A breathtaking novel set in the wilds of Ireland, from
the bestselling author of Shiver, Linger and
Forever.
Stay alive, stay astride, stay out of the water...
Every November, the Scorpio Races are run beneath the chalk cliffs
of Skarmouth.
Thousands gather to watch the horses and the sea that washes the
blood from the sand.
The mounts are capaill uisce: savage
water horses.
There are no horses more beautiful, more fearless, more
deadly. To race them can be suicide but the danger is
irresistible.
Sean Kendrick knows the dangers of the capaill uisce.
With one foot in the ocean and one on land, he is the only man on
the island capable of taming the beasts. He races
to prove something both to himself and to the horses.
Puck Connolly enters the races to save her family. But the horse
she rides is an ordinary little mare, just as Puck is an ordinary
girl.
When Sean sees Puck on the beach he doesn't think she belongs.
He doesn't realize his fate will become entwined in hers.
They both enter the Races hoping to change their lives. But
first they'll have to survive.
Romantic and steeped in legend
Maggie Stiefvater is a master at writing both romance and heart-pounding
action
Her books have consistently debuted at #1 on the NYT bestseller
list
PRAISE FOR SCORPIO RACES
"If The Scorpio Races sounds like nothing you’ve
ever read, that’s because it is. The capaill
uisce are exhilarating, frightening creations... Stiefvater has
successfully plumbed lesser-known myths and written a complex literary
thriller" - New York Times
The bestselling author of Shiver (2009)
and Linger (2010) turns the
legend of the water horse into a taut, chilling, romantic adventure. The
water horses are breathtakingly well-imagined, glorious
and untamably violent. The final race, with Sean and Puck each
protecting each other but both determined to win, comes to a pitch-perfect
conclusion. Masterful. Like nothing else out there now.
- Kirkus Review
Initial thoughts: It took me nearly an hour to figure out the best way to describe how I feel about The Scorpio Races. Indifference is the term. The words strung together were beautiful, no doubt. Writing definitely is Maggie Stiefvater's strong suit. I could taste the salt water on my lips, the contours of the water horses formed silhouettes in my mind. I heard the rush of the sea crashing into the cliffs. Yet I found myself not caring much about the book itself.
Had it not been for the audiobook narrators, I might have found Puck and Sean rather indistinguishable. Their thoughts mirrored each other's too much to create the depth of distinct characters. The plot was so long drawn, that marking significant events on a plot line would only require a single stroke at the point of the actual race. Perhaps a dot to mark the last day(s) leading up to it. The rest of the time I couldn't find it in me to care an ounce for Puck or Sean. Yes, their circumstances were tough and all and there were sinister undertones but none of these came across as pressing issues beyond Puck's moping around.
It's not wonder that I'm battling with myself about The Scorpio Races, then. I fell in love with the writing and in part the setting too but I didn't care about what was being told.
