Winds of Fury (The Mage Winds, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Herald-Princess Elspeth and her beloved partner, Darkwind the adept, return to Valdemar to confront the evil and powerful Ancar, who once again is threatening her homeland. Reprint.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: DAW (August 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886776120
• ISBN-13: 978-0886776121
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #61,976 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Mage Winds Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great, November 11, 2002

By	Leanna "moondance34" (South Deerfield, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Elspeth, with the aid of her friends Darkwind, Firesong, Skif, Nyara, and the gryphons, Treyvan and Hydona, has successfully repaired k'Sheyna Vale's damaged Heartstone and seemingly defeated the evil Mornelithe Falconsbane, banishing him to the Nether Planes. Now it is finally time for her to return to Valdemar with the mage-teachers she was determined to find and to take her place as the first Herald-Mage since Vanyel.

Meanwhile in Hardorn, King Ancar is preparing to launch a devastating magical attack on Valdemar. This time, however, Ancar has the assistance and guidance of a mysterious Dark Adept. Will Elspeth (with the help of some surprising new allies) be able to stop them in time to save Valdemar?

"Winds of Fury" is the final book in Mercedes Lackey's Mage Winds Trilogy. I enjoyed reading it but not nearly as much as I enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy (particularly "Winds of Fate"). The story flowed smoothly and quickly, changing perspectives every few chapters. There was plenty of action, but I found the ending to be somewhat anti-climactic. I was expecting something much more profound and moving, like the end of "Magic's Price" or "Arrow's Fall." I can only hope that the Mage Storms Trilogy will satisfactorily pick up where this slightly disappointing ending leaves off.

However, the driving force behind this story was the characters. Elspeth is still not one of my favorites, but I'm really learning to like her more and more. She is a very strong person, and I can't help but admire that sometimes. Darkwind is perfect as always, but I wish he got as much individual page time as he did in "Winds of Fate." Firesong is absolutely wonderful, particularly towards the end of the book. He is just such a flamboyant, entertaining character. I also greatly appreciated Lackey's careful development of An'desha.

As with all of her books, Mercedes Lackey does an exceptional job creating a thoroughly real world for her characters to live in. I always feel like I know exactly what Valdemar and the Vales look like. It is very easy to lose yourself completely and allow the book to take you to a new and fascinating world.

Bottom Line: A decent end to the trilogy, but the Tayledras influence and the cameos of a pair of loved and familiar faces make up for most of the short comings. Make sure to read "Fate" and "Change" first!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A FANTASTIC read!, June 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Winds of Fury (Mage Winds, Bk. 3) (Hardcover)

I've heard a lot of Valdemar fans, when making a review, compare other books to the Mage Winds ones and say that it was 'disappointing.' But I certainly didn't! I thought the characters were imaginative and seemingly come to life, the plotline continuously leaving you breathless and wanting to know what happens next, and the archvillain, Falconsbane, thrilling and shocking! I loved these books! I couldn't put them down! Darkwind and Elspeth were incredible, well-rounded characters, and I loved the huge part magic played in these books. In fact I think pretty much all the characters were well done; I understood them, and felt like I knew them. I haven't as of yet read any of the books from earlier time periods in the world of Valdemar, but I think either the Vanyel books or the Gryphon ones are next on my list, as soon as I finish the Mage Storms (I just need the last 1 of that), since both play a role in these books. People also criticize these books by saying that there are too many questions left unanswered. Well, that's what the Mage Storms book are for! If Lackey had tried to answer some of these questions in this trilogy, it would've taken away from the story too much. I'd rather be able to wait and find out a little later than destroy a great storyline! So, once again, I loved these books (their characters, plot, setting, etc.) and wish that one day I could visit a Tayledras Vale. Maybe I will, in my dreams... ^_

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Three and a half star fantasy trilogy, July 3, 2003

By	Barb Caffrey "writer-for-hire" (In a Midwest State (of mind), USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Winds of Fate" is a very good finish to the "Mage Winds" trilogy, yet there's something missing from this book. It's very hard to explain. I'm not sure I can, but here goes.

Elspeth and Darkwind matured a whole lot in book two, coming to work together and fall in love. I believed in that love story, and I believed in how well they worked together. I also believed in the destruction of Mornelithe Falconsbane, the more or less eternal enemy (from the "Gryphon" trilogy to the "Mage Storms" trilogy) who's set most of the overarching plot in motion.

However, in this book, "Winds of Fury," Falconsbane comes back to life, and we now find out he's had a Shin'a'in apprentice-shaman sitting in his head the whole time. (Well, An'desha had run off to learn magecraft, but if he'd have stayed in his clan, he'd have been a shaman.) I can't totally buy that, even though Ms. Lackey did it well and I like An'desha very much as a character.

Same with Nyara, Skif and Need (Nyara's new sword). They meet up with Vanyel and Stefen in the Forest of Sorrows (along with Elspeth, Darkwind, Firesong, and their Companions), which is very nice -- but it definitely came out of the blue. And although I loved seeing Vanyel and especially Stefen again (Stefen was one of my all-time favorite characters), I am just uncertain if they totally fit in here.

Finally, when Elspeth steps away from the throne of Valdemar to become the head of the Herald-mages, that makes sense. But having Queen Selenay take the news so calmly isn't; Selenay was close to tears at her "baby" leaving the nest in book one, "Winds of Fate." So, why the difference now? More Companion pressure? And if so, why wasn't it shown?

I agree that every mother finds a moment when they realize their child is now an adult, but I still find it hard to believe in this particular moment for that revelation.

The rest of the plot, where they take on Ancar (who holds Falconsbane, thus also holding the captive An'desha), I don't want to get into; that's for you to discover. And I think you'll enjoy it; it's very quick paced, funny in spots (Ms. Lackey does gallows-humor rather well), and the romances of Darkwind/Elspeth, Skif/Nyara and Treyvan/Hydona (the gryphons) work extremely well.

So, despite the somewhat off-true "Winds of Fate," I'd recommend this trilogy (even including that book, or the rest of it makes no sense at all), even though I do not feel it's Ms. Lackey's best work. To find better reads penned by Ms. Lackey, read "Oathbreakers," "By the Sword," Exile's Honor," or the Last Herald-mage trilogy about Vanyel Ashkevron. Those are deeper, richer and more realistic reads, which is why I give this book 3.5 stars out of five, as well as 3 stars overall for the trilogy. (The others all rated five stars.)