Customer Reviews

Mad Maudlin (Bedlam's Bard)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This had better be a continuing story. The author trys to weave too many story lines into one narrative and leaves them all hanging. The story itself is enjoyable but not up to previous efforts. In the end the various stories never did come togeather into a cohesive package. I hope the next book Music to my Sorrow brings it all togeather. However, not to be too negative it was an good read and kept my interest. So read and enjoy and wait for the next book.

While opening and proceeding smoothly, this book doesn't so much end as thud to a halt, with an epilogue that ties things up about as well as trying to contain twelve kittens with a strand of fettucine.

Some of the recurring characters have lost any of the heart that made them interesting, while others have glaring errors on their past histories, and the character of Beth Kentraine has become so unspeakably annoying that one wishes she had quietly vanished Underhill, never to be heard from again.

One of the problems I find with this series is that I strongly suspect Edghill is doing the bulk of the writing; I've read her work, and disliked it, and I find this series to be really lacking in the little stylistic touches that make Lackey's style stand out.

Also, the themes of the stories are faintly unpleasant; sort of akin to the SERRAted Edge books, which explored child abuse. These are not books that a reader is likely to return to, unlike the Valdemar and Elemental Mage series.

Still, not a bad work- just not one of Misty and her collaborators' best.

MAD MAUDLIN is Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill?s latest installment in the Bard series. As such it adequately represents the series for what it is; a thoroughly average fantasy story. Although well written, the least one would expect from these two veterans, the story itself suffers from a serious case of the blahs.

What makes for an exciting, above average story? How about new and imaginative situations and plot line? Maybe character development and growth. Unfortunately we get neither in this particular volume.

Plot: lets see, Overhill, the human world, it threatened by death, destruction and domination by forces of evil including an evil elf lord, evil human magician and of course shadow forces within our own government. Eric, with considerable help from Ria, and the Guardians defeat them. Sound familiar? Probably does, if you change the names and a few of the faces it?s the same plot from BEYOND WORLDS END and SPRITS WHITE AS LIGHTNING. Or to quote Eric?s brother Magnus ?Things always this much fun around here?? The reply being ?Usually it?s quite for, oh, months at a time.? I?m not saying it?s boring but it does get a bit repetitive after awhile.

How about character development? I don?t see much here. Eric is basically the same as he was in BEYOND WORLD?S END. A couple of new characters are added, or fleshed out from earlier story lines, but the core characters exhibit very little change or growth. Ria, the workaholic half elf, is shown to be very much in love with Eric, although for her denial is not just a river in Egypt, however his feelings still seem to be at best ambivalent. Must be nice to have a beautiful, filthy rich girlfriend that you can use for casual sex and treat as furniture or an ATM, maybe there is something to this Bard business after all.

Anyway there really isn?t much new here. Just an average pleasant story good for passing a few hours. I would RECOMMEND it but probably only the die-hard fans will find it of more than passing interest.

The children tell a story about Bloody Mary--seeing her means death. And homeless children in post-9/11 New York have been seeing a lot of death lately. Some of that death has magic at its core. Bard Eric Banyon is shocked to find that he has a brother--one raised in the same horrible environment that he barely escaped from, but that the brother has run away and is living homeless in New York. With the brother, an elf child--that rarest of treasures, and a talented girl struggle to survive--or to die. Eric knows helping his brother will be complicated, but he doesn't know that he'll have to face the frightful magic of Bloody Mary, a top-secret government organization dedicated to exterminating the magical among us, and a power-hungry maniac who thinks he can murder his way into the guardians.

Authors Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill offer an exciting urban fantasy adventure story. Targeted at young adults, MAD MAUDLIN reminds us that there can be things worse than homelessness. All three of the homeless children would rather die than return to their parents--and make frequent poor decisions as a result. Fortunately, Eric has powerful friends of his own--both among the elves and among humans. The guardians--magic-wielding humans exist to help those who need help, and Eric needs help a lot.

Lackey and Edghill rely on the fairly standard magic of urban fantasy--seelie and unseelie courts (seleighe and unseleighe in their book), super-beautiful elves, and generally evil adult humans.

MAD MAUDLIN left some loose ends--possibly to be resolved in the sequel. But I do wonder that none of our heroic party ever asked who sent the hell-hounds after the three children. Surely that is a question that needed to be answered. Also, I would have liked to have more evidence of Eric's parents' evil behavior. For the young-adult audience, this may not be an issue--parents are generally assumed to be self-absorbed and useless. For parents, pushing children to get out of bed and do something may be seen as less evil. Fans of Mercedes Lackey come in all ages and I can't imagine I was the only one disturbed by the lack of evidence for Eric's parents' perfidy.

Quibbles aside, MAD MAUDLIN is an exciting and well written story.

Eric Banyon has graduated from Juilliard not an easy task for the average student, but for Eric attaining the diploma was a bit more difficult than average due to a learning disability. Needing to use his magical Bard abilities to save someone, usually himself, occasionally disrupted his study time. Eric decides to visit his parents in Boston.

Meanwhile Elf Prince Jachiel ap Gabrevys, better known in a Manhattan runaway shelter circles as Jaycie, has vanished from Underhill. His Protector is unable to locate him in iron clad New York City because the metal disrupts eleven powers. Eric?s apprentice Hosea learns that the runaways worship a creature called Bloody Mary, but apparently she is no myth. Mary stalks Eric. Soon Eric, joined by a sibling he did not know he had, his apprentice, and Jaycie among others, become involved in a street confrontation with Bloody Mary.

The latest Eric the Bard escapade is a delightful blending of Manhattan street living inside a wonderful fantasy. The story line is fast-paced, often humorous, and action-packed. Eric remains a solid prime character and the support cast especially Bloody Mary adds to the depth of the plot. Though repetitive glib references to TV land becomes tedious, fans of the series, the authors, or wild urban fantasies will appreciate the marvelous MAD MAUDLIN.

Harriet Klausner

Mad Maudlin is the fifth novel in the Bedlam Bard series, following Spirits White as Lightening. In the previous novel, Eric and the Guardians manage to conjure the spirit of the dying Jeanette into Hosea's banjo. They also trap the vengeful Aerune in a maze, with the help of a dragon and Jimmy's spirit, cutting the Paranormal Defense Initiative off from their source of magic. Moreover, Fox finds the means for Kory and Beth to have a child.

In this novel, a child of the Unseleighe runs away to the World Above, pursued by his worried guardian. Heavenly Grace, the daughter of gospel preacher Billy Fairchild and the secret of his success, runs away and he is determined to get her back. The teenage son of a proper Cambridge couple runs away to become a rock musician.

In New York, Hosea and Jeanette discover that the youngest street children are telling the Secret Stories about Bloody Mary with more fervor lately, then the Guardians link these stories with a series of mysterious deaths within the city. Eric is doing so well in therapy that he decides that it is time to confront his parents in Boston and finds out more than he expected: a younger brother. Some older street children have gathered together around three runaways -- Ace, Magnus and Jaycie -- in the Place; they follow the rules or Ace will not buy them food and other supplies (with money from Jaycie). A conman gathers a cadre of gullible people and build up their magical power to assist him in his ambitions.

In Washington, Ria is gathering allies to destroy Parker Wheatly's reputation and organization. Parker unwittingly helps her by kidnapping a minor wizard to restore his source of magic.

This novel revolves around the search for the runaways in New York. It involves a mythago, a Prince of the Unseleighe, a conspiracy against the Guardians, and an previously unknown kinsman. It mostly takes place in New York from the Battery to Mid-town, much of it in the world of the street children.

This novel continues the adventures of Eric, the Bedlam Bard, and brings hims new friends and enemies. It is overflowing in magic, errantry and suspense. A sequel is forthcoming.

Highly recommended to Lackey and Edghill fans and to anyone else who enjoys urban fantasy.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Lackey and Edghill successfully weave together a variety of stories for one cohesive plot. The stories that the children tell each other to create a creature, the past issues with the PDI all make the story readable. It is also nice to see a story that deals mostly with Eric and his new cadre as opposed to relying on elfin magic. The elves are there, and in the right measure. The little twist on the elves at the end is quite unexpected as well, though the reader may have their suspicions...

The only problems with the story are the mistakes in Kayla's background history (read Bedlam Boyz by Ellen Guon).

I have always been a fan of the Eric the Bard series. What modern fantasy fan wouldn't love the mix of magic, music, elves and old world legends? Add in one of Misty's greatest crusades (helping children in trouble), and you've got a great read in "Mad Maudlin".

Eric is once again facing a hurdle in life. This trial, perhaps, is his hardest: facing his troubled past. Let's face it, everyone has wounds inflicted by past pain, and facing that pain down is an act of courage. Eric has to confront his parents... and learns a shocking piece of information in the bargain.

In the meantime, Hosea Songmaker and his haunted banjo Jeanette are out and about the city of New York, with Hosea doing what he can to bring the gift of music to the city's homeless children. In the shelters, he learns a set of "Secret Stories" about a murderous ghost, Bloody Mary. This urban legend turns out to be a lot more than Hosea ever guessed.

And, of course, there is a trio of troubled runaways. Ace, who ran from her father's greedy ministry. Magnus, who left a stifling home. And Jaycie, who can come up with rolls of money out of nowhere and spends his time scarfing down blocks of baker's chocolate and cans of Coca-Cola. (Sound familiar to anyone?) These three find themselves bound up in a lot more trouble than trying to find a relatively safe place to live.

There are poignant references to 9/11 that had me literally in tears. These references gave me new perspectives on our national tragedy, and helped me gain more learning and perspective about it.

All in all, I loved this book, and I can't wait for the next.

"Mad Maudlin" is an excellent book; it's a direct sequel to "Beyond World's End" and "Spirits White as Lightning." In "Mad Maudlin," Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill have gathered disparate plot elements and have used current historical events (the 9/11 disaster) in ways to illustrate the meaning in their book.

Without getting into the plot too much, let's just say that Ms. Lackey and Ms. Edghill have very strong beliefs about the plight of homeless children, abused children, terrorism, witch hunts, people with differences, and how modern medicine and psychology can help.

I loved this book; Eric Banyon has grown from a strung out drug addict to a mature, thoughtful and caring man. And I've enjoyed the transformation; it's honest, candid and real.

Go discover this terrific book for yourself!

Five stars, highly recommended

Barb Caffrey

P.S. There is a definite sequel planned called "Music to my Sorrow." I plan on being on the pre-order list for that one. And I, like Walt Boyes, read this book over again once I was done. It's just that rich, well-detailed, and well done.

Wonderful stuff.

Continuing the story of Eric Banyon, former drunk, druggie and musical prodigy on the run, Edghill and Lackey weave a great story out of post-9/11 New York. This is the third collaboration between Edghill and Lackey in this series, and in some ways, it is the best. The characters are getting deeper, and better realized, and the milieu is more fleshed out. I still think the character of Greystone the Gargoyle is a hoot! One of the best things about this book is the idea that the Unselighe Court might not be the "bad guys" they have been made out to be....but we'll see how that turns out in the next volume, I guess.

Go buy this book.

Walt Boyes
(the Bananaslug at Baen's Bar)