【 THE SILVER GRYPHON】

book #3 in the Mage Wars trilogy
book #3 in the chronological order of the Valdemar universe

Genre: Fantasy [high fantasy]
Audience: Adult
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Published: March 1996
Publisher: DAW Books
Pages: 322 (hardback)

A great conclusion to the first trilogy! This series covers so much time and it was great having this last book feature the next generation. I thought I’d be sad to not have Skan & Drake full front and centre, but I still really enjoyed all the perspectives in this instalment.

This became quite pacy very quickly. I enjoyed seeing the city through Tad and Blade’s eyes, which was a very different angle to that of their parents. And I loved how they were trying to escape this sense of being smothered by their parents, or overshadowed by their parents – very fitting!

But what I really enjoyed about this book in the series was the cleverness of what Tad and Blade have to do to survive. Without giving anything away, all I can say is that I doubly enjoyed this once you reach the final chapter and some severe light and perspective is thrown on their actions to highlight just how tricksy they were!

I’m very excited to continue reading the next books in the Valdemar universe, and I’m really curious to see how the history in this trilogy might appear or be relevant in the stories going forward.

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Title: The Silver Gryphon
Series: Mage Wars #3
Author: Mercedes Lackey
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UNSEEN PERIL

A dozen years of peace have passed in the city of White Gryphon–but the inhabitants of this hard-won haven have not forgotten their struggles, and have trained an elite guard force, the Silver Gryphons, to protect their city.

Skandranon, the Black Gryphon, and Amberdrake the healer, have settled into quiet, comfortable lives. But things are not so tranquil for Silverblade, ‘Drake’s daughter, and Tadrith, Skan’s son. Anxious to prove themselves, and despite their parents’ very real concers, they have enlisted in the Silvers.

After two years of rigorous training, Blade and Tad are finally given their first solo assignment–a remote guard post in wild, largely unexplored territory. Everything seems auspicious as Tad and Blade set off in the air, but three days out from White Gryphon disaster strikes–the two guards plummet from the sky to the deep jungle below, struck down by an unseen enemy. Lost and badly injured, the desperate partners take stock of their situation: all their spell-fueled equipment–including their only means of communication–is inoperable, drained of magic. But their troubles are just beginning. For in the dark of the tropical rain forest which surrounds them waits a nameless terror which even their fathers could never have envisioned…