I love the Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey, and while not my favorite of the series, it was a good solid adventure. This book seems to be a direct sequel to A Study in Sable, because we once again find ourselves following the adventures of medium Sarah and psychic Nan along with infamous Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. This time the story is set during Christmas and we find our hero's having to save London from certain doom by defeating a 'Cthulu lite' monster set loose in the city by a twisted magician. I give this book 3.5 stars, and would recommend it to any one who is already a fan of the series, otherwise readers might find themselves a little lost with regard to the history of all of the characters.

In the this version of Victorian England, magic is afoot as well as the game when Lackey's heroines join forces with the Great Detective himself to defeat a monster of Lovecraftian proportions.

This is the 12th book in the Elemental Masters series by Mercedes Lackey from Berkley Publishing.

An ensemble cast including Nan and Sarah, their birds, assorted elementals, Sherlock Holmes, John and Mary Watson plus others from earlier books in the series do battle with, well, 'Cthulu lite' in an alternate-earth in Victorian London.

There are few iconic fictional characters with a more passionate following than Sherlock Holmes. There are numerous serious groups who study the Holmes canon and meet to have dinner and debate the finer points of Conan Doyle's extant oeuvre. For those folks, this book and the one previous (A Study in Sable, #11), would certainly bring on apoplexy.

While I love traditional Holmes and have read them many many times, that hasn't stopped me from enjoying the rich abundance of Holmes pastiches and modern narratives. For those people who are a little stricter in their acceptance of ersatz Holmes, it can be said in defense of this installment that Holmes himself isn't really a central character, more of recurring cameo. I didn't find his presence distracting at all. I don't know that I would have rated him a cover appearance (though the cover art is beautiful), he doesn't appear all that much in the book.

My main problem with the book was that I found myself repeatedly jerked out of the story by the really over the top 'dialect' dialogue. Much of the time I found myself almost having to translate phonetically to see what they were trying to say. That was my biggest grumble with the book and it certainly wasn't insurmountable, just annoying.

This is a Mercedes Lackey book, the good characters are good, the villains are villainous and there isn't much blending.

I found it comfortably readable, entertaining and distracting. I loved the scene with the panto, and I love little Suki.

Four stars, it was exactly as expected, thank goodness.

This is my first Elemental Masters book,, though I have read almost all of Lackey's Valdemar books. The plot was easy enough to follow, but I was missing a bit of backstory jumping in here. The Sherlock Holmes angle is what interested me about this novel, but in retrospect in feels a little odd to throw in well know characters, particularly with the popularity of Sherlock these days. A decent read, but it doesn't motivate me to pick up the rest of the series.

A Scandal in Battersea is the 12th book in Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Masters series. I read the earliest books in the series long ago, probably when they were published in the mid-1990s. It doesn’t seem as if one needs to have read the whole series to get into this particular entry in it, although now that I’m diving back into the whole thing, it looks like A Study in Sable is more of a direct prequel to A Scandal in Battersea than any of the other books.

The original premise of the Elemental Masters series was to re-tell well-known fairy tales in a late Victorian/early-20th century alternate universe where magic works and is divided into at least four main branches representing the classic “elements” of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. But other forms of “magic” were introduced in later stories, notably telepathy and other ESPer powers, and the mediumistic power to communicate with spirits.

Over time, the series morphed into a single world, with some semi-continuing characters, including many of the protagonists in A Scandal in Bohemia – notably our main characters. John Watson (yes, that John Watson) is a Water Master, his wife Mary is an Air Master, while Nan Killian is a Psychic and Sarah Lyon-White is a medium.

It takes all of their combined powers, plus the rational mind of Sherlock Holmes, to solve this case. It all begins with a young woman having visions of a ruined London where a tentacled monster sucks people into itself, never to be seen again. While traditional medicine believes that the poor girl is mad, Dr. John Watson is all too aware that she might be sane – and psychic, warning of evil on the horizon.

And so it proves. Someone, some idiot, is calling up a power that he does not understand, in the belief that it will give him earthly power and vast wealth. And power. Lots and lots of power. All he has to do is sacrifice a few virgins to its ever-growing hunger.

Of course it all goes wrong. Bargains with demons, devils and otherworldly creatures of shadow never go well, at least not for the human bargainer. Plus, (or minus, depending on on your perspective) sometimes the monster gets out.

In order to keep this monster from getting out, every person and creature that our heroes can find on the side of the light, or even just on the side of keeping our world for us, wades into the fray.

And it might not be enough.

Escape Rating A-: For a book with Sherlock Holmes on the cover, where the title is a direct reference to one of the canonical stories, there just isn’t enough Holmes in this book. In the end, I had an absolutely marvelous time with this book and with this world, to the point where I ran out and picked up as many of the previous entries in the series as I could borrow from libraries, but there’s not enough Holmes to justify its description as, or to satisfy my yen for, yet another version of the logical, rational Holmes finding his way in a magic-working world.

But if you are looking for a version of Victorian London where magic works and where the cast of characters is both diverse and endlessly fascinating, you’ll love A Scandal in Battersea. That the main characters are a pair of independent young women and their intelligent birds just adds to the fun.

If you like this concept of a magical, or at least slightly alternate, Victorian London, the setting of A Scandal in Battersea reminded me quite favorably of Cindy Spencer Pape’s Gaslight Chronicles. And since I loved that series and it seems to have ended, it is very nice to find something that reminds me of it quite so strongly.

And if the monster in A Scandal in Battersea gives you the shivers as much as it did me, take a look at A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman (included in his collection Fragile Things, which is a pastiche where Sherlock Holmes’ London intersects with the Cthulhu Mythos, with predictably creepy results. I include this reference because the descriptions of the monster that they have to fight struck me as Cthulhu’s cousin. A reference that left me appropriately creeped out.

As much as I missed Holmes until his appearance at the ¾ mark, I had a great time with this book and could not put it down. I enjoyed this world so much that I immediately picked up an earlier book in the series, A Study in Sable, which introduces readers to Holmes, Watson and Mary Watson in what looks to be a kind of prequel to A Scandal in Battersea.

I’m charmed and enchanted all over again.

This book in the series brings in more Sherlock, and a little of Lord A, but the focus is still Nan and Sarah. This book is a nice mix of fantasy and mystery. I enjoy the London setting and the figuring out of the mystery.

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 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.

Mercedes Lackey in Scandal in Battersea has the paranormal expert witches work with Sherlock Holmes to fight an invasion of horrific beasts who plan to take over London.

I've always been drawn to this wonderful world that Mercedes Lackey has built. This book had a strange Pirates of the Caribbean vibe going on. It was interesting and easy to follow, even though I'm not familiar with this story line. This was a fun read with just enough magic and adventure to keep me entertained, but not overwhelmed.

A Scandal in Battersea was a mix of mystery and horror set in alternative Victorian England, with appearances by Sherlock Holmes, John and Mary Watson, and other recurring characters from Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series.

Too creepy for me, and oddly dull at the same time. I might have been able to finish it except that I have read too many creepy books this month. Also, because I have not read any of the others in the series. I did not become very invested in the characters or story.

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 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.

A steady installment in the Elemental Masters series, this book had some unexplored plot lines that seemed unfinished. Sarah and Nan return to solve a strange and sinister mystery-girls are vanishing and then reappearing after being frighteningly altered. It seems as though [perhaps this story arc of Nan and Sarah is drawing to a close, it may be time for the author to introduce new characters into this series.

A Scandal in Battersea is an excellent addition to Mercedes Lackey's phenomenal Elemental Masters series. Filled with familiar characters and exciting new villains, this is a book that builds upon previous books yet can be read on its own. This is a must for fantasy lovers.

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. 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.

Magical Victorian Mystery

It’s Sherlock Holmes with Magic!... sorta. This book is number 12 in the Elemental Masters series and the second to feature the Great Detective as well as a cast of recurring characters. The little hints to prior books prick the interest without being intrusive and it works well as a standalone, if you so wish. Overall, it was a fun read with all the right ingredients: magic, friendship, an amoral magician, and a creeping evil.

It’s not without its problems. There was a focus on virginity which had some unfortunate implications and some unexpected sexual content on the part of the villains. Title notwithstanding, there wasn’t much Holmes in the book except as the token sceptic so he seemed almost unnecessary. Series notwithstanding, there wasn’t much Elemental Magic in the book except as passing mentions. There wasn’t much closure at the end – I would’ve loved to see some of the other victims rescued (or even acknowledged by the main characters), and the magician’s fate was annoyingly ambiguous.

Looking over that list, I’m making the book sounds worse than it was. It was a solidly enjoyable book that will please fans of Nan and Sarah. The problem is that I’m comparing it to the earlier books which had that added fairytale-retelling layer. The Sherlock elements seemed rather incidental and pasted on, rather than being woven in as the fairytales were. If that doesn’t bother you, then I recommend this book.

I read the first in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series over ten years ago, and at the time, I intended to read more. The only other one I've read is The Wizard of London, but I enjoyed both books and don't know why I never followed through with the entire series.

I didn't even realize A Scandal in Battersea was part of the Elemental Masters series, but as soon as I started reading, the familiarity of certain elements was evident.

There are wizards, psychics, mediums, hobs, and spirits, and a school for young children with magical abilities. Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and his wife Mary also play important roles, along with Lord Alderscroft, Master of the White Lodge.

The previous books in the series take a fairy tale as a starting point, but the association is very loose and transferred to the Victorian era. A Scandal in Battersea makes a slight departure into a folklore figure.

A vague and powerful evil begins inserting itself into the world, but as young women begin disappearing, the threat increases and London itself could be utterly devastated. Psychic Nan Killian and Medium Sarah Lyon-White are enlisted by Dr. Watson and Mary to examine a young woman who had herself committed to an asylum for disturbing visions of murders. Her latest vision is of London in ruins. The initial question is whether the visions are delusions or evidence of clairvoyant abilities.

Whatever this ancient evil is "..it will take the combined forces of Magic, Psychic Powers, and the worlds greatest detective to stop the darkness before it can conquer all."

It would be an advantage to have read more of the books in this series. Although the books I read years ago let me recognize a few things, I would like to know more of the background of characters like Nan and Sarah and about some of their previous adventures.

NetGalley/Berkley Publishing

Fantasy/Supernatural. Oct. 17, 2017. Print length: 320 pages.