My life in books

Two more volumes in Mercedes Lackey's Bedlam's Bard series, both co-authored with Rosemary Edghill:

Mad Maudlin
Music to My Sorrow

Two new installments in the tale of Eric Banyon, modern day Bard, friend to elves of the Bright Court, associate of Guardians, and defender of the right against sundry otherworldly nasties. Actually, these two books are rather more closely linked than some others in the series, as relationships highlighted in the first book are crucial plot points in the second.

As is true of many of her novels, and particularly those dealing with elves, much of the narrative hinges on developments surrounded abused children, in this case, three New York street-kids (Lackey has re-interpreted the traditional stories about elves stealing human children to turn elves into protectors of abused children, who are drawn to help, and when necessary, rescue and foster Underhill, children without caring adults to raise them). In an interesting turn on her usual trope, one of the runaways is an elven prince, heir to a lord of the Dark or Unseleighe Court who would much rather dwindle into a coma from overdosing on caffeine (poison to Lackey's elves) and living in a city of metal (also poisonous to elves) than claim his inheritance. The other children are also, each in their own way, rather out of the ordinary in terms of abilities that most humans lack. To top it all off, a ghastly figure known as Bloody Mary is haunting the streets of NYC, striking terror into the hearts and minds of the kids on the street. Naturally, Eric is soon drawn into the mix, only to find that his life is in for some major changes when he learns the identity of one of the two human runaways, and it is the particularly unwholesome family situation of the other human street-kid that fuels the plot for the second of these novels.

Fans of Lackey's urban fantasy adventures should find exactly what they have come to expect, and enjoy every minute of it.


Bedlam’s Edge,, edited by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill, is a collection of short stories set in the universe Lackey has created for her urban (and historical) fantasies of elves and their interactions with humans. Lackey and Edghill are contributors, as are a number of Lackey's other collaborators in this and other fantasy universes, including Roberta Geillis, Dave Freer, Eric Flint, India Edghill, and Ellen Guon. and other fantasy writers. Lots of fun.