Mercedes Lackey is a full-time writer and has published numerous novels and works of short fiction, including the best-selling Heralds Of Valdemar series. She is also a professional lyricist and a licensed wild bird rehabilitator. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, artist Larry Dixon, and their flock of parrots. She can be found at mercedeslackey.com.
As the violent mage storms ravage the land of Valdemar and its neighbors, warring factions struggle to overcome personal and political prejudices to combat a greater enemy. Lackey (The White Gryphon, LJ 3/15/95) continues to expand upon her world's rich history and cultures while probing the sometimes petty, sometimes noble motivations that impel her characters toward their destinies. Fans of the series will demand this title.
Lackey's latest continues the old-fashioned, simple-is-as-simple-does tradition that has made her numerous series set in and around the kingdom of Valdemar so accessible to so many readers. Her bloated prose is balanced by two-dimensional caricatures such as those of Karal, the diplomat who ``knows he is too young,'' An'desha (``Do I want to be‘alone?'') and Firesong, who is prone to neurotic ramblings. Expectedly, Firesong's ills are not of his own making; he and the good characters here are uniformly good, lacking any shades of gray to give them depth. Even Grand Duke Tremane, who ordered murders in this novel's prequel, Storm Warning, has a heart of gold. Above all, this volume suffers from lack of a proper villain. Perhaps the windup to this promised trilogy will be more engaging; meanwhile, this middle volume fits Karal's description of a council meeting: ``very little accomplished and nothing really settled.'' (Sept.)
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