Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits
by Robin McKinley (Author), Peter Dickinson (Author)
Tales of Elemental Spirits (1)
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Fantasy. Historical Fiction. Young Adult Fiction. HTML:Master storytellers Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson share tales of mysterious merfolk and magical humans, all with close ties to the element of water. From Pitiable Nasmith's miserable existence in a seaside town whose inhabitants are more intertwined with the sea than most people know, to Tamia's surprising summons to be the apprentice to the Guardian who has the power to hold back the sea, each of the six stories illuminates a show more captivating world filled with adventure, romance, intrigue, and enchantment. Robin McKinley fans will recognize one of the worlds included-Damar, the setting of Newbery Medal winner The Hero and the Crown and Newbery Honor Book The Blue Sword. show lessTags
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Water is a collection of six short stories, three by McKinley and three by her husband Peter Dickinson. Since I'm a big McKinley fan, I was really excited to read this; I have to admit, though, I didn't care for Dickinson's stories nearly as much. My favorite story was "The Pool in the Desert." It's the last story in the collection, one of McKinley's, and it features her world of Damar (cf. The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown). I found all the McKinley stories up to her usual standard (excellent writing, great characters, intense plot), but they were a bit rushed - I think she does much better when she has a whole novel to work with. If you're really into one of these writers, I'd give Water a look, but get it from the library show more before you buy. show less
It's difficult to rate anthologies, particularly the kind like this one with but two authors. I am more used to McKinley's writing style, so reading Dickinson's stories were a new experience for me. If I could rate each story individually, I would, but Goodreads only allows me the overall - so for the stories I really liked, the ones I disliked, and the ones that I only found okay, I ended up liking the book, although I can't imagine ever revisiting it again. (But the stories I really liked, like "The Water Horse" and "The Kraken" will likely stay with me!)
A collection of short stories, half by Peter Dickinson (Mermaid Song, Sea Serpent, Kraken) and half by Robin McKinley (The Sea-King's Son, Water Horse, A Pool in the Desert). The Dickinson stories were imaginative but a bit dull (especially Sea Serpent), but I thought the McKinley stories were almost transcendentally beautiful and powerful. Water Horse (a young girl is the last thing standing between her island and destruction, and she is but a disobedient apprentice) and A Pool in the Desert (a woman has two lives, one in our world and one in a magical desert kingdom) were my favorites of the collection.
Opening Sentence: ‘…Her name was Pitiable Nasmith…’
This husband and wife team have put their individual writing aside and have collaborated to present a a collection of six enchanting short stories linked by an aquatic theme.
Mermaid Song – Pitiable Nasmith is left with her maternal grandparents after her mother’s death in childbirth. Pitiable’s grandmother tells her the story of how their ancestress Charity Goodrich really survived shipwreck upon arriving in the new world as a girl being rescued by sea-people. When her grandmother dies, Pitiable’s Grandfather starts to drink and beats her. A chance encounter with a sea-person could turn her life around.
The Sea-King’s Son – A favourite – Jenny is the only child of a show more well-off farming family and is incredibly shy. Jenny’s parents make plans to send her away to the city for a season, in the hope that she might shake off her shyness, and perhaps find a good husband. Robert – the third son of a farm on the other side of the village, finally makes a move, but more for Jenny’s inheritance rather than for her. Just before their wedding, Jenny makes an unannounced visit alone to Robert’s family home, and what she learns there is more terrible for her than any ancient tale of sea-curses, and she takes the shortest road home – the direct route across the cursed harbour.
Sea Serpent – A conflict between the New religion’s chief god and the Old’s chief goddess comes to a head as the builder of a new temple seeks building stone taken from the goddess’ shrine. Of course the stone has to travel over water.
Water Horse – another one of my favourite stories - Fourteen year old Tamia is taken on as an apprentice Guardian – to protect her island from the sea. She worries that she’s not really suitable for the work. Her trainer – Western Mouth – is a very old woman and has a stroke five years into Tamia’s apprenticeship. The magical western defenses are torn open, allowing a creature of sea-magic to slip through that Tamia must face alone and destroy.
Kraken – A young sea-princess runs serious risks to try and return two drowning lovers to the upper air.
A Pool in the Desert - A did not finish. show less
This husband and wife team have put their individual writing aside and have collaborated to present a a collection of six enchanting short stories linked by an aquatic theme.
Mermaid Song – Pitiable Nasmith is left with her maternal grandparents after her mother’s death in childbirth. Pitiable’s grandmother tells her the story of how their ancestress Charity Goodrich really survived shipwreck upon arriving in the new world as a girl being rescued by sea-people. When her grandmother dies, Pitiable’s Grandfather starts to drink and beats her. A chance encounter with a sea-person could turn her life around.
The Sea-King’s Son – A favourite – Jenny is the only child of a show more well-off farming family and is incredibly shy. Jenny’s parents make plans to send her away to the city for a season, in the hope that she might shake off her shyness, and perhaps find a good husband. Robert – the third son of a farm on the other side of the village, finally makes a move, but more for Jenny’s inheritance rather than for her. Just before their wedding, Jenny makes an unannounced visit alone to Robert’s family home, and what she learns there is more terrible for her than any ancient tale of sea-curses, and she takes the shortest road home – the direct route across the cursed harbour.
Sea Serpent – A conflict between the New religion’s chief god and the Old’s chief goddess comes to a head as the builder of a new temple seeks building stone taken from the goddess’ shrine. Of course the stone has to travel over water.
Water Horse – another one of my favourite stories - Fourteen year old Tamia is taken on as an apprentice Guardian – to protect her island from the sea. She worries that she’s not really suitable for the work. Her trainer – Western Mouth – is a very old woman and has a stroke five years into Tamia’s apprenticeship. The magical western defenses are torn open, allowing a creature of sea-magic to slip through that Tamia must face alone and destroy.
Kraken – A young sea-princess runs serious risks to try and return two drowning lovers to the upper air.
A Pool in the Desert - A did not finish. show less
A fantasy collection based on the theme of sea magic, from husband & wife Peter Dickinson and Robin McKinley.
I’d 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 it’s 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-King’s Son – RM
A young woman narrowly avoids marrying a man who does not love her – and finds a more magical future; in the show more 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 men’s 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? show less
I’d 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 it’s 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-King’s Son – RM
A young woman narrowly avoids marrying a man who does not love her – and finds a more magical future; in the show more 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 men’s 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? show less
A collection of six stories that focus on the element of water. Each author contributes three stories.
I came to this collection through the sixteenth edition of THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR, which reprinted two of the stories. Those two, ("A Pool in the Desert" and "Mermaid Song"), were definitely the best this book has to offer, but I enjoyed almost all the others, too. The only piece I found tedious was "Sea Serpent," which throws the reader right into the centre of things without much of an introduction and with few telling details until later on. It just didn't work for me.
Dickinson's stories are all rather abstract. He's working with some larger, less concrete themes, and he doesn't give the reader any handouts; she has to show more work for the payoff. This approach works very well with "Mermaid Song" and "Kraken," but as I've already mentioned I just didn't care for "Sea Serpent." McKinley, in contrast, provides three stories with firm roots in the realm of the emotional. Her tales draw the reader in and tug at the heartstrings in a way that I found impossible to resist. I enjoyed all three stories very much.
Overall, this was a good, quick read. I definitely recommend it. show less
I came to this collection through the sixteenth edition of THE YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR, which reprinted two of the stories. Those two, ("A Pool in the Desert" and "Mermaid Song"), were definitely the best this book has to offer, but I enjoyed almost all the others, too. The only piece I found tedious was "Sea Serpent," which throws the reader right into the centre of things without much of an introduction and with few telling details until later on. It just didn't work for me.
Dickinson's stories are all rather abstract. He's working with some larger, less concrete themes, and he doesn't give the reader any handouts; she has to show more work for the payoff. This approach works very well with "Mermaid Song" and "Kraken," but as I've already mentioned I just didn't care for "Sea Serpent." McKinley, in contrast, provides three stories with firm roots in the realm of the emotional. Her tales draw the reader in and tug at the heartstrings in a way that I found impossible to resist. I enjoyed all three stories very much.
Overall, this was a good, quick read. I definitely recommend it. show less
3.5 stars? I do appreciate the talents of both these writers and have enjoyed other workds by them, and will seek out more. But for some reason this wasn't as wonderful as I wanted it to be. I have to admit that I kept having to check as I was reading to see which author wrote which story.
Ok, my only guess about why I, personally, didn't rate it higher is that I thought each story was a little too long. I'm more comfortable with stories that are highlighting an idea or an episode. These stories actually each built a world and gave us most of a character's life story. Each could have been easily developed into a full-lenght novel. So, kudos to the authors for making them so rich and yet so tight and concise, and lovely.
If you see the show more different editions, the all blue cover is stunning, but makes it look (imo) like a novel for adults. The cover with the orange banner across the top and the image of the merman (which is the one I have) is more fitting, I think, because it is a YA book. But it can also be read by any good reader above age 8 or so - the 'yuck factor' of mature issues is very low.
Btw, the descriptions of some editions of this book claim seven stories. The pb I read has six stories. I have attached this review to the ISBN of the book I have, but if you request my book from swap you will get six stories, trade pb, merman cover (just to be clear). show less
Ok, my only guess about why I, personally, didn't rate it higher is that I thought each story was a little too long. I'm more comfortable with stories that are highlighting an idea or an episode. These stories actually each built a world and gave us most of a character's life story. Each could have been easily developed into a full-lenght novel. So, kudos to the authors for making them so rich and yet so tight and concise, and lovely.
If you see the show more different editions, the all blue cover is stunning, but makes it look (imo) like a novel for adults. The cover with the orange banner across the top and the image of the merman (which is the one I have) is more fitting, I think, because it is a YA book. But it can also be read by any good reader above age 8 or so - the 'yuck factor' of mature issues is very low.
Btw, the descriptions of some editions of this book claim seven stories. The pb I read has six stories. I have attached this review to the ISBN of the book I have, but if you request my book from swap you will get six stories, trade pb, merman cover (just to be clear). show less
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Author Information
Peter Dickinson was born in Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia on December 16, 1927. He served in the British Army before receiving a B.A. in English literature from King's College, Cambridge in 1951. He was an assistant editor and reviewer for Punch Magazine for seventeen years. His first book, The Weathermonger, was published in 1968. He show more has written over 50 books for adults and young adults. His works for adults include Death of a Unicorn, Skeleton-in-Waiting, Perfect Gallows, The Yellow Room Conspiracy, and Some Deaths Before Dying. His works for young adults include The Iron Lion, The Ropemaker, Angel Isle, and In the Palace of the Khans. He has won several awards including the Boston Globe Horn Book Award in 1989 for Eva, the Carnegie Medal in 1979 for Tulku and in 1980 for City of Gold, the Whitbread Children's Prize for Tulku, and the Crime Writer's Golden Dagger for Skin Deep in 1968 and A Pride of Heroes in 1969. In 2009, he was awarded the OBE for services to literature. He died after a brief illness on December 16, 2015 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Awards
Series
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits
- Original publication date
- 2002 (anthology) (anthology)
- People/Characters
- Charity Goodrich; Mercy Hooke; Probity Hooke; Miss Lyall; Pitiable Naismith; Dreiad (the sea-king's son)
- Important places
- Damar
- Dedication
- To Anne Waters
- First words
- Her name was Pitiable Nasmith. [from "Mermaid song"]
There was a young woman named Jenny who was the only child of her parents. [from "The sea-King's son"]
"I am Mel." [from "Sea serpent"]
When the Guardian of Western Mouth chose Tamia for her apprentice, no one was more surprised than Tamia herself. ["Water Horse"]
They wore traveller's clothes, tight-laced against the sea wind, she all in grey, he in worn brown leather. ["Kraken"]
There were no deserts in the Homeland. ["A pool in the desert"] - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)She smiled, and Pitiable, for the first time for many, many days, smiled too. [from "Mermaid song"]
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And the other eight were of both land and sea, and could live on either the one or the other; and if on land they did look a little silverier than ordinary land-people, and if in the sea they looked a little rosier than ordinary sea-people, still this made no one think less of them, for all of them had open, honest faces that lit up with gentleness and humour and intelligence when they smiled. [from "The sea-King's son"]
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Those times are over." [from "Sea serpent"]
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Ouch. I hope I am not too set in my ways to adjust." ["Water Horse"]
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Ailsa watched them go. ["Kraken"]
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But her main fame rests on the cycle of stories she called The Journeying, and whose central character has the strangely un-Damarian name of Ruth. ["A pool in the desert"]
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Fantasy, Teen
- DDC/MDS
- 823.01080914 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction By type Short stories Collections
- LCC
- PZ5 .M2335 .W — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
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- Reviews
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- Rating
- (3.72)
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- ISBNs
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