- Mass Market Paperback: 538 pages
- Publisher: Baen Books; Reprint edition (1 May 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743499050
- ISBN-13: 978-0743499057
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.9 x 2.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 728,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"[Lackey] shows a sure touch with the wonder and adventure that characterize the best fantasy writers."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"[Lackey] shows a sure touch with the wonder and adventure that characterize the best fantasy writers."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Once again Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill come together and write an enjoyable adventure fantasy about the world of Eric Banyon and his friends.
This book begins with the protector Rionne looking for her elven oath child Jaciel who seems to have run away from her. Unfortunately, she discovers that she will have to enter the abhorred upper world - the human world - to find him, but she will do anything for the child she has sworn to protect.
In the human world Magnus, Ace and Jaycie live together with other run-away kids in a condemned building in New York. They come from different backgrounds but have found a common denominator in their new lives - one of not wanting to be caught in the traps of prostitution and drugs.
Eric Banyon - our beloved Bard - is about to graduate from Julliard and seems to be getting his life together. In an attempt to tie the strings of his life together he decides to visit his parents. There he hopes to find closure, but instead he finds that he has a younger brother unbknown to him. This brother, Magnus, has also run away from home and Eric sets out to find him.
In all of these searches for children and a better future other stories are connected - one of "Bloody Mary" who seems to mean the death of anyone who sees her and "Fafnir" a human wanna-be Guardian.
As with the previous books in this series, "Mad Maudlin" kept me entranced to the end. I would certainly recommend this book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
17 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
WHERE IS THE CONCLUSION
15 Sep 2003
Format:Hardcover
This had better be a continuing story. The author trys to weave too many story lines into one narrative and leaves them all hanging. The story itself is enjoyable but not up to previous efforts. In the end the various stories never did come togeather into a cohesive package. I hope the next book Music to my Sorrow brings it all togeather. However, not to be too negative it was an good read and kept my interest. So read and enjoy and wait for the next book.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Not Misty's Best.
18 Sep 2003
Format:Hardcover
While opening and proceeding smoothly, this book doesn't so much end as thud to a halt, with an epilogue that ties things up about as well as trying to contain twelve kittens with a strand of fettucine.
Some of the recurring characters have lost any of the heart that made them interesting, while others have glaring errors on their past histories, and the character of Beth Kentraine has become so unspeakably annoying that one wishes she had quietly vanished Underhill, never to be heard from again.
One of the problems I find with this series is that I strongly suspect Edghill is doing the bulk of the writing; I've read her work, and disliked it, and I find this series to be really lacking in the little stylistic touches that make Lackey's style stand out.
Also, the themes of the stories are faintly unpleasant; sort of akin to the SERRAted Edge books, which explored child abuse. These are not books that a reader is likely to return to, unlike the Valdemar and Elemental Mage series.
Still, not a bad work- just not one of Misty and her collaborators' best.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
STATUS QUO FOR THIS SERIES
21 Oct 2003
Format:Hardcover
MAD MAUDLIN is Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill?s latest installment in the Bard series. As such it adequately represents the series for what it is; a thoroughly average fantasy story. Although well written, the least one would expect from these two veterans, the story itself suffers from a serious case of the blahs.
What makes for an exciting, above average story? How about new and imaginative situations and plot line? Maybe character development and growth. Unfortunately we get neither in this particular volume.
Plot: lets see, Overhill, the human world, it threatened by death, destruction and domination by forces of evil including an evil elf lord, evil human magician and of course shadow forces within our own government. Eric, with considerable help from Ria, and the Guardians defeat them. Sound familiar? Probably does, if you change the names and a few of the faces it?s the same plot from BEYOND WORLDS END and SPRITS WHITE AS LIGHTNING. Or to quote Eric?s brother Magnus ?Things always this much fun around here?? The reply being ?Usually it?s quite for, oh, months at a time.? I?m not saying it?s boring but it does get a bit repetitive after awhile.
How about character development? I don?t see much here. Eric is basically the same as he was in BEYOND WORLD?S END. A couple of new characters are added, or fleshed out from earlier story lines, but the core characters exhibit very little change or growth. Ria, the workaholic half elf, is shown to be very much in love with Eric, although for her denial is not just a river in Egypt, however his feelings still seem to be at best ambivalent. Must be nice to have a beautiful, filthy rich girlfriend that you can use for casual sex and treat as furniture or an ATM, maybe there is something to this Bard business after all.
Anyway there really isn?t much new here. Just an average pleasant story good for passing a few hours. I would RECOMMEND it but probably only the die-hard fans will find it of more than passing interest.
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