Elvenborn (Halfblood Chronicles) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Andre Norton (Author), Mercedes Lackey (Author) "V'kel Aelmarkin er-Lord Tornal smiled down at the slave who rested her pale-tressed head on his knee..." (more)
Key Phrases: elven lady, transportation spell, elven ladies, Lord Kyndreth, Lord Kyrtian, Great Lords (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The excitement flags somewhat in the third book of Norton and Lackey's popular high fantasy series (after The Elvenbane and Elvenblood). Where earlier volumes focused on humans and dragons, now elves come to the fore in a tale of the machinations, power-playing and cruel games that are the lifeblood of the High Lords. Into this treacherous territory blunders a good-hearted elf, Kyrtian V'dyll Lord Prastaran, who is not a High Lord, has no political ambitions and doesn't care for the cruel ways of most of the elven folk. Kyrtian has a small holding in the country, keeps no slaves and his human servants actually like him. Obsessed with military tactics out in the middle of nowhere, Kyrtian has learned the art of war-which brings him to the attention of the High Lords. Against his will, Kyrtian ends up leading the elven armies in their ongoing war against the dragons and the halfblood elves that have plagued them throughout the series. But the battles that Kyrtian supposedly wins against his half-elven foes turn out to be just the beginning of his adventures. The authors take moral stabs at issues ranging from slavery to strip-mining, but the story line itself glosses over details, while the action comes across too often as told rather than shown. Hopefully, the next installment, the forthcoming Elvenbred, will resurrect the fireworks more typical of these heavy-hitting authors.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
An attempt by his rivals to discredit the young Elvenlord Kyrtian fails, instead propelling him into a position of power as commander of the army sent against the Young Lords who have risen in revolt against their Elvenlord fathers. When a series of encounters with a group of fugitive half-elven Wizards convinces Kyrtian that he is fighting on the wrong side, he opts out of the war and undertakes a journey in search of his missing father and the lost Portal to the elven homeland. The third installment in this best-selling series (Elvenbane; Elvenblood) by veteran sf and fantasy authors Norton and Lackey depicts a world in which decadent elven nobles hold the power of life or death over their human slaves. A good choice for most fantasy collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; 1st edition (October 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812571231
• ISBN-13: 978-0812571233
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #350,933 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the wait, August 14, 2002

By	Abigail and Gary Wright (Waco, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvenborn (Halfblood Chronicles, Book 3) (Hardcover)

I have been a fan of the Elvenbane books for a long time. It was with much joy that I read the second book when it came out, and it was with even more joy that I finally read the third installment.
It has been a long wait, and I savored every page, forcing myself to read it as slowly as I could to make it last, just a little bit longer.
The book is a fantastic addition to the previous two novels. There is little character development with the characters that the fans already know and love. But they introduction of a few new ones is well handled.
Norton and Lackey have done a wonderful job of showing seven degrees of seperation works very well in the Elvenbane world. Twisting together charcters that have connections, even though they may not know it yet. Dropping hints that only those who are very familiar with the books would recognize.
I was frustrated at first because the characters I loved were not introduced in the book for several chapters, but the new characters are interesting enough to make it worth it.
And while it is not as thick as many of he epic novel series, it is just as entertaining. And a must read for any Elvenbane fan.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!!! I was so impressed by this surprise third book, December 19, 2002

By	Cindy (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvenborn (Halfblood Chronicles, Book 3) (Hardcover)

Applause to Norton and Lackey!!! Hurrah!!! i fell in love with the elevenbane back in the summer of '95, and have been stuck ever since, and when i learned of this third installment i couldn't wait to read it, to see what shana, lorryn, and company were up to. a huge credit to the authors for trying a new angle and introducing a whole new set of characters to the sage of the halfbloods. while it did start alittle slow, only really the first two or three chapters, i jumped right in and was quickly sucked deeper into the mysterious world of the elvenlords and the secrets they wanted to stayed hidden. i won't tell the ending, but i will say that the dynamics used on the characters were quite a change, but very welcomed, to breathe new life into them, to really see the dimensions of the characters and the world in which they lived in. kudos!!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic end to the trilogy, August 25, 2002

By	Paula C. Allen "windmiran" (Cupertino, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Elvenborn (Halfblood Chronicles, Book 3) (Hardcover)

Like some of the other reviewers, I've been a fan of this series from the start, and eagerly awaited the release of this, the third book in the trilogy. Not only do I find the world Lackey/Norton constructed fascinating, but it's a very different spin than other authors have given to human-elven-dragon interaction, and I love it. It should go without saying that no-one should read any trilogy-finishing book without first having read the preceding two in the series, but with the way Lackey and Norton wrote the second and third books, this is even more important. Although the dedicated reader gets the updates on existing major characters that he/she craves, a whole new host of characters and circumstances is introduced as well, making this book not only a delightful continuation of the first two, but surprising and even more complex than I imagined it would be. It was definitely worth the wait, but as always with books I love - too short! I think I finished it in seven or eight hours on one day, since I'm a fast reader. Now I'll have to wait for the next offering!