Since I didn't see a topic on her in the first three pages I decided I would make one.

What do you think of her works?
Do you have a favourite book from her?
A favourite series?
Are there any characters that you really liked/disliked?

I really like her; I started reading the Valdemar books when I was in my early teens. Although I sort of started backwards because the first book I read was Owl Flight the first book in Darian's Tale trilogy and the newest in the Valdemar time line. Which essentially means I started backwards because Darian's Tale doesn't really deal with the Heralds like all the others do, instead it concentrates on the Hawk Brothers.

I did eventually read most of the other books. My favourite of all the Valdemar books is the Last Herald Mage trilogy with Vanyel.

I also really like her Bard's Tale series, Dragon Jousters and her Elves on the Road Univers mainly the Eric Banyon novels.

For stand alone novels I found I greatly enjoyed both Firebird and The Black Swan.

I still really enjoy reading her books as a light read.
She was one of my favorite authors when I was younger. The more I re-read though, the more certain things tend to bug me, like the odd nick-names. I think at one point someone was in serious danger and the character going to the rescue was like, "Don't worry kitten, lady blessed! I'll save you." It takes longer to say a mouthful like that than to actually save the person lol. If a fighter fighter said that to me I'd be like get the heck in here and do it!

Her early stuff is the best. I mean that for anything she's written. She does a much better job when her material is fresh.

Arrows, Magic, the Early Bardic and Serrated Edge books. The books she shared with two other authors from Luna, the Elemental and Diana books. I just didn't enjoy Reserved for the Cat, it was ridiculously thin and lacked the charm of the earlier books.
Alta started out well, but it started to feel like she was bored with it by Sanctuary.
I hope the elemental books pick back up because I really liked the first couple.

I like her works, but I haven't read many of them. I've read The Fire Rose(and loved it), and The Serpent's Shadow. I still need to read The Gates of Sleep to complete the first three books in that particular series(the name escapes me right now. >_<;.) There's apparently a fourth book in that series out now- and I really want to read it. I have to wait until it gets off the 'new book' shelf at the library, though- I could never finish it in only 2 weeks. ^^;. I've also read The Fairy Godmother, which I also really liked. :)

Originally Posted by Javert

I like her works, but I haven't read many of them. I've read The Fire Rose(and loved it), and The Serpent's Shadow. I still need to read The Gates of Sleep to complete the first three books in that particular series(the name escapes me right now. >_<;.) There's apparently a fourth book in that series out now- and I really want to read it. I have to wait until it gets off the 'new book' shelf at the library, though- I could never finish it in only 2 weeks. ^^;. I've also read The Fairy Godmother, which I also really liked. :)

The Elementals are:

- Serpent's Shadow
- The Gates of Sleep
- Phoenix and the Ashes
- The Wizard of London
- Reserved for the Cat

I haven't read the Elemental Masters yet or her Five Hundred Kingdoms books, I'm still debating on it.

Has anyone read her Obsidian Mountain Trilogy with James Malroy? I found I couldn't get into them. I read the first one and then I just could not get past the first page in the second one. It was to long winded and boring.

I love her - I haven't read all of her work because I just don't have the time or money to buy them because my library has always been lacking. But I also started with Owl Flight, Darian's story - and it is still my fav :D I love it - it makes me cry and grin and I just absolutly love it :D

My other fav is The Mage Storms series - also valdemar series.

Ahaha. Mercedes Lackey was one of my favorite authors when I was younger. Namely because of the Valdemar series, which I started reading in 8th grade during my quest to read nearly every fantasy book in the school library.

I somehow managed to read them in a good order as I started with the original trilogy with Tania and continued on with The Mage Winds because I wanted to know what happened next. From there i just read my way through the rest somehow. As a result I own quite a number of her books. I think my favorite was the Last Herald Mage series.

I also have read and owned her lesser known Diana Tregarde books. And I loooove the Bard series.

She's still one of my favourites but I haven't had a chance to read too many of her newer stories. Maybe I'll try to this summer.

I've read Fire Rose, it was fun as a light read, but someone proposed it as a better alternative to Beauty (by Robin McKinley) and I have to disagree. Fire Rose was thoroughly entertaining, but does anyone else think the ending was sort of quick-to-the-finish? I felt rather cheated, though the rest of the book was nice enough to make up for it.

My sister and I adore Mercedes Lackey. I've read all the Valdemar series and a few of the other books as well. She just has the best characters. My favorites are Karl, Talia, and Alberich. I never got into the Last Hearld Mage series though, it just seemed overly angsty to me. However, I really enjoyed her new 100 Kingdom books, or perhaps its a thousand or five hundred. I'm not sure.
She also is co-authoring this really cool free online podcast series with Steve Libby. It's called the Secret World Chronicles

That podcast thing sounds kinda cool. I'll have to check it out later.

I used to absolutely love her Valdemar series. But the more I read it, the more 'unreal' it all seems. The characters are great, the world and details are nifty - but it's all so 'convenient' how things end up. Everything ends up like some fable with a 'moral to the story' sort of thing. - don't get me wrong, I still read every Valdemar book that comes out - It just doesn't grip me like it used to.

Her fairy tale re-writes are all awesome too. I didn't like the latest one, with the "Puss in Boots" theme quite as much as the others.

But I read pretty much anything I can get my hands on by Lackey. ^_^

When I was like--twelve or thirteen, I went through this period of time when I read almost all of the elemental masters books. They were pretty good in a trashy fantasy kind of way. I loved the setting and time period of them.

I believe my favorite was The Serpent's Shadow, and it was also the first one I read.

I haven't read any of her books in a long, long time, however. I'm trying to keep myself out of 'light fantasy land,' so I can read more things I really want to finish.

I really liked Last Herald Mage trilogy for a very long time, but I sort of grew out of it. When I first read it, I was fascinated by how she approached everything--and Vanyel was in love with another guy--that was the first book that featured homosexuality that I'd ever read. All my friends only read the books because they were gay...which totally made me upset, but whatever. I liked the books for the concept and the way that they were written. It was just sort of...magical. Really cool. I liked the whole approach to fantasy, and I really liked Vanyel's character for the longest time.

Alas...I sort of grew out of those books and moved on to others, but it seems that I'm in a reading rut now and cannot find a new book to read. I think I might go pick up the Last Herald Mage trilogy again, just because they were such good books...

I used to love Mercedes Lackey, but I haven't read anything of hers since, oh, the Owl Trilogy.

I was introduced to her Valdemar series through the Last Herald Mage trilogy, years and years ago. I started with the last book, not knowing it was a trilogy, and was kind of shocked when Vanyel and Stephen got together. It was the first book with a gay character that I'd ever read. XD I was hooked, and eagerly read everything that she had for it, and everything that came out up to the Mage Storms trilogy.

And then, I don't know. I started losing interest. She started taking characters in directions that I didn't really see coming, and the Owl books just bored me so much. I couldn't even get excited enough to read Alberich's books, and he was my favorite character.

But! I still love some of her books. By the Sword and the Tarma and Kethry books, her urban fantasies (though only up to a certain point. I thought a certain trio was really cute together and it made me sad that it didn't last). My favorites, though, are the Bard's Tale books.

I have heard of her, but haven't read her books yet.

@ Nightshade 1988You should; they're really good.

Lackey is still one of my favs. I know I can pick up a book of hers and like it so when I just need a good book to read I go for one of hers. My fav is the LHM series. I also really like the elemental books - I like how she takes fairy tales and puts them do different settings.

I love Mercedes Lackey. She is one of my favorite authors. I've read mainly her Valdemar books.
I have also read the Five Hundred Kingdom series. I really liked the first in that series the rest were not so good.
My favorite series is Darian's Tale.
I also really liked the Vows and Honor series. This was the first series I read by her.
My favorite book is Take a Thief. This was also the first book I read by her. I read it in my 8th grade year in January after I had hurt my knee really bad. And it really brought my spirits up. Even though it was sad in parts.
I also really liked Black Swan. It is one of my favorite books overall.
I liked Vanyel too.
I own The Fire Rose and need to read it soon.
I really want to read her Elves books and the Dragon Jouster series.
My favorite of her short story collections is Flights of Fantasy. Just love them birds.

I love her new stuff almost as much as her really old Valdamr books. The snow queen is awesome and I love the idea behind fairy godmothers and "the tradition" in her 550 kingdom books.

The first one I read of here, was read by my mom to me when I was in 3rd grade. "By the sword" I had a very high reading level as a child. Of course she left out even the little bedroom scenes.

Then I moved on to Talia etc. I love her as an author. She is my favorite. She can get dull at times, but some of her works are absolutely fantastic.

****If you like Mercedes lackey I recommend:
Robin McKinley
Elizabeth Kerner (song in the silence trilogy)
Joanne Bertin (the last dragonlord)
patricia c werde (dealing with dragons series)

I like Robin Mckinley and Patricia Werde too.