Book Review – Cast in Secret
Author: Michelle Sagara
Publisher: Luna
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: August 2007
Just when I think I have a handle on the magic in Elantra, Sagara throws a curve ball. By this, her third novel in the Elantra Series, she has given Kaylin healing magic and the talent to control the elemental power of fire. Now, Kaylin takes on the other elements in the face of a wizard bent on destroying everything. In the process, she discovers more about her role as Chosen as she meets an ancient dragon who has waited millennia for her.
Once again, Kaylin delves into a nonhuman society. In Cast in Secret, she works with the beings that repulse her the most – the Tha’alani. These unique people appear human-like yet they have appendages reaching from the heads like two tentacles. They use these to communicate mind-to-mind. They give Kaylin the screaming meemies. Yet, when one of their children goes missing Kaylin steps into the breach. Her journey to find the young one takes her far afield, although she never leaves the city of Elantra.
I love how Sagara layers on another fold of complexity to the character that is Kaylin. After each story, she (and we as the reader) knows a little more about herself and her personal limitations. Like us, she grows into herself a bit more each time. Here she faces prejudices deeply ingrained in her personal viewpoint of the world as she uses her detective skills to solve the kidnapping and stop the wizard.
I feel a bit like a detective myself as I piece together the information Ms. Sagara is giving us about Elantra. I would advise anyone interested in this book to read the first two books of the series, Cast in Shadow and Cast in Courtlight. Be prepared. I have begun to identify with the captor of Scheherazade in the Thousand and One Nights. Sagara is like Scheherazade. She tells one story that contains hints of the larger tale taking place. The subjects in each story are bright and crisp, yet the overarching tale itself is cloaked in mist. Using such storytelling, she lives to tell another piece of the tale tomorrow.
Sagara’s writing is not complex or intricate. Her dialogue is terse, straightforward and very witty. I find it an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon but would not say it challenges me in any way, except maybe in patience for more information. In fact, the books themselves are more like brain candy – very yummy but they don’t stay with you for long. Regardless, I still enjoy reading them.
About 
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.