The Serpent

Although it has been years since I first read this book, it remains one of the best fantasy/romance genre books I have ever read. It is creative, imaginative, and packs a punch. A winner!

I found this book on my mom's bookshelf when I was 12. I loved it then and loved it 13 times more. Then I wanted to name my daughter "Cija." Instead I named a dog that. Twenty years later, I was reading Ms. magazine (remember that?) and discovered The Serpent was the first in a series of 5 books. I ran to my university bookstore to order the next one. I discovered that my copy was the first two books. I ordered the rest...they got pretty wierd and I didn't like Cija as much as time went on. She was my hero in adolescense.

This book is Volume I of "The Atlan Saga," a science fiction/fantasy series. The Atlan Series (The Serpent, The Dragon, The City, Atlan, and Some Summer Lands) are a wonderful introduction to fantasy literature. Jane Gaskell's heroine, Cija, is both vulnerable and capable. The characters are clearly drawn, the locales are exotic (but still believable), and the action continual. Destined for one disaster after another, Cija is a memorable and ultimately likeable protagonist. So interested reader, get thee to a library or second-hand bookstore and buy the whole series!

i have read many fantasy and science fiction books, and this one is frankly one of the best i've ever come across. it is the first of a series following the travels of a naive girl-child goddess set in a harsh land. cija, our resilient protagonist, is a purely original character who defies ready classification. she is not alone, as we come across other memorable figures who are not easily understood. the story itself is many things. it is sometimes comic and tragic, but also a rousing adventure. there is lust, love, suffering, and cruelty. give it a chance.

Written by a pseudo-goddess emerging into adulthood, this book is set in an amazingly well imagined prehistoric fantasy world. Although much of the the content is exhiliratingly strange, it contains the very human emotions of lust, platonic love, grief and the pain of adolescence.