Publication
Titan Books, c2017.
Collection
Status
Available
Description
While enjoying the Christmas season, Nan and Sarah, along with Dr. Watson and his wife Mary, are called to investigate when missing women reappear and their experiences while gone have driven them mad.
User reviews
LibraryThing member readinggeek451
The Elemental Masters join forces with Sherlock Holmes again, when an other-dimensional evil threatens Victorian London. Holmes fans will be disappointed that he has only a minor role, with no detection on-screen, although his contacts come in very handy for the denouement. The Watsons, being Mages
Christmas is a time of wonder, but it is also a time of danger. When the dark of the moon coincides with Christmas Eve, the walls between the worlds grow thin. A rogue magician, who has found a certain mysterious book promising great power, calls on a being from another dimension. This being has certain...demands. Soon young women are going missing, then turning up as mindless automotons. And another young woman is having strange and terrifying dreams.
Not the best in the series, but certainly worth reading.
Show More
themselves, play larger roles, as do Nan Killian and Sarah Lyon-White. The villain, however, has the largest part. Fortunately, it's an interesting one.Christmas is a time of wonder, but it is also a time of danger. When the dark of the moon coincides with Christmas Eve, the walls between the worlds grow thin. A rogue magician, who has found a certain mysterious book promising great power, calls on a being from another dimension. This being has certain...demands. Soon young women are going missing, then turning up as mindless automotons. And another young woman is having strange and terrifying dreams.
Not the best in the series, but certainly worth reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Jean_Sexton
Oh my! The Elemental Series, London at Christmastime, Sherlock Holmes, and a frisson of horror -- how could I not like this one? Sherlock isn't as much front and center in this book, but he floats on the edges. The elemental magic isn't as much an element as is the horror. Fortunately for me, the
I read this through quickly and was very happy. I'll gladly buy the next book in the series. If you enjoy Victorian era alternate fantasy history, you would probably enjoy the series.
Show More
horror is in the lines of Lovecraft with a touch more occult, so it isn't overwhelming. Do be aware that the bad guy is really creepy and nasty with typical dark magic overtones of involving sacrificing virgins. I read this through quickly and was very happy. I'll gladly buy the next book in the series. If you enjoy Victorian era alternate fantasy history, you would probably enjoy the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member quondame
Better than The Wizard of London, this is the closest to Lovecraftian fiction Lackey has written. It is an ensemble piece, with our protagonists living in a comfy fantasy Victorian bubble while the antagonist deals with the vicious underbelly. Among the good guys it pretty much lacks interactions
Show More
beyond reassuring social niceties, though the bad guys assistant, Alf, has a certain charm as a character, but really is a case of 'assistant able to do what ever the plot requires' rather than a breathing individual. Show Less
LibraryThing member ArlieS
This novel started slowly, with far too many allusions to prior books. The author seems to have lost her knack for bringing a new reader into her universe; instead, this appears to have been written for those already familiar with the series. There were far too many allusions to past events, and I
She's also using the literary technique of giving some chapters from the viewpoint of the heroes, and others from the villains, or at least their agents. So the only mystery was how the author would weave all the strands together. And a wee little bit about exactly what the major non-human villain was actually going to do.
That said, by the end I was riveted, and sorry to put it down. Perhaps I just like battle scenes, especially when narrated from the viewpoint of a female warrior.
I'm rating it 4 only because of the second half. The first half rated maybe 3.
For those not familiar with the series, it's set in the Victorian era, with various types of magicians and psychics as heroes, facing all kinds of evils. In this case, a completely amoral young magician attempts to serve his own advantage by allying with a creature from another dimension, bent on conquering our world. And our heroes predictably solve the mystery and slay the monster, while the magician comes to a bad end.
Show More
felt like i was expected to care about the characters already, as if this book's chapter 1 was chapter 10 of some larger book.She's also using the literary technique of giving some chapters from the viewpoint of the heroes, and others from the villains, or at least their agents. So the only mystery was how the author would weave all the strands together. And a wee little bit about exactly what the major non-human villain was actually going to do.
That said, by the end I was riveted, and sorry to put it down. Perhaps I just like battle scenes, especially when narrated from the viewpoint of a female warrior.
I'm rating it 4 only because of the second half. The first half rated maybe 3.
For those not familiar with the series, it's set in the Victorian era, with various types of magicians and psychics as heroes, facing all kinds of evils. In this case, a completely amoral young magician attempts to serve his own advantage by allying with a creature from another dimension, bent on conquering our world. And our heroes predictably solve the mystery and slay the monster, while the magician comes to a bad end.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
A quite decent Elemental Masters book - like many recent ones, though, it's about mixing forms of magic more than about the Elementals themselves. Puck and a couple Hobs are the most visible Elementals...and they're not the usual sorts of creatures. The enemy is one whoopie warlock - a dabbler in
Show More
magic who wants power and is willing to sacrifice - others, of course, not himself - to get it; and what he manages to call up. It's a very nasty situation - less nasty for the readers than for Nan and Sarah and the rest, because we know what's going on. They're groping in the dark, and that always makes things worse. It is Nan, and Sarah, and Sherlock, and Watson and his wife, and Sahib and M'sahib, and Alderscroft...and eventually, Mycroft, a good many of the White Lodge, and a royal battalion trained and experienced in dealing with...weird stuff. Plus Puck and who/what he can call up. There's actually rather little to the story; it's gradually growing creepiness, and (from the point of view of the characters) a deep mystery. From the point of view of the readers, it's a series of very dark events, but there's no mystery, and even the horror...isn't very horrific. Nasty, yes, but there's no point at which the good guys truly feel helpless, or at least not for long. Not bad, not a favorite in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
This Elemental Masters book has Nan and Sarah in the lead with John and Mary Watson helping them. When John Watson asks them to check on a girl that may be having visions of a broken London they find out that she is seeing the future and they race to find who and what is trying to bring this about.
There are new characters introduced and I wouldn’t be surprised if the one bad guy that gets away shows up later down the road at some point.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Show More
Even though Sherlock is on the cover of the book he really isn’t in the book much. They never know who is working with the thing from the other world trying to get in but they do defeat the evil that is attacking with the help of Puck and the backup he brings. There are new characters introduced and I wouldn’t be surprised if the one bad guy that gets away shows up later down the road at some point.
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
Show Less
LibraryThing member jamespurcell
Lots of interesting characters and a plethora of bad spirits and their ilk, the game was on. Certainly, a different world for Sherlock Holmes to be in. However, It never seemed to come together
LibraryThing member annarellix
I am a fan of Ms Lackey and was really happy to receive this book to review. Having read a lot of her books my expectation were quite high and I wasn't disappointed.
A mix of alternate history, Victorian England where magic is real, fantasy and horror where literary characters like Sherlock Holmes
The plot is definitely exciting, once I started I had to read it to the end.
The book is well written, with interesting characters and enough horror side to keep going without causing to much anxiety (I am not a Lovercraft fan).
I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Daw for giving me the chance to review this book.
A mix of alternate history, Victorian England where magic is real, fantasy and horror where literary characters like Sherlock Holmes
Show More
cohexists with legendary one like Robin Goodfellow. On the background the lovercraftian Old Ones.The plot is definitely exciting, once I started I had to read it to the end.
The book is well written, with interesting characters and enough horror side to keep going without causing to much anxiety (I am not a Lovercraft fan).
I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Daw for giving me the chance to review this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kmartin802
The twelfth Elemental Masters books stars returning characters Nan Killian, Sarah Lyon-White, Sherlock Holmes, and Dr. John and Mary Watson. It is Christmas time and all are determined to make the occasion special for Nan and Sarah's ward Suki. But while they are attending the Panto and window
Alexandre Harcourt hates the Christmas season but this year a new occult book he finds at his favorite bookstore gives him an idea for a way to increase his power and wealth. He is a resentful man who hates that his father left him under the supervision of his lawyers. He learns about an entity who will grant his wishes if he just follows the entity's instructions. The entity instructs him to find victims for him and sends Harcourt and his loyal man Alf out to find pure young people to feed to him.
People go missing in London every day, but when a young woman from the prosperous middle class goes missing and is found wandering mindlessly, Sherlock Holmes is called in. Sherlock asks Nan to look at the young woman. Nan discovers that the girl is little more than an automaton. Her soul is missing!
When other girls go missing and are found in the same condition, and when a young women the Watsons, Nan and Sarah have rescued from an institution for the insane because of her visions sees a London in ruins, forces are gathered to try to find out what is happening and how the forces for good can stop it.
The story is richly detailed and filled with amazing images. It drifted a little bit more to horror than I am usually comfortable with, but the compelling storytelling kept me reading and listening. Gemma Dawson did a great job with the variety of accents and characters and also did an excellent job with the story's pacing.
Show More
shopping, Alexandre Harcourt is planning on calling on a dark power to get himself power.Alexandre Harcourt hates the Christmas season but this year a new occult book he finds at his favorite bookstore gives him an idea for a way to increase his power and wealth. He is a resentful man who hates that his father left him under the supervision of his lawyers. He learns about an entity who will grant his wishes if he just follows the entity's instructions. The entity instructs him to find victims for him and sends Harcourt and his loyal man Alf out to find pure young people to feed to him.
People go missing in London every day, but when a young woman from the prosperous middle class goes missing and is found wandering mindlessly, Sherlock Holmes is called in. Sherlock asks Nan to look at the young woman. Nan discovers that the girl is little more than an automaton. Her soul is missing!
When other girls go missing and are found in the same condition, and when a young women the Watsons, Nan and Sarah have rescued from an institution for the insane because of her visions sees a London in ruins, forces are gathered to try to find out what is happening and how the forces for good can stop it.
The story is richly detailed and filled with amazing images. It drifted a little bit more to horror than I am usually comfortable with, but the compelling storytelling kept me reading and listening. Gemma Dawson did a great job with the variety of accents and characters and also did an excellent job with the story's pacing.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9781785653520
Original publication date
2017-10