The Enduring Flame Trilogy: The Phoenix Unchained, The Phoenix Endangered, The Phoenix Transformed

Enduring Flame #1-3

by Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory

In The Enduring Flame Trilogy, Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory have given readers a new view of the complex and fascinating world they originally created for The Obsidian Trilogy. Jumping one thousand years in time, Lackey and Mallory tell the compelling story of Harrier Gillain, the first Knight-Mage in a thousand years; Tiercel Rolfort, the first High Mage in hundreds of years; and Shaiara, the young leader of a desert tribe who takes both boys under her wing but finds that she has a special affection for Harrier. These three young people are their world's main defense against the evil called up by the rogue Wild Mage, Bisochim. Included in The Enduring Flame Trilogy are The Phoenix Unchained, The Phoenix Endangered, and The Phoenix Transformed.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy

1443 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2014

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

[Ragon Duffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm always torturing myself by reading Mercedes Lackey. On one hand, her books are often predictable, she tells rather than shows all the time, constantly hits you over the head with a character's "flaws" that are supposed to be their secret strengths and mistakes making people be irritable with making them interesting. And yet, on the other, I keep coming back because I like the worlds she creates and in her Valdemar books, I like most of her characters as well. I read all three books in this series back to back and the plot generally kept me engaged the whole time. I think the other trilogy she co-authored with James Mallory in this world was better written, for sure. But I did read this whole thing so it wasn't a total waste of time. The last book though ends up being rather boring, which considering all the disasters happening, you would think wouldn't be the case. Maybe because having everything possible go wrong all the time turns out to be boring, not gripping. So, not recommended but not the worst thing ever either.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

** spoiler alert ** I really liked this trilogy overall. The characters were great; I really enjoyed Harrier and Tiercel's dynamic. The enemy was great and the storyline was great. I enjoyed the villain to forgiven aspect of Bisochim. They spent way too long (half the last book) trying to escape the desert. The ending was good, though a triple dragon bond was a little weird and I was unclear on whether or not that meant all dragon bonds from that point forward all had to be that way or not. Making the original dragon-pact come full circle at the end was cool. I liked the original Obsydian trilogy better, but being of the same world was still enjoyable. I would read this again.

[Jaakko Mäkelä · Rating 1 out of 5]

Towards the end I was bored out of my mind.
An endless "Frodo and Sam walk around in the wastelands", without a plot.
When they turned around, and started walking back to where they were coming from,
I didnt know if I should have laughed or cried.
Nowhere near the first series, which was readable.

[Savanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as amazing as Mercedes and James first trilogy in this colorful world! I loved it!

[Jennine Lona Tiedemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an epic story and the darkness has me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

[Hai Ling · Rating 2 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the prequel Obsidian series and was looking forward to smart and well thought out characters. Instead, I got this. If I could pick one word to describe my take on it, it would be "meh". To be frank, it was a bit of a slough. The characters were problematically one-dimensional and frankly whiny. When you have to tell me (not show me) over and over that their experiences have changed them (despite no evidence of such) we've got a problem. The writing also clearly needed a stronger editing hand because there were simply too many moments of exposition and re-exposition that were utterly unnecessary. This trilogy could have easily been one book if they'd cut the constant and boring explanation of how wild magic etc. worked, the history of any particular city that we will never see again, and the description of the desert. We got it. Okay? We really really do.

[Selana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disappointing. I really enjoyed the previous trilogy, and while I appreciate how stories can change into myths and I loved "Kellen the Poor Orphan Boy" and "the Great Saint Idalia", this was not enough to carry the story. It lacked the magic of the previous story and much of it felt oddly forced. I understand what Lackey was trying to do--preliminary punishment, doing wicked deeds to learn how to good deeds, redemption, and the like, but it is done clumsily and makes little sense. There is no good reason the elves can't help, aside from that if they did, it would all been in a chapter.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was well written and interesting. The authors were creative in weaving two stories into one as they created a deeper history for the events and characters of the main story. The angst of the two main characters was annoying, but probably accurate to their ages, if not realistic to the "time" and culture in which they lived. A teenager reading this would probably relate with the main characters on a better level.

[Raya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was amazing but it felt dry. The writing was a bit dull and only the plot kept the trilogy going. It needed a bit of a push to move it up to my favorites. Nevertheless I fell in love with the plot and thats the only thing that left a great impression.

[Beth Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Love losing myself in books like these keeps you wondering what is going to happen next I recommend everyone to read this book