, it's obvious the whole way through, if that makes sense (there's plot almost all the way through ACOM, but it's not that obvious how until the end). Plus, it's short.
Sorcery and Cecilia is an exquisite little piece of Regency fluff.
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I do have a copy of this one, courtesy of your gracious self, and so it's with much regret that I report I didn't care for it all that much (with that obscure guilt thing redoubled in this instance because someone actually went to the trouble of sending it to me). I think you're right about the story--I had a very hard time getting "locked in" to the plot, and I never did care much for any of the characters.
I'm wondering if, for me, it might just be Stevermer. I tried A College of Magics a few months back, and had the same problems with both plot and characters--neither really interested me. I do still have When the King Comes Home somewhere on the to-be-read list, since that one seems to get high marks on a fairly consistent basis. And I've got my eye out for the library's copy of Sorcery and Cecilia, since I do actually like Wrede (I'll be posting my log entry on Snow White and Rose Red soon, in fact).