By Slanderous Tongues

Doubled Edge #3

by Mercedes Lackey, Roberta Gellis

Great Harry is dead, and England is ruled by a dour Protector for 10-year-old Edward VI¿-a Protector intent on keeping total control over the young king and no friend to Lady Elizabeth because of her brother¿s fondness for her. In the great lens and the dark pool that hold Visions for the FarSeers of the Bright Court and the Dark, the images change and waver. A pale, thin girl sometimes wears a crown and sometimes has no head; King Edward and his Court grow misty as he changes from boy to stripling. But the fires of Mary¿s reign still burn bright as they swallow writhing men, women, and children, and if she ever reigns the red-haired queen brings a burgeoning of art and joy. Elimination of that last possibility for England is Vidal Dhu¿s prime purpose, but he has been forbidden by King Oberon to attack Elizabeth. Though he may not attack her directly, still he hatches schemes within schemes. And if his plan to involve the young princess in a scandal that would render her unfit to rule in the opinion of the Proctor and his Council, he has more twisted plans to eliminate Elizabeth once and for all.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy

544 pages, Hardcover

First published February 26, 2007

About the author

Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.

"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.

"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.

"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:

"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."

Also writes as Misty Lackey

Author's website

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am generally not a sci-fi/fantasy reader.
I am, however, in love with all thing Tudor.
I gave this series a shot, ad found out I loved it.
This book, however, was disappointing.
It delved into areas I had hoped it would not go.
I think this will be the last book in this series I will read.

[Judith · Rating 2 out of 5]

NOt really my favorite by this author and I like almost everything by her. I think it felt a little forced and did not appreciate some of the characters. It was well written, the story was just not for me.

[Donnalee · Rating 2 out of 5]

HUGE SPOILERS AND DISAPPOINTMENT


*************

So the politics were interesting, although the 'heroine', Elizabeth, is much less likeable to me than her brother from the first book. The HUGE SPOILER has to do with sexual scuzz.

In ALL Mercedes Lackey's books that mention elves, 'good' elves are protectors of children, including those at risk or harmed bys sexual abuse or trafficking etc., to the point that they steal the kids to save them and sometimes make replacements, the changelings, who often then die because they are magical constructs unsustained by the energy of the mortal world. That makes sense and happens in this series too.

The part that horrified me and turned me against both Elizabeth and poor friggin misused Denno was that at a certain point, at her age 14 or just less, she starts to notice that someone is sneaking out to make out with someone else, and spies on them in such a prurient scuzzy way that she is practically humping the walls and drooling while watching, plus tells everyone else about it so they can all spy like scuzzy people watching their friends like it was live sex shows and getting really unwholesomely turned on by it. THE HUGE SPOILER is that her elf friends figure she is now suddenly such a willful unwise frigging animal controlled by lust for sexual activity that she will hump or screw the first, or first few, stablehands or pageboys or males that she can get her body on out of curiosity and a really creepy 'can't control it' vibe, and since that would get her killed literally for 'wantonness' and possibly treason, the elves decide IN A HUGE SPOILER that she HAS to screw something, so she ought to screw an elf, since it can't knock her up and can disappear when her attendants hear the sounds of screwing and come to check out why the really immature child-acting young teen is making those noises. They say basically, "Hey, Denno, you're her father figure, the man who raised her and only about 150++ years old and you have the rare somewhat guilty lust feelings towards her which you KNOW are inappropriate and which are mentioned in the book as you feeling guilty when they happen, and the love aspect is completely NOT the focus but love words are sometimes thrown around unconvincingly, so you should screw her so nobody else does and so blahblahblah blah...", so they screw a lot and it feels gross and I will never get over the vile-feeling terms like "nether mouth" which practically salivate and slobber in anticipation of anything sexual. WHERE WAS MERCEDES LACKEY AND HER CHOLD PROTECTION SERVIES WHEN THIS CRAP WAS HAPPENING????

It bummed me out so much to be on about page 1000 of a series, well into book 3 of 4, and to have the two main characters become people I wanted nothing to do with or to know. Oh well. Maybe others will be into the scuzz smarmy sex talk which eventually fades into "that was a gross device that could have happened years later in her life in a feeling of LOVE instead of that freaky prurience". I did read the rest of the series, but eh--it lost me, especially compared to the Lion series set about the same time and much more astute and engaging to me.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book of the series was the best yet, for me, and I'm so very glad I kept on reading!

With Henry Vlll's death, his young, and vulnerable son, Edward, is now King, with his oldest sister, Mary, next in line, and then the redheaded, Elizabeth, next after that.

For Elizabeth, her father's death is a terrible thing, but she knows she needs to be strong, in order to help her young brother have the courage to do what's right for his father's wishes - and to keep England safe from civil war.

Unfortunately, there are powerful men determined to be in control of Edward, and who don't want Elizabeth interfering in the Regency's decisions, and so they start plotting her downfall - with the unknowing help of Prince Vidal, the leader of the Dark Seighle, who is also determined to kill Elizabeth, to prevent her rule, which would drain the UnSeighlie of power.

Into this mix, her friend, Denoriel, the Seighle Prince charged by King Oberon to keep her safe from harm - or Lord Denno, to Elizabeth and his other human friends, has also got the problem of finding this rapidly maturing young woman - who he has loved for all of her life - becoming almost irresistible to him.

Between attempts by her fellow humans, to try and make her seem to be unfit to rule, the UnSeighlie doing their best to kill her, her Stepfather-in-law trying to bed her, and Lord Denno trying not to, Elizabeth has her life in such a tangle, she's not sure how it can all be sorted out.

But she's sure Lord Denno will work it out for her!

I think that, what i love most about this book, is that, Historically, it has kept to the known facts of the time - which, fortunately, was very well documented - and so, even though magic has been written into the story, all of the historical characters do actually react to the intervention of magic, in a way that keeps the storyline believable.

As Roberta Gellis is known for her accuracy in this, I'm really glad that she, and Misty, stuck to this, as it really made the story come to life - I can't wait to read the final book in the series: And Less Than Kind, in order to see how it all ends!

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Love lackey’s writing, love the interplay with history and fantasy, love taking characters like Titania and Oberón and making them real, love it all.
The age difference in the romance is slightly off putting but that’s not sufficient for me to dock points.

[Clyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

really need to be "up" on History of Henry the 8th.....


got it at VPL used bk sale, read during Covid 19 isolation.

[Laura Talley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great new twist. Love it!

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sequel to ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT, we return to an uneasy England. The only certainty is that Henry VIII is dead and England has a boy king. Young Edward's governing council is jockeying internally as it decides which man among them will be the true ruler. On the whole, it looks like Lord Wriothesley, puppet of the Prince of the Dark Elves, Vidal Dhu, is losing. Vidal Dhu will have to choose another strategy to create war and misery in England.

Elizabeth, hope of the Bright Elves, is one of the incidental casualties of Henry's death. Her father has been her anchor in the mortal world. Who will control her now? As second in line to the throne, she is a prize if she is captured by an ambitious and unscrupulous man. The offer of a home with her stepmother Queen Catherine seems like a haven. Instead, it puts her right in the path of one of those ambitious, unscrupulous men. If only he weren't so attractive.

The Elven King Oberon has assigned Bright Elves Denoriel and his twin sister Aleniel to protect Elizabeth. In the years of doing his duty, Denoriel has come to love Elizabeth above all else. If Vidal Dhu has a hope of arranging Elizabeth's disgrace, he will have to get rid of Denoriel and Aleniel first. He can no longer trust their half brother and sister Pasgen and Rhoslyn to do his bidding in this, because the two pairs of twins are getting to know each other. This time the Dark Elves’ assassins will be mortals – hired experts.

Just as fast-paced and delightful as the earlier books of the series, BY SLANDEROUS TONGUES continues the story of the Elves of Underhill and their attempts to influence the Tudor succession. Characters are growing up. Elizabeth has matured into an imperious and irresistibly charming teen. Pasgen and Rhoslyn, twins raised as Dark Elves, are reconsidering their places in the elven kingdom. Another developing magical force, not yet understood, has already played a crucial part in the battle over Elizabeth and will do so again. We feel such a sympathetic interest in all of them that it is hard to put the book down.

Co-author Roberta Gellis is a historian who respects the true stories provided by history. The Doubled Edge series does not change what we know about this well-documented period of time. The real characters we are acquainted with would probably behave exactly this way if they had magical plots going on around them. Wrapped in the decades of writing skill of authors Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis, Elizabeth and her friends live even more enthrallingly than they did in their original lives. They take hold of us and never let go.

Read 3 times, listened 4 times. Book Three of my favorite Fantasy, and the first half of my Favorite Romance read of 2013.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Publishers Weekly

Good and evil fairy factions continue to battle over the fate of Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII, in this lighthearted, historically detailed third installment in the Scepter'd Isle series (after 2005's Ill Met by Moonlight). To prevent the 14-year-old red-haired princess from ascending the throne, the Dark Sidhe, or Unseleighe, plan to destroy her benevolent Seleighe guardians, Lord Denoriel and his twin sister, Aleneil. Without them to guide her, Elizabeth might slip up, misbehave or marry—defeating the prophecy that she will one day rule England. But Denoriel and Aleneil's Dark Sidhe half-siblings, the twins Rhoslyn and Pasgen, shift their allegiances to help Denoriel and Aleniel keep Elizabeth safe and challenge the power of Vidal Dhu, prince of the Dark Sidhe. Lackey and Gellis blend the best of high fantasy with a grand dose of English history. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The feud between Bright and Dark elves in Tudor England continues (from This Scepter'd Isle, 2004, and Ill Met by Moonlight, 2005), further affecting Henry VIII's children. Bright and Dark agree that Elizabeth, should she reign, will generate the joy and accomplishment that feed the Bright, and Titania is protecting the princess. The Dark elves, whose taste is for human anguish and sorrow, labor to prevent Elizabeth's ascension. When Henry dies, and Edward succeeds, Dark, Bright, and most of the Tudor courts are rather stymied. Lackey and Gellis follow the historical events of Somerset's protectorship quite closely and put a neat twist on Seymour's courtship of Elizabeth by enclosing it in a Dark elves' plot. Elizabeth's interrogation after Seymour's arrest and her romance with her Bright elven protector strain credulity, yet this is still a good read. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read this book, the #3 in the series years ago I was interested to see how it would stand a re-reading and the answer is; on the whole, pretty well.

Of the authors, Gellis is a long time favorite and the author I credit with getting me into historic fiction and English history in general while Lackey was for many years one of my favorite Fantasy authors.

By Slanderous Tongues continues the story of Lady Elizabeth, later to be Queen and the efforts of the Seleighe and Unseleighe Sidhe to influence the politics and governance of England. The story takes off just before the death of Henry the VIII and includes an account of his last wife Catherine Parr, who survived him, as well as the early reign of Edward. Incidentally, this is very much a #3 in a series and I would discourage anyone from trying to read it without reading the first two, a lot would not make sense and I doubt it would be enjoyable however familiar one was with the Tudors.

While I enjoyed the novel I had the same dissatisfaction with it that I did with the last one, too little of the history too much of the Sidhe (and always the same Sidhe, which made it very predictable) too much cavorting around in fairyland. Still a pretty good book just not as revolutionary as the first in the series was.

[Mina · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I sought out this book when I saw it referenced on the tvtropes.org page for "wife husbandry." I just had to see how the Denoriel/Elizabeth thing played out. Yes, it is a creepy relationship if you think about her being only 14, but the book acknowledges that (and also shows that Elizabeth isn't just being helplessly manipulated to something she couldn't otherwise want) and anyway gives you a lot else to focus on. I started the book half-way through just for that storyline and kept reading because the rest of the plot had me hooked. I did skim over some magic-related things I didn't know the backstory enough to care about, yet by the end I had enough of an understanding of the enchanted goings on to be able to easily follow the machinations in the next installment. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable, deeply engaging read - in the sense of good entertainment. Only three stars because I feel a bit weird about assigning more to a book I only read the last half of :P

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This interesting tale of the fates of the British Isles as they could have been, had the courts of Fairie decided to interact and interfere was at times fascinating because of the possibilities and still hopelessly boring due to the strict history lesson. It wasn't 100% accurate, which made it less appealing in a way.

Elizabeth we know as Elizabeth the First, who, like her modern relation, ruled over Britain and its territories for many years. This story, however, deals with her as a teen, torn between warring factions in the mortal and the fairy courts, all of whom have their own goals and plans.

At turns fascinating and boring, so that when I realized I had already read it I put it in the return pile to go back to the library without reading it again.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 3 out of 5]

God this series is so difficult. The sheer amount of history interwoven into this book just overloaded me. The politics of two races at times was too dry for me. I forced myself to get through the first few chapters so I could get to the good stuff. Once I made it through the first few chapters, I was pulled in again. Ms. Lackey's light and dark court mesmerizes me. The elven courts are more similar than they think. The mystery of the mist also intrigues me. The two sets of twins and how they came to be just break my heart. I really enjoy watching Elizabeth growing up.

[Lbd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy historical fiction...historical fantific? what if Elizabeth Tudor was protected by magical beings and lead to the thrown because she was destined to change the world? What if the magical world of Elves/Fairie helped to secure the thrown?

Misty Lackey spins a fun, fantastical story with history as the background and the what if's about different actions of historical characters.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fantasy about Queen Elizabeth I before she became queen. I really enjoyed it, and now I'm going to read an actual history book about her. It was more sexually explicit than I like and more than Mercedes Lackey usually is, but it's generally confined to one or two paragraphs at a time and is easy to skip over.

[Nora Peevy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly creative and enteratining historical fantasy novel based on Queen Elizabeth I. A great period piece. Definitely a good read. Will blog more about it this week. Check back for a link.

http://norabpeevy.blogspot.com/2011/0...

[colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

read 02.12.07

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the first two in the series. Light and fluffy and fun. Just what I was looking for. I will certainly pick up book four when it comes out.

[Francine Apollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great fun...loved the series. Those who enjoy fantasy and the World of Faery will like this.

[Sharon]

It gets even better! But I was sorry to see this conclude...

[Edward Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a crazy series of books, and while I am enjoying them very much, I'm not blind to their flaws: the ordinary rules just don't apply for me when it comes to these!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it. I felt in ran a little long and still seemed unfinished.

[Martha Hocutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slanderous Tongues

This is such a good series to read! I can't wait to see what will take place in the next book

[Veronica Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another nice fantasy story. 2nd in a trilogy.

[Norabear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable fluff read about elves in Tudor England. Third in series.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. The tension continues to build as Lackey & Norton keep you in the dark.