Spirits White as Lightning [Mass Market Paperback]

Mercedes Lackey (Author), Rosemary Edghill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bedlam's Bard | Publication Date: April 29, 2003

Eric Banyon has more to worry about than passing his courses at Julliard. The evil elf lord Aerune, whose love was killed by mortal men, is determined to destroy the human race. Eric's only hope of stopping Aerune is to trap him inside a magical maze, from which there is no escaping. But for the plan to work, Eric and his friends must cross the land of chaos and survive, then travel undetected through a gate between worlds straight into the heart of Aerune's realm and trick the elf lord into entering the maze. Stopping Aerune once before was difficult. This time, the quest seems nothing less than impossible.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From veteran Mercedes Lackey and newcomer Rosemary Edghill comes Spirits White as Lightning, the fifth installment in the Bedlam's Bard series. Julliard student Eric Banyan has a few basic problems he doesn't like his teacher, he missed his last midterm, he has to train a banjo-playing Bard but he also needs to save the world from Aerune mac Audelaine, lord of the Unseleighe Sidhe, who has resurfaced with another nefarious plan to avenge his beloved's death.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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

From Booklist

The fifth volume of Lackey and Edghill's Bedlam's Bard series continues the adventures of Eric Banyon, a Julliard student in our world and Sir Eric, knight and bard, in the Elvenlands. It is a collection of subplots flying in close formation, with Eric and his comrades in both worlds initiating a new guardian, discovering how elf and human can produce a child without dark magic, installing a computer system for a dragon, and fighting assorted villains, who this time are mostly bent on revenge rather than conquest. Apart from all those subplots, and perhaps because of them, the book's pacing is uneven--at times fast and completely absorbing; at others, weighed down by pop psychology. The authors are clearly proceeding on the principle that you can't keep a good series down, and this is a good series, though newcomers should retreat to earlier volumes to catch up on established characters. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Baen (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743436083
• ISBN-13: 978-0743436083
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > Lackey, Mercedes
  • #49 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Historical

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

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent sequel, December 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Spirits White as Lightning (Hardcover)

This book is the sequel to "Beyond World's End" and continues the story of Eric Banyon in New York with Aerune mac Audelaine returning as the villain. Most of the other characters are back also plus there are appearances by a few characters from previous books and from the SERRAted Edge series. There's one new major character in the role of Eric's first apprentice Bard. Despite the large number of characters, Ms. Lackey does an excellent job of weaving all of them into the story. The major sub-plot is well-integrated also and is highly entertaining, especially the visit to the Las Vegas elves. All in all this book is a pleasant read although I strongly recommend reading "Beyond World's End" first because this story is so closely tied to events in that book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining work, December 18, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirits White as Lightning (Hardcover)

In one realm Sir Eric Banyon, known there as Silverflute, a Queen's Knight, is a hero who saved the world. On a more earthly plane, Eric is a Juilliard student flautist who flunked Introduction to Music Theory because he missed his midterm saving the world from Aerune. Eric attends summer school to make up the credits and stay in school

Of course Eric has other activities intruding on his studies. These include a naming ceremony for his daughter Maeve and coping with being ripped off by his professor, a technical genius who has no earthly idea how to teach. This is next to nothing for Eric who has faced deadly enemy in combat, but remains unaware that Aerune and the Sidhe are plotting a rematch with a different ending.

SPIRITS WHITE AS LIGHTNING is a humorous "Bedlam's Bard" tale that cleverly mixes ordinary life with fantasy elements. The amusing story line never slows down as old favorites and villains return for another world threatening engagement in between homework assignments. Eric is a complex hero who can save worlds, fail classes, and look at his infant daughter and seriously claim she looks like Winston Churchill sans cigar; this Queen's Knight makes the tale sing. Sub-genre fans who relish a comic fantasy romp filled with New York guardians and Vegas elves will join the chorus line of readers singing praise to Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edgehill for their latest collaboration.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a feeling of sour disenchantment, March 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Spirits White as Lightning (Hardcover)

I am a great fan of Ms. Lackey but I had issues with this book. There's a lot of (for want of a better word) dissing of fantasy fans and their passion for their fantasies. That passion that makes us believe there really are other worlds, and births a million Mary Sues that we only hope we're smart enough not to inflict on the masses... anybody else get what I'm describing and did anybody else think this book speaks against it? It's hard to describe but it bothered me a lot.

Apart from that, of COURSE this is a wonderfully fun book, how could it not be? And of course I'll be buying the paperback.