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Elvenbred
Not yet published
Expected 18 Aug 26ELVENBRED (Halfblood Chronicles, Book Four) — New & Illustrated
The wait is over. More than two decades in the making, the long-awaited final chapter of the Halfblood Chronicles has arrived. This is not just another release—it’s the moment fantasy fans have waited for. Every book has led to this one. Every prophecy, every secret, every rebellion now comes to a breathtaking conclusion.
Co-created by Grandmasters Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton, and now completed by Mercedes Lackey and Benjamin Ohlander, Elvenbred delivers a masterful finale that fuses epic fantasy, political intrigue, and speculative science fiction into a story of collapse, defiance, and rebirth.
The world is burning. The elven cities are falling, one by one. Amid the siege of Veridian, Lord Haldeen—the brilliant, ruthless Gatekeeper—struggles to hold together a dying empire. As monstrous Predators rise from the wilds and the elves’ own machines turn against them, Haldeen gambles everything on a forbidden experiment that could open the way to another world… or destroy what remains of this one.
Why this finale is
An ending fans have been waiting more than 20 years The long-awaited conclusion to one of fantasy’s most beloved sagas.A new creative Mercedes Lackey and Benjamin Ohlander bring fresh energy and vision while honoring the legacy of Andre Norton.Epic in scope, intimate in The fate of nations balanced against the conscience of one man—and the courage of those who defy him.Fantasy meets Elven magic entwines with mechanical constructs and living machines in a bold fusion of genres.Illustrated Gorgeous new art brings the Halfblood world to life like never before.Elvenbred is not just the end of a story—it’s a return to the wonder that began it all. As alliances fracture and old powers fall, new legends rise. The prophecy completes. The circle closes. And fantasy history is made.
The Halfblood Chronicles — Complete 2026 Event Series
Book Elvenbane (revised, illustrated) — May 12, 2026Book Elvenblood (revised, illustrated) — June 16, 2026Book Elvenborn (revised, illustrated) — July 14, 2026Book Elvenbred (new, illustrated) — August 18, 2026 — the long-awaited finaleJoin the event. With each book landing monthly, the Halfblood Chronicles build toward a finale that’s been a generation in the making. Experience the end of an era—and the birth of a new legend.
The Halfblood Chronicles return—complete at last.
The wait is over. More than two decades in the making, the long-awaited final chapter of the Halfblood Chronicles has arrived. This is not just another release—it’s the moment fantasy fans have waited for. Every book has led to this one. Every prophecy, every secret, every rebellion now comes to a breathtaking conclusion.
Co-created by Grandmasters Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton, and now completed by Mercedes Lackey and Benjamin Ohlander, Elvenbred delivers a masterful finale that fuses epic fantasy, political intrigue, and speculative science fiction into a story of collapse, defiance, and rebirth.
The world is burning. The elven cities are falling, one by one. Amid the siege of Veridian, Lord Haldeen—the brilliant, ruthless Gatekeeper—struggles to hold together a dying empire. As monstrous Predators rise from the wilds and the elves’ own machines turn against them, Haldeen gambles everything on a forbidden experiment that could open the way to another world… or destroy what remains of this one.
Why this finale is
An ending fans have been waiting more than 20 years The long-awaited conclusion to one of fantasy’s most beloved sagas.A new creative Mercedes Lackey and Benjamin Ohlander bring fresh energy and vision while honoring the legacy of Andre Norton.Epic in scope, intimate in The fate of nations balanced against the conscience of one man—and the courage of those who defy him.Fantasy meets Elven magic entwines with mechanical constructs and living machines in a bold fusion of genres.Illustrated Gorgeous new art brings the Halfblood world to life like never before.Elvenbred is not just the end of a story—it’s a return to the wonder that began it all. As alliances fracture and old powers fall, new legends rise. The prophecy completes. The circle closes. And fantasy history is made.
The Halfblood Chronicles — Complete 2026 Event Series
Book Elvenbane (revised, illustrated) — May 12, 2026Book Elvenblood (revised, illustrated) — June 16, 2026Book Elvenborn (revised, illustrated) — July 14, 2026Book Elvenbred (new, illustrated) — August 18, 2026 — the long-awaited finaleJoin the event. With each book landing monthly, the Halfblood Chronicles build toward a finale that’s been a generation in the making. Experience the end of an era—and the birth of a new legend.
The Halfblood Chronicles return—complete at last.
450 pages, Paperback
Expected publication August 18, 2026
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,542 followersMercedes 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
"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
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Elvenbred, the conclusion of the Halfblood Chronicles, a tetralogy started in 1991 by Grandmasters Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey. I am happy that the issues with Norton’s estate were finally resolved and the long-awaited book, Elvenbred, has now been written by Mercedes Lackey and Benjamin Ohlander.
Before starting this final installment, I reread the first three books in order to refresh my mind and I am glad I did, because I had forgotten quite a few essential things. The third book did not end on a major cliffhanger, but it did leave quite a few loose matters, such as the unexpected twist concerning Lady Triana and what happened to the other protagonists of the storyline: Shana, the Elvenbane, and her wizards, the sympathetic dragons, the Iron People, as well as the ‘good’ Elvenlord, Kyrtian. I would advise readers to read the first three books of the series (Elvenbane, Elvenblood and Elvenborn) before reading Elvenbred, although it could conceivably be read as a standalone. However, you do miss out on quite a bit then.
Anyway, I started reading with a refreshed memory and a lot of expectations. I must say, I was not disappointed at all. What was hinted at in the earlier books, the Elvenlords who escaped to a new world, were really the rabble on their threatened home world, Evelon, and emulated their entitled, overbearing overlords’ behavior, proves to be true when Triana was taken through a portal to Evelon. The fight against the Predators, from which the lowborn elves escaped albeit unplanned, has intensified for what proves to be a century on Evelon and a millennium on their new world and the elves are slowly losing. The difference in time flow could have been exploited more, but unfortunately that doesn’t happen.
The protagonists, Triana and Lord Haldeen, who works hard to open the gate to Triana’s home world, are both totally unlikable characters. Haldeen is paranoid with blind ambition, utterly egocentric, a strategist with no moral compass. Triana, the self-centered and entitled er-Lord, continues being an unpleasant character with so sympathy for anyone but herself. It is only when she meets (and helps) one of the original inhabitants of Evelon, who has been given into her care, that she develops some empathy and starts realizing that her treatment of her human slaves was appalling. This means a shift in her attitude.
What the book also needs is someone going over it with a fine tooth comb, so that this editing and proofreading will eliminate some printing and/or spelling errors.
All this makes the book worth 4.5 stars to me, but because of the fact that the authors left a slight opening for a sequel so that a more satisfactory ending to the entire series can be written, I raised this to 5 stars. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and will certainly read it should this be the case.
Before starting this final installment, I reread the first three books in order to refresh my mind and I am glad I did, because I had forgotten quite a few essential things. The third book did not end on a major cliffhanger, but it did leave quite a few loose matters, such as the unexpected twist concerning Lady Triana and what happened to the other protagonists of the storyline: Shana, the Elvenbane, and her wizards, the sympathetic dragons, the Iron People, as well as the ‘good’ Elvenlord, Kyrtian. I would advise readers to read the first three books of the series (Elvenbane, Elvenblood and Elvenborn) before reading Elvenbred, although it could conceivably be read as a standalone. However, you do miss out on quite a bit then.
Anyway, I started reading with a refreshed memory and a lot of expectations. I must say, I was not disappointed at all. What was hinted at in the earlier books, the Elvenlords who escaped to a new world, were really the rabble on their threatened home world, Evelon, and emulated their entitled, overbearing overlords’ behavior, proves to be true when Triana was taken through a portal to Evelon. The fight against the Predators, from which the lowborn elves escaped albeit unplanned, has intensified for what proves to be a century on Evelon and a millennium on their new world and the elves are slowly losing. The difference in time flow could have been exploited more, but unfortunately that doesn’t happen.
The protagonists, Triana and Lord Haldeen, who works hard to open the gate to Triana’s home world, are both totally unlikable characters. Haldeen is paranoid with blind ambition, utterly egocentric, a strategist with no moral compass. Triana, the self-centered and entitled er-Lord, continues being an unpleasant character with so sympathy for anyone but herself. It is only when she meets (and helps) one of the original inhabitants of Evelon, who has been given into her care, that she develops some empathy and starts realizing that her treatment of her human slaves was appalling. This means a shift in her attitude.
What the book also needs is someone going over it with a fine tooth comb, so that this editing and proofreading will eliminate some printing and/or spelling errors.
All this makes the book worth 4.5 stars to me, but because of the fact that the authors left a slight opening for a sequel so that a more satisfactory ending to the entire series can be written, I raised this to 5 stars. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and will certainly read it should this be the case.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy!
This series went on hiatus after the death of co-author Andre Norton, but now, two decades later, Mercedes Lackey returns with a new co-author and we see what happens next after the previous book's cliffhanger ending.
Here in Book 4 Lackey and Ohlander made the smart choice to move the story to a brand new setting with an almost completely new cast, to minimize the comparisons of style and tone in the previous books and this one. And it was absolutely fascinating to learn about the elven home world and to learn the difference between the lies the elvenlords spun about their past and the truth of what actually happened. Still, once the world building was firmly in place, I wanted more to happen. There was a lot of table setting, but not nearly enough action. The time dilation between worlds had a lot of potential that was never used, but hopefully this is not the end of the series!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews