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Valdemar: Mage Wars #3
The Silver Gryphon
The third and final book in Mercedes Lackey's classic Mage Wars trilogy featuring the gryphons, set in the beloved fantasy world of Valdemar
A dozen years of peace have passed in the city of White Gryphon, providing well-deserved and much-needed security for the people who lost their homes in the magical Cataclysm that killed the Mage Urtho, creator of the gryphons.
But the inhabitants of White Gryphon have not forgotten their long struggles, and have trained an elite guard force, the Silver Gryphons, to protect their city, and if necessary, to join with the army of the Black Kings for mutual defense.
A dozen years of peace have passed in the city of White Gryphon, providing well-deserved and much-needed security for the people who lost their homes in the magical Cataclysm that killed the Mage Urtho, creator of the gryphons.
But the inhabitants of White Gryphon have not forgotten their long struggles, and have trained an elite guard force, the Silver Gryphons, to protect their city, and if necessary, to join with the army of the Black Kings for mutual defense.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
473 books9,095 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
December 22, 2017
It's been a dog's age since I last read this, but it's held up reasonably well. Maybe not quite 5 stars, but 4 and a bit, and I'll round up for nostalgia's sake and for creativity's sake. Basically, this is a plot that is very close to unique in fantasy, in that it's a classic Man vs. Nature plot. There's no cackling evildoer here, no demon or wizard or ancient prophecy. It's about survival, and I *really* like that element. To say more would be a spoiler, but suffice to say that the predators here are among the most memorable foes I've seen in any book.
June 30, 2017
Mercedes Lackey is one of my all time favorite authors and I've been reading her work for well over 20 years. The Black Gryphon is one of my favorites and I don't mind The White Gryphon too badly, but The Silver Gryphon was close to travesty. It was full of "my family doesn't understand me" teen angst, the usual youngling arrogance presuming they're smarter/better than their elders regardless of their total lack of experience, and heavily experienced characters reduced to wimpy cardboard cutouts. There are contradictions galore and my e-copy was in severe need of a better proof read because it's full of punctuation mistakes.
The story itself is your basic coming of age and isn't bad: Two young people are itching to leave the nest and prove themselves, but of course, they run into trouble (although they did a reasonably good job of caring for themselves), rescue parties are sent and all prevail. For the foundation, we have a group of war refugees that settled to build a new community, but over time the younger generations have become too complacent and began to discount the lessons their parents learned so dearly. There is a sneering tone throughout with the impression much of what has been recounted to them must necessarily have been exaggerated and perforce the elders have no idea what they're talking about. That is quite normal with younger generations, but the sheer smugness and presumptuous nature it, especially of the hunting party completely discounting Skan & Drake's massive experience and relegating them to non-fighter status without at least listening to their wisdom really irked me. Of course, it was to their detriment because none of them survived, but Skan & Drake also ALLOWED that to continue by seemingly losing their confidence as well as their backbones and not standing up for themselves or taking charge as they should have. I understand that this focused on the challenges of their children, but WHY were Skan & Drake relegated so far into the background while their spouses and other beloved characters were almost nonexistent? What irked me the most, however, was how quickly the group triumphed, suddenly understood each other, there was forgiveness all around and it was just DONE. I would have liked this one much better if more pov's (such as Winterhart, Zhaneel, or even Gesten!) were brought in to break up the slog of the first two-thirds of the book AND if even one or two more chapters were added to the end to round it out better. I especially would have liked to hear more Haighleian interjections. I also would have preferred that Ikala were with the main hunting party although, that may have detracted from the father/progeny teams forming and suddenly allowing them to SEE each other for the first time so perhaps it is better that he wasn't but it's still too bad that his pov didn't turn up at all, especially at the end. That there were so many "voices" in The Black Gryphon is why I love it so well and to some extent, those voices were evident in The White Gryphon but that lack is sorely felt here.
I'll definitely reread The Black Gryphon and perhaps The White Gryphon, but it's unlikely I'll pick up this one again. I do, however, plan to read more of Valdemar. I have read several volumes, but they have been scattered throughout the different series so it's time to be more methodical about it.
The story itself is your basic coming of age and isn't bad: Two young people are itching to leave the nest and prove themselves, but of course, they run into trouble (although they did a reasonably good job of caring for themselves), rescue parties are sent and all prevail. For the foundation, we have a group of war refugees that settled to build a new community, but over time the younger generations have become too complacent and began to discount the lessons their parents learned so dearly. There is a sneering tone throughout with the impression much of what has been recounted to them must necessarily have been exaggerated and perforce the elders have no idea what they're talking about. That is quite normal with younger generations, but the sheer smugness and presumptuous nature it, especially of the hunting party completely discounting Skan & Drake's massive experience and relegating them to non-fighter status without at least listening to their wisdom really irked me. Of course, it was to their detriment because none of them survived, but Skan & Drake also ALLOWED that to continue by seemingly losing their confidence as well as their backbones and not standing up for themselves or taking charge as they should have. I understand that this focused on the challenges of their children, but WHY were Skan & Drake relegated so far into the background while their spouses and other beloved characters were almost nonexistent? What irked me the most, however, was how quickly the group triumphed, suddenly understood each other, there was forgiveness all around and it was just DONE. I would have liked this one much better if more pov's (such as Winterhart, Zhaneel, or even Gesten!) were brought in to break up the slog of the first two-thirds of the book AND if even one or two more chapters were added to the end to round it out better. I especially would have liked to hear more Haighleian interjections. I also would have preferred that Ikala were with the main hunting party although, that may have detracted from the father/progeny teams forming and suddenly allowing them to SEE each other for the first time so perhaps it is better that he wasn't but it's still too bad that his pov didn't turn up at all, especially at the end. That there were so many "voices" in The Black Gryphon is why I love it so well and to some extent, those voices were evident in The White Gryphon but that lack is sorely felt here.
I'll definitely reread The Black Gryphon and perhaps The White Gryphon, but it's unlikely I'll pick up this one again. I do, however, plan to read more of Valdemar. I have read several volumes, but they have been scattered throughout the different series so it's time to be more methodical about it.
July 26, 2014
Although I really liked the fist two books in the Mage Wars trilogy, this was quite disappointing. This story is not at all about the main characters you have come to expect from the first two books, but their troublesome offspring. It is a protracted romp through the woods, with the two main characters being hunted by some unknown force, which of course ends happily and victoriously. No political intrigue as in the first books, but mostly an "action" read. Lots of accidents, running, fighting and arguing. You do not need a whole lot of brain power to get the story, but a healthy imagination would help, since the whole thing is boring, cliché and predictable. The characters are flat and uninteresting, eliciting no emotional investment or response from the reader, and the whole book in general, felt like a badly written fan-fiction.
September 23, 2018
The first three books - chronologically - in the Valdemar series were good enough, but seemed to me to be stories that could have been told in one book instead of three. They were drawn out way more than was needed with a lot of boring dialogue and description that were totally unnecessary to the story. Considering the fact that these three books take place 1000 years before the actual founding of Valdemar, I question whether or not they're even needed. A lot of what takes place in them could easily have been told as stories in later books, thereby leaving out all of the boredom.
I hope things are going to pick up a bit now. The Mage Wars Trilogy has left me a little bored with the series, but I'm going to hang on for a bit longer.
I hope things are going to pick up a bit now. The Mage Wars Trilogy has left me a little bored with the series, but I'm going to hang on for a bit longer.
May 5, 2014
Slow, boring, a complete disappointment compared to it's two predecessors.
December 28, 2023
Strong start, but it never took flight to even stick any landing.
December 29, 2023
The main plot is better suited for a side story or a short story. Certainly wasn't enough going on to warrant a 400 page book.
May 31, 2019
All of the books in this trilogy have been extremely different from each other. This one instead of focusing on Skan and drake focuses on their children who after many years of peace in the city of White gryphon are struggling to define themselves as a separate and worthy people and out from under the shadow of their legendary fathers. Their fathers meanwhile are shown primarily as parents, somewhat overbearing and unable to comprehend the pushback they’re getting from their kids. Tad and Silverblade Have paired up and taken their place among the silver griphons and are sent off to take over outpost five when their ability to use magic fails. Begins a pretty classic man versus nature tale, with interesting foes, much less political maneuvering and much more action than the previous books and lots of problem-solving for our young heroes. A fun book and definitely a different take for a fantasy novel than what I’ve usually encounter. End it was a pleasant departure from the norm to get a look at what happens to heroes after they’ve settled into a more domestic life.
May 3, 2021
When I started this installment, it was such a relief to get away from Amberdrake and Skandranon that I happily plowed through the first few chapters.
Unfortunately, the rest of the read is fairly tedious, with the same cycle of hiking, making camp, making food, eating, talking/thinking about what had caused the crash, and seeing something move in the shadows. I generally like survival stories, but this was boring!
We don't get any real confrontation until the end of the book, and The romance subplot has one scene in the early part of the book and.... a footnote at the end? A major moment of the climax relies on
I feel sad. I know there are people that love these books and love the gryphons, but I'm just glad it's over and that I never have to go back.
Unfortunately, the rest of the read is fairly tedious, with the same cycle of hiking, making camp, making food, eating, talking/thinking about what had caused the crash, and seeing something move in the shadows. I generally like survival stories, but this was boring!
We don't get any real confrontation until the end of the book, and The romance subplot has one scene in the early part of the book and.... a footnote at the end? A major moment of the climax relies on
I feel sad. I know there are people that love these books and love the gryphons, but I'm just glad it's over and that I never have to go back.
February 27, 2017
This book is an extended camping trip, at least once they finally make it away from White Gryphon city. They survive, they camp, they debate strategy until they are finally rescued but were doing a pretty darn good job of rescuing themselves without Drake and Skan arriving to help. Still though, I love what the rest of the series becomes, maybe it's just the full blown Larry Dixon combos that don't shine as much?
I couldn't really remember these books, even though I read them not too many years ago. It was during a time in my life where new books were hard to come by, except waiting on lists at the library, and I must have hired these. In order to read books two and three I had to download them on Kindle this time around. Oh how my reading tastes and availability has changed! Now when I want to read something, I pick the cheapest/easiest option whether it be online ordering, Kindle or through my local bookshop/Big W/Target. I make my expensive choices at bookstores, where I can gain loyalty points and therefore buy more books.
I still love the Valdemar books, but on the whole this series probably isn't a good starting point. I'm going to be reading more of her books next too, because I have more on my Kindle. Three stars this time around, but try another of her series before making full judgement!
I couldn't really remember these books, even though I read them not too many years ago. It was during a time in my life where new books were hard to come by, except waiting on lists at the library, and I must have hired these. In order to read books two and three I had to download them on Kindle this time around. Oh how my reading tastes and availability has changed! Now when I want to read something, I pick the cheapest/easiest option whether it be online ordering, Kindle or through my local bookshop/Big W/Target. I make my expensive choices at bookstores, where I can gain loyalty points and therefore buy more books.
I still love the Valdemar books, but on the whole this series probably isn't a good starting point. I'm going to be reading more of her books next too, because I have more on my Kindle. Three stars this time around, but try another of her series before making full judgement!
November 23, 2021
What a disappointment. It's never a good sign when a series switches focus to the protagonist's children - the only book that's pulled it off that I can think of this I can think of is Abhorsen, honestly. But still, even though I was struggling to connect with Tad and Blade, when this book started to show signs of being another weird out-of-genre experience I was on board. Sign me up for survival horror fantasy!
But ultimately I just didn't care enough about either character to worry about their survival. Both Tad and Blade were just too perfect in every way. And I genuinely hated Amberdrake here. He's so overbearing and overprotective, and acts like he's completely justified. Zhaneel and Winterhart are sidelined AGAIN as Drake and Skan swoop in to save the day in the end - booooring. And while I agreed with her at times, Blade's constant whinging about her parents got really grating really quickly.
I'm beyond disappointed, especially after how much I loved The White Gryphon. The Silver Gryphon had massive potential squandered on a generally uninteresting and unlikeable cast.
But ultimately I just didn't care enough about either character to worry about their survival. Both Tad and Blade were just too perfect in every way. And I genuinely hated Amberdrake here. He's so overbearing and overprotective, and acts like he's completely justified. Zhaneel and Winterhart are sidelined AGAIN as Drake and Skan swoop in to save the day in the end - booooring. And while I agreed with her at times, Blade's constant whinging about her parents got really grating really quickly.
I'm beyond disappointed, especially after how much I loved The White Gryphon. The Silver Gryphon had massive potential squandered on a generally uninteresting and unlikeable cast.
August 1, 2020
This isn't my favorite book in the series, but it's still very good. This is a different type of the story than the first two in the series. This is more of a survival story than any big bad villain. I love this world and it is fun to see Skan and Drake's kids all grown up and trying to find their own way.
Blade and Tad have both struggled being the children of the heroes. Their parents are the saviors of their entire people. They both feel the need to get out from under their parents shadow and the easiest way to do that is to finally get their first solo assignment as Silvers. Having that first assignment be at the farthest outpost they had was just a benefit. No one expected trouble, especially not on the way to the outpost. But Blade and Tad end up running into something that pulls all the magic out of everything they're carrying and causes them to plummet from the sky. The pair find themselves on an adventure they never expected with an unseen danger they can't explain.
I enjoyed both Blade and Tad. They had a ton of strength and were still learning to trust in themselves. They supported each other and fought hard to figure a way out of all the trouble they were in. Extremely resourceful, the two were determined to stay alive until help could find them. I also enjoyed getting to see Skan and Drake as paranoid, nervous parents. They were never going to be comfortable letting their children out of their sight. But they were trying so hard...at least until they realized everything really wasn't going smoothly at all.
I love this series. I love this world. I'm having fun re-reading these stories in chronological order. Looking forward to reading more.
Blade and Tad have both struggled being the children of the heroes. Their parents are the saviors of their entire people. They both feel the need to get out from under their parents shadow and the easiest way to do that is to finally get their first solo assignment as Silvers. Having that first assignment be at the farthest outpost they had was just a benefit. No one expected trouble, especially not on the way to the outpost. But Blade and Tad end up running into something that pulls all the magic out of everything they're carrying and causes them to plummet from the sky. The pair find themselves on an adventure they never expected with an unseen danger they can't explain.
I enjoyed both Blade and Tad. They had a ton of strength and were still learning to trust in themselves. They supported each other and fought hard to figure a way out of all the trouble they were in. Extremely resourceful, the two were determined to stay alive until help could find them. I also enjoyed getting to see Skan and Drake as paranoid, nervous parents. They were never going to be comfortable letting their children out of their sight. But they were trying so hard...at least until they realized everything really wasn't going smoothly at all.
I love this series. I love this world. I'm having fun re-reading these stories in chronological order. Looking forward to reading more.
August 21, 2021
2 stars, an underwhelming end to an often lackluster trilogy
This book starts out with a strong idea: "how do the children of Skandranon and Amberdrake feel about having to live up to their famous parents' legacies?" Unfortunately, the children just aren't interesting enough as characters to anchor a whole book and the plot feels pretty trivial. Add in some pacing problems and the whole book feels like a short story that was mistaken stretched out to barely novel length. It has its moments but I wasn't really a fan overall.
This book starts out with a strong idea: "how do the children of Skandranon and Amberdrake feel about having to live up to their famous parents' legacies?" Unfortunately, the children just aren't interesting enough as characters to anchor a whole book and the plot feels pretty trivial. Add in some pacing problems and the whole book feels like a short story that was mistaken stretched out to barely novel length. It has its moments but I wasn't really a fan overall.
June 30, 2013
This book is just bafflingly bad considering how much I like the rest of the Valdemar world and even the first two books in this trilogy. First of all, the book is told mostly from the point of view of the main characters of the first two books in the trilogy's children. This is a first (and I believe only) for the series, and it's a very BAD thing. The parents, the main characters we know and like from the last two books are reduced to strange, contradictory cutouts in comparison to their previous roles. They seem to have lost all their character traits, not just because of old age, but because the plot demands it. Also, if you like Zhaneel or Winterhart, this book reduces them to tissue paper thin "characters" who are passingly mentioned every 50 pages or so (and in kinda sexist, unflattering ways to boot).
NOT ONLY is this book inconsistent with the first two in the trilogy, it constantly contradicts itself over the course of a few pages. The most notable for me was near the beginning when two of the new main characters (one of Skan's twins and Drake's daughter) are being briefed for a mission by Aubri (whose friendship with Skan forms in the first book) it is first mentioned that Aubri and Skan used to play many games of chess in front of Skan's children often. Then, in the SAME briefing, it is mentioned that Aubri might not even recognize these two. How is that even possible? They live in a smallish settlement of people and they are the children of one of Aubri's greatest friends. There has to be a better way to emphasize that Aubri doesn't give them preferential treatment just because of their parents. FINALLY, just a few pages later and still in the same briefing, one of the kids makes a joke and Aubri laughs and says something like "Wait till I tell the old Black Bird about that" CLEARLY referring to Skan. AKA their father. Whut?
Rant aside, most of this book is people lost in the woods with an unseen something watching them. Then there's some action, mostly via traps. It's not till the very end of the book that anything happens, and by that point I was so tired of it and the stupid continuity problems were EVERYWHERE and completely obvious (srsly since when could Drake not Heal gryphons and cook food without burning it and ... I will refrain from another rant) and the theme of the book was being shoved so far down my throat I'm pretty sure it came out my butt .2 seconds later that I didn't even care.
The book has almost no denouement, but I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. Before I started rereading the book I couldn't remember what happened to the characters after their adventure was over, and apparently that's because it's NOTHING! THE END.
NOT ONLY is this book inconsistent with the first two in the trilogy, it constantly contradicts itself over the course of a few pages. The most notable for me was near the beginning when two of the new main characters (one of Skan's twins and Drake's daughter) are being briefed for a mission by Aubri (whose friendship with Skan forms in the first book) it is first mentioned that Aubri and Skan used to play many games of chess in front of Skan's children often. Then, in the SAME briefing, it is mentioned that Aubri might not even recognize these two. How is that even possible? They live in a smallish settlement of people and they are the children of one of Aubri's greatest friends. There has to be a better way to emphasize that Aubri doesn't give them preferential treatment just because of their parents. FINALLY, just a few pages later and still in the same briefing, one of the kids makes a joke and Aubri laughs and says something like "Wait till I tell the old Black Bird about that" CLEARLY referring to Skan. AKA their father. Whut?
Rant aside, most of this book is people lost in the woods with an unseen something watching them. Then there's some action, mostly via traps. It's not till the very end of the book that anything happens, and by that point I was so tired of it and the stupid continuity problems were EVERYWHERE and completely obvious (srsly since when could Drake not Heal gryphons and cook food without burning it and ... I will refrain from another rant) and the theme of the book was being shoved so far down my throat I'm pretty sure it came out my butt .2 seconds later that I didn't even care.
The book has almost no denouement, but I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. Before I started rereading the book I couldn't remember what happened to the characters after their adventure was over, and apparently that's because it's NOTHING! THE END.
March 26, 2011
Where the first book in this trilogy is pure fantasy and the second book is more of a murder mystery, the final book is more like the classic tale of survival. Now, this is a reread for me like the first two were, but once again I started to look at this book a little more broadly. It is definitely a fantasy book, but it's so much more that that. This books is the most personal of the three of them, simply because it's main focus is on two individuals throughout most the of the book. You are able to get to know Silverblade and Tadrith on a such a personal level that it's hard not to get caught up in what's happening to them.
Mercedes Lackey has long been one of my favorite fantasy writers. She is able to weave so much into her tales that no matter how many times I read them, I've never bored. Her characters are always interesting and compelling. Her plots are always interesting without being too convoluted and hard to follow. But most of all, she is able to tell the story in such a way that a reader is almost, against their will, forced to invest themselves into the story. By the end of a book, I'm always left feeling that I know these people. I feel that they are my close, personal friends and that I've just gone through everything they had to face. It's a wonderful quality in a writer, one that should be cherished when you find it
Mercedes Lackey has long been one of my favorite fantasy writers. She is able to weave so much into her tales that no matter how many times I read them, I've never bored. Her characters are always interesting and compelling. Her plots are always interesting without being too convoluted and hard to follow. But most of all, she is able to tell the story in such a way that a reader is almost, against their will, forced to invest themselves into the story. By the end of a book, I'm always left feeling that I know these people. I feel that they are my close, personal friends and that I've just gone through everything they had to face. It's a wonderful quality in a writer, one that should be cherished when you find it
September 30, 2018
I don't know why, but this is my solid favorite if the 3. It barely had the original characters, but I can't help it. It's one of my go to, brainless summer reads. It does a good job of creating suspense, I like Blade and Tad, and there is the right amount of Drake, who I got rather sick of in the second book (despite him being one of my favorite characters in book 1). I enjoyed the debates about strategy here, where they frustrated me in the 2nd book. Like all Mercedes Lackey books, the protagonists never disagree ling, and logic and reason always win out. People calmly deal with emotional trauma, and it never makes them irrational for long. When it does, the readily, and maturely admit to it and apologized. That, perhaps, is the most fantastical part of these books, magic notwithstanding.
February 2, 2011
The first two in the series were good but this one it just felt like she decided to tack on one more and did not have much to go on. Add to that the ending just seemed to jump off a cliff and the story over all was very boring and the plot throughout the entire book drags. I finished it but I really hated how she seemed to suddenly rush to the end and as I like to put it "The ending jumped off a cliff." My advce read [Book: The Black Gryphon] and [Book: The White Gryphon] They end just fine leaving no reason to read The Silver Gryphon
May 15, 2017
A wonderful tale full of adventure, myth, love, magic and surprises.
Mercedes really has a way of luring me into her story and unable to pull back until the end. I loved getting to revisit Scan, Drake and all of the beloved characters from the previous two books as well as the next generation. I hope to see traces of them in other stories though I'm truly sorry to see this particular era end and I loved the sketches that her husband did. They are such a talented duo.
I can't wait to see what other wonders I will find in Mercedes' storytelling and hopefully more sketches!
Mercedes really has a way of luring me into her story and unable to pull back until the end. I loved getting to revisit Scan, Drake and all of the beloved characters from the previous two books as well as the next generation. I hope to see traces of them in other stories though I'm truly sorry to see this particular era end and I loved the sketches that her husband did. They are such a talented duo.
I can't wait to see what other wonders I will find in Mercedes' storytelling and hopefully more sketches!
December 25, 2022
"Heroes don’t ever live as long as they want to, and most die young."
My favorite thing about these books is how different all of the plotlines are. The Black Gryphon is pure action, The White Gryphon is a mystery, and The Silver Gryphon is an adventure. We venture outside the city into the forest and must survive without magic, without help, injured and lost. It's a story of comradery and overcoming obstacles, about the love of friends and family. A great end to the trilogy, definitely left me wanting more books.
My favorite thing about these books is how different all of the plotlines are. The Black Gryphon is pure action, The White Gryphon is a mystery, and The Silver Gryphon is an adventure. We venture outside the city into the forest and must survive without magic, without help, injured and lost. It's a story of comradery and overcoming obstacles, about the love of friends and family. A great end to the trilogy, definitely left me wanting more books.
August 25, 2021
Skandrannon & Amberdrake’s children are adults now, and going nuts from having their protective parents be who they are. They get an assignment to man a patrol post a long way from the city, but on the way, they crash when all the magic is drained out of their transport. Then they have to survive the rain forest and figure out what caused the problem and get to a place where their rescuers can find them. Lots of adventure. Pretty good read.
December 18, 2008
I read this when I was eleven. I thought it was so scary that I fell asleep with the light on while reading it at three in the morning. It was so good, and kept me on my toes. Unlike other 'scary' books, it wasn't gory or so psychological as to be ridiculous. I loved it.
May 27, 2012
Giving a Mercedes Lackey book a one star is painful, but this was an awful book. Slow and repetitive. I'm glad that it wasn't the first Lackey book I came across because I doubt I would be tempted to try another of her books if it had been. :(
January 4, 2020
A great addition to the series. It moved a little slow in some parts and it took longer than I liked to find out what the danger was, but I still loved this book. I have read it a few times now, and I will definitely read it again in the future.
August 30, 2019
The children of our favorite gryphon-human friends prove as stalwart and canny as their parents. Lots of scary and suspenseful bits.
April 16, 2020
The Silver Gryphon is the last book in The Mage Wars trilogy. In The Black Gryphon we learn about a therapist/masseur human named Amberdrake and his best friend, a prideful war leader gryphon named Skandranon. The world crashes down around them in the Cataclysm, and the “good guys” are spread all over the globe to rebuild. In book two, The White Gryphon, ten years later Amberdrake and Skandranon are out-of-shape new parents working on building a city called White Gryphon, but they learn they have neighbors who technically own the land they’ve chosen as their new home.
In The Silver Gryphon, it’s been another dozen years and Amberdrake’s and Skandranon’s kids want away from their parents — as far as they can get. Tadrith, the young gryphon tired of being compared to his legendary father, and Silverblade, eager to avoid sharing her feelings with her therapist father, join the city’s military/police brigade called the silvers. Partners, Tadrith and Silverblade are assigned the post furthest from White Gryphon, one that they will maintain for six months in isolation.
A theme running through The Silver Gryphon is that of crafting an identity. Blade worries that her father has too much power as a man who knows everyone’s dreams, fears, and weaknesses. He could use confidential information he gains in his profession to his benefit himself. Afraid of her own feelings, and afraid people will want to overshare their feelings with her and burden her with the responsibility of keeping secret their messy emotions, Blade becomes a hardened warrior in direct contrast to her pacifist father in order to carve out a separate identity. Watching Tad, but mostly Blade, decide who they are as young adults in comparison to their parents was well-done at a good pace.
Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon do something unusual in this third installment: they limit the number of characters. The focus is truly on Tad and Blade, and by keeping down the number of characters and perspectives, the authors let us really get to know these personalities. As a result, I was able to more firmly understand Tad and Blade and see them as complete characters more so than I have in a long time in the Valdemar books. Tad’s playfulness and teasing juxtaposed Blade’s serious nature regarding military education and romantic relationships. Although trained combatants, when put in a hopeless situation, Tad and Blade could be vulnerable, scared, and miserable, but also resourceful and logical.
What’s scaring them? In order to get to the outpost, they will have to fly for days over a rainforest. Tad cannot carry the weight of their supplies and Blade, but with a basket that holds everything and hooks to a harness Tad wears, a mage can use magic to make the basket weigh nothing. The pair are given a device infused with magic that allows them to communicate with White Gryphon. In fact, now that the wild mage storms caused by the Cataclysm are over, the tribe’s youngsters are fairly dependent on magic, while the old generation remembers having to do without it. Strong foreshadowing tells readers that Tad and Blade will be left without magic, and Lackey and Dixon make good on their hinting when all magical devices Tad and Blade use go dead, causing an accident with no way to call for help.
In the middle of a rainforest, badly injured, lost, and in mortal danger, Tad and Blade get the vibe that something is watching and stalking them. Sitting in the dark in bug-filled make-shift shelters, the pair are terrified. The more I read, I realized I was getting scared too! What’s in the dark? Why do the canopy animals go silent? Are Tad or Blade going to die — starvation, infection, maybe overdosing on painkillers? Are Amberdrake and Skandranon going to realize their children are missing, form a search party, and die trying to find them in some blaze of glory? As Tad and Blade continued to limp through the jungle — a horribly awkward and unnatural way for a gryphon to travel! — I was getting panicked just by the environment:
*I would be remiss if I failed to note that this book, as are all books in The Mage Wars, is full of typos.
This book review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
In The Silver Gryphon, it’s been another dozen years and Amberdrake’s and Skandranon’s kids want away from their parents — as far as they can get. Tadrith, the young gryphon tired of being compared to his legendary father, and Silverblade, eager to avoid sharing her feelings with her therapist father, join the city’s military/police brigade called the silvers. Partners, Tadrith and Silverblade are assigned the post furthest from White Gryphon, one that they will maintain for six months in isolation.
A theme running through The Silver Gryphon is that of crafting an identity. Blade worries that her father has too much power as a man who knows everyone’s dreams, fears, and weaknesses. He could use confidential information he gains in his profession to his benefit himself. Afraid of her own feelings, and afraid people will want to overshare their feelings with her and burden her with the responsibility of keeping secret their messy emotions, Blade becomes a hardened warrior in direct contrast to her pacifist father in order to carve out a separate identity. Watching Tad, but mostly Blade, decide who they are as young adults in comparison to their parents was well-done at a good pace.
Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon do something unusual in this third installment: they limit the number of characters. The focus is truly on Tad and Blade, and by keeping down the number of characters and perspectives, the authors let us really get to know these personalities. As a result, I was able to more firmly understand Tad and Blade and see them as complete characters more so than I have in a long time in the Valdemar books. Tad’s playfulness and teasing juxtaposed Blade’s serious nature regarding military education and romantic relationships. Although trained combatants, when put in a hopeless situation, Tad and Blade could be vulnerable, scared, and miserable, but also resourceful and logical.
What’s scaring them? In order to get to the outpost, they will have to fly for days over a rainforest. Tad cannot carry the weight of their supplies and Blade, but with a basket that holds everything and hooks to a harness Tad wears, a mage can use magic to make the basket weigh nothing. The pair are given a device infused with magic that allows them to communicate with White Gryphon. In fact, now that the wild mage storms caused by the Cataclysm are over, the tribe’s youngsters are fairly dependent on magic, while the old generation remembers having to do without it. Strong foreshadowing tells readers that Tad and Blade will be left without magic, and Lackey and Dixon make good on their hinting when all magical devices Tad and Blade use go dead, causing an accident with no way to call for help.
In the middle of a rainforest, badly injured, lost, and in mortal danger, Tad and Blade get the vibe that something is watching and stalking them. Sitting in the dark in bug-filled make-shift shelters, the pair are terrified. The more I read, I realized I was getting scared too! What’s in the dark? Why do the canopy animals go silent? Are Tad or Blade going to die — starvation, infection, maybe overdosing on painkillers? Are Amberdrake and Skandranon going to realize their children are missing, form a search party, and die trying to find them in some blaze of glory? As Tad and Blade continued to limp through the jungle — a horribly awkward and unnatural way for a gryphon to travel! — I was getting panicked just by the environment:
Sweat trickled steadily down the back of [Blade’s] neck , and her hair itched unbearably. For that matter, so did her feet, shins, armpits. . . any number of tiny forest insects were finding her tasty fare, and she was covered with itching, red welts.Thanks to such vivid descriptions, I thought The Silver Gryphon has a more appealing setting, one that affected me as I read. Caring about two characters and wondering how their fathers will react to young adult children who have vanished in a rainforest kept me emotionally invested, especially as I was scared each day when the torrential rains came pouring down and darkness descended. That doesn’t mean the days felt endless; I found the novel tightly plotted, moving along as needed and varying the days’ events enough that I sensed something building. A great addition to the #ReadingValdemar adventure.
*I would be remiss if I failed to note that this book, as are all books in The Mage Wars, is full of typos.
This book review was originally published at Grab the Lapels.
April 27, 2020
This conclusion to the “Gryphons” trilogy takes a different tack than the first two, focusing not on Skandranon and Amberdrake but on their children. The original heroes of the trilogy are getting older, and it’s time for the torch to be passed, so to speak. Blade and Tadrith are trained as Silver Gryphons, the guards and military of the city of White Gryphon. Desperate to get out of the city and out from under the shadows of their respective parents, they are thrilled to have their first solo mission be one to a remote outpost.
That is, until the magic getting them there fails and strands the pair in an unknown section of the rainforest, injured and with no way to contact the city. And to make matters worse, they’re being stalked by an unknown hunter with cunning intelligence.
It was interesting to see the next generation of heroes here. Not heroes on as grand a scale as their parents, perhaps, but still heroic and worthy of praise in their own right. As far as coming-of-age stories go in fantasy universes, this one’s up there with the more realistic ones, having the characters gain independance and prove their worth not by saving the world or discovering immense latent power, but in getting stuck in a lousy position and having to survive it, to grow and mature, and make the best of what they have. Considering I’m talking about a gryphon and an empath/fighter, the realism of the situation is fairly laudable.
However, in this book we run across another example of the author not paying enough attention to her own world. The wyrsa — creatures that are described as what you’d get if you mated a greyhound and a snake and they grew it to the size of a small horse — are described pretty much exactly as they were in the Last Herald-Mage books. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that it was stated that the wyrsa here are different from the standard breed, larger and a different colour, mutated by the mage storms that altered so much of the world a little over a decade ago. It’s quite a stretch of the imagination to think that this mutant breed took over for the original wyrsa, or that all wyrsa were warped thus so that they’d appear as they did in books set a few centuries down the line. It was an interesting attempt to explain the creatures, though really, no explanation was necessary. They were mentioned once or twice in another book, and no more was really needed. Trying to come up with their origin myth ultimately didn’t pan out as I’m cure the author intended.
(And yes, I do actually retain this much information on the Valdemar timeline and world. Got to have my hobbies!)
Another complaint is that the tension of Blade and Tadrith’s situation was broken up by having viewpoints from Amberdrake and Skan back in White Gryphon. While I admit that scenes involving them were essential (otherwise, it would have seemed to the reader that they just showed up out of nowhere to find and defend their missing offspring, and it would have weakened the developed independence of the two protagonists), but the scenes could have been far shorter, and without as much hand-wringing. Showing concerned parents is one thing, but showing Winterhart, Amberdrake, Skandranon, and Zhaneel all essentially have the same conversations with each other about how worried they are is going a little over the top, and feels like nothing so much as padding in a place where it wasn’t needed. I know Lackey’s known for repetition in character conversations, and providing lots of dialogue and viewpoints, but here it just got old pretty quickly, and I wanted to just skip ahead and get back to the characters who were in danger and much more interesting to read about.
While this book is the closer to a trilogy, it’s far from essential to the timeline and to the understanding of the Valdemar/Velgarth books as a whole. It could be easily skipped without missing much. That being said, though, I don’t recommend skipping it at all. It was still a good story, with good pacing and excellent character development, and even if it wasn’t a vital book in the series, it was still an enjoyable read. It had its issues, but still, I think, was worth the time to sit down with.
That is, until the magic getting them there fails and strands the pair in an unknown section of the rainforest, injured and with no way to contact the city. And to make matters worse, they’re being stalked by an unknown hunter with cunning intelligence.
It was interesting to see the next generation of heroes here. Not heroes on as grand a scale as their parents, perhaps, but still heroic and worthy of praise in their own right. As far as coming-of-age stories go in fantasy universes, this one’s up there with the more realistic ones, having the characters gain independance and prove their worth not by saving the world or discovering immense latent power, but in getting stuck in a lousy position and having to survive it, to grow and mature, and make the best of what they have. Considering I’m talking about a gryphon and an empath/fighter, the realism of the situation is fairly laudable.
However, in this book we run across another example of the author not paying enough attention to her own world. The wyrsa — creatures that are described as what you’d get if you mated a greyhound and a snake and they grew it to the size of a small horse — are described pretty much exactly as they were in the Last Herald-Mage books. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that it was stated that the wyrsa here are different from the standard breed, larger and a different colour, mutated by the mage storms that altered so much of the world a little over a decade ago. It’s quite a stretch of the imagination to think that this mutant breed took over for the original wyrsa, or that all wyrsa were warped thus so that they’d appear as they did in books set a few centuries down the line. It was an interesting attempt to explain the creatures, though really, no explanation was necessary. They were mentioned once or twice in another book, and no more was really needed. Trying to come up with their origin myth ultimately didn’t pan out as I’m cure the author intended.
(And yes, I do actually retain this much information on the Valdemar timeline and world. Got to have my hobbies!)
Another complaint is that the tension of Blade and Tadrith’s situation was broken up by having viewpoints from Amberdrake and Skan back in White Gryphon. While I admit that scenes involving them were essential (otherwise, it would have seemed to the reader that they just showed up out of nowhere to find and defend their missing offspring, and it would have weakened the developed independence of the two protagonists), but the scenes could have been far shorter, and without as much hand-wringing. Showing concerned parents is one thing, but showing Winterhart, Amberdrake, Skandranon, and Zhaneel all essentially have the same conversations with each other about how worried they are is going a little over the top, and feels like nothing so much as padding in a place where it wasn’t needed. I know Lackey’s known for repetition in character conversations, and providing lots of dialogue and viewpoints, but here it just got old pretty quickly, and I wanted to just skip ahead and get back to the characters who were in danger and much more interesting to read about.
While this book is the closer to a trilogy, it’s far from essential to the timeline and to the understanding of the Valdemar/Velgarth books as a whole. It could be easily skipped without missing much. That being said, though, I don’t recommend skipping it at all. It was still a good story, with good pacing and excellent character development, and even if it wasn’t a vital book in the series, it was still an enjoyable read. It had its issues, but still, I think, was worth the time to sit down with.
November 7, 2020
While different from the first two books in the series, The Silver Gryphon was just as good in it's own right.
In this story, it is the children or f Skandranon and Amberdrake who are the focus. There is Silverblade - Blade for short - Amberdrake's only child; a daughter who seems to be terrified of being just like her father; and the twins, Tadrith and Keenath, Skandranon's sons.
Both Blade, and Tad, volunteered to join the Silvers - the peacetime version of the White Gryphon City Guard - in both cases, as a way to be seen as individuals, rather than copies of their fathers - and the story starts with them being assigned as replacement guards for the furthest Outpost if the City.
Both Amberdrake, and Skandranon, object to this, feeling that Judeth, in charge of the City's security, was taking too much of a risk with these two newly passed Silver Guards but, with both children's Mother's knowing, and understanding, why their children needed to do this, their partners are talked down from their objections, and Blade and Tad set off.
All is well at their first night's stop but, the following day, as Ted is flying, holding their magically enhanced basket, filled with all that they needed to get them to the rondevous with the outgoing guards - plus, with Blade tucked into the basket, too, they suddenly glee through an area that was drained of magic - and every item that they carried, that held magic, wad suddenly drained, too - which meant that both Tad, and Blade, went tumbling out of the air, and down towards the rainforest beneath them.
The rest of the story deals with what happened next, how both Guards dealt with the situation, and how they discovered what,not who, had done this to them - and why!
I enjoyed this book, SD much as the previous two,bthough in a different way to them both. The first book was pure fantasy, the second, more of a murder mystery, and this one dealt more with s coming of age, and the realisation that you can be yourself, rather than following in a parent's footsteps.
The ending wasn't really definitive, but I guess it leaves things open for another tale at a later date but, all in all, it was a great read.
Now on to: The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy!
In this story, it is the children or f Skandranon and Amberdrake who are the focus. There is Silverblade - Blade for short - Amberdrake's only child; a daughter who seems to be terrified of being just like her father; and the twins, Tadrith and Keenath, Skandranon's sons.
Both Blade, and Tad, volunteered to join the Silvers - the peacetime version of the White Gryphon City Guard - in both cases, as a way to be seen as individuals, rather than copies of their fathers - and the story starts with them being assigned as replacement guards for the furthest Outpost if the City.
Both Amberdrake, and Skandranon, object to this, feeling that Judeth, in charge of the City's security, was taking too much of a risk with these two newly passed Silver Guards but, with both children's Mother's knowing, and understanding, why their children needed to do this, their partners are talked down from their objections, and Blade and Tad set off.
All is well at their first night's stop but, the following day, as Ted is flying, holding their magically enhanced basket, filled with all that they needed to get them to the rondevous with the outgoing guards - plus, with Blade tucked into the basket, too, they suddenly glee through an area that was drained of magic - and every item that they carried, that held magic, wad suddenly drained, too - which meant that both Tad, and Blade, went tumbling out of the air, and down towards the rainforest beneath them.
The rest of the story deals with what happened next, how both Guards dealt with the situation, and how they discovered what,not who, had done this to them - and why!
I enjoyed this book, SD much as the previous two,bthough in a different way to them both. The first book was pure fantasy, the second, more of a murder mystery, and this one dealt more with s coming of age, and the realisation that you can be yourself, rather than following in a parent's footsteps.
The ending wasn't really definitive, but I guess it leaves things open for another tale at a later date but, all in all, it was a great read.
Now on to: The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy!
November 26, 2021
Third and last in the Mage Wars subseries, part of the Valdemar Universe (BF 975) and revolving around Tadrith (Skan's son) and Blade (Amberdrake's daughter) some 15 years after
The White Gryphon
, 2. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of the Valdemar books on my website.
My Take
It's a scary time for Skan and Drake: The kids are growing up. I can sure understand Skan and Drake commiserating with each other over their growing old. I can so relate, lol.
Lackey uses third person global subjective point-of-view which means we gain the perspective of most any of the characters, reading of their emotions, experiences, and thoughts.
Lackey does like to include environmental issues in her stories as well as that wonderfully warm sense of family and the good and bad of their interactions. I also like the peoples' pride in wanting to make things beautiful. It goes right along with Lackey's description of the city's growth and practicality.
That trip Tad and Blade undertake is a great opportunity for Lackey to describe the land White Gryphon is responsible for as well as the importance they and the Haighlei place on the land.
It's a trip that brings adventure, tension, drama, and what drives the primary characters. It's that excitement that keeps the pace moving along.
Hmm, the Kaled'a'in think the mage storms affected not only their magic but the fact that they have more men than women, and that is not the only reason so many Haighlei women (and men) come to White Gryphon.
Dang it, I do wish that Lackey hadn't ended the Mage Wars subseries. I want to know more about White Gryphon and its characters and descendants.
The Story
Magic is working reliably again, but no one wants to trust it when it comes to bigger spells. It's one reason why Tadrith and Blade are making the trek to Outpost Five through flight.
A flight that ends in disaster.
The Characters
Tadrith "Tad" Skandrakae, a gryphon and minor mage in simple object-moving spells, is a twin with his brother, Keenath, a gyrfalcon like their mother, and they have their own aerie. Keenath is training to be a trondi'irn. Skandranon “Skan” and Zhaneel Rashkae are their parents. Kechara, the gyrfalcon daughter adopted by Skan and Zhaneel, had been one of Urtho's "mistakes", although she had had a long-reaching Mindvoice.
Silverblade "Blade" is Tadrith's partner. (Her childhood name had been Windsong; she's Drake and Winterhart's daughter.)
White Gryphon is . . .
. . . the city of light, carved as it is from the white cliffs above the Western Sea. The Kaled'a'in of the Clan k'Leshya, the greater part of the city's population, are humans. The magical creatures include the gryphons, hertasi , tervardi , dyheli , and kyree . They have an alliance with the Haighlei in return for the king's grant of lands.
Amberdrake is a kestra'chern mated to Winterhart, a trondi'irn. Chana, Gesten's hertasi daughter, is in charge of the platform that goes to the top of the cliff. (Gesten is Drake’s snarky companion hertasi and the leader of all the hertasi.)
Aubri, a gryphon, lives with Commander Judeth and both are co-commanders of the Silver Gryphons, the policing force for the city. Snowstar is a Kaled’a’in mage who is on the council. Tamsin is a Healer. Tad's fellow Silvers include Dharra, who is a year older than Tadrith and a mage; Kyleen is a year younger and serving with the fleet; and Jerrinni is already working with a partner on unsupervised assignments. Redoak is a young Kaled'a'in and Gielle is a mercenary mage, now an Adept, who had been in Urtho's army. Joffer, Lora, and Greenwing. Ikala is one of Shalaman's younger sons, twentieth in succession behind the Crown Prince of Nbubi. He's also in a relationship with Blade.
Darzie is a gryphon with skills: the faster racer, a consistent flyer, and the best of the fast couriers. Outpost Five is remote. Regin is the leader of the rescue party. Bern is one of their scouts. Filix, a human, is a Master mage and a Silver. Sella and Vorn are the gryphons currently serving in the king's personal guard. It's suspected that Kally and Reesk will be the next pair chosen.
The Haighlei Emperors . . .
. . . a.k.a. the Black Kings, are ruled by King Shalaman. Khimbata is their capital city. Leyuet is one of the king's advisors. Makke had been the Rashkaes' nurse back in The White Gryphon , 2.
The kestra'chern are highly skilled mental therapists and healers. Trondi'irn are healers for gryphons and other nonhumans. Urtho, a.k.a. the Mage of Silence, had fought a long war with Ma'ar. Their demise set off the Cataclysm that changed their world forever ( The Black Gryphon ,). The psychotic Hadanelith ( The White Gryphon ) was one of those who caused much damage before he was exiled. The makaar were Ma'ar's response to Urtho's gryphons. Created by an Adept long before Ma'ar, wyrsa , meant to mimic the kyree, are magic-thieves.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a rainforest of greens and blues. His back to us, Tad, his wings spread, is looking over his shoulder at Blade, kneeling pale greens, appears to be salvaging what she can of the wreck. At the top are the authors' names in white. Below it, each word of the title is on its own line and also in white.
The title is still about Skan, who has grown older and become The Silver Gryphon.
My Take
It's a scary time for Skan and Drake: The kids are growing up. I can sure understand Skan and Drake commiserating with each other over their growing old. I can so relate, lol.
Lackey uses third person global subjective point-of-view which means we gain the perspective of most any of the characters, reading of their emotions, experiences, and thoughts.
Lackey does like to include environmental issues in her stories as well as that wonderfully warm sense of family and the good and bad of their interactions. I also like the peoples' pride in wanting to make things beautiful. It goes right along with Lackey's description of the city's growth and practicality.
That trip Tad and Blade undertake is a great opportunity for Lackey to describe the land White Gryphon is responsible for as well as the importance they and the Haighlei place on the land.
It's a trip that brings adventure, tension, drama, and what drives the primary characters. It's that excitement that keeps the pace moving along.
Hmm, the Kaled'a'in think the mage storms affected not only their magic but the fact that they have more men than women, and that is not the only reason so many Haighlei women (and men) come to White Gryphon.
Dang it, I do wish that Lackey hadn't ended the Mage Wars subseries. I want to know more about White Gryphon and its characters and descendants.
The Story
Magic is working reliably again, but no one wants to trust it when it comes to bigger spells. It's one reason why Tadrith and Blade are making the trek to Outpost Five through flight.
A flight that ends in disaster.
The Characters
Tadrith "Tad" Skandrakae, a gryphon and minor mage in simple object-moving spells, is a twin with his brother, Keenath, a gyrfalcon like their mother, and they have their own aerie. Keenath is training to be a trondi'irn. Skandranon “Skan” and Zhaneel Rashkae are their parents. Kechara, the gyrfalcon daughter adopted by Skan and Zhaneel, had been one of Urtho's "mistakes", although she had had a long-reaching Mindvoice.
Silverblade "Blade" is Tadrith's partner. (Her childhood name had been Windsong; she's Drake and Winterhart's daughter.)
White Gryphon is . . .
. . . the city of light, carved as it is from the white cliffs above the Western Sea. The Kaled'a'in of the Clan k'Leshya, the greater part of the city's population, are humans. The magical creatures include the gryphons, hertasi , tervardi , dyheli , and kyree . They have an alliance with the Haighlei in return for the king's grant of lands.
Amberdrake is a kestra'chern mated to Winterhart, a trondi'irn. Chana, Gesten's hertasi daughter, is in charge of the platform that goes to the top of the cliff. (Gesten is Drake’s snarky companion hertasi and the leader of all the hertasi.)
Aubri, a gryphon, lives with Commander Judeth and both are co-commanders of the Silver Gryphons, the policing force for the city. Snowstar is a Kaled’a’in mage who is on the council. Tamsin is a Healer. Tad's fellow Silvers include Dharra, who is a year older than Tadrith and a mage; Kyleen is a year younger and serving with the fleet; and Jerrinni is already working with a partner on unsupervised assignments. Redoak is a young Kaled'a'in and Gielle is a mercenary mage, now an Adept, who had been in Urtho's army. Joffer, Lora, and Greenwing. Ikala is one of Shalaman's younger sons, twentieth in succession behind the Crown Prince of Nbubi. He's also in a relationship with Blade.
Darzie is a gryphon with skills: the faster racer, a consistent flyer, and the best of the fast couriers. Outpost Five is remote. Regin is the leader of the rescue party. Bern is one of their scouts. Filix, a human, is a Master mage and a Silver. Sella and Vorn are the gryphons currently serving in the king's personal guard. It's suspected that Kally and Reesk will be the next pair chosen.
The Haighlei Emperors . . .
. . . a.k.a. the Black Kings, are ruled by King Shalaman. Khimbata is their capital city. Leyuet is one of the king's advisors. Makke had been the Rashkaes' nurse back in The White Gryphon , 2.
The kestra'chern are highly skilled mental therapists and healers. Trondi'irn are healers for gryphons and other nonhumans. Urtho, a.k.a. the Mage of Silence, had fought a long war with Ma'ar. Their demise set off the Cataclysm that changed their world forever ( The Black Gryphon ,). The psychotic Hadanelith ( The White Gryphon ) was one of those who caused much damage before he was exiled. The makaar were Ma'ar's response to Urtho's gryphons. Created by an Adept long before Ma'ar, wyrsa , meant to mimic the kyree, are magic-thieves.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a rainforest of greens and blues. His back to us, Tad, his wings spread, is looking over his shoulder at Blade, kneeling pale greens, appears to be salvaging what she can of the wreck. At the top are the authors' names in white. Below it, each word of the title is on its own line and also in white.
The title is still about Skan, who has grown older and become The Silver Gryphon.
January 22, 2023
I felt The Silver Gryphon was much better than The White Gryphon. It was definitely better paced and I didn’t get annoyed at any of the characters, which was nice. The story is also markedly different than either of the other two books in the series. Part child/parent drama and part Hachet (by Gary Paulsen, which was read to me in third or fourth grade, if I remember correctly).
The children of Skandranon and Amberdrake have issues with their parents, which is unsurprising. Their parents are kind of legends, after all. Their parents sort of equally have issues with their children, which I think is normal as your kids are growing up and into people you didn’t expect them to be. The first quarter of The Silver Gryphon is very much about kids and their desire to grow up and their parents reluctance to let them do so… or at least their reluctance to let them leave the nest and not worry to bits.
The next chunk of book follows Blade and Tad as they work on surviving the rainforest and the creatures in it. We got to spend a lot of time with them, getting to know them and such during their individual watches. There wasn’t a lot of retreading ground, which was quite nice.
We also got to see what an emergency response from White Gryphon looks like. I don’t really have much to say about it. Pretty much played out like I figured it would. Skan is somewhat predictable in his response to emergencies.
But yeah… I enjoyed The Silver Gryphon much more than I thought I was going to, based on my dislike of The White Gryphon. The story is very different from the other two, but that’s not a bad thing, I think. I’ll probably have more to say about that particular thing in my Series Overview. But yeah… The Silver Gryphon was good. Lol.
The children of Skandranon and Amberdrake have issues with their parents, which is unsurprising. Their parents are kind of legends, after all. Their parents sort of equally have issues with their children, which I think is normal as your kids are growing up and into people you didn’t expect them to be. The first quarter of The Silver Gryphon is very much about kids and their desire to grow up and their parents reluctance to let them do so… or at least their reluctance to let them leave the nest and not worry to bits.
The next chunk of book follows Blade and Tad as they work on surviving the rainforest and the creatures in it. We got to spend a lot of time with them, getting to know them and such during their individual watches. There wasn’t a lot of retreading ground, which was quite nice.
We also got to see what an emergency response from White Gryphon looks like. I don’t really have much to say about it. Pretty much played out like I figured it would. Skan is somewhat predictable in his response to emergencies.
But yeah… I enjoyed The Silver Gryphon much more than I thought I was going to, based on my dislike of The White Gryphon. The story is very different from the other two, but that’s not a bad thing, I think. I’ll probably have more to say about that particular thing in my Series Overview. But yeah… The Silver Gryphon was good. Lol.
June 1, 2020
English review below the Greek one...
Μέρος μία σειράς φαντασίας που δεν έχω διαβάσει, αλλά μόλις μπει κανείς στο πνεύμα, διαβάζεται σαν μια ευχάριστη ιστορία περιπέτειας. Λιγάκι παιδική και πολλά στοιχεία έχουν ειπωθεί χιλιάδες φορές, αλλά οι ήρωες ήταν συμπαθητικοί και η γραφή αξιοπρεπής.
Θα ήθελα ο ρυθμός να ήταν λίγο καλύτερος και το τέλος λιγότερο απότομο, ωστόσο δεν είναι άσχημη επιλογή να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του...
3½/5
A few months ago I read The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and I found it an okey-ish entertaining story featuring a too slow pace and rather flat writing style.
I started reading The Silver Gryphon without many expectations, but after a very slow start (this is part of a series, so getting familiar with the "world" the plot takes place in took some time), I enjoyed this book more. The writing was way better (I haven't read anything else by Larry Dixon, but I guess the credits are his) and although the under-currents of the story weren't exactly original , some plot twists felt a bit forced and the pace could be faster on some parts, I enjoyed this adventure quite a lot. The end was a bit sharp and some scenes could be written a bit more artfully, but I liked the characters and the way they interacted with each other.
Not a masterpiece or something, but a very decent light fantasy book to pass the time!
Μέρος μία σειράς φαντασίας που δεν έχω διαβάσει, αλλά μόλις μπει κανείς στο πνεύμα, διαβάζεται σαν μια ευχάριστη ιστορία περιπέτειας. Λιγάκι παιδική και πολλά στοιχεία έχουν ειπωθεί χιλιάδες φορές, αλλά οι ήρωες ήταν συμπαθητικοί και η γραφή αξιοπρεπής.
Θα ήθελα ο ρυθμός να ήταν λίγο καλύτερος και το τέλος λιγότερο απότομο, ωστόσο δεν είναι άσχημη επιλογή να περάσει κανείς την ώρα του...
3½/5
A few months ago I read The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and I found it an okey-ish entertaining story featuring a too slow pace and rather flat writing style.
I started reading The Silver Gryphon without many expectations, but after a very slow start (this is part of a series, so getting familiar with the "world" the plot takes place in took some time), I enjoyed this book more. The writing was way better (I haven't read anything else by Larry Dixon, but I guess the credits are his) and although the under-currents of the story weren't exactly original , some plot twists felt a bit forced and the pace could be faster on some parts, I enjoyed this adventure quite a lot. The end was a bit sharp and some scenes could be written a bit more artfully, but I liked the characters and the way they interacted with each other.
Not a masterpiece or something, but a very decent light fantasy book to pass the time!
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