Ill Met by Moonlight (The Doubled Edge, Book 2) [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Mercedes Lackey (Author), Roberta Gellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 2005

Sixteenth century England: a nation at a fatal fork in time, leading to two possible futures. Either an evil queen will join with the Inquisition and rule with a blood-spattered iron hand - or a benevolent queen named Elizabeth will rule wisely and well. But the evil Unseleighe Sidhe are determined that the little girl Elizabeth shall never grow up to take the throne. Opposing them are the good Sidhe of elfland, including Denoriel, who has already foiled one attempt against Elizabeth, almost at the cost of his own life. But a few years have passed, and Denoriel still guards the young princess, now eight years old, secure in the knowledge that Vidal, leader of the evil Unseleighe, is dead. Unfortunately, he is wrong. Vidal was wounded almost fatally, but now his recovery is complete and he has set in motion a plan to bring about a new dark age of which Denoriel is dangerously unaware...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This Scepter'd Isle [BKL F 15 04] continues Lackey and Gellis' saga of elven and human intrigue at the court of Henry VIII. The Bright and Dark Courts are at odds over visions of possible futures in mortal lands--futures that are to be determined by which of the king's children will rule after him. The most uncertain but most desirable outcome for the Bright Court would be the succession of Lady Elizabeth, and agents from the Dark Court are sent to watch, attack, and possibly destroy her. But Elizabeth not only has mortal and elven defenders, she has the true sight and therefore can see through a sidhe disguise. Lackey and Gellis continue their superior blending of English folklore and history as they briskly cover the 10 years or so between the death of Jane Seymour and that of Henry. It is useful, though not necessary, to have read This Scepter'd Isle beforehand. Anyone who knows the period will appreciate this book all by itself. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is the author of the Bardic Voices series and the SERRAted Edge series (both Baen), the Heralds of Valdemar series (DAW), and many more. Of her writing, Stephen King has stated, ¿She¿ll keep you up long past your bedtime,¿ and Locus raved, ¿Lackey is one of the best storytellers in the field.¿ Among her popular Baen titles are The Fire Rose, The Lark and the Wren, The Shadow of the Lion (with Eric Flint and Dave Freer) and This Scepter¿d Isle, the prequel to Ill Met by Moonlight, written in collaboration with Roberta Gellis. She lives in Oklahoma.

Roberta Gellis is author of over 25 novels in different fields. New York Times best-selling author John Jakes has called her ¿a superb storyteller of extraordinary talent,¿ Publishers Weekly has termed her ¿a master of the medieval historical,¿ and Romantic Times has praised her as ¿a master spinner of tales.¿ Her many awards include: The Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for historical novels from West Coast Review of Books and the Golden Certificate and Golden Pen from Affaire de Coeur. From Romantic Times she has received both the Award for Best Novel in the Medieval Period and also the Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy. And the Romance Writers of America have presented her with their Lifetime Achievement Award.. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Baen (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743498909
• ASIN: B000O77M7S
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,394,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth in Underhill, June 2, 2007

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ill Met by Moonlight (The Doubled Edge, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Ill Met by Moonlight (2005) is the second novel in the Scepter'd Isle series, following This Scepter'd Isle. In the previous volume, the child Elizabeth was born of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. When the child was presented to the court, Harry Fitzhugh was transfixed by her semblance. Surely this child would become the red-haired queen that he had seen within the Great Lens in Underhill. He decided to present her with his cold iron cross to protect her from the Unseleighe.

Denoriel Silverhair and his sister Aleneil kept close watch on the child and foiled one attempt by Pasgen, their Unseleighe half-brother, to replace her with a changeling. Then Prince Vidal Dhu, with his consort Aurilia, led the next attack. The Unseleighe attacked the child in her quarters, but Denoriel and his fellow protectors were already in the rooms and prepared for the intruders.

In this novel, Pasgen subdues an imp who carries a summons from Prince Vidal Dhu. But how has the creature found him? Under questioning, the imp coughs up a Token made from Pasgen's flesh. Temporarily ignoring the summons, Pasgen hurries to find Rhoslyn and tell her of his discovery.

After finding Rhoslyn at the Empty House, Pasgen discovers that his mother had provided a Token from each of them to Vidal Dhu at the time of their birth. The Prince probably still has one for Rhoslyn, but may not know where it is. Pasgen leaves his Token with his sister to investigate and hurries off to answer the summons.

Vidal Dhu has spent the previous four years being treated for iron poisoning. Some of his healers have died while taking the poison from his body. Now the Unseleighe Prince has mostly recovered from his injuries and thinks to take back his place in court.

During the past two years, Oberon forced Pasgen to take responsibility for the Unseleighe Court after several raids against the humans. Pasgen definitely hasn't liked having these responsibilities, but he has managed to control most of the monsters in his charge. Now that Vidal is back, Pasgen wants to position him firmly as the ruler, so that Pasgen himself can do something else -- anything else -- other than continue in charge of these unruly Unseleighe.

Vidal Dhu isn't aware of just how long he has been gone and just how weak he is. However, Pasgen acts timid and subservient to bolster Vidal's reputation in the Unseleighe Court. Some times Rhoslyn has to remind him not to strike down Vidal, but Pasgen gradually removes himself from the court.

Rhoslyn is pleased that Pasgen is no longer trying to kill Elizabeth. She would rather join the Seleighe Court than continue to treat with Prince Vidal and has gradually weaned herself from dependence on the Unseleighe habit of feeding on pain and suffering. Yet she is unsure of her reception and believes Pasgen would prefer to remain in the Unseleighe Lands.

Denoriel has also been undergoing treatment for the last four years. He almost burned out his magical power by channeling lightning in the mortal realms. He still has only weak magical abilities, but can do passive magic such as gating. Now he is ready to return to the mortal realms to resume his relationship with Elizabeth.

In this story, Pasgen is not longer trying to abduct or kill Elizabeth and believes that over time the succession problem will resolve itself. Since Prince Vidal is still insisting of taking Elizabeth out of the picture, however, Pasgen starts looking into ways of discrediting her. Still, he takes an unhurried approach and spends much more time doing other things, such as studying the mists of the Unformed Lands.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth is upset with Lord Denno and still believes that he is lying about Harry being alive. Denoriel takes some chances to let Elizabeth meet Harry in the mortal realms and almost gets Elizabeth caught by Mary and her retinue. Afterward, Elizabeth becomes more cooperative, especially after being allowed into Underhill.

This story covers the latter years of Henry VIII's reign through his wedding to Catherine Parr. As usual, King Henry is having problems with the Scots and the French and spends a great deal of effort keeping them apart from each other. He has a temporary alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, but that turns out badly. Of course, Vidal Dhu is trying to stir up conflicts wherever he can.

Highly recommended for Lackey and Gellis fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of the Tudor monarchy, English politics and the precocious brilliance of young Elizabeth within the fantastic context of sidhe magics.

-Arthur W. Jordin

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid entertainment, May 20, 2005

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Ill Met by Moonlight (The Doubled Edge, Book 2) (Hardcover)

The seers still see three futures--a reign of Edward, gray and acceptable to both Seleighe and Unseleighe. A reign of Mary, with the terrors of the inquisition and pain to feed Unseelie, and a golden reign of Elizabeth. The Unseelie hope to eliminate Elizabeth despite the overking Oberon's proclamation that she be unharmed. Whether through murder, or merely through disgrace, the future that Elizabeth must be prevented at all costs. Of course, the Seleighe have the opposite purpose. Denoriel of the Seelie court has spent years protecting Elizabeth's illegitimate brother, Harry, and now he turns his attention, and power, to the young Elizabeth. Oddly, Elizabeth has powers of her own, can detect magic and recognize the fairy kind, even when they disguise themselves. Denoriel's half-siblings, Pasgen and Rhoslyn, represent the main opposition from the Unseleighe court.

Authors Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis continue the story begun in THIS SCEPTER'D ISLE. Despite the damage Denoriel did to the Unseleighe in his doomed defense of Harry, they continue their efforts to eliminate Elizabeth and the future she promises.

Readers interested in English history will get a kick out of seeing a magical explanation for many of the events that occured late in Henry VIII's reign. Lackey and Gellis take the alternate history approach more common in romance than in speculative fiction, giving another explanation of actual events rather than changing the events themselves to see where the new world would take them. Still, imagining the young Elizabeth in the land of fairy, and watching the plots and counterparts between the light and dark courts is interesting entertainment.

Strong writing definitely hooked me and kept me reading.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, July 14, 2005

By 

A. Howell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ill Met by Moonlight (The Doubled Edge, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Mercedes Lackey has written and co-written over 50 novels, so I guess it is expected that there will be some that are better than others. I found that this novel and the preceeding novel in the series were excellent, and since I have been disapointed in some of this authors works in the past, it was a nice suprise.

All of the characters are well written and rarely ever slide into the "annoying" category. I found myself cheering for both sets of twins, light and dark. While some of the dark sidhe were a little stereotypical, namely the prince and his consort, they were not annoying and were such a minor part of the novel that it was easy to ignore them and focus on the rest of the story. There is a huge cast of characters and in other novels by other authors, when this is the case there are often huge problems associated with choppiness and confusion, as each character gets lost in the shuffle. This is definately not the case here, where there are many minor characters that are integral to the plot and amazingly enough, each seems to have thier own well developed personality. Some authors manage this by endlessly describing thier characters outfits or always having the character speak in a certain way, or use a certain pet phrase, and it was refreshing to see that somehow, the authors have avoided the use of annoyingly repetitive mechanisms to define both thier major and minor characters.

The best thing about this novel to my mind was the "believability" of it. I know that fiction is far seperate from reality, but after reading this novel its almost hard to imagine that the events that occured in our history did not actually occur the way they occured in the novel. I don't know very much about the history of that period in time, and perhaps if I did I would not like it as much, but the way the events from our history were explained in terms of the novel was great.

Perhaps the only criticism about this novel is that at times it verged on a play-by-play accounting of the characters lives over the years that the novel takes place in, but most of the time it wasn't a problem, only when you were waiting on pins and needles to see what was happening to another character at that time. Also, at other points there were jarring time jumps that distracted the reader from the flow of the novel, such as "for the next year and a half so and so..." or "all during the year 15xx to the end of the next year so and so was..." This was distracting because there were periods in the novel of so much information and then all of the sudden, 2 years had passed, usually just with a short sentence like those I paraphrased at the end of a paragraph or chapter.

It is hard for me to find anything major to criticise about this novel, while it is not my favorite novel, it is definately one that I will buy and read again. That includes the first book in the series as well, which I think is slightly better than this one.

This novel is fun, exciting, diverting and definately a good read. I cannot wait for the next book in the series, which doesn't seem to be listed anywhere on any of the publishers or authors websites. I hope it comes soon. In the meantime, I am interested enough to research and learn more about that time in thw worlds history.