Lackey, Mercedes(1950– )
Mercedes Lackey started writing short stories in the
middle of the 1980s and very quickly became one
of the most popular and prolific fantasy writers. Her
first several novels introduced her longest series,
Valdemar, most of which are clustered into subsets.
The unique aspect of the series is that certain select
individuals are partnered with magical horses, usu-
ally as servants or bodyguards subject to the throne.
The series was introduced by a trilogy, Arrows of the
Queen(1988), Arrow’s Flight(1989), and Arrow’s
Fall(1989). The three novels introduce the world
and the culture as seen through the eyes of a young
woman chosen to become a Herald, adjusting to
her duties, overcoming the resentment of others,
and finally helping thwart a magical plot against
the throne. The Oathbound(1988) and Oathbreak-
ers(1989) are set in the same world, but involve
different characters. Lackey took a pair of female
warriors as her protagonists this time, pitting them
against a gang of bandits in the first and sending
them on a quest in the second.
Lackey launched a series of supernatural ad-
ventures in a contemporary setting with Burning
Water(1989). A romance novelist and part-time
witch, Diana Tregarde, investigates Native Ameri-
can magic and a series of ritual murders in a very
suspenseful and crisply moving adventure. Tre-
garde teams up with a friendly vampire in Children
of the Night(1990) in order to solve another series
of murders and made her final bow in the excellent
Jinx High(1991). Although the series was very
popular, Lackey decided to abandon it and concen-
trate on mainstream fantasy. Her only other novel
in this vein is Sacred Ground(1994), an entertain-
ing but less engaging novel about a construction
project that disturbs an ancient evil.
Lackey returned to Valdemar for another tril-
ogy, Magic’s Pawn(1989), Magic’s Promise(1990),
and Magic’s Price(1990). Vanyel is a young man
who would rather be a simple bard than a powerful
sorcerer, but the consequences of not learning to
master his talent are so dangerous that he finally
accepts the inevitable. In the ensuing volumes he
becomes the most powerful user of magic in all of
Valdemar, defeats enemy sorcery, and struggles to
avert the destruction of everything he knows. The
trilogy is much more closely plotted than Lackey’s
previous books, clear evidence that she is maturing
as a writer. By the Sword(1991) reverts to a female
protagonist, a young woman determined to rescue
a kidnapped friend. It was followed promptly by
still another trilogy, Winds of Fate(1991), Winds of
Change(1992), and Winds of Fury(1993). Elspeth
is heir to the throne of Valdemar some consider-
able time later in its history, after magic has disap-
peared from the land. When an evil force
threatens to destroy the country, she travels to a
distant place in order to regain the ability to ma-
nipulate magic, then returns to save her people.
Still another trilogy consists of Storm Warning
(1994), Storm Rising(1996), and Storm Breaking
(1996). This time the rulers of Valdemar must forge
an alliance with a neighboring nation so that their
combined arms can be brought to bear on a mutual
enemy whose evil sorcery would overwhelm them
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