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
This book was beautiful and sweet and dark all at the same time. I love its atmosphere, the sheer simplicity of it as a whole, and the folklore that plays a vital role on every page. And the names. I mean come on: "Sean Kendrick, Puck Connolly," how can you not instantly fall in love?
I now know what all the hype was about. Honestly I was not at all a fan of Shiver and it made me hesitant to pick up The Scorpio Races, but boy am I glad I did anyways (though Stiefvater's description can still be a bit ridiculous--I think she used "It was a pink morning" or "The morning was blue" like 3 times each or something). This book's got heart and it's got danger, real character motives, it's got rivalry and family troubles--it's really just got everything. And it's not even bogged down under all of it, it's just a part of the whole story's big ol' heart.
I think what I loved most about this is how simple the story can be boiled down. Nowadays it seems like everyone's trying for insane plot twists or things for "sparkle" value rather than good old plot worth. The Scorpio Races has a beautifully simple plot that drives everything else. Everything relates to that bigger plot, every single event that happens. When you tear it apart detail-by-detail, this book's got a lot in its covers, but it's still so simple. It doesn't need to have so-called mind-boggling twists to keep readers entertained.
It's brilliant, that's about all I can say. I freaking loved it.
