The Eagle & the Nightingales [Mass Market Paperback]

Mercedes Lackey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bardic Voices | Publication Date: February 1, 1996

Nightingale, a gypsy Free Bard, and T'fyrr, a birdman, must discover why the High King is shirking his responsibilities as the Church grows hostile to the bards and all else outside its control.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The prolific and popular Lackey proffers the third volume of her Bardic Voices fantasy saga. One of the nightingales of the title is a gypsy bard who comes to Kingsford Faire and, before she leaves, is up to her eyebrows in intrigues both mundane and magical that involve a large cast of characters, not all of them human or even corporeal. The book displays Lackey's usual sound characterization, brisk pacing, and intelligently detailed world building, which will hold readers of both fantasy in general and Bardic Voices in particular. Lackey is sufficiently gifted that one continues to hope for work that is more original than what she has been producing lately. Still, she remains an undoubted mistress of the well-told tale, and if she does not dazzle, neither does she disappoint. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Nightingale and her friends are increasingly concerned about the Church's attitude toward non-human sentients that it doesn't control: her worries cause her to join forces with a birdman which turns into an unusual relationship as the two probe the ultimate influences behind the Church's decisions. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Baen (February 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671877062
• ISBN-13: 978-0671877064
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is the acclaimed author of over fifty novels and many works of short fiction. In her "spare" time she is also a professional lyricist and a licensed wild bird rehabilitator. Mercedes lives in Oklahoma with her husband and frequent collaborator, artist Larry Dixon, and their flock of parrots.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Free Bards Tale, July 20, 2001

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eagle & the Nightingales (Mass Market Paperback)

The novel is mislabeled as book three in the series. It is actually the fourth book, following "A Cast of Corbies" and making references back to that novel. It is also incorrectly titled (Nightingale should be singular). The Gypsy Free Bard Nightingale is sent from Kingsford to Lyonarie to carry out an investigation of the problems in the kingdom. Hasperus and T'fyrr (from book one, "The Lark and the Wren") are reintroduced. The story switches back and forth between T'fyrr and Nightingale, and eventually brings them together. The love affair between them is well written without being pornographic. Nightingale assumes a dual personality that takes her into both the lower servants' kitchen and the king's private apartment at the palace. She and T'fyrr become involved in court intrigue that places their lives in danger, but they have an assortment of allies. Events reach a climax as the main villain is exposed, but the novel somehow seems to lack an afterword. T'fyrr reappears in "Four and Twenty Blackbirds," but Nightingale seems to fade away after this novel. Some reviewers have placed the following book, "Four and Twenty Blackbirds," in the Free Bard series. While it uses some of the same characters and settings, that book is really not about the Free Bards.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bardic pleasures avian songs, December 17, 1999

By 

Coralee N. Hicks (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eagle & the Nightingales (Mass Market Paperback)

Mercedes Lackey continues to develop her parallel universe that she first discribed in The Lark and the Wren. As friction and increasing tensions grow between non-human and humans in the land of Twenty Kingdoms, Nightengale, a gypsy bard, is asked to travel to the court of the High King. She combines forces with T'fyrr a avian of the raptor species. Their task; to find why the High King's abilities are diminishing. Lackey developes a beleivable universe populated with swash buckling adventure with a dash of romance. Reccomended for adolescent readers and adults.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Free - Bards......Hip, Hip, Hooray, September 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Eagle & The Nightingales: Bardic Voices, Book III (Hardcover)

This is another Bardic Voices novel from Misty. This is the third book in a loose series which looks at the increasing trouble that non-humans and free-bards are facing in Alanda. The gypsy free-bard Nightingale is sent to ferret out 'whats up with the High King?'. This book gives you a good look a Nightingale and the avid reader discovers why she has always seemed so mysterious and alone in the other books. The intrigue is light, but interesting and her developing relationship with the Haspur T'fyrr adds an extra dimension to the plot. Not as good as her Vlademar novels but much, much better than the likes of Firebird and Fire Rose. A great read 4 stars!!!!!!!!!