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Elemental Masters is a fantasy series written by Mercedes Lackey, about an earth where magic exists and focuses on the Elemental Masters, people who have magical control over air, water, fire, or earth. Each elemental master has power over elementals, as well. Each book in the series is loosely based on a fairy tale^{[citation needed]}.

Contents 1 Books 2 World 3 Magic 3.1 The Talented 3.2 Elemental magic 3.2.1 The Power of Ice 3.3 Other forms of magic

1. The Fire Rose (1995, ISBN 0-671-87750-X) based on Beauty and the Beast
2. The Serpent's Shadow (2001, ISBN 0-7564-0061-9) based on Snow White
3. The Gates of Sleep (2002, ISBN 0-7564-0101-1) based on Sleeping Beauty
4. Phoenix And Ashes (2004, ISBN 0-7564-0272-7) based on Cinderella
5. The Wizard of London (October 2005, ISBN 0-7564-0174-7) based on The Snow Queen

The setting of the "Elemental Masters" is an alternative Earth during the early 1900s. The main and perhaps sole difference between this world and our reality is that magic exists. The majority of the tales take place in England with The Fire Rose taking place in North America and focusing on the San Francisco area. While, history does tend to follow the real-life time line, historic calamities such as the great urban fires of Chicago and the earthquake in San Fransisco are attributed to the elemental mages that serve as the series namesakes.

The world of the "Elemental Masters" is home to two types of magic, the elemental magic that plays an important part in the series and ESP that is largely explored in The Wizard of London.

Most of the details given about the talented (those who have some degree of physic abilities) are seen in The Wizard of London. While the talented in most part fit the descriptions and abilities given psychics in the modern world, there are two main differences. First, certain psychics are able to gain familiars, intelligent animal companions, since this is only briefly explored in the books it is hard to know if only birds can familiars and the criteria for getting one. The second difference is that powerful talents or the talented have psychic avatars that represent their duties as champions of the light, these avatars tend to draw imagery from fiction and the past.

Elemental magic is the most commonly seen form of magic in the series, with every book having at least a couple of elemental masters as major characters with one serving as the antagonist. The masters' abilities are tied with their ability to see and control spirits of a particular elemental affinity. The four elements are earth,wind,water, and fire; with each element and their masters having their own specialties.

The power of Ice can be the seen as a partial exception of the normal abilities of an elemental mage. Ice and cold can be controlled by a skilled master of either water, air, and fire, with fire having the most potential for fire due to their innate ability to control the temperature. As seen in The Wizard of London , the power of ice is seen as innately destructive as it calls for a basic twisting of a master's nature as well as the world around them.

While, psychics and elemental masters are the more common magic users in the western world. The series often focuses on other forms of power such as the Hindu sorcerers of India and the various spirits of the world (such as the fey of England and avatars of the Hindu gods).