Mercedes Lackey

I greatly enjoyed the Herald Mage trilogy (with ample M/M content). Since then it really hasn't done anything for me. Her later stuff seems almost rushed.

Her early stuff was pretty good--I recall that she was doing stories about women heroines when fantasy was really starting to get into that. Sacred Ground is one of my favorites--it has some really fun characters in it like Mooncrow, and of course, a strong heroine, which I like. That one I still have because it's a book that I can return to and enjoy, though it does have some dated elements.

I disliked the Diane Tregrade series because the character came across as arrogant and obnoxious. There's one about a thief that I got halfway through before the book had me begging for mercy. The main character spoke in misspelled dialect throughout the book, and I spent so much time trying to translate it that it made it impossible to follow the story.

The Heralds series made me stop reading her books. She had built this great heroine up in the first two books, and then turned her into a helpless victim who needed to be rescued in the last book. I very nearly put the book down during a gruesome scene where the heroine's feet were crushed, but I kept hoping she would be able to save herself. No such luck, and I wasn't willing to spend any more money on her books.

I'd forgotten the Tregarde books, I quite liked those ones.

I'm going to set myself up for some flaming here and admit I like the entire Valdemar series. They're all read often; I like the characters, I like the world. I also liked "Firebird," a re-telling of a Russian fairytale.

The Elemental Masters series I wasn't as keen on, possibly because the couple I tried were set in modern times which I don't find as interesting.

I have found that I tend not to care for books she writes with co-authors.

I'm not really fond of Elspeth or the Hawkbrothers, to tell you the truth, and found the Winds trilogy the weakest of the bunch. I greatly enjoyed the Storms trilogy, with Karal at the forefront, as well as Alberich and Vanyel from earlier stories.

Lackey is not the best writer out there; she's not the best storyteller I've ever come across, but something in her world makes me comfortable. When I'm exhausted or out of sorts, Valdemar provides the comfort I need.

Maybe deep down I wish I could have a Companion of my own?

I agree BardSkye. Something about her world's just draws me, makes me feel at home. I do think though, that in some of her stories there's a lot of in-action which can get slow at points. But other than that, I like it. I mean, she's not one of my all-time favs, but I do enjoy her books.

I actually prefer her dragon riders series...shoot, what was it called. Jousters, Joust? Something like that.

Really? I bought the first two but lacked the interest to buy the third. I also bought the first of a co-authored trilogy, but now I can't even think of the name off-hand.

I still like Valdemar. I'd really like to see a couple of books that fill in the gaps between the three Herald Mage books.

I liked one of the books she co-authored with Andre Norton so much that I bought the first in the series later on. It took me several months to read the first in the series, because the first three chapters were roughly 30 pages long each. And they were pretty slow reading. The characters were interesting enough, but it just dragged through the first few chapters, and each chapter was excruciatingly long.

The books I am referring to are from The Halfblood Chronicles series. The one I really enjoyed was called Elvenborn, and the one I had lots of trouble with was entitled The Elvenbane.

Basically, I think Mercedes Lackey is a decent writer, but I find her stuff not so satisfying a read as I would like.

I think the big problem (and actually, the thing I like) about her books is that she spends of a lot of time detailing everyday life in her worlds (at least, that's what she did with the jousters books). That can drag after a while, if you're in the mood for a...can't think of another way to say this...but a story, really. Whereas, sometimes I just want to disappear into another world, and it's kind of fun to follow these characters around and share their lives. 'Course, you gotta be in a certain mood for that.

I really miss her old stuff. *sniff*

Sadly, I haven't read a single thing of hers in years. I started to read a series and I just couldnt get into like I could in her first series. Makes me sad when that happens to an author I like. I feel let down in a way.

Patricia Cornwell is another one who kind of dropped the ball on her fans I believe. In my (undoubtedly ill-informed) opinion, it seems like Cornwell really lost it when she fired her first editor. I think the first book that followed the firing was 'The Hornets Nest'. I read that book after reading her scarpetta series and I totally felt ripped off. I have always wondered if her books developed that dark tone because she had a different editor, or if she just simply got lost in the dark side. It also brings to light another question. How much influence do editors really have over an author's work?

At any rate, I always hate it when authors I begin to know and love (and trust enough to purchase books from sight unseen!) disappoint with their latter work.

NiennaC said:

I agree BardSkye. Something about her world's just draws me, makes me feel at home. I do think though, that in some of her stories there's a lot of in-action which can get slow at points. But other than that, I like it. I mean, she's not one of my all-time favs, but I do enjoy her books.

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I completely agree. There are books of hers that I am not extremely fond of but many of her books are like comfort food for me. Perhaps because I originally read them when I was fairly young? In particular I love to reread the Queen's Own trilogy. She definitely lacks action at some points but, she's one of my favorite writers when it comes to making non-action interesting.

Sean D. Schaffer said:

I liked one of the books she co-authored with Andre Norton so much that I bought the first in the series later on. It took me several months to read the first in the series, because the first three chapters were roughly 30 pages long each. And they were pretty slow reading. The characters were interesting enough, but it just dragged through the first few chapters, and each chapter was excruciatingly long.

The books I am referring to are from The Halfblood Chronicles series. The one I really enjoyed was called Elvenborn, and the one I had lots of trouble with was entitled The Elvenbane.

Basically, I think Mercedes Lackey is a decent writer, but I find her stuff not so satisfying a read as I would like.

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I really enjoyed the Halfblood Chronicles as well. They were a bit different from her other books but very enjoyable.

Tifferbugz said:

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I really enjoyed the Halfblood Chronicles as well. They were a bit different from her other books but very enjoyable.

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I read somewhere they were going to write a fourth installment, to follow after Elvenborn. I'm curious if they're still working on that piece. I liked Kyrtian a bundle; he was the kind of character that I seemed to identify with right away, and I'm hoping that if the fourth one comes out soon, I might be able to read more about him.

For all that I didn't like The Elvenbane because of its slowness, I can definitely say I liked Elvenborn because it was interesting, right away. The difference between the two books, is in their beginning chapters. The difference is like night and day to me.

I haven't tried the Halfblood Chronicles yet. I'm going to the store soon, I think I might pick one up if the store's got it. It sounds good.

Haven't tried the Halfblood series, though I might yet.

This afternoon I read "One Good Knight." And enjoyed it enough to look for any more in that world. I was particularly intrigued by her making all the old fantasy stereotypes a character of sorts, called Tradition. If Princess needs to be rescued from peril "Tradition" will do its best to ensure that she falls in love with said rescuer unless she fights really hard not to. "Tradition" acts more or less like magical weather systems.

This one isn't from her usual fantasy publisher; it's on Harlequin's Luna imprint.

I picked up the first two of the Jousters series - Joust and Alta - some time ago. Dragon on the cover, easiest way to make me buy a book. Unfortunately, her dragons lack the one trait I require to fully enjoy such a story - intelligence. They were rather like large moody cats, if I recall. I couldn't bring myself to reread either of them.

I'd hoped Jousters would be better because of the Mage Wars series she co-wrote with Larry Dixon, which I picked up because of the gryphons on the cover. This trilogy I liked well enough. The Black Gryphon in particular was my favorite and I do reread it on occasion. Mainly because I like Skandranen and Amberdrake. And Gesten. They're fun books but I have to be in the right mood to read them.

The bottom line, I think she's all right but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy her books.

~DragonHeart~

I have the Gryphon series, and did read them, but found I just couldn't identify with any of the characters.

I'm presently re-reading Alta.