While lacking the detailed complexity of "American Gods" this book presents a world in which the supernatural lives startlingly close to ordinary life, and is far more potent than most people dream.

I especially enjoyed the characterizations in this book, especially that of Arahab. Other characters refer to her as "the sea witch" but she is clearly a primordial goddess on the order of Tiamat. It would have been easy to present her as a raging, simplistic nightmare, but Arahab has tender feelings for her 'children' -- which makes the story more interesting.

I enjoyed Priest's writing style, and will be keeping an eye open for her other books. ( )

A tale of elemental magic.

A young woman goes to visit a troubled cousin that she barely knows - and nearly immediately, both the women are thrown into the ancient plots and machinations of an ancient water witch and her earth-magic-wielding rival.

The fate of the planet may be at stake - but which of these beings that seek to use humans as pawns should we really be rooting for?

The book does an excellent job of portraying powerful, inhuman forces of nature personified. There's a nicely eerie, weird feel to it, and strange, lovely imagery.

However, I did feel it would have worked even better if the 'human' elements of the story had felt more grounded. There's a strange, floating timelessness to them, as well as some extreme events introduced very abruptly and never fully explained, that make the non-supernatural elements here feel almost as incomprehensibly alien as the magical ones. It's interesting, but I'm not sure it fully worked for me. ( )

As you can see from my other reviews, Cherie Priest is firmly planted at the top of my Authors Y'all Should Be Reading Already list. If you're not much for steampunk or psychics, try Fathom, which is about
a battle between Elementals to save humanity and the humans who are "called into service" to help.

Arahab is a water witch, capable of manipulating oceans, lakes and even puddles. For millenia, she has plotted to awaken the Leviathan sleeping at the center of the earth. She's been searching for humans who could actually get down into the core to plant a 'call' totem and get things moving. So far, she has only found one human deemed capable of the task: Jose, a pirate who drowned himself to avoid capture. But he's tried once and failed, so Arahab's on the prowl for a deckhand.

Up on land, a farmgirl named Nia visits her spoiled cousin, Berenice, who is staying with her mom and stepfather on an island in the Gulf. When Berenice nearly drowns, she is taken by Arahab; Nia is swept up onto the shore and into the form of a statue. Workmen find her and leave her in the aunt's garden. The aunt flees town and slowly statue-Nia goes crazy trapped in her shell alone.

Enter Sam, a slightly bumbling insurance agent called by a possible buyer to inspect the grounds and a creature called Mossfeaster, who forms out of whatever earth-y matter is at hand (vines, dirt, rotting plants, other fun stuff) and is determined to stop Arahab. First, however, he has to save Nia before a group of local nutjobs have one too many midnight ceremonies around her and bring on the attention of something bad.

This is where I stop telling you stuff and you start reading instead.

Interested? Thought you might be.
Slightly deterred from diving or gardening? Sorta suspected that, too. ( )

As you can see from my other reviews, Cherie Priest is firmly planted at the top of my Authors Y'all Should Be Reading Already list. If you're not much for steampunk or psychics, try Fathom, which is about
a battle between Elementals to save humanity and the humans who are "called into service" to help.

Arahab is a water witch, capable of manipulating oceans, lakes and even puddles. For millenia, she has plotted to awaken the Leviathan sleeping at the center of the earth. She's been searching for humans who could actually get down into the core to plant a 'call' totem and get things moving. So far, she has only found one human deemed capable of the task: Jose, a pirate who drowned himself to avoid capture. But he's tried once and failed, so Arahab's on the prowl for a deckhand.

Up on land, a farmgirl named Nia visits her spoiled cousin, Berenice, who is staying with her mom and stepfather on an island in the Gulf. When Berenice nearly drowns, she is taken by Arahab; Nia is swept up onto the shore and into the form of a statue. Workmen find her and leave her in the aunt's garden. The aunt flees town and slowly statue-Nia goes crazy trapped in her shell alone.

Enter Sam, a slightly bumbling insurance agent called by a possible buyer to inspect the grounds and a creature called Mossfeaster, who forms out of whatever earth-y matter is at hand (vines, dirt, rotting plants, other fun stuff) and is determined to stop Arahab. First, however, he has to save Nia before a group of local nutjobs have one too many midnight ceremonies around her and bring on the attention of something bad.

This is where I stop telling you stuff and you start reading instead.

Interested? Thought you might be.
Slightly deterred from diving or gardening? Sorta suspected that, too. ( )

~260 pages in and I just don't care.