Customer Reviews

Reap the Whirlwind (Sword of Knowledge 3)

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Misty" Lackey (Mercedes) contributed to the writing of this delightful little book of "magic" ie...science...fantasy. It is set in a world where there is a society that is devoted to learning and knowledge. It also contains lots of swordwork and battles but with little gore. The heroine is an older woman who is fighting to keep her society from tearing itself apart politically. There are mongol type hordes fleeing from a greater danger, alliances, political intrigue, life, death, betrayal, love, and retribution. This is a wonderful summer beach read where you will laugh, cry, and even cheer the good guys in the end. This is a good read for high schoolers and an easy read for adults who just want a short escape for a while. If you are expecting a CJ Cherryth book, it's not in her style. It's more in the style of Mercedes who contributed most of the plot, style, etc. to the book. Girls will especially like this book since the heroines are real and believeable. The people in this book aren't shown as superheroes or perfect characters. The young have problems, the old have ambitions, and the innocent sometimes gets hurt. Pretty believeable for a story!

Reap the Whirlwind is an excellent collaboration by Lackey and Cherryh. Cherryh's work is obvious in the plot and setting; every scene fits yet the book isn't predictable or flawed by excess drama. Lackey's influence on the characters is equally obvious; they're warmer and better developed than Cherryh's usually are. Collaborations are often worse than either author produces alone, but as a fan of both Lackey and Cherryh I'm happy to say that this one works.

If you are looking for the detailed world building and the finely crafted characters of a good Cherryh book, this unfortunately is not the book. It takes an interesting premise and bogs down into a series of boring committee meetings. Potential conflicts are either ignored, or come to too easy of a resolution.

This is a Mercedes Lackey novel. It has her style writen all over it. It's not up there with her best books, but her fans will like it.

Mercedes Lackey actually wrote the text of this book, not CJ Cherryh. If you are a Cherryh fan, you will probably not like it. It takes good basic plot and wordbuilding and ruins them with plebeian writing and puerile ideas, typical of Lackey's work.