Burning Water (Review 7/93)
Di Tregarde is asked by the police to uncover a group -- presumably religious/occult -- who are performing ritual murders. The culprit? Her partner's friend!
The best of the three Di Tregarde books, although it seems to get a slow start and the friend-is-villain plot is a little old.
By the Sword (Review 1/93)
Kethry's granddaughter Kerowyn inherits the sword Need and the mercenary's life -- which sends her on several adventures of her own. In the meantime she meets the Valdemaran Herald Eldan, becomes the Captain of her own merc company, and learns to be comfortable with the "mind-magic" she was born with.
This time, the hero (Kero) isn't altruistic but rather ethical -- she expects to be paid for backing the side of good, whatever that should be. Very good -- even better reading than the Vows and Honor duo. Well paced, but somewhat predictable. Overall, quite enjoyable.
Cast of Corbies, A (Review 3/12/95)
with Josepha Sherman
Corrupt churchmen, free bards (i.e. professional street musicians) banned from playing in the street, and a theater company supported by a Duke. Mercedes and Josepha do a good job on this one. I might try a Josepha Sherman solo novel. It's interesting that this is one Bardic novel with very little magic.
A good read, but as usual not very highbrow-very light. I give it a B.
Children of the Night (Review 9/92)
Diana Tregarde is a Guardian -- a gifted sorceress, who by her nature must help any who ask it from her -- living in New York. She meets a friendly vampire and not so friendly psi-vamps and a creature that doesn't just drain, but devours souls.
Good; typical Mercedes: a powerful person semi-forced into altruism by the nature of that power, kind and strong but possessing a weakness to be overcome. Better than Bardic Voices because it's a full story of its own, not a string of connected shorts.
Eagle and the Nightingales, The (Review 9/4/96)
Something has caused High King Theovere to ignore his duties to the twenty kingdoms. Several people ask Nightingale to travel to the city (she hates cities) and eventually she arrives there. T'fyrr shows up for the same reason, and eventually they join forces.
Decent, not of Lackey's better ones. B.
Fire Rose, The (Review 9/28/97)
In the San Francisco of the 1800's, a Master of Fire Magick has undergone a terrible transformation. Part wolf, he hires orphaned Rose Hawkins to read obscure texts in various languages to him -- and so begins her Magickal education. But a rival Firemaster is waiting in the wings...
Quite good, if a little sappy in the epilogue. Lackey does her usual excellent job defining a new system of magic and creating characters to wield the power. Strong characters in a strong story, with a reasonable amount of moral to offset the pure entertainment. I give Fire Rose an A, and I think Lackey should consider putting the Valdemarans to rest -- although the older books are classic, the now-familiar Valdemaran stories are becoming a bit repetitive and lifeless compared to the new worlds she can create.
Heralds Saga, The (Series) (Review 5/93)
Talia is Queen's Own, and she has her share of adventures. Good reading, but subject to Mercedes' weakness of a novel that seems more a series of short stories.
Overall good, especially for Mercedes fans.
High Jinx (Review 4/93)
Di Tregarde, witch, visits an old friend whose psychic son is (unknown to everyone) under the influence of a body-stealing sorceress. Di saves the day, but just barely. Not bad, but not Lackey's best work.
Last Herald-Mage, The (Series) (Review 3/92)
Wonderful series! Vanyel is a young man who falls in love, comes into power, uses his power, falls in love again, then... but that would be telling. I related very well to Van. Enriching.
Rediscovery (with Marian Zimmer Bradley)
Robin and the Kestrel, The (Review 2/26/95)
Two characters from Bardic Voices (The Lark and the Wren) continue the adventures of the free bards. Things are getting bad for all non-guild musicians-someone is banning them from playing. The trail leads to a former trade town, and it has a religious basis that somehow also is connected to Rune's (Lark's) Skull Hill Ghost....
Entertaining. Mercedes has something against organized religion, it seems, as the interference of "the Church" seems to be a common theme. (See also the Di Tregarde novels.) I give it a B.
Sacred Ground (Review 6/10/95)
Jennifer Talldeer is apprentice to her grandfather, and she is learning not just Women's Medicine, but Warrior Medicine also. And learning very well. But when a crooked construction company owner accuses other Native Americans of threatening him (and planting the bomb that blew up a bulldozer and killed four workers, many of whom were Native Americans) the insurance company hires PI Jennifer Talldeer to find out what she can. And she discovers more than just a crooked man....
Very good, very Mercedes. She does her usual wonderful job handling minority issues (as far as I can tell). A-.
Silver Gryphon (Review 6/28/97)
with Larry Dixon
The third book of the mis-named Mage Wars trilogy. The daughter of Amberdrake and Winterhart is a Silver (the police) and one of Skandranon and Zhaneel's sons is her partner. On the way to their first unsupervised assignment -- guarding an outpost -- they meet a menace no one's ever seen before....
Disappointing. It could be worth reading if you're a Mercedes fan, and if you skip chapters 4 through 6. (Those chapters are 126 pages of the two partners trying to survive, speculating about the menace they can't see, and basically discovering very little. Boring and unnecessary -- there isn't even good character development.) I give it a D with those three chapters, a grudging C+ without. (See the much better Black Gryphon and White Gryphon.)
Storm Breaking (Review 2/14/98)
The stopgap measures taking in Storm Rising (Book 2) can't last forever. In the meantime, Karal, An'desha, Firesong, and others are in Urtho's tower, trying to find a more permanent answer to the storms. Duke Tremane is quickly becoming a welcome "invader" of Hardorn, as he shows more compassion to the Hardornens than the previous ruler.
Not bad. It's good to see how the storm situation finally ends. Since most of the characters are well-established, the character development is fairly minimal, except for Tremane. A few interesting developments, but nothing I would call a "twist." As with Storm Warning, I give it a B.
Storm Warning (Review 11/28/96)
The Eastern Empire is moving in on Hardorn, bringing them closer to Valdemar. Meanwhile, that recent activity has intensified the need for the truce between Karse and Valdemar, made possible by the original Hardorn invasion and the appointment of a woman, Solaris, as the chief priestess of Karse's god, Vrankis -- an appointment made by Vrankis himself.
Then the storms begin -- sudden waves of magical activity, disrupting spells that have been placed and causing vertigo to all mages in each of these lands. The Karse envoy's secretary, along with his friends (the 'blues' -- non-heraldic students at the Collegium, Firesong, An'desha, and others) uncover a theory: temporal aftershocks of the centuries old Cataclysm.
Typical Lackey; the overriding moral is acceptance of who you are and tolerance of those who are different. Otherwise, it's just a fun read. I give it a B.
Vows and Honor (Series) (Review 10/92)
(Oathbound and Oathbreakers) Tarma and Kethry are oathbonded sisters, one a warrior of a nomadic tribe, the other a sorceress daughter of a noble house. Together they embark on a successful career as mercenaries, aided by a magical wolf-creature and a magic sword that is specially tuned to the needs of women -- which sometimes gets them in trouble.
Again, part of what makes the main characters so powerful also keeps them (at least occasionally) altruistic. Similar to Bardic Voices in that the two books are basically several short stories strung together (although the second has a slightly more-involved plot).
White Gryphon (Review 6/28/97)
with Larry Dixon
The second book of the mis-named Mage Wars trilogy. In the aftermath of the Cataclysm that ended the Mage Wars, a large group of the survivors from Urtho's camp have founded a new city, White Gryphon. But the land they build it on belongs to a neighboring empire, the Haighlei -- and they're not ready to let others use that land. Add to that an outcast from the new city, and things get interesting.
Entertaining. Mercedes (and Larry?) show a knack for intricate plots and schemes. I give it a B. (See also Black Gryphon and Silver Gryphon.)
Winds of Change (Review 7/18/95)
Elspeth continues her magical education as Darkwind begins his re-education; Skif and Wintermoon search for Nyara; the k'Sheyna's begin to finally deal with the Heartstone; two visiting Shin'a'in find love in not-so predictable places. And is Mornelithe really dead?
The second of the Mage Winds is a transition book with serves to further highlight the time of change that Valdemar and the surrounding kingdoms are going through. A good middle book; more of a plot than most middle books have. A.
Winds of Fate (Review 7/1/95)
Taking up where the Arrows trilogy and By the Sword left off, this book focuses on Elspeth, Herald and Heir of Valdemar, and the Talysedrin (Hawkbrother) Darkwind k'Sheyna. The protection from magic that Valdemar has enjoyed seems to be deteriorating, and Elspeth goes on a quest for a mage. As it turns out, she has the Mage-Gift, of Adept class potential. Along the way, she meets Darkwind and she, with Skif, their companions, a couple of gryphons, and a cat-like Changechild, must confront the Changechild's father/master, a devious mage bent on revenge and destruction.
This is the most cohesive of the Valdemar books so far. The characters certainly are well developed and interesting, as well as complicated. Very good. A.
Winds of Fury (Review 8/6/95)
Elspeth, Darkwind, and company go to Haven in Valdemar, and begin to plot the final battle with Ancar. Meanwhile, Ancar gets Falconsbane, A. and F. deal with Hulda, and the Avatars (yes, plural) of the Kal'en'edral goddess coach a new ally in an unlikely place.
Most of the loose ends are tied, which is the main thing going for the book. Good writing, as usual, but lacking some bite. Still, I enjoyed it quite a bit. B+.
Bird by Bird (Review 9/26/99)
Subtitled "Instructions on Writing and Life," this book has a lot of advice about writing, from the process to publishing. Much of the advice seems very good, but should be taken with a grain of salt -- not everything that works for her will work for everyone else. I thought this book was hysterical (even though several clever things she took from other people) and a good read, except for a couple of short passages. I give it a B+.
Left Hand of Darkness (Review 12/30/95)
Genly Ai is the Envoy, the first contact on the alien planet Gethen, populated by hermaphrodites. He works for the Ekumen, an association of planets, and the intent of the contact is to invite the Gethenians to join the Ekumen. His efforts cause much political turmoil, even before anyone even considers accepting the invitation.
The most interesting aspects of this book are the explorations of the societal structure. Unfortunately the plot does not evolve entirely around these explorations; a little over halfway through it becomes dull and lifeless--partly on purpose, perhaps, as Genly is traversing a vast unpopulated wasteland with the help of one native. You certainly feel the desolation of his trek. I give it a B-, with the recommendation of skimming the text when the trek across the ice begins.
The New New Thing (Review 11/5/2001)
A bit of the story of Jim Clark, the man who founded Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and Healtheon (which merged with WebMD). The book covers how he came to found each company and drive them to become phenomenal successes---and effectively creating the "new economy" in the process.
An incredibly interesting read. It makes me feel good that I'm not one of the Silicon Valley multi-millionaires. I can't begin to fathom such a screwed perspective, and I much prefer my own, even if it means less money. I give the book an A, not so much for the author's skill but simply in the fascinating freakishness of the life of Jim Clark---an immensely wealthy man with a very scary mind.
The Same Embrace (Review 9/26/99)
Jacob and Jonathan are twins. Jake is gay, Jon is not; Jake lives in Boston, Jon is studying at a yeshiva in Jerusalem, finding his roots in Orthodox Judaism. The family, including his father and aunt, have a host of problems that seem to be centered around the family itself and each individual's place in the family.
I have mixed feelings about this book. There were a few issues brought in that seemed unnecessary and distracting, and for much of the book I didn't really care about the characters. A couple of interesting developments late in the book helped, but at best I give this a C+.
By author: A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T W
©2001 Eric E. Karnowski, All Rights Reserved.