Meg's Reviews > The Serpent's Shadow

genre: historical fantasy romance
London, 1909

The Serpent's Shadow was an interesting read for me. Set in England in 1909, Maya is a doctor who also uses magic to aid in her healing. Her mixed race background is challenging in both her home country of India, where her mother comes from a Brahmin caste family who turned up her nose at her marrying a common Englishman, and in England, her reputation is sullied because no matter her mother's caste she isn't considered as worthy. Both of Maya's parents had magic powers, and though she's only learned the basics, she's able to protect herself. Unbeknownst to Maya, her mother's twin sister is out to kill her, as she is a shadow or dark magic magician and doesn't think that a half-breed like Maya should exists. English master water magician and former ship captain Peter Scott is sent by the local magician's board to investigate the source of power generated by Maya, and in her, he finds he is utterly surprised and charmed by the young suffragist doctor who also desperately needs his help to learn how to use her powers.

Published in 2001, this book very much feels its age. The colonialist and orientalist sentiments feel realistic to 1909, and if the tone is a little glib, it feels realistic. However, I was disheartened by the degradation and orientalist attitude pervasive in reference to Kali-Durga and the worshippers of Kali. The bare-chested goddess who wears a necklace of skulls, sticks out her tongue, and tramples on the body of Shiva has long been a symbol of cult-like fascination from the western perspective.... and also a topic in my masters' thesis (from 2009, only 8 years after the publication of this book). Lackey's use of Kali-Durga as the darker side of magic is a bastardized and sensationalist approach, made popular by the Temple of Doom. Oof. And while it may have been true that many South Asians who lived in England converted to Christianity, the emphasis on Maya's Christian beliefs and when necessary to rely on her Indian background, faith in Ganesha and Hanuman and Vishnu's cadre, feels a little too savior-y for me.

All that aside, and it's a big aside, because taking religious beliefs of millions of Kali worshippers lightly is not ok, the book is a fascinating first in a fantasy series set in the vibrant world of Edwardian England, at the onset of medical and mechanical technology. The romance is closed door, which suits both the 2001 fantasy-era, but also the nature of the story. Even I was rooting for this age gap romance between Maya and Peter, since Peter was willing to listen to Maya's needs and beliefs about everything from her career to women's rights.