Title:

In the Serpent's Wake

Author:

Rachel Hartman

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

June 28, 2026

udging from the book title, In the Serpent's Wake, I thought that this book would be an adventure tale where Tess and her friends head off to the South Pole in search of the elusive polar serpent. Perhaps that was the starting idea when Hartman began to write this tale, but the actual story keeps veering off into other topics entirely. Tess gets wrapped up a much bigger story, one that is about colonialism and native peoples. The polar serpent becomes an afterthought.

This is book two of a duology, following Tess of the Road. That book must be read first, a lot of the characters and plot background in this book originate in the first volume.

In the south polar area there is a host of islands. The natives who occupy these archipelagos have been conquered by the Ninysh empire. Unfortunately, there are plenty of tribes of natives (collectively called Pelaguese), all with different names, and they live on islands that have native names. However, the Ninysh have their own names for the tribal peoples, and they have renamed all the islands with Ninysh designations. Some of the characters also have two names. There are a lot of characters - at the back of the book is a four page list of the dramatis personae. I confess I got confused. It would have helped if a map had been included.

Tess is the protagonist. She has convinced the Countess Margarethe to allow her (along with her brother-in-law, the priest Jacomo, and the two quigutls) to join the expedition. Tess will act the role of an aspiring naturalist, learning from Countess, who is an accomplished explorer. Tess has a secret responsibility in that she is acting as a spy for Queen Glisselda - the monarch of Goredd, which is a rival of Ninysh. But Tess's real motivation is to get Pathka, her quigutl friend, to meet the polar serpent. Pathka was dreaming with the land serpent when it was killed "for the sake of science". The killing traumatized Pathka, and left him in a disturbed state of mind. Tess believes the best way for Pathka to heal is for him to meet the polar serpent and dream with it. However, finding the mythical(?) polar serpent will be quite a challenge.

Unfortunately, Tess is outspoken when she thinks something needs fixing, and this often puts her at odds with Countess or other persons on the sailing ship. The Ninysh colonizers commit many sorts of injustice against the natives, and this offends Tess's sense of justice. A couple of evil people from Tess's past reappear unexpectedly on the southern islands, and this causes a lot of emotional distress for Tess. She rides a rollercoaster of emotions in this book.

There is magic in this book. Thnimi are Artifacts that allow people to communicate over distances. Sabak skins allow their wearer to swim through the freezing ocean waters at great speed. Pyria is an explosive liquid that the dragons possess (in addition to the Countess's expedition, there is a rival ship sailed by the dragons that is also attempting to reach the pole and see the Polar Serpent.)

The story is always interesting, though it seems unfocused. Tess gets buffeted from crisis to crisis, always reacting rather than enacting a plan. The effects of Ninysh colonization are covered in detail, information about the polar serpent is much more sparse. Overall, a good read, though on the longish side.