Blade of Empire: Book Two of the Dragon Prophecy

The Dragon Prophecy #2

by Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory

USA Today and New York Times bestselling authors Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory continue The Dragon Prophecy, which began with Crown of Vengeance. Set in a masterful fantasy world filled with elves and demons, unicorns and goblins, and mages and warriors, TITLE TK continues the legend of Vieliessar Farcarinon, the first High King.

As Vieliessar confronts the first waves of the forces of Darkness, her destined Bondmate, Runacar, leads a rag-tag group to war. For centuries, the Elves have hunted the Otherfolk—minotaurs, gryphons, dryads, and more—considering them beasts. But they have a complex society, Runacar discovers, and though he is an Elf, takes it as his mission to help them reclaim their lands from his former friends and allies.

The Dragon Prophecy is a tale of loyalty and betrayal, of love and loss, of sacrifice and salvation. And of the never-ending battle between Light and Dark.
This thrilling, epic fantasy adventure will appeal to readers of Lackey's Valdemar novels as well as fans of Robin Hobb or Diana Gabaldon.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Dragons

476 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 24, 2017

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

[Bookwraiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.

Never having read Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory’s Obsidian trilogy or the sequel trilogy Enduring Flame, I had no real knowledge of what I was getting into when I decided to grab Crown of Vengeance then dive into Blade of Empire. But now, after twelve hundred plus pages, I can say that this series is a young adult version of high fantasy complete with a Chosen One character, a Game of Throne-like war over a throne, battle after battle, and lore, lore, lore. All of it set in a huge world of Elves, Demons, Dragons and otherfolk filled with magic and confusing prophecies where the narrative is concerned with the passage of decades not days. Certainly, it is a story which many will love, but, unfortunately, it continued my decades long streak of striking out with Mercedes Lackey novels.

To catch people up to date on this series, Crown of Vengeance begins it all by introducing Vielissiar Faricarnon; this young Elven child the fulfillment of a prophecy who eventually finds herself at a school for gifted children where . . . she is the most awesome student ever! From there Vielissiar’s story progresses through the ages as war breaks out over the throne, a love interest arises, and tomes of Elven lore comes to life before a reader’s eyes.

Fast forward to Crown’s sequel, Blade of Empire. Here Vielissiar is basically nowhere to be found (though she makes a few brief appearances). This narrative jettisoning her for the tale of Runacarendalur Caerthalien, an elf who refused to swear fealty to the Chosen One, winds up cast out from the Elves, and ends up finding a new life as a sort of war leader of the Otherfolk (centaurs, merfolk, gryphons, minotaurs, talking bears, and other magic creatures). Our protagonist attempting to aid his allies in a war to reclaim the lands the Elves have steadily stolen from them.

If I could sum up Blade of Empire in as few words as possible for everyone, I’d say it is a world building extravaganza, determined to realistically portray the clash of different cultures, and wishing to explore the effects of war on groups of people. And if that makes this novel sound like a historical thesis written by your favorite Medieval Studies Professor at university, then you wouldn’t be far from the truth, because Blade reads exactly like a history book much of the time; it’s few bright moments revolving around the clash of cultures, specifically the revelation that the enemy isn’t always evil and actually have their own logical reasons for hating another group. And since I love history and even fantasy world building (Tolkien’s The Silmarillion is a personal favorite.) I could have fallen in love with this book if it had mixed an emotionally compelling story into the historical narrative. Unfortunately, it did not.

Blade's main problem is it spends so much time attempting to spotlight the world’s non-Elven folk, realistically portray those culture clashes, and make this world feel huge and diverse it neglects to provide an intriguing, multi-layered plot with complex individuals to empathize with. Here all the point-of-view characters arcs lead nowhere. Sure, these individuals go through things, develop a bit, but they have no destination. The fact there are constant time jumps in the story only makes matters worse, as it is difficult to tell if two months or two years has passed. And even when you finally cross the finish line with everyone, you keep thinking there has to be more to the story, that perhaps your copy of the novel had a chapter or two left out during printing, because there is no way this is the ending. At least, that is how I felt.

As I have said many times, I really wish I enjoyed Mercedes Lackey’s books. She has written (or co-authored) so many fantasy stories, has so many fans that I feel like I’m missing something by not enjoying her works. Be that as it may, Blade of Empire is just another novel I could not get excited about. Hopefully, fans of the series or the authors will love it, but for me personally, this novel was merely an okay read which had no real emotional impact even though it attempted to touch upon many complex societal issues.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this book for forever, and it does not disappoint! Like the first book, this one takes a more serious tone than either The Obsidian Mountain or The Enduring Flame trilogies, and it rocks! As a set up for the next book, it is amazing, but it is equally enthralling in it's own right. I really like witnessing the evolution of Runacar as a character, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he and Veilissar end up interacting! The next book can't come fast enough!

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope it is not as long a wait for book number 3 in this series as it was for book number 2.

[Justin Walshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

They thought the war was over, they were wrong. Until they were right. And the war was over.
Not to be confused with the historical text about the fall of the Soviet Union which happens to have the same cover.

[Kathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10
A bit too long—I really think the story would have benefited from tightening up—but having an Elven former War Prince molding the Otherfolk into an army of sorts makes for an interesting narrative. It’s that narrative that carries the book, with the sections devoted to Vieliessar High King, Hamphuliadiel the Astomancer, and the Endarkened as side dishes to the main course.

The ultimate battle between Light and Dark should dominate the third book of this trilogy which, unfortunately, is not yet published.

[Ida Jagaric · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was awesome and I'm gonna die waiting for the 3rd book!! And I deeply hope it'll end with a 3rd and not go on forever like so many fantasy series do. But there's a good chance it won't coz they have a successful track record of trilogies! ;) This series was amazing! It's been a while since I've read great, epic fantasy! It's definitely more Mallory's voice than Lackey's since I feel pretty familiar with hers. I read in an interview that she had an unpublished novel that turned into the first Obsidian novel, but maybe he's been writing these since?

What I loved in Crown of Vengeance, being new to the Obsidian world, is that I didn't know what race our protaganist and characters were, just that they were long-lived. To discover they were elves was a treat! And to have a series from their point of view was cool since it's usually from the human perspective. I loved reading the details and strategies of all the battles. I loved the Aesalion, sooo hilarious!! More "murderous than warlike" and how his pranks had an unfortunately high death toll. His childlike behaviour and glee was such a contrast to his deadliness.

My first impression of the series was that it was a bit heavy-handed with Tolkien-like detail and slowness but then I was flipping pages like a madwoman, inhaling both books as quick as I could! So much fighting and magic, what more could you want! (Well a little more romance but the books are so good I'll overlook it ;)

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written continuation of the Dragon Prophecy Trilogy. I've read all the Mallory/Lackey books, and unlike The Enduring Flame series (which I found to be exhausting), Blade of Empire falls back to the Obsidian Mountain series, where each chapter gives you just enough information to want to read the next chapter...and you finish the book in a day or so.

If I had just one complaint, I would say the length of the book leaves me wanting. I feel like more history of the world could have been included, and I understand that the history is literally part of the story in this case, but I fear that the next book will either be all history [of the world] and unexplained story, or all story [of the Dragon Prophecy] and not enough history. It is my hope that Mallory and Lackey can combine both and just make a long, exciting story with Tolkien level involvement with the history of this vast world.

[Bookworm With a B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love getting the background story for the Obsidian Mountain trilogy. I hope there will be a third book! I've heard nothing about it though.

[Marian Siemens]

Loved this one, waiting for book 3!!!!

[Alex Acton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to the Dragon Prophecy series as a longtime fan of the Obsidian Mountain Trilogy. What made the original series so great was its focus on the development of a host of diverse characters. So many of them start out flawed and slowly grow into something greater by discovering their inner strengths and destiny. But where the original series shone so brightly in that way, the newest entries fall short.

In book one of the series, we're introduced to a Child of Prophecy. In a whirlwind of years, she finds herself thrust into a position of greatness. There's a token effort at showing her self-doubt, but she comes into her own pretty darn quick and is marching as a mighty conqueror in no time. One gets the sense that the authors knew they had an ambitious task before them, reaching back to a character that's a legend by the time the Obsidian Mountain Trilogy occurs. Those who have read the first novels in this canon will remember Queen Vieliessar changed the course of history in quite a few important ways, so we know this series has a lot of ground to cover.

By Book 2, we've shifted focus mostly onto Runacarendalur Caerthalien, former War Prince, arch-foe of the High King, and renegade at large. As with the first book, much of his personal development seems rushed and sudden. This character who was defined by his station and stubbornness in Book 1, suddenly has a major change of direction in deciding fight against his own kind as the War Prince of the Beastlings. The hatred he felt (and feels) for Vieliessar for breaking the Hundred Houses doesn't seem to interfere with his new goal of driving elves from the West.

And in style, some of my least favorite aspects of Book 1 carry into this entry as well. Because we're in Elven lands, names for people and places are long and mystical. A single conversation turns into a nightmare of remembering who (and what) each character is in the larger plot. Steady streams of battles march by quickly, making it hard to understand how much time is passing and place the events in the larger context of the world.

On the whole, the first two books in the series remind me more of the Silmarillion than The Hobbit or LoTR . The authors have a mythology to establish, and it feels like setting the stage of the ultimate confrontation between the Light and the Darkness is more important than the development of the characters or the world. After all, much of the plot of The Obsidian Trilogy relies on things ending a certain way in this prequel. I wish that we could see more flaws in Vieliessar and Runacar than simply an angsty bout of self doubt that suddenly evaporates when the chips are down, but I don't doubt that the series would need to be ten books long for that to happen (and no one wants to wait that long).

Book 2 ends with plenty left at stake. The army of the Light isn't ready to face the Endarkened. The bones of the Earth still sleep. There are unresolved soul bonds, and a mad Astromancer on the loose. With so many cards yet to play and already breakneck pace for the first two books in the series, I suspect that Book 3 will be cover-to-cover plot.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In it's own way, Blade of Empire is as good as Crown of Vengeance was, although both of them have a different tempo, which makes their storylines differ.

In Blade, the main protagonist is Runcarendulur Caerthalien, the War Master of the family that helped tear down Vieliessar Farcarinon's own, but who also happens to be Runcar's Soul Bond, much to both of their horror!

After the ending of the battle between the remnants of the Hundred, and Vieliessar's followers, Runcar walks away from it all, but then finds himself captured by the creatures that his people refer to as Beastlings.

Much to his surprise, he is introduced to their King, a Minotaur called Leutric who, after questioning Runcar, then testing him, places him at the head of an army, brought together with all types of Others, and asks him to win back the Western Shores for them.

Runcar agrees, but it takes many years to gather the army together, then start in their long journey west, in order to do as Leutric asked of him, and clear the whole place of his fellow Elves, so that the Others can reclaim what was theirs in the first place.

Meanwhile, Runcar doesn't know why Vieliessar hasn't sent part of her army westwards, too, in order to support those who had pledged their loyalty to her - not knowing that all of Vieliessar's people, and army, had been attacked by the Endarkened, on the day of her being crowned High King, and the same day that Runcar had walked away from it all.

But Runcar, as he moves ever westwards with his rather unusual army, is slowly, but surely, realising that all of these beings that he had been taught were mindless beasts, were, in fact, just as much People, as he was himself.

It takes many years of fighting, and walking, then battling, and walking westwards again, until Runcar finally reaches the Western Shores - and it is here that the greatest battle happens, between Runcar's army, and Vieliessar's pledged Elven Lords.

What happens there changes Runcar's life once again, and this is where his story pauses, ready to go on in book three of the Dragon Prophecy trilogy!

*Guess who just discovered that the third book she'd bought, thinking it was book 3 of the trilogy, is another copy of book 1? D'oh!!
Plus, book 3 hasn't been published yet - maybe not even written! Grrrrrrr

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd even say 2.5 stars: Less novel than the first book in the series. The time shifts of focusing on seconds, later jumping months or years (across a continent or more?) were confusing - some authors can pull that off but it didn't succeed here. Some of the battles as just summaries was again a zoom out that felt too rushed, and then again the detailed battles and gore was maybe too much too?
I did enjoy the nonhumans and having an anti-hero but the Darkness stuff started to get kind of superficial and repetitive (I judge quality by the supporting characters and the villains).

Really this would have been better as 2 separate books and with a more consistent editor (pacing, flowing from detail to generalized, giving more focus on certain characters per book - like Sanderson and Edgedancer)

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows Runacar, Vielle's bondmate, more than the main story line. The endarkened attack Vielle and her forces at the beginning, but then ten years pass where we don't see what happens to her at all. Focusing on the western shore and Runacar, we are introduced to the Otherfolk and their campaign. It is cool to see Runacar's character building and changing as he adapts to his circumstances and learns to appreciate and work with the Otherfolk. I like that he's humbled and he occasionally starts to identify with Vielle's philosophies as well as his perspective on war changes. But this book is also a very, very long and drawn out conflict/war between the Otherfolk and the elves of the western shore and I got bored of it about 3/4 of the way through (just like I did in the first one of Vielle's campaign). I'm hoping the third one is better as they battle the endarkened together.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this book had some interesting concepts, it was overall bland. It wasn’t poorly written but it failed to catch my interest. The environmental description felt paper thin and uninteresting, as though it were set dressing rather than a world the characters were experiencing.
The social-political interactions were fairly complex but unfortunately did not make up for that lack.

Though it was only a small part of the book, I also objected to the blatant sexualization of the female Endarkened, as well as how frequently their sexualization was the focus of the text where they appeared. It felt like it was intended as a heavy-handed morality lesson on the evils of sex but in practice it came off as fan service.

[Sarah Bruer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read

This is an intriguing sequel to Crown of Vengeance. My favorite parts of the book revolved around Otherfolk and Rune. I especially found their first interactions enjoyable and realistic. It is a bit bogged down at points when they bounce around characters to show a wide perspective. While I understand the authors' use of it, I wish they stuck to two (maybe three) at most. But I did enjoy the book and will eagerly await the next (although it will be with much impatience it it takes more time then this one to publish).

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors took on a lot of characters and plotlines. In addition to moving the story forward, they needed to provide enough reminders of the first volume's plot to let people with poor memories like mine keep up. These tasks were handled well. I felt like the timeline moved very differently among the various stories. I'm glad some of the characters were given nicknames, the Elven names are still a mouthful. The Endarkened are still terrifying. I could have used a map to keep track of all the movement. I find myself still thinking about the characters, especially Rune and the Beastlings.

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really nice standard-fantasy epic, in my opinion, with the added benefit of a lot of twists I was not expecting after the first book. The cast of characters has almost entirely changed, and I like the new ones as much as the old. I admire the way that this series plays out chains of cause and consequence, and the way it plays out the battles in which there is not a good or bad side. The only major detraction for me was the way language creation has crept from giving us fantasy-names to replacing enough English words without explanation to cause confusion at times.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poor thing feels like it was gutted, and oddly edited; the pacing is off, both for the scenes themselves and how the chapters were arranged. It also feels like it doesn't stand on its own, as if it's part 1 of a book, all backstory to get to a place. Good in the places that it has - there were moments I got shivers - but could stand for expansion, even if that's odd to say about a book nearly 500 pages long (not sure why the edition says it's 600+, my hardcover is clearly 492).

[Kenneth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly one of the worse fantasy books I have ever read. This is so poorly written. There is a huge cast of important characters and they are entirely ignored. A decade of story time passes without any news of the worldwide imperilment that threatens the existence of every living thing. This book does practically nothing to advance the story of the trilogy, or rather, what it does could’ve been achieved in a chapter or two instead of an entire book.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to this. But it mostly focused on Rune, and I wanted more momentum on the plot. Vielle was mostly excluded from this book:(
And sadly dragon's were just a mysterious talking point for the characters for now.
For all the time we had to wait for a new book, it was disappointing. But I will still read the third when it comes out(hopefully soon)

[Wrbill Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Blood and Guts

Nothing by Ms Lackey is a total loss but this series is long winded, with much mindless violence. Part two of a trilogy that is a prequel to two previous trilogies with Mallory! No dragons evidently until part three. I love ML, but her work with this coauthor sometimes leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning was really slow and felt awkward. I spent a lot of time trying to google what had happened in the previous book so that I didn't feel so lost. A synopsis at the start would have been a boon considering it was 4 years between books. Once things got rolling, I had trouble setting it down.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mecedes Lackey is one of my all-time favorite authors.
I struggled with this book. I could not get interested in the story.
Ms. Lackey is one of a handful of authors that I actually purchase her hardcover books.
Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, and Terry Goodkind normally start at four stars.
Not this series. Glad I checked it out from the Library.

[Magdalena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading Blades of the Empire by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. I am lacking a map, a name list and the names on characters have like ten syllables. And vere few short names. It makes the reading a bit difficult. I have been waiting for this book for five years!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review here:

https://jamesgenrebooks.blogspot.com/...

While any sense of time goes out the window fairly quickly, it's engaging and I look forward to the finish.

[Jennine Lona Tiedemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This trilogy has been wonderfully epic! James Mallory adds a different dynamic to the classic Mercedes Lackey style. I love the way that play the soul bond in this story. I cannot wait for the third book.

[Derek Solomon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Mercedes Lackey has written an engaging and well thought out story!

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can’t wait for the third!

[Rick Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually like books by Mercedes Lackey, but I didn't really like the way they elfs acted in this book