Comments on things mean a lot: Unnatural Issue by Mercedes Lackey

I used to be a HUGE Lackey fan; read almost everyt...

2012-01-23T15:24:24.243Z

I used to be a HUGE Lackey fan; read almost everything she had written by the time I was 15 or so. I loved her powerful female characters. Unfortunately I have found that a lot of the books I loved then really haven't stood up to re-read. That said, I've never tried this series and the things that you liked about this book definitely attract me, so...

This sounds like a fun one, if not The Best Book E...

2012-01-19T23:59:38.345Z

This sounds like a fun one, if not The Best Book Ever...

Halfblood Chronicles Elvenbane (1991) with Andre...

2012-01-19T15:18:17.955Z

Halfblood Chronicles

Elvenbane (1991) with Andre Norton
Elvenblood (1995) with Andre Norton
Elvenborn (2002) with Andre Norton
Except for the fact that there needed to be a forth book I loved this series.

Obsidian Universe:
The Obsidian Mountain Trilogy
The Outstretched Shadow (2003) with James Mallory
To Light a Candle (2004) with James Mallory
When Darkness Falls (2006) with James Mallory
Love Love Love these three. Definately one of my favorite trilogy's :D

Enduring Flame Trilogy

The Phoenix Unchained (2007) with James Mallory
The Phoenix Endangered (2008) with James Mallory
The Phoenix Transformed (2009) with James Mallory
This was a continuation of the Obsidian trilogy, but far in the future with different characters...although there are some of the original crew. It's good although I liked the first set a bit more.

The Mage Wars
The Black Gryphon (1994) with Larry Dixon
The White Gryphon (1995) with Larry Dixon
The Silver Gryphon (1996) with Larry Dixon
I liked them...but nothing spectacular :)

Bedlam's Bard (1991 - omnibus) with Ellen Guon
Mad Maudlin (2003) with Rosemary Edghill
Music to My Sorrow (2005) with Rosemary Edghill
There are more to this series, but these I adored...whats funny is that i'm not a big fan of urban fantasy but this series changed my mind ;)

I remember you mentioning your problems with a per...

2012-01-18T11:43:14.715Z

I remember you mentioning your problems with a pervious novel by Lackey when we were walking around London bookshops. Tough to work out whether I'd like this one as I tend to think I'm kind of a prose purist (or at least I do tend to love books that show a great interest in language even if they suck in other ways), but know from experience that I can get over that if a astory is compelling. And it sounds like this ticks so many of my boxes (I must read all the WWI books apparently). Cover is pretty...

PS As soon as you started talking about necromancers I thought how nice it is that Jeanne's theory about them being bad news continues to be justified :D

I slightly guiltily read Mercedes Lackey's Val...

2012-01-18T01:18:19.703Z

I slightly guiltily read Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books when I was in middle school (I am not the daughter who is a big fan! That is Legal Sister!), and have given them up long since. But -- oh gosh, like Mumsy, I nearly am tempted to give this one a try. I remember quite liking one of the other books in this series, the one where the protagonist is being helped by the gods of India or something. I don't know. She has a monkey.

I like fairy tale retellings, and the fact that th...

2012-01-17T15:36:26.715Z

I like fairy tale retellings, and the fact that this is also sort of a homage to Sayers interests me as well. Though you mentioned that some of the sentence structure is clunky, I think this would be an very cool read for me. Thanks for sharing your opinions on it with us!

It's always amusing to me now to read somethin...

2012-01-17T13:09:18.602Z

It's always amusing to me now to read something in which necromancy is bad news.

Thanks so much for posting this - I've been wa...

2012-01-17T05:28:15.971Z

Thanks so much for posting this - I've been wanting to read Mercedes Lackey for a while, but didn't know here to start (and like you, I'd tried to read one of her fantasy books a while ago and wasn't won over). I'm VERY interested in fairytale retellings and am actually working on a novel at the moment which retells the same fairytale "All-Kinds-of-Fur", sometimes known as Donkeyskin or Deerskin. Mine is completely different, of course, but I am trying to read all other versions of the tale as part of my research. So thank you for this post on two fronts!
all my best

Kate Forsyth

To the folks who've read one or two books of L...

2012-01-17T04:40:52.439Z

To the folks who've read one or two books of Lackey's and decided not to go any further, my two cents:

I'm fairly certain I've read just about everything she's written, and her writing varies greatly in quality. None of her books are great literature, but for the most part the Valdemar series is good; and I personally usually enjoy the Elemental Masters series, which Unnatural Issue is from. I'd start with Arrows of the Queen from the Valdemar series; it's the first in the series and is very accessible and enjoyable, in my opinion.

I became a fan at around age 12, and I loved her worldbuilding and the innate goodness of most of her main characters. It's very easy to relax into a Valdemar book! I've been rather disappointed in her more recent work, but that may be more that I read them with a more mature eye than I did as a teenager! I encourage you to give her work a try, especially for a day when you need a story to pull you into a different world. Her worldbuilding really is excellent.

I may have to pick this up just because I'm a ...

2012-01-17T01:52:27.579Z

I may have to pick this up just because I'm a fan of stand-alones set in the same world. I've always liked that idea.

I read a Lackey title last year (titled Firebir...

2012-01-16T23:51:14.425Z
I read a Lackey title last year (titled Firebird) and REALLY didn't like it. I kind of want to try another book by her, but the previous mentioned reading experience kind of scarred me. :P I'm glad you had a good reading experience the second time around though! It gives me hope, haha.

One of the daughters was a big Lackey fan (still r...

2012-01-16T22:40:36.774Z
One of the daughters was a big Lackey fan (still reads her as a guilty pleasure), but, like you, I started one and was groaning loudly by chapter two. But this does sound aaaaalmost like I miiiiight like it. I think I will take my brand new Nook to B & N and see if I cn get sixty free minutes of reading it before I commit myself.

Debi: Eh you forget I've been talking books wi...

2012-01-16T21:22:04.566Z
Debi: Eh you forget I've been talking books with you on a fairly regular basis for close to five years now. After all this time, there's no way you'll convince me that your reading lacks depth :P Sure, we might notice different things, as different readers always do, but it's not a matter of your brain being unable to "go beyond". The end :P

Kelly: I had a feeling you'd drop by with recommendations :P Thanks for all the suggestions! You've been telling me about the Five Hundred Kingdoms series for ages. Now that I've lost my fear of her writing I'll definitely try them.

Lauren Clancy: That's such an interesting subject for a thesis! I feel bad for having written Lackey off after just one book. There's definitely a lot about her storytelling that appeals to me, even if I'll never really love her actual prose.

Aarti: It really was - I had a ton of fun with it :) (PS: Thank you for refraining from saying "hmpf, Lord Peter Lord Schmeter", which I suspect might have crossed your mind :P)

Emily: I wonder if it was The Fire Rose? Then again I think she might have retold Beauty and the Beast in more than one book. These are really very loose retellings, so perhaps it was another one. Anyway, it sounds like she's hit or miss, so perhaps another try is worth it!

Meghan: I remember standing at Forbidden Planet holding this book with you and you telling me exactly that. And I don't mean this in a "Stop repeating yourself, Meghan!" sort of way at all :P It's just that the memory made me smile.

Amy: As someone who also shied away from her for years I can't blame you :P But I'm glad I decided to try her again. I had so much fun with this book.

I've yet to read a Mercedes Lackey book. Every...

2012-01-16T21:10:44.507Z
I've yet to read a Mercedes Lackey book. Every time I get close I shy away. I don't know why that is. I do like the idea of a fairy tale re-telling and the world building in this series sounds promising. I should see what my library has.

I struggle with Mercedes Lackey, personally - I re...

2012-01-16T20:18:53.262Z
I struggle with Mercedes Lackey, personally - I read a few (the Last Herald-Mage trilogy, a number of years ago) and enjoyed them, but then read one that I just disliked intensely and decided not to continue. I think there is a lot of hers out there that is meant to be very good, so I'm looking forward to your explorations and hope you find some gems that I can enjoy, too! :)

I tried to read one of Lackey's books several ...

2012-01-16T20:13:18.423Z
I tried to read one of Lackey's books several years ago that might have been part of this series, as it was a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast." I don't normally abandon books unfinished, but that one I did. It felt like she was trying too hard to create a "new" version of the fairy tale, but all she really changed were the trappings, not the story itself. Maybe she eventually did put a new spin on the tale and I just didn't get to it.

I'm glad this book worked out for you. It definitely sounds better than the one I read! Hope the next one is as good.

I think I have This Sceptr'd Isle, too- but ma...

2012-01-16T20:01:42.815Z
I think I have This Sceptr'd Isle, too- but maybe not. I've not heard of this series at all, but you're right, it has a really intriguing and interesting basis. Glad it was better than you expected :-)

I am a Mercedes Lackey fan - from the Elemental Ma...

2012-01-16T19:36:14.586Z
I am a Mercedes Lackey fan - from the Elemental Masters Series - Unnatural Issue is the only one I haven't read - to the the Five Hundred Kingdoms (need to catch up and read the last three) and, of course, the Heralds of Valdemar, all 41 (if you include the short story collections).

Yes, her prose can be a touch eggplant, but her stories get me every time and she is so deft at melding old stories that I know and love so well with a new twist that makes me love them even more.

I would love to take a class or two or three on the multiple versions of fairytales. I did my undergraduate capstone on Cinderella, how the versions have changed through history and how the changes reflected societal flows. I loved every page of it.

Thank you bringing me back to one of my favorite authors.

So, you need to read the Five Hundred Kingdoms ser...

2012-01-16T17:11:57.544Z
So, you need to read the Five Hundred Kingdoms series:
Five Hundred Kingdoms

The Fairy Godmother (2004)
One Good Knight (2006)
Fortune's Fool (2007)
The Snow Queen (2008)
The Sleeping Beauty (2010)
Beauty and the Werewolf (2011)

I am up to Fortune's Fool and really need to get back around to it. I have read The Fire Rose from the Elemental Masters series and rather enjoyed it.

One series I have always been curious about is the one she writes with Roberta Gillis. I have the first two on my TBR pile, but haven't read them:

This Scepter'd Isle (2004) with Roberta Gellis
Ill Met by Moonlight (2005) with Roberta Gellis
By Slanderous Tongues (2007) with Roberta Gellis
And Less Than Kind (2008) with Roberta Gellis

Again. Yes, yet again. Again, I was left in sort o...

2012-01-16T17:07:23.846Z
Again. Yes, yet again. Again, I was left in sort of a state of awe. I wish so much I had your insight while I was reading. I'm envious, envious, envious. It's just so obvious that you get so. much. more. out of your reading experiences than I do. Not that I don't treasure my own reading experiences, of course...but I wish my brain could go beyond and see the bigger picture in the ways that yours does.

Kelly, if you have any recommendations of what to ...

2012-01-16T16:18:16.409Z
Kelly, if you have any recommendations of what to read besides this series I'm all ears! Now that I got over my fear of her writing I think I have plenty to enjoy.

Christina: I would SO take that class! Donkeyskin is one of my favourite fairy tales, though one of the darkest ones out there too. After the original you should read Deerskin by Robin McKinley - heartbreaking but definitely worth reading. As for Beauty and the Beast, yep! The Fire Rose, the first one in the series, is based on that.

I adore fairy tale retellings. I seriously wish t...

2012-01-16T16:10:22.034Z
I adore fairy tale retellings. I seriously wish the local university would create a class that JUST encompasses originals and retellings. It's not as though they don't already have a mythology class; it's a likely pairing for the lit majors and the older "kids" like myself who would love to revisit a univeristy class.

Can you believe I'm not familiar with Donkeyskin? What is wrong with me?! I'll have to make a point to read it immediately. I wonder if she has any Beauty & the Beast retelling? (#favorite)

*off to haunt PaperBackSwap*

I haven't read any of my Mercedes Lackey books...

2012-01-16T15:13:49.173Z
I haven't read any of my Mercedes Lackey books in quite some time. This makes me want to do some rereading ;)