Bedlam's Edge

Bedlam's Bard #8

by Mercedes Lackey, Rosemary Edghill, Michael B. Caffrey

Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill are the biggest names in the urban fantasy subgenre¿where elves, banshees, trolls, and even stranger creatures walk modern city streets, their presence, and even their existence unsuspected by the human inhabitants. Now these two present a volume of all new urban fantasy, with a stellar lineup of the best new fantasy writers, such as Roberta Gellis, Dave Freer and Eric Flint, Diana Paxton, and more¿including two new stories and an afterword by Mercedes Lackey herself, as well as a story by Rosemary Edghill. This is an indispensable volume for fans of urban fantasy in general, and the thousands of fans of Mercedes Lackey in particular.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Magic

367 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

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

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

An anthology of elf stories, often in an urban legends setting.

Popcorn for the brain.

They weren’t bad; they just weren’t good.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will go through and discuss a little about each of the stories, since I was organized this time, and jotted down notes regularly as I read this collection. One comment I have is that this anthology assumes that the reader has read a Bedlam novel before. You can read and enjoy this separately, but you might have to make some assumptions. One very important assumption is what a bard is. I came to the conclusion that a bard is a person who has magical ability tied into their musical (vocal or instrumental) talent. This is a recurring theme in this collection.

Devil Went Down to Georgia by Mercedes Lackey- 5 Stars
--What if the devil was actually an evil faery? That's the essence of this story. Very well done. It had a bit of a Manly Wade Wellman Southern folklore feel (which I love).

Unleaving by India Edgehill - 5 stars
--Two Seelie Elven siblings become captivated by the magic of movies (been there). The brother joins the WWII fight against the Nazis. This story involved me emotionally and made me sad, although it had a slow start.

Old Order by Michael Longcor - 4 stars
--What if a biker gang ran by an Unseelie moved into a small farming community and tried to recruit an Amish boy ready to embark on his rumschpringen (when an eighteen year old Amish teenager goes out to experience the non-Amish world)? Good thing his father has a friend who has been around for a long time and knows all about the Sidhe, personally.

Well-Met by Moonlight by Diana L. Paxon - 5 stars
--Lovely story of an artist on the run from her abusive husband, who hides out in a Renaissance Faire, and gets help from the real deal, a handsome, kind Elf with a personal interest in her.

The World's Full of More Weeping by Rosemary Edgehill - 4.5 stars
--If only the Sidhe were around to protect the children from the predators in real life. The shopping mall is a portal to the Otherworld, and the Sidhe are watching over us. This is seen through the eyes of a so-called lowly security guard.

The Waters and the Wild by Mercedes Lackey - 3.5 stars
--Hmm. This one was okay. Kind of bleak. Interesting, though. About a mine defusing technician who was mentored by a Sidhe folk woman.

The Remover of Difficulties by Ashley McConnell - 5 stars
--Very enjoyable. If only my grandmother could call in a favor with a magical friend to deal with a bad boss for me. Just the right touch of humor and magic, and some Persian culture.

Bright as Diamonds by Barb Caffrey with Michael B. Caffrey - 4 stars
--Unrequited love never fails to stir me. In this case, a bard in training and a Seelie Elf, is in love with his uncle's human consort, who has a very powerful latent talent as a musical Bard. Did you know Las Vegas is Tir Na Og?

Bottle of Djinn by Robert Gellis -- 4.5 stars
--I admit my attention wandered away a few times, but I liked this one. It was like an Ocean's Elven caper-type story, but with a fantastical twist. The desired object is a bottle with a djinn. If the djinn gets out, it spells trouble for the human and Faery worlds.

Red Fiddler by Dave Freer and Eric Flint-- 4 stars
--Pretty good story with a powerful magical person from the land of Faery, Ruairi Mac Faelan (minus the Gaelic punctuation.) I'm not sure if he's exists in folklore or not. I need to look him up. He's a fiddler who serves as a guardian of the door to Faery, and lives in a tree.

Unnatural History by Sarah A. Hoyt-- 5 stars
--Not one, but two, very hunky elven brothers, and a heroine who has a mundane job cataloging junk (for lack of a better word) at the museum of natural history. One of the brothers was encased in stone 2000 years ago by evil Romans and their rogue Elven magicians. Really liked this one.

All That Jazz by Jenn Saint-John-- 4 stars
--Very nice love story with an Elf who is a troubleshooter for his brother and his male human lover, who is a Bard. It was very poignant in the expression of love between the couple who only got two days out of the year to spend together. Had some voodoo stuff also.

Six-Shooter by Ellen Guon-- 4 stars
--I didn't really get an Elven/Faery feel in this one, but it was an interesting concept. When a person commits suicide, the act tears a whole in the fabric of the barrier between our world and a darker one, allowing nasty monsters to get through that devour the souls of suicides. We never get the name of the protagonist, but she is recruited by another suicide monster hunter to join in destroying these creatures.

Mall Elves and How They Grew--
This was more of an explanation of how Mercedes Lackey got into writing urban fantasy. I love to find out what the genesis of a genre is, so that was fun reading. I would love to read more of her urban fantasy collections and novels.

This is was a good collection. It took me a while to get through, because I had trouble keeping my concentration on some of the stories. But it was worth the effort and I did find them very enjoyable. I liked that no two stories were alike. It shows how broad the urban fantasy genre is, even if a similar motif is used, in this case the world of Faery (elves). Recommended for urban fantasy readers who want to try something different from the currently popular books in the genre. Definitely read this if you are a fan of the faery genre or elves (not the Christmas kind, mind you).

[Kathy Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of fourteen short stories and one essay at the end revolving around the theme of urban elves and fae that are part of the ELVES ON THE ROAD UNIVERSE.

There are claims that this is part of the Bedlam's Bard series by the same authors — Lackey and Edghill. NO. They do revolve around urban elves and fae and that is the closest similarity.

The Stories
Mercedes Lackey's "Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a cute story that took place around the time of the Civil War and focuses on the Carpenter family who live in a holler. They thought they'd be safe from those damnyankees, being off the beaten path. Seems they have something else to worry over.

India Edghill's "Unleaving" follows the progress of moviemaking by a fae brother and sister and how they influenced Dinendal into joining the army to fight against Hitler.

Sweet and so sad. I'm crying again just thinking about it..!

Michael Longcor's "Old Order" is the desire of youth to rebel against his parents as Eli spreads his wings, but gets in with the wrong crowd.

A sweet and slightly frightening moral tale involving rumpschpringen and crack.

Diana L. Paxson's "Well Met by Moonlight" finds Kate Stevingen manning her booth at the Renaissance Faire painting portraits and hoping to hide her and her son from her abusive ex.

Sweet with a fascinating look behind-the-scenes at the Renaissance Faire, but the ending was just too easy.

Rosemary Edghill's "The World's More Full of Weeping" is a little too close for comfort at the mall where a sidhe fae tracks a predator who kidnaps children.

Makes ya wish the fae really did exist!

Mercedes Lackey's "The Waters and the Wild" just made me cry with its semi-sweet ending. It's a brief peek at Nigel Peters who retired after thirty years on the Bomb Squad and has just arrived to help defuse mines left from the wars. It's just a conversation between two volunteers and we learn why Nigel chose his work.

Ashley McConnell's "Remover of Difficulties" certainly made me wish the Remover of Difficulties existed...you'll be wishin' the same when you read it. I'm sure Angel Twentyhorses was pleased enough with the results after enduring that bitch at the office for so long!

Barb Caffrey with Michael B. Caffrey's "Bright as Diamonds" was a disappointment and so poorly written. Oh, the story was cute enough with the human+ Catriona and her fae lover, Aelbrigr, getting away from it all only to run into trouble when someone steals an artifact for which Catriona is responsible.

Roberta Gelli' "Bottle of Djinn" came with a twist and a sense of humor when the fae request Dov's help in recovering some "mislaid" artifacts stolen from a museum in Iraq.

Dave Freer and Eric Flint's "Red Fiddler" was a cute and very clever adventure with its own twists: a rescue, a kidnapping, hostages, escape. All involving Rúadan, a "Faer Dhaerg", the guardian of a door closed to the Chaos Lands that someone wants to open.

Sarah A. Hoyt's "Unnatural History" has a cute start and involves a sudden change of life plans when Dissy finds a man trapped inside a standing stone at the Denver Natural History Museum. It seems that Dissy is a lot more than she seems. Or knew.

Jean Saint-John's "All That Jazz" finds Culéoin and Zeke's two-day reunion at Mardi Gras almost ruined when Culéoin must spend the time tracking down a stolen artifact before a deadline that could see New Orleans destroyed.

Ellen Guon's "Six-Shooter" is a strange yet well-written combination of depressing and sort of righteous when Guon explains what really happens to people who commit suicide.

Mercedes Lackey's essay on "Mall Elves and How They Grew" is a nice bit of insight on how Lackey was inspired about putting elves into a mall.

The Cover and Title
The cover is vibrant with color. A tiny elf with wicked pointed ears and a hairstyle à la the Bride of Frankenstein is dressed in blue jeans, a blue T-shirt, and a rainbow of a jacket wielding a dagger as he stands knee-deep in a dinosaur skull in the middle of a forest. Do check out the sign for "Dinosaur Hall".

The title was a tease for me. I thought it would relate to their series, Bedlam Bard. Sigh...it wasn't, although it was on the underlying theme of urban fae. It is definitely teetering on Bedlam's Edge.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review from library copy.

Not really worth purchasing, but good for reading from your Friendly Local Library.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels a bit odd that this is classified as part of the Bedlam's Bard series. For all that it shares the same general setting concepts, and has Bedlam in the title, it doesn't really have a strong connection to Eric and his adventures. This could easily just be a general part of Lackey's elves world, though admittedly it'd need more racecars in that case. Although Lackey has two stories and her two coauthors each have one, there's no reappearance of any of the Bedlam's Bard characters.

Instead, this is a collection of elves in various modern and historical settings. There are elves in the South during the Civil War, a sidhe king of Ireland in South Africa, humans helping elves to stop a powerful djinn from being released, and so forth. Often when reviewing anthologies I go through and talk about the stories a little or talk about which ones I loved and which ones I hated. This time, it's hard for me to do that. They were all pretty much fine, fun little romps but they felt a bit samey and with every story averaging to 30 pages there wasn't much time to do too much to really stand out.

It's pretty much just variations on a theme, except for the last two things in the collection. The first is a short story by Ellen Guon, the original co-author for the first two Bedlam's Bard books. She writes a story about the ghosts of suicidal people who fight monsters that cause suicides. It doesn't really tie into the elf stuff in the other stories and I'm torn on how to feel about it, both as a story in this collection and in terms of its depiction of suicide. I often find that the last story in a collection leaves an odd taste in my mouth and this is no exception. But it is followed by an essay by Mercedes Lackey where she talks about the origin of her elves and how they've grown over the years. It was cool learning the origins of the concept from a painting of mall elves, the way she came up with the wild idea of elven racecar drivers, and how the setting has grown and absorbed other aspects like Diana Tregard.

Overall, this anthology was fine. It's not spectacular, but all the stories work well enough. I've certainly read both better and worse urban fantasy anthologies, and this one is solidly middle of the road. I probably wouldn't have been aware of it without the Bedlam's Bard connection, but that ends up not adding much except unifying the basic idea of how elves work. At the end of the day, I don't have strong feelings one way or another about this. I had a pretty strong hunch I wouldn't see more of the Bedlam's Bard characters, so I wasn't disappointed by their lack. Instead, I found this a pleasant enough if completely unmemorable reading experience.

[Shelly Franz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think I was a Mercedes Lackey fan....I may have been wrong. I also didn't think Lackey & Edghill wrote early urban fantasy. Again, I was wrong. This is a collection of short stories, most set in the Bedlam's Bard world (which I was unfamiliar with). I stumbled across the book (mislabeled, I might add) in my library and after reading the flap, grabbed it. Glad I did, and now I need to track down the rest of the Bedlam's Bard books, which we don't have.

[Billeen Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay, Fey!

But the thing is, this collection of short stories is actually about serial killers, custody battles, lying to your lover, brothers going off to fight and die in a war, and surviving on your own at 13.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable elevan fantasy.

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally don't like short stories but this collection flows together so smoothly that I enjoyed them all with a most satisfactory momentum.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of short stories set in the Bedlam's Bard series. Some stories are quite good, others I didn't like though I'm sure other people would.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of short stories loosely centered around Mercedes Lackey's elven worlds.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

JoI very much enjoyed this book of short stories.

I always find it interesting, when I read different takes to a particular idea, and this book was really broad in its outlook on the idea of elves.

The first story, wasn't. It was actually the words to the song that I've seen referenced time and time again, in Misty's books - Tom O'Bedlam's Song. It was fun, to spot the titles of various books in it, and to see how each line used, was so appropriate to the song, and the story told.

The second story, by Misty, herself - Devil Went Down to Georgia - was a great tale of survival, at a time of war, and how families could hold secrets, and talents, from generation to generation.

The third story - Unleaving, by India Edghill - is about an elf who, despite, or even because of, her brother's example, got caught up in the affairs of humans, at the time of America's joining in the efforts to stop evil, during WW2.

The fourth story - Old Order, by Michael Longcor - has an Amish man, and a very old family friend, rescuing his son, and a young girl from their local town, from the evil influences of an UnSeleighe Lord, and his gang of human ne'er do wells.

The fifth story - Well Met by Moonlight, by Diana L. Paxon - tells the story of a battered wife and her young son, who are hiding from trouble at a Faire, and how elves help save them from their problems.

The sixth story - The World's More Full of Weeping, by Rosemary Edghill - takes place in a Mall, where a conciecious night guard, and an elven Protector, help a young girl in trouble.

The seventh story - The Waters and the Wild, by Mercedes Lackey - is about a bomb disposal unit, in Bosnia, and how one particular man, had got into that job.

The eighth story - The Remover of Difficulties, by Ashley McConnell - tells of a Persian Grandmother, who uses her family's old friend, in order to sort out her granddaughter's problems at work.

The ninth story - Bright as Diamonds, by Barb Caffrey and Michael B. Caffrey - tells the story of an elf and a human, who are searching for a powerful artifact, stolen by an UnSeighlie elf. Time is short, if they can protect both elves, and humankind, from big trouble.

The tenth story - Bottle of Djinn, by Roberta Gellis - tells the story of a search for a dangerous bottle.

The eleventh story - Red Fiddler, by Dave Freer & Eric Flint - tells the story of an ancient protector of a closed Nexus, and how he, and a very bright barmaid, foil a plot to open it.

The twelfth story - Unnatural History, by Sarah A. Hoyt - tells the tale of a talented human, who helps to rescue an elf, trapped in stone for thousands of years.

The thirteenth story - All That Jazz, by Jenn Saint-John - tells of an elf prince, and a human Bard, who rescue a treaty in New Orleans.

The fourteenth story - Six-Shooter, by Ellen Guon - tells the tale of suicide, and redemption.

The fifteenth story - Mall Elves and How They Grew, by Mercedes Lackey - is a wonderful explanation of how Misty, and her fellow authors, developed their ideas of Mall elves - and glad, I am, too!

There is also a final piece - an excerpt of a novel by David Weber & Linda Evans, called Hell Hath No Fury - an interesting piece, that I'll probably try to get, being co-written by one of my favourite authors, David Weber!

I really enjoyed these stories, especially the Mall Elves explanation!

[David Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of urban fantasy stories featuring Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill's Mall Elves. Elves still help nortal humans every once in a while, especially children. Other times need the help of humans.

In urban fantasy, it seems that we keep getting trends. Vampires (sparkly or not) and werewolves, human magicians, girls (young woman) slaying monsters, and Elves have all taken center stage for a period of time. Of course, zombies seem to be the current flavor. Vampires and Elves both shared some common characteristics. They both tend to be very attractive and are basically immortal. They are stronger , both physically and otherwise, with a few weaknesses to "counterbalance" these strengths.

I can't say that I ever really fell for the charms of Elves or Vampires. I prefer the underdog characters that overcome more powerful foes. Vampires, to me, male better monsters. Elves are too haughty and full of themselves for my tastes.

"Elf love" seemed to really hit its peak with The Lord of the Rings movies. They seemed to outshine all of the other races in almost all aspects even though it didn't seem that way in the books.

Back to this collection though. The stories are all right. Several of them did tend to drag some, but were overall enjoyable. If you love Elves, this collection will be perfect for you. If you enjoy Elves in the modern world, you will probably enjoy most of the stories. If you aren't a real fan of Elves (or if it bothers you that a race that is supposedly so awesome keeps needing lowly humans to pull their behinds out of the fire) than you will probably think it is okay but not great.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Product Description

Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill are the biggest names in the urban fantasy subgenre?where elves, banshees, trolls, and even stranger creatures walk modern city streets, their presence, and even their existence unsuspected by the human inhabitants. Now these two present a volume of all new urban fantasy, with a stellar lineup of the best new fantasy writers, such as Roberta Gellis, Dave Freer and Eric Flint, Diana Paxton, and more?including two new stories and an afterword by Mercedes Lackey herself, as well as a story by Rosemary Edghill. This is an indispensable volume for fans of urban fantasy in general, and the thousands of fans of Mercedes Lackey in particular.

About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is known for several bestselling fantasy series, including the Heralds of Valdemar and Bardic Voices series, work that ranges from historical fantasy to grittily realistic urban fantasy set in the modern world. In only a decade she has made her mark as one of the brightest stars of fantasy. She lives in Oklahoma where she can be found prying the talons of birds of prey she is attempting to nurse back to health out of her hands.

Rosemary Edghill, after holding the usual array of Weird Writer jobs, including freelance graphic designer and vampire killer, has settled down to a career as a full-time writer, publishing popular urban fantasies as well as novels in genres ranging from romance to mystery. Her latest book for Baen is The Warslayer.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just loved India Edghill's Short Story "UnLeaving", I think the quote from page 37 of Dinendal talking to Helainesse about the reason why he must go off to the Mortal War, has to be one of the greatest for explaining why certain people do things that just have to be done.
"I don't see why it's different."
"Because of why and how it is being fought. The Nazis will never stop, they must fight or die. And they destroy all who are not as they would have them be. The Jews were only the first on Hitler's list. It doesn't stop with his ethnic prejudices. Writers, painters, scientists-the great minds of Europe. Think of the imaginations lost, if the Nazis emerge victorious. And sooner or later, if they're not stopped, they will turn their attention to the Sidhe."

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of short stores about elves and magical creations. There is one story, the Red Fiddler, which is far and away the best in the book. Not by Lackey, but a couple of gents I never heard of before, the story manages to surprise and still win the points for best. The concluding story is also very well done, but could use a little more of the "behind the scenes" talking - it would do well as a novella.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really not what I was expecting...I was under the impression this was the last book in the "Bedlam Bard" Series...BUT nope! It's actually a collection of short stories by various authors. Good and interesting short stories..but I'm very disappointed that it wasn't a continuation of the Bedlam Bard Series!

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been following Ms. Lackey's Elves on Motorcycles series through the good and the bad. She has several books, this being the oldest with multiple authors, that works on the concept that the Sidhe are still apart of the modern world.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it so often happens with short story collections by different authors, this one was very uneven. There were stories that I would rate as 5, others as 1 - overall, a 3 seems a fair rating for the book as a whole.

[colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

read 08.11.05

[Bookwyrm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely to be back in the urban elves universe!

[Teresa Carrigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short stories by different authors, set in Lackey's urban fantasy worlds. Some good, some not, none what I'd consider great.

[Beth Revers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great addition to the series.

[~Anita~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like short stories as much as novels

[Nancy Raines]

Bedlam Bards, Book 8

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some pretty good short stories. Some better than others, but no total duds.

[Tess Pender]

Wonderful - love all her stories, this one is lyrical!