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NOTE: Grey is an excerpt from the novel The Wizard of London.
Sarah Jane was sent from her home in Africa to school in London because her parents felt it would be better for her health. Given conditions in London, however, she might have been safer in the African jungle.
Sarah Jane was sent from her home in Africa to school in London because her parents felt it would be better for her health. Given conditions in London, however, she might have been safer in the African jungle.
- GenresFantasyEbooksParanormal
Nook
First published January 1, 1997
17 people are currently reading
712 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,601 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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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 27, 2015
England, India & Africa come together in London
Another excellent Kiplinesque story from Mercedes Lackey. This one precedes GREY'S GHOST in chronological order. A child of the London streets is rescued by the denizens of a strange school were no one seems concerned that the supernatural is real. Some other reviewers have written that this story is an excerpt from the book, THE WIZARD OF LONDON.
Another excellent Kiplinesque story from Mercedes Lackey. This one precedes GREY'S GHOST in chronological order. A child of the London streets is rescued by the denizens of a strange school were no one seems concerned that the supernatural is real. Some other reviewers have written that this story is an excerpt from the book, THE WIZARD OF LONDON.
November 28, 2011
Would have liked it better if it hadn't come from a longer book (that I've read before). Good series though!
June 8, 2012
I would have liked more of an explanation about what happened and why, but as this is one of my favorite sections from the Wizard of London, I won't complain.
July 10, 2012
Felt like I had read this alread go figure this was a part from a previous book.
December 3, 2021
As this is an excerpt from book #5, The Wizard of London, I would suggest reading that novel.
This is a cute bit from the story introducing Grey and her unique status within the story and with Sarah herself.
This is a cute bit from the story introducing Grey and her unique status within the story and with Sarah herself.
January 13, 2024
Great story
Here is the beginning of Sarah and Man's friendship, and an introduction to some of the denizens of the Harton School. It is an entertaining story that precedes many interesting books.
Here is the beginning of Sarah and Man's friendship, and an introduction to some of the denizens of the Harton School. It is an entertaining story that precedes many interesting books.
April 6, 2025
A charming introduction to Sarah, Nan, and Gray. Set in what will become the Elemental Masters universe.
November 25, 2015
Finally, I get the back story on how the two girls meet. How Sarah got Grey and how both Nan and Sarah ended up friends and in such a special place.
Short, sweet and informative.
Short, sweet and informative.
December 22, 2022
re-read 3/5/2014
July 29, 2014
Short story included in Werehunter by Mercedes Lackey. Germ of story that became one of the Elemental Masters novels.
March 2, 2015
a quick cute read
August 17, 2015
It was a snippet from The Wizard Of London.
March 30, 2017
a little taste of my favorite psychics in this series.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews