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Diana Tregarde #0.3 (Arcanum 101)
Trio of Sorcery (Diana Tregarde, #0.5)
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mercedes Lackey presents three exciting short urban fantasy novels featuring three resourceful heroines and three different takes on the modern world and on magics both modern and ancient.
Arcanum 101: Diana Tregarde, practicing witch, romance novelist, Guardian of the Earth. Studying at Harvard, Diana is approached by Joe O'Brian, a young cop who has already seen more than one unusual thing during his budding career. The distraught mother of a kidnap victim is taking advice from a "psychic" and interfering in the police investigation. Will Diana prove that the psychic is a fake? Unfortunately, the psychic is not a fake, but a very wicked witch—and the child's kidnapper.
Drums: Jennifer Talldeer, shaman, private investigator, member of the Osage tribe. Most of Jennie's work is regular PI stuff, but Nathan Begay brings her a problem she's never seen before. His girlfriend, Caroline, is Chickasaw to his Navaho, but that's not the problem. Somehow, Caroline has attracted the attention of an angry Osage ghost. Thwarted in love while alive, the ghost has chosen Caroline to be his bride in death.
Ghost in the Machine: Ellen McBride: computer programmer extraordinaire, techno-shaman. The programmers and players of a new MMORPG find that the game's "boss," a wendigo, is "killing" everyone—even the programmers' characters with their god-like powers. A brilliant debugger, Ellen discovers that the massive computing power of the game's servers have created a breach between the supernatural world and our own. This wendigo isn't a bit of code, it's the real thing . . . and it's on the brink of breaking out of the computers and into the real world.
Arcanum 101: Diana Tregarde, practicing witch, romance novelist, Guardian of the Earth. Studying at Harvard, Diana is approached by Joe O'Brian, a young cop who has already seen more than one unusual thing during his budding career. The distraught mother of a kidnap victim is taking advice from a "psychic" and interfering in the police investigation. Will Diana prove that the psychic is a fake? Unfortunately, the psychic is not a fake, but a very wicked witch—and the child's kidnapper.
Drums: Jennifer Talldeer, shaman, private investigator, member of the Osage tribe. Most of Jennie's work is regular PI stuff, but Nathan Begay brings her a problem she's never seen before. His girlfriend, Caroline, is Chickasaw to his Navaho, but that's not the problem. Somehow, Caroline has attracted the attention of an angry Osage ghost. Thwarted in love while alive, the ghost has chosen Caroline to be his bride in death.
Ghost in the Machine: Ellen McBride: computer programmer extraordinaire, techno-shaman. The programmers and players of a new MMORPG find that the game's "boss," a wendigo, is "killing" everyone—even the programmers' characters with their god-like powers. A brilliant debugger, Ellen discovers that the massive computing power of the game's servers have created a breach between the supernatural world and our own. This wendigo isn't a bit of code, it's the real thing . . . and it's on the brink of breaking out of the computers and into the real world.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 2, 2010
92 people are currently reading
1093 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,532 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 - 30 of 166 reviews
September 16, 2019
I suspect that the popularity of her books, though waning, is responsible for the poor editing in recent books.
The stories are fun, and quick reads, but the poor editing is jarring.
Also, the creative spelling and lack of research was disappointing. Even for people who DON'T live in NAZ, Tony Hillerman is easy to access. So, Navaho instead of Navajo, Dineh region instead of Dineh Tah, those can be overlooked. BUT having a "Navaho" help battle a ghost? NOT!
The techno-witch was, again, fun, but she seemed to want to get ALL the technojargon into one story, making a lot of it eye-glazingly BORING. So, I tended to skip when they started talking acronyms and progamming jargon.
The story intros for Drums and Arcane 101 were necessary, meaning that the stories weren't written in a way that imparted the time period, as good writing would have.
Oh, well.
The stories are fun, and quick reads, but the poor editing is jarring.
Also, the creative spelling and lack of research was disappointing. Even for people who DON'T live in NAZ, Tony Hillerman is easy to access. So, Navaho instead of Navajo, Dineh region instead of Dineh Tah, those can be overlooked. BUT having a "Navaho" help battle a ghost? NOT!
The techno-witch was, again, fun, but she seemed to want to get ALL the technojargon into one story, making a lot of it eye-glazingly BORING. So, I tended to skip when they started talking acronyms and progamming jargon.
The story intros for Drums and Arcane 101 were necessary, meaning that the stories weren't written in a way that imparted the time period, as good writing would have.
Oh, well.
November 5, 2010
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.
Mercedes Lackey is an author responsible for a number of my firsts. Diana Tregarde was probably the first the urban fantasy series I ever read, and she mixed magic with police interceptors much to my delight. I also know for a fact that Jennifer Talldeer, in SACRED GROUND, was the first character I ever read who used a condom in a love scene (a realistic, compelling, touch). Both Diana and Jennie have new stories in TRIO OF SORCERY, as well as a new character, Ellen McBridge. All three characters left their mark on me for better or worse in this anthology, and not in the way I expected.
Diana Tregarde’s story in Arcanum 101 works well for those familiar with her previous books, but can also serve as a good introduction to the series. Featuring a witch/romance novelist, I love the trademark Lackey touch of mixing magic with practical concerns (like getting a job or figuring out bus schedules). While being a Guardian does give Diana a bump up in magical power, she’s not above further augmenting that power with research, martial arts, and the fastest get away car she can bum a ride in. Reading this origin story whetted my appetite to go back and re-read all of those Diana Tregarde books I remember enjoying so much.
Arcanum 101 was followed by Drums, taking up the story of Jennie Talldeer and David Spotted Horse where SACRED GROUND left off. Of the three stories, Drums was the weakest in the triology. It felt unfinished on the edges, awkward at the beginning and vague at the end. Given how vividly I remember Jennie and David’s relationship, I didn’t like how Lackey raises questions between them that were never resolved in the scope of this story. I’d be willing to forgive, however, if this means more stories featuring these characters will follow.
And finally, set in present day, Ghost in the Machine was definitely my favorite story (and not just because it deals with an on-line computer game very similar to World of Warcraft). Ghost in the Machine introduces a fascinating concept of how magic might collide with our modern world. Usually short stories leave me wanting in the character development department, but the techno-shaman Ellen McBridge and magically augmented AIBO were a pair that I would love to read more about.
Thoughout these three stories, Lackey emphasizes this passage of time by prefacing each story with a primer on the technological and social norms of the day. While I enjoyed these prologues, I would have enjoyed the stories themselves more if Lackey had used a lighter hand with these time period markers. I felt like many of the “period references”, were rather clunky and unnecessary for the story itself.
Over all, this trio was a pleasant trip down memory lane, as well as a sweet showcase of Mercedes Lackey’s portfolio. I only hope that these stories are the seedlings of new full length books.
Sexual Content: None
Mercedes Lackey is an author responsible for a number of my firsts. Diana Tregarde was probably the first the urban fantasy series I ever read, and she mixed magic with police interceptors much to my delight. I also know for a fact that Jennifer Talldeer, in SACRED GROUND, was the first character I ever read who used a condom in a love scene (a realistic, compelling, touch). Both Diana and Jennie have new stories in TRIO OF SORCERY, as well as a new character, Ellen McBridge. All three characters left their mark on me for better or worse in this anthology, and not in the way I expected.
Diana Tregarde’s story in Arcanum 101 works well for those familiar with her previous books, but can also serve as a good introduction to the series. Featuring a witch/romance novelist, I love the trademark Lackey touch of mixing magic with practical concerns (like getting a job or figuring out bus schedules). While being a Guardian does give Diana a bump up in magical power, she’s not above further augmenting that power with research, martial arts, and the fastest get away car she can bum a ride in. Reading this origin story whetted my appetite to go back and re-read all of those Diana Tregarde books I remember enjoying so much.
Arcanum 101 was followed by Drums, taking up the story of Jennie Talldeer and David Spotted Horse where SACRED GROUND left off. Of the three stories, Drums was the weakest in the triology. It felt unfinished on the edges, awkward at the beginning and vague at the end. Given how vividly I remember Jennie and David’s relationship, I didn’t like how Lackey raises questions between them that were never resolved in the scope of this story. I’d be willing to forgive, however, if this means more stories featuring these characters will follow.
And finally, set in present day, Ghost in the Machine was definitely my favorite story (and not just because it deals with an on-line computer game very similar to World of Warcraft). Ghost in the Machine introduces a fascinating concept of how magic might collide with our modern world. Usually short stories leave me wanting in the character development department, but the techno-shaman Ellen McBridge and magically augmented AIBO were a pair that I would love to read more about.
Thoughout these three stories, Lackey emphasizes this passage of time by prefacing each story with a primer on the technological and social norms of the day. While I enjoyed these prologues, I would have enjoyed the stories themselves more if Lackey had used a lighter hand with these time period markers. I felt like many of the “period references”, were rather clunky and unnecessary for the story itself.
Over all, this trio was a pleasant trip down memory lane, as well as a sweet showcase of Mercedes Lackey’s portfolio. I only hope that these stories are the seedlings of new full length books.
Sexual Content: None
January 21, 2022
I had never read anything by Mercedes Lackey before, so I figured this collection of novellas would be a good place to start instead of jumping into a series. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing and how much I enjoyed the stories. The three stories all featured a female protagonist who is capable of performing magic. They were all intriguing and well written with different settings both in geography and time.
I enjoyed the first story the most where the protagonist was a Harvard college student who was helping the police investigate a missing girl. What I liked most about it was the collection of characters and how Diana, the story’s protagonist, used these non-magical people to help her in her investigation. The second story, with a Native American ghost controlling a woman was also neat. The least of stories was the final one where a Wendigo was taking over a video game and threatening to enter the real world. In that case, believability was a serious issue and I had a hard time buying into the story, but I still enjoyed reading that one as well. I give this collection a thumbs up and would definitely read Mercedes Lackey again.
Carl Alves - author of The Invocation
I enjoyed the first story the most where the protagonist was a Harvard college student who was helping the police investigate a missing girl. What I liked most about it was the collection of characters and how Diana, the story’s protagonist, used these non-magical people to help her in her investigation. The second story, with a Native American ghost controlling a woman was also neat. The least of stories was the final one where a Wendigo was taking over a video game and threatening to enter the real world. In that case, believability was a serious issue and I had a hard time buying into the story, but I still enjoyed reading that one as well. I give this collection a thumbs up and would definitely read Mercedes Lackey again.
Carl Alves - author of The Invocation
January 30, 2011
ARCANUM 101 - A nice prequel tale to the Diana Tregarde Investigation series. Set some 30+ years back, it tells about Diana's transition to college life, while balancing a budding romance-writing career and a gift that requires her to help others. I loved the ending! If you like paranormal investigations, this series is for you.
DRUMS - Another paranormal investigator, Jenny Talldeer lives in Florida with her lover David Spotted Horse, and her grandfather. This story is set after "Sacred Ground" in 1995 but is even more interesting than the book (if possible).
GHOST IN THE MACHINE - Set in present day, this introduces a new character: Ellen, the techno-shaman. She is hired by a MMORG company to set their game world to rights. A neat blend of cyber and magic realms, though the language was a little tricky. I don't associate the world "faceplant" with "avatar death", and I'm still not sure what "spawning" is, but I don't think it has to do with fish... Still, I'd love to see more in this vein!
DRUMS - Another paranormal investigator, Jenny Talldeer lives in Florida with her lover David Spotted Horse, and her grandfather. This story is set after "Sacred Ground" in 1995 but is even more interesting than the book (if possible).
GHOST IN THE MACHINE - Set in present day, this introduces a new character: Ellen, the techno-shaman. She is hired by a MMORG company to set their game world to rights. A neat blend of cyber and magic realms, though the language was a little tricky. I don't associate the world "faceplant" with "avatar death", and I'm still not sure what "spawning" is, but I don't think it has to do with fish... Still, I'd love to see more in this vein!
January 10, 2011
Sadly, I felt that these stories lacked ... richness and heft. The third story in particular suffered by comparison to Omnitopia Dawn. It's been ages since I read Sacred Ground, and the protagonist never really resonated with me. I was embarrassingly excited about the return of Di Tregarde, but she didn't really have the feistiness she did in the books. I was kinda sad that we didn't get the full-on Spook Squad wackiness and Larry on the roof of the math building. As Lackey put it, this was the character's origin story. And sadly, it just felt ... kind of weak.
August 20, 2011
I seriously don't know what happened to Mercedes Lackey here. Transphobia and racism abound in the first two of these stories - after such disappointments I didn't even make it to the third.
May 13, 2018
Trio of Sorcery features three tales (duh) of various lengths about strong women who serve as psychic investigators in some capacity. This seemed like it would be a lot of fun when I picked it up but I had forgotten what a self righteous character Diana Tregarde can be. I've read three books featuring Tregarde I still don't like her-she sucked the enjoyment out of her own story. The other two stories were much better, especially the one featuring "techno shaman" Ellen McBride. They were exciting and featured some fascinating concepts. So-three stories, three stars.
May 26, 2018
*Arcanum 101* is very good - solid Diana Tregarde story. *Drums* is also pretty good, nice to have another Jennifer Talldeer story. *Ghost in the Machine*, not so much; I've never been a gamer, so the jargon is boring and it's really just not a very good story, imho.
December 29, 2010
I used to read a lot of Mercedes Lackey, particularly her Valdemar series. I got away from reading her because I just wasn't finding her writing exciting any more. But when I heard about this book, I immediately put it on my request list from the library. Trio of Sorcery brought back one of my favorite non-Valdemar characters, Diana Tregarde. Di is a Guardian of magic, charged with making sure that those who have been wronged by magic have a champion on their side. And she does this while being a romance writer and living in NYC. She'd originally only written 3 books because they didn't sell well (which, to me, is a shame because I love Di). But she did incorporate the world into two other of her series, so I wasn't totally bereft.
The first story, "Arcanum 101" is, in many ways, Di Tregarde's first story. It takes place in the 70s, when Di was just starting University. Not only does she work her first solo Guardian job (in her previous one, she'd gotten help from her granny), but she meets her own "Scooby Gang". I loved reading this back story for Di. Even though it had been years since I'd read any of the Di Tregarde's, it was wonderful to get pulled back into her world and meet some of the people that I'd read about in Jinx High (her last Di book). It gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, she'll bring another Di story into the light sooner rather than later. I need to search a little harder for my copies of Burning Water, Children of the Night and Jinx High.
The second story, "Drums", involves characters of hers that I've never read: Jenny Talldeer, Little Old Man and David Spotted Horse from Sacred Ground. Jenny is a private investigator and shaman-in-training. Her grandfather, Little Old Man, is training her and David, her lover, is her partner in the private investigator business. This story tells of Jenny having to face down an angry mi-ah-lushka (or wandering spirit that was not given the proper warrior's burial) that is trying to draw a Chickasaw woman to be his bride in death. This, too, was a fun read and it's making me want to pick up Sacred Ground to get a bit more into this world. I'm not terribly familiar with Indian customs, lore or history, so I don't know how accurate it is. But I did find it an enjoyable read.
The last story is a stand alone, "Ghost in the Machine". Ellen McBride is a computer programmer and techno-shaman. She's been called in to help the programming team for one of the most popular MMORPG on the net (they aren't saying it's WoW, but that's what it reminded me of). The programmers had included a Wendigo as one of the big bosses in their latest release and the Wendigo wasn't acting the way that it had been programmed. And Ellen is the only one who can get rid of it. This one was a real treat for me - I haven't played any MMORPGs yet, but I am an old school role-player. And I do have many friends that are into WoW and I've watched over a lot of shoulders. So I was able to follow along with a lot of what was going on with little need for explanation (though the explanations were there for those who weren't as familiar).
The whole book was a great read and one that I hope to own when I'm not so darn broke. All three stories are great magic-in-today's-world stories and I'm really hoping that Mercedes Lackey dips into these worlds again and again.
The first story, "Arcanum 101" is, in many ways, Di Tregarde's first story. It takes place in the 70s, when Di was just starting University. Not only does she work her first solo Guardian job (in her previous one, she'd gotten help from her granny), but she meets her own "Scooby Gang". I loved reading this back story for Di. Even though it had been years since I'd read any of the Di Tregarde's, it was wonderful to get pulled back into her world and meet some of the people that I'd read about in Jinx High (her last Di book). It gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, she'll bring another Di story into the light sooner rather than later. I need to search a little harder for my copies of Burning Water, Children of the Night and Jinx High.
The second story, "Drums", involves characters of hers that I've never read: Jenny Talldeer, Little Old Man and David Spotted Horse from Sacred Ground. Jenny is a private investigator and shaman-in-training. Her grandfather, Little Old Man, is training her and David, her lover, is her partner in the private investigator business. This story tells of Jenny having to face down an angry mi-ah-lushka (or wandering spirit that was not given the proper warrior's burial) that is trying to draw a Chickasaw woman to be his bride in death. This, too, was a fun read and it's making me want to pick up Sacred Ground to get a bit more into this world. I'm not terribly familiar with Indian customs, lore or history, so I don't know how accurate it is. But I did find it an enjoyable read.
The last story is a stand alone, "Ghost in the Machine". Ellen McBride is a computer programmer and techno-shaman. She's been called in to help the programming team for one of the most popular MMORPG on the net (they aren't saying it's WoW, but that's what it reminded me of). The programmers had included a Wendigo as one of the big bosses in their latest release and the Wendigo wasn't acting the way that it had been programmed. And Ellen is the only one who can get rid of it. This one was a real treat for me - I haven't played any MMORPGs yet, but I am an old school role-player. And I do have many friends that are into WoW and I've watched over a lot of shoulders. So I was able to follow along with a lot of what was going on with little need for explanation (though the explanations were there for those who weren't as familiar).
The whole book was a great read and one that I hope to own when I'm not so darn broke. All three stories are great magic-in-today's-world stories and I'm really hoping that Mercedes Lackey dips into these worlds again and again.
February 15, 2013
This book consists of three novellas. Two of them are about the heroines Lackey wrote about before: Diana Tregarde and Jennifer Talldeer. The last one is an original story. All three are fairly weak.
Arcanum 101 – a Diana Tregarde story
This story starts with a huge and unnecessary info dump. To compound this problem, there are too many involved explanations later in the story – as if the readers must be initialized into the genre of fantasy. As if they don’t already know about magic. This aspect of the tale really ticked me off.
As for the plot: during her college days, Di and a bunch of her student friends help the police to find a kidnapped girl. The kidnapper has magical powers, so Di must use her own magic to find and defeat him. And all the time she is doing magic, Di is whining, feeling sorry for herself because she is a Guardian, too lonely, and must do magical stuff. She really annoyed me, or perhaps the author did.
This novella has a feel of being written by an inexperienced writer and never revised. Maybe it was exactly that. Maybe the author just unearthed one of her earliest, never-published stories and included it in this anthology without further editing. I don’t know, of course, I’m guessing, but the story is rather flaccid. 1 star.
Drums – a Jennifer Talldeer story
This story is better than the first. No info dump, no extraneous explanations. A malevolent ghost is threatening a young woman, and the Native American PI Jennifer Talldeer banishes the ghost after some violence-edged ado and magical brandishing. My objections: despite her proclaimed magical powers and Indian Medicine knowledge, Jennifer can’t really fight off the nasty ghost. He is too strong for her, so she uses all the help she can get, including a couple of god-spirits of Native American mythology. I suppose, you don’t have to be a magician to let a couple of friendly godlings deal with one wicked ghost. You just should know how to ask them nicely – and Jennifer didn’t even do that. Her boyfriend brought the helpful deities to her. It smacks too much of deux ex machina to be satisfactory. 2 stars.
Ghost in the Machine
Too much quasi-computer talk. For a former computer programmer (me), it didn’t sound authentic. Granted, I’ve never programmed games; I worked mostly with accounting software, but even so, all the techno-babble seemed a bit off, as if a writer unfamiliar with computer programming decided to write about magic interfering with computer codes. The story is entertaining though, the best of the three: a techno-witch destroying a mythical villain who has taken possession of an online computer game. The pace is fast, and the charmingly arrogant character of the digital witch and hacker extraordinaire Ell made me smile. 2.5 stars.
The average: 2 stars.
Arcanum 101 – a Diana Tregarde story
This story starts with a huge and unnecessary info dump. To compound this problem, there are too many involved explanations later in the story – as if the readers must be initialized into the genre of fantasy. As if they don’t already know about magic. This aspect of the tale really ticked me off.
As for the plot: during her college days, Di and a bunch of her student friends help the police to find a kidnapped girl. The kidnapper has magical powers, so Di must use her own magic to find and defeat him. And all the time she is doing magic, Di is whining, feeling sorry for herself because she is a Guardian, too lonely, and must do magical stuff. She really annoyed me, or perhaps the author did.
This novella has a feel of being written by an inexperienced writer and never revised. Maybe it was exactly that. Maybe the author just unearthed one of her earliest, never-published stories and included it in this anthology without further editing. I don’t know, of course, I’m guessing, but the story is rather flaccid. 1 star.
Drums – a Jennifer Talldeer story
This story is better than the first. No info dump, no extraneous explanations. A malevolent ghost is threatening a young woman, and the Native American PI Jennifer Talldeer banishes the ghost after some violence-edged ado and magical brandishing. My objections: despite her proclaimed magical powers and Indian Medicine knowledge, Jennifer can’t really fight off the nasty ghost. He is too strong for her, so she uses all the help she can get, including a couple of god-spirits of Native American mythology. I suppose, you don’t have to be a magician to let a couple of friendly godlings deal with one wicked ghost. You just should know how to ask them nicely – and Jennifer didn’t even do that. Her boyfriend brought the helpful deities to her. It smacks too much of deux ex machina to be satisfactory. 2 stars.
Ghost in the Machine
Too much quasi-computer talk. For a former computer programmer (me), it didn’t sound authentic. Granted, I’ve never programmed games; I worked mostly with accounting software, but even so, all the techno-babble seemed a bit off, as if a writer unfamiliar with computer programming decided to write about magic interfering with computer codes. The story is entertaining though, the best of the three: a techno-witch destroying a mythical villain who has taken possession of an online computer game. The pace is fast, and the charmingly arrogant character of the digital witch and hacker extraordinaire Ell made me smile. 2.5 stars.
The average: 2 stars.
December 23, 2015
Arcanum 101
Even though this came out decades after the first Diana Tregarde novel, it's a prequel so I read this first. Having just finished Children of the Night, I see a big difference in both Lackey's writing (it's definitely better) and in some continuity holes. Mostly minor, but for one thing, in this she calls her grandmother "Memaw" and in CotN, "Granny." She goes to college in Boston, at Harvard no less, in the short story and Connecticut is the only place mentioned in CotN. With the exception for a minor mention of Itzaak in the full-length book, none of the others featured in Arcanum 101 are in it, so apparently they were just created for the short story, which is a major bummer because I liked them better than the ones in CotN.
Okay onto an actual review...
While there's a bit of a slower start, introducing Diana and the others, I quite liked the pace. It felt natural and didn't bore me, which is a surprise in itself. Diana is much more likable here and has a strength of character and practical nature that appeals to me. The characters and plot kept the momentum going and if this wasn't a series that had already been written, I would have liked to see the universe expanded upon. Some of the characters didn't get fully fleshed out but just enough to make they feel like they were needed in some way. The plot was interesting, though the ending hasty but serviceable. A good story and introduction that also works fine as a standalone.
3.5 stars
Drums
A decent short story with some interesting ideas, especially the American Indian beliefs and mythology. I doubt I'll remember it much in a week, but it was overall enjoyable.
3 stars
Ghost in the Machine
I loved the idea of this story and it was very well-paced and plotted. While this could be dated with computers and gaming, I believe most of it stands up well. In a way Ellen seems to be Diana Tregarde 2.0, she's more believeable and interesting; she doesn't seem perfect. this would be a very cool series, too bad it probably won't happen.
4.25 stars
Even though this came out decades after the first Diana Tregarde novel, it's a prequel so I read this first. Having just finished Children of the Night, I see a big difference in both Lackey's writing (it's definitely better) and in some continuity holes. Mostly minor, but for one thing, in this she calls her grandmother "Memaw" and in CotN, "Granny." She goes to college in Boston, at Harvard no less, in the short story and Connecticut is the only place mentioned in CotN. With the exception for a minor mention of Itzaak in the full-length book, none of the others featured in Arcanum 101 are in it, so apparently they were just created for the short story, which is a major bummer because I liked them better than the ones in CotN.
Okay onto an actual review...
While there's a bit of a slower start, introducing Diana and the others, I quite liked the pace. It felt natural and didn't bore me, which is a surprise in itself. Diana is much more likable here and has a strength of character and practical nature that appeals to me. The characters and plot kept the momentum going and if this wasn't a series that had already been written, I would have liked to see the universe expanded upon. Some of the characters didn't get fully fleshed out but just enough to make they feel like they were needed in some way. The plot was interesting, though the ending hasty but serviceable. A good story and introduction that also works fine as a standalone.
3.5 stars
Drums
A decent short story with some interesting ideas, especially the American Indian beliefs and mythology. I doubt I'll remember it much in a week, but it was overall enjoyable.
3 stars
Ghost in the Machine
I loved the idea of this story and it was very well-paced and plotted. While this could be dated with computers and gaming, I believe most of it stands up well. In a way Ellen seems to be Diana Tregarde 2.0, she's more believeable and interesting; she doesn't seem perfect. this would be a very cool series, too bad it probably won't happen.
4.25 stars
January 17, 2011
The stories where Lackey dusted off some of her old characters were fun, but the single original tale in this book was barely worth reading.
Arcanum 101 (a Diana Tregarde story) -- Flawed and sappy. Much ado re set in 1970s. Diana's interactions with the police and other adults strike me as ludicrous, as do her balance of 'work' with school.
Drums (a Jennifer Talldeer story) -- Quite interesting especially for the Native American folklore, which I love reading about wherever I find it. I found the interpersonal relationships between Jennifer and her lover and Jennifer and her grandfather to be far more interesting than the plots of the Talldeer stories, however, and as the relationship details were pretty scanty in this story, I was rather disappointed. Much ado again re author's intro and world-date.
Ghost in the Machine (original story) -- Video games, real life, magic is 4rl,srsy. Ick. I am not much of a gamer, and reading a story set so very much as a loving tribute to gaming failed to move me at all. The psychic trouble shooter had it all too easy in convincing people who didn't believe in magic that magic was real. The one story detail I approved of was the MC destroying the magical artifact at the end; Lackey does do a good job in calling out and upending tropes. Much ado modern.
Arcanum 101 (a Diana Tregarde story) -- Flawed and sappy. Much ado re set in 1970s. Diana's interactions with the police and other adults strike me as ludicrous, as do her balance of 'work' with school.
Drums (a Jennifer Talldeer story) -- Quite interesting especially for the Native American folklore, which I love reading about wherever I find it. I found the interpersonal relationships between Jennifer and her lover and Jennifer and her grandfather to be far more interesting than the plots of the Talldeer stories, however, and as the relationship details were pretty scanty in this story, I was rather disappointed. Much ado again re author's intro and world-date.
Ghost in the Machine (original story) -- Video games, real life, magic is 4rl,srsy. Ick. I am not much of a gamer, and reading a story set so very much as a loving tribute to gaming failed to move me at all. The psychic trouble shooter had it all too easy in convincing people who didn't believe in magic that magic was real. The one story detail I approved of was the MC destroying the magical artifact at the end; Lackey does do a good job in calling out and upending tropes. Much ado modern.
November 16, 2010
This book contains three supernatural-mystery novellas, all of them excellent. The first, "Arcanum 101," features Guardian of the Earth Diana Tregarde, who was first introduced about 20 years ago in the dark-fantasy novels Children of the Night, Burning Water and Jinx High. This short novel is a prequel, set in 1970 at Harvard, where Diana is a freshman and must track down an evil psychic, who may or may not be the real thing.
The second, "Drums," set in 1995, features Jennifer Talldeer, the Osage shaman and PI first introduced in the paranormal detective novel Sacred Ground. Here she must face down an angry Osage ghost who is determined to make a young Chickasaw woman his bride.
"Ghost in the Machine," set in the present day, introduces a new investigator, Ellen McBride, who is a techno-shaman. In the course of a probe into some anomalies in a multiplayer online role-playing game, she confronts a dangerous Wendigo that is about to escape the virtual world and break into the real one.
This is a terrific read for aficionados of urban fantasy, paranormal mysteries, and cyber-thrillers. And especially for fans of Mercedes Lackey who have loved her earlier urban-fantasy mysteries.
The second, "Drums," set in 1995, features Jennifer Talldeer, the Osage shaman and PI first introduced in the paranormal detective novel Sacred Ground. Here she must face down an angry Osage ghost who is determined to make a young Chickasaw woman his bride.
"Ghost in the Machine," set in the present day, introduces a new investigator, Ellen McBride, who is a techno-shaman. In the course of a probe into some anomalies in a multiplayer online role-playing game, she confronts a dangerous Wendigo that is about to escape the virtual world and break into the real one.
This is a terrific read for aficionados of urban fantasy, paranormal mysteries, and cyber-thrillers. And especially for fans of Mercedes Lackey who have loved her earlier urban-fantasy mysteries.
July 27, 2016
[Ruth and her sister Sarah (one of our regular guest reviewers) both read Trio of Sorcery and finished within nine minutes of each other. This review consists of their email conversation about Trio of Sorcery. We edited it for clarity and removed their sisterly in-jokes.]
RUTH: I have to admit that when I got this ARC in the mail and turned it over to read the back cover, I squealed like a fan girl when I saw that there was a new Diana Tregarde story (the first in almost 20 years), a new Jennifer Talldeer story (the first in almost 15 years), and then there was a third story starring a new character, a techno-shaman named Ellen McBridge. Jennifer Talldeer was one of my favorite characters ever written by Mercedes Lackey, and I had always been sad that she had never gone back to that world... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
RUTH: I have to admit that when I got this ARC in the mail and turned it over to read the back cover, I squealed like a fan girl when I saw that there was a new Diana Tregarde story (the first in almost 20 years), a new Jennifer Talldeer story (the first in almost 15 years), and then there was a third story starring a new character, a techno-shaman named Ellen McBridge. Jennifer Talldeer was one of my favorite characters ever written by Mercedes Lackey, and I had always been sad that she had never gone back to that world... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
December 27, 2010
2.5 stars
These three novellas focused on characters of ML's that I've never read about before, so I had some of the same problems with this that I've had with other authors' book-o-novellas, namely that I wasn't invested enough in the characters to really 'get into' the stories about each of them.
Enjoyed the Diana Tregarde story the most of the three, the Jennifer Talldeer one the least. The 'techno-shaman' was an interesting take, but overall, of most interest to RPG and MMORPG fans (and maybe some IT tech-heads.)
Actually, the bit I liked the most about the book was the author's foreword for each novella, a little sketch about the technology/culture of the time period in each story and its difference from today. Go figure. = )
These three novellas focused on characters of ML's that I've never read about before, so I had some of the same problems with this that I've had with other authors' book-o-novellas, namely that I wasn't invested enough in the characters to really 'get into' the stories about each of them.
Enjoyed the Diana Tregarde story the most of the three, the Jennifer Talldeer one the least. The 'techno-shaman' was an interesting take, but overall, of most interest to RPG and MMORPG fans (and maybe some IT tech-heads.)
Actually, the bit I liked the most about the book was the author's foreword for each novella, a little sketch about the technology/culture of the time period in each story and its difference from today. Go figure. = )
May 16, 2020
One book, three novellas, two of which deal with characters familiar to fans of Lackey’s overall work. Diana Tregarde and Jennifer Talldeer make their comebacks, much to the delight of many.
Arcanum 101 was a prequel to the Diana Tregarde novels of so long ago, set during the 1970s. To younger readers, this must honestly seem like a different world, a world of partly-line phones, hippies, and a stunning lack of international familiarity. Combine that with an “X-Files meets Scooby Doo” feel with a supernatural mystery, and you’ve got this story in a nutshell. Interesting to read, and interesting to see a piece of Diana’s history.
Drums is one that I don’t feel completely qualified to comment on, because although it was interesting and fun to once again see a character I haven’t seen in a while, most of the plot is centered around aspects of Native American mythology and rituals that I am unfamiliar with. I can’t say that Lackey’s research was superb or lacking, because I simply don’t know. On its own, though, it’s a good tale, though I do admit that reading this one immediately after Arcanum 101 left me with the sense that Jennifer isn’t very different in personality than Diana, although perhaps a little less abrupt. They could be cut from the same cloth, so to speak.
Ghost in the Machine brings us to the modern age, having traveled through the 70s and the 90s in the two previous stories, and gives us a look at how magic and technology can combine in terrifying ways, especially when it comes to the fantasy worlds of online games. It asks the question of just how virtual a world is when so many people place their belief in it and invest so much time in it, and then goes a step further and asks what happens when a creature who’s gained self-awareness in the game learns of the world beyond it, and wants out.
Overall, these stories were fairly light reading, nothing disturbing but definitely thought-provoking, and it was kind of fun to take a step back in time and see the world the way it once was. This definitely isn’t the book to pick up if you haven’t read the Diana Tregarde books or Sacred Ground, as the full effect of the stories with those characters will undoubtedly be lost. Definitely one for the fans.
Arcanum 101 was a prequel to the Diana Tregarde novels of so long ago, set during the 1970s. To younger readers, this must honestly seem like a different world, a world of partly-line phones, hippies, and a stunning lack of international familiarity. Combine that with an “X-Files meets Scooby Doo” feel with a supernatural mystery, and you’ve got this story in a nutshell. Interesting to read, and interesting to see a piece of Diana’s history.
Drums is one that I don’t feel completely qualified to comment on, because although it was interesting and fun to once again see a character I haven’t seen in a while, most of the plot is centered around aspects of Native American mythology and rituals that I am unfamiliar with. I can’t say that Lackey’s research was superb or lacking, because I simply don’t know. On its own, though, it’s a good tale, though I do admit that reading this one immediately after Arcanum 101 left me with the sense that Jennifer isn’t very different in personality than Diana, although perhaps a little less abrupt. They could be cut from the same cloth, so to speak.
Ghost in the Machine brings us to the modern age, having traveled through the 70s and the 90s in the two previous stories, and gives us a look at how magic and technology can combine in terrifying ways, especially when it comes to the fantasy worlds of online games. It asks the question of just how virtual a world is when so many people place their belief in it and invest so much time in it, and then goes a step further and asks what happens when a creature who’s gained self-awareness in the game learns of the world beyond it, and wants out.
Overall, these stories were fairly light reading, nothing disturbing but definitely thought-provoking, and it was kind of fun to take a step back in time and see the world the way it once was. This definitely isn’t the book to pick up if you haven’t read the Diana Tregarde books or Sacred Ground, as the full effect of the stories with those characters will undoubtedly be lost. Definitely one for the fans.
January 3, 2021
Disclaimer: I'm white with Euro-immigrant grandparents, Pagan, & early GenX with Boomer parents. All that is relevant here, promise!
I loved the original Diana Tregarde books & the Jennifer Talldeer standalone (Sacred Ground); those are among the best books Lackey has done, in terms of engrossing story & great characters. I can't comment on accuracy/inaccuracy of the Native Am cultures in Ground -- way out of my depth, there, despite my fascinated rabbit-hole exploring after reading the excellent Hillerman mysteries. The Pagan/psychic/folkloric stuff in the Tregarde books tended to be firmly grounded & decently researched, with changes or "errors" made for purposes of story/plot/what-if. And I really liked the tales in this anthology -- two of which are about those characters, and a third new tale.
Mind, the tales in "Trio" are good reads. The stories are fun; we get an indepth look at Diana's past & how her college "Spook Squad" came about. We get an "after" tale of Jennifer & how things progressed after Ground ended. The third tale might bore/confuse folks who aren't into computers or MMO gaming, but since I fit both those categories, I enjoyed the tale of a techie-gamer shaman dealing with a possessed Zone Boss-- thought, granted, the tale did get jargon-y in spots.
My issues with the tales come from something that Lackey's had a problem with for a long while: she overwhelms you with too much unneeded backstory that bogs the tale down in boring, unininteresting, unneeded crap. The Tregarde tale shows this the worst: Diana spends too many pages reminiscing about her Grandma & childhood & the deaths of the parents Di never knew & all the training she got from her "Memaw" & how she was teased in school & local hair fashions of the 1960s& her first Guardian encounter & her childish attempt at evil curse magic & ...&...godsdammit, Lackey, get to the actual *story* already!
None of that was necessary to any reader nor to the actual story. Longtime readers know about Di already -- we want to see those things developed in their own tales, not info-dumped on us for too-many-pages, & we definitely don't need any of that to orient us on who/what Di is. New readers won't *care*; it's all a boring info-dump that isn't needed at all. There was LESS info-dumping in the actual novels -- if the first readers of those novels didn't need all of Di's backstory then, they definitely don't need it now.
Seriously, the first third of Tregarde's tale could've been cut & saved for developing into other novels or short stories in their own right. I would love to see the Macready story as a full-fledged novel, definitely.
But this is a problem that shows up too damn much in Lackey's work. Too many of her second-in-a-trilogy books dump the entire plot of the first book into the opening chapter, or, worse, the standalones will dump an immense amount of unneeded character backstory, all of it as "character reminiscing over shit in their head at length" in a mind-numbingly boring info-scrawl that established fans do not need & the new reader won't care about. Grant the background crap & get to the current plot! Assume your readers can & will read the actual earlier books if they want the backstories, PLEASE.
Thankfully, the Jennifer Talldeer tale mostly doesn't fall into that trap, which proves that lengthy backstory dumps are not needed, period -- especially since Jennifer's story is set in a culture that Lackey's (mostly white) readers likely know nothing about. I love Jennifier; I love her Grandfather. I have no clue how culture-accurate they are, though it all seems realistic & respectful (for a given value of "realistic" in a fantasy 'verse), but I want more of their stories!! I'm iffy on David, but at least he doesn't bog the story down with a syrupy romance subplot nor does he take over anything from Jennifer. They're a team, and she's in charge, and he freakin' accepts that -- still a rarity in media, even in 2020.
Other reviewers have commented on spelling/terminology errors with the Native Am culture -- I know Lackey lives in OK, in the region she's writing about, so those errors seem odd. Maybe a scanning error? This book was hardcopy before the ebook form, and I've seen too damn many horrible, jaw-dropping, WTF-ish text errors in other ebook versions which didn't exist in the hardcopy book. Or it's a regional or a time-period or a writer-not-aware-of-changes thing, like using "Bombay" for Mumbai, India, or "Oriental" for "Asian" -- speaking from (privileged)experience, here. It's too easy to not even be aware that something could possibly be an issue, until one is corrected by someone in the know. Just an explanation, not an excuse.
Ok. With all that said, my other big issue with this collection is the inaccuracies in the Tregarde tale in Lackey's own timeline & 'verse, and a couple of those make it look like Lackey's trying to ride the coattails of other (more popular) fantasy works. I hated this in the Mags/Collegium books, which were teeth-grindingly obvious attempts to play "Harry Potter" in Valdemar. Tregarde's lengthy backstory info-dump here is awfully damn close to Diane Duane's popular "Young Wizards" universe, especially with the retconned revelation that Guardianship is something you're "offered" close to when you hit puberty (complete with an Ordeal afterwards), but if you refuse it, you never remember getting it.
That directly contradicts the novels, where being a "Guardian" wasn't Di's choice: it's something she grew up being, her Memaw saw it & made sure she got the needed training. Di couldn't give it up. She had to use it, or find herself hunted by the shit she ignored. That was a major plot point in "Children of the Night"! It's jarring to find it retconned here, especially in the totally unneeded info-dump.
Granted, it might not have anything to do with Duane's excellent books -- I have been rereading YW lately, so the similarity might just be overly obvious for me. But it's still a jarring, unneeded, and terrible retcon. Worse, it turns Di *whiny* -- she complains of not having a life, not having friends, being weird, not fitting in, all because of being a Guardian...something she *chose* to do. And if you *choose* to do something, the implication follows that you can also *choose* to leave it.
In "Children of the Night", Di's complaints weren't complaints -- they were *terrifying* consequences that she had no control over. They were born of true fear & terror after she tried to ignore That Something she'd had no choice about being. It made her sympathetic. It made her human, and likeable, and easy to feel for. Dammit, it made her truly heroic -- she's got no choice about her powers, but she chooses to do good with them anyway.
Here, she whines, she complains, she's oh-so-put-upon by everything around her, she treats others (who don't have her privileged background) like ignorant idiots, and all I did was go, "girl, you chose this, so unchoose it and get over it."
So...yeah, the tales have issues. But overall, it's an enjoyable read.
I loved the original Diana Tregarde books & the Jennifer Talldeer standalone (Sacred Ground); those are among the best books Lackey has done, in terms of engrossing story & great characters. I can't comment on accuracy/inaccuracy of the Native Am cultures in Ground -- way out of my depth, there, despite my fascinated rabbit-hole exploring after reading the excellent Hillerman mysteries. The Pagan/psychic/folkloric stuff in the Tregarde books tended to be firmly grounded & decently researched, with changes or "errors" made for purposes of story/plot/what-if. And I really liked the tales in this anthology -- two of which are about those characters, and a third new tale.
Mind, the tales in "Trio" are good reads. The stories are fun; we get an indepth look at Diana's past & how her college "Spook Squad" came about. We get an "after" tale of Jennifer & how things progressed after Ground ended. The third tale might bore/confuse folks who aren't into computers or MMO gaming, but since I fit both those categories, I enjoyed the tale of a techie-gamer shaman dealing with a possessed Zone Boss-- thought, granted, the tale did get jargon-y in spots.
My issues with the tales come from something that Lackey's had a problem with for a long while: she overwhelms you with too much unneeded backstory that bogs the tale down in boring, unininteresting, unneeded crap. The Tregarde tale shows this the worst: Diana spends too many pages reminiscing about her Grandma & childhood & the deaths of the parents Di never knew & all the training she got from her "Memaw" & how she was teased in school & local hair fashions of the 1960s& her first Guardian encounter & her childish attempt at evil curse magic & ...&...godsdammit, Lackey, get to the actual *story* already!
None of that was necessary to any reader nor to the actual story. Longtime readers know about Di already -- we want to see those things developed in their own tales, not info-dumped on us for too-many-pages, & we definitely don't need any of that to orient us on who/what Di is. New readers won't *care*; it's all a boring info-dump that isn't needed at all. There was LESS info-dumping in the actual novels -- if the first readers of those novels didn't need all of Di's backstory then, they definitely don't need it now.
Seriously, the first third of Tregarde's tale could've been cut & saved for developing into other novels or short stories in their own right. I would love to see the Macready story as a full-fledged novel, definitely.
But this is a problem that shows up too damn much in Lackey's work. Too many of her second-in-a-trilogy books dump the entire plot of the first book into the opening chapter, or, worse, the standalones will dump an immense amount of unneeded character backstory, all of it as "character reminiscing over shit in their head at length" in a mind-numbingly boring info-scrawl that established fans do not need & the new reader won't care about. Grant the background crap & get to the current plot! Assume your readers can & will read the actual earlier books if they want the backstories, PLEASE.
Thankfully, the Jennifer Talldeer tale mostly doesn't fall into that trap, which proves that lengthy backstory dumps are not needed, period -- especially since Jennifer's story is set in a culture that Lackey's (mostly white) readers likely know nothing about. I love Jennifier; I love her Grandfather. I have no clue how culture-accurate they are, though it all seems realistic & respectful (for a given value of "realistic" in a fantasy 'verse), but I want more of their stories!! I'm iffy on David, but at least he doesn't bog the story down with a syrupy romance subplot nor does he take over anything from Jennifer. They're a team, and she's in charge, and he freakin' accepts that -- still a rarity in media, even in 2020.
Other reviewers have commented on spelling/terminology errors with the Native Am culture -- I know Lackey lives in OK, in the region she's writing about, so those errors seem odd. Maybe a scanning error? This book was hardcopy before the ebook form, and I've seen too damn many horrible, jaw-dropping, WTF-ish text errors in other ebook versions which didn't exist in the hardcopy book. Or it's a regional or a time-period or a writer-not-aware-of-changes thing, like using "Bombay" for Mumbai, India, or "Oriental" for "Asian" -- speaking from (privileged)experience, here. It's too easy to not even be aware that something could possibly be an issue, until one is corrected by someone in the know. Just an explanation, not an excuse.
Ok. With all that said, my other big issue with this collection is the inaccuracies in the Tregarde tale in Lackey's own timeline & 'verse, and a couple of those make it look like Lackey's trying to ride the coattails of other (more popular) fantasy works. I hated this in the Mags/Collegium books, which were teeth-grindingly obvious attempts to play "Harry Potter" in Valdemar. Tregarde's lengthy backstory info-dump here is awfully damn close to Diane Duane's popular "Young Wizards" universe, especially with the retconned revelation that Guardianship is something you're "offered" close to when you hit puberty (complete with an Ordeal afterwards), but if you refuse it, you never remember getting it.
That directly contradicts the novels, where being a "Guardian" wasn't Di's choice: it's something she grew up being, her Memaw saw it & made sure she got the needed training. Di couldn't give it up. She had to use it, or find herself hunted by the shit she ignored. That was a major plot point in "Children of the Night"! It's jarring to find it retconned here, especially in the totally unneeded info-dump.
Granted, it might not have anything to do with Duane's excellent books -- I have been rereading YW lately, so the similarity might just be overly obvious for me. But it's still a jarring, unneeded, and terrible retcon. Worse, it turns Di *whiny* -- she complains of not having a life, not having friends, being weird, not fitting in, all because of being a Guardian...something she *chose* to do. And if you *choose* to do something, the implication follows that you can also *choose* to leave it.
In "Children of the Night", Di's complaints weren't complaints -- they were *terrifying* consequences that she had no control over. They were born of true fear & terror after she tried to ignore That Something she'd had no choice about being. It made her sympathetic. It made her human, and likeable, and easy to feel for. Dammit, it made her truly heroic -- she's got no choice about her powers, but she chooses to do good with them anyway.
Here, she whines, she complains, she's oh-so-put-upon by everything around her, she treats others (who don't have her privileged background) like ignorant idiots, and all I did was go, "girl, you chose this, so unchoose it and get over it."
So...yeah, the tales have issues. But overall, it's an enjoyable read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2021
This was a great mix from Mercedes. The first story: Arcanum 101, is classed, by Mercedes herself, as the very first Diana Tregarde story. I've already reviewed this separately, so won't again here, except to say that it's a great story.
The second story: Drums, is a follow on to the Jennifer Talldeer book: Sacred Grounds, and is set a few months after that book ends (see the review).
In Drums, Jenny and David are now working together as PI's, and Jenny has helped David get his license for that, and is also guiding him through his journey of learning Magic. David has also signed on for Law School, to get that Law Degree he had once thought useless, but has grown up enough now, to realise he actually wants it.
Jenny and David are contacted by a young man, Nathan Begay, a fellow Native American, who asks them to find out why his girlfriend, Caroline, has suddenly changed out of all recognition, has broken off their relationship, and won't speak to even her closest friends.
After looking into the background of Nathan's story, they take the job, and then find themselves biting off a bit more than they can chew.
It will take a lot of ingenuity, help from Jenny's grandfather, Mooncrow, and a lot of magic, to save Caroline from one of the Little People, who is trying to find the woman who got away from him!
This was a great story, and I was sad to reach the end of it. As far as I know, this is the only other Talldeer story written, apart from Sacred Ground - I can only hope that Mercedes writes some more, some day soon!
The third, and last, story in the book, is: Ghost in the Machine. This is totally different from the previous two, in that the setting is all about Gaming, and that's something I've never been into.
I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but it drew me in quickly - not for the gaming aspect per se, but because of Mercedes' character, and plot, building.
This actually had me on the edge of my seat, wondering how her characters were going to be able to beat, and banish, the ghost in that particular machine, and she didn't disappoint!
This Trio is well worth reading again someday, so it's a definite keeper for me!
The second story: Drums, is a follow on to the Jennifer Talldeer book: Sacred Grounds, and is set a few months after that book ends (see the review).
In Drums, Jenny and David are now working together as PI's, and Jenny has helped David get his license for that, and is also guiding him through his journey of learning Magic. David has also signed on for Law School, to get that Law Degree he had once thought useless, but has grown up enough now, to realise he actually wants it.
Jenny and David are contacted by a young man, Nathan Begay, a fellow Native American, who asks them to find out why his girlfriend, Caroline, has suddenly changed out of all recognition, has broken off their relationship, and won't speak to even her closest friends.
After looking into the background of Nathan's story, they take the job, and then find themselves biting off a bit more than they can chew.
It will take a lot of ingenuity, help from Jenny's grandfather, Mooncrow, and a lot of magic, to save Caroline from one of the Little People, who is trying to find the woman who got away from him!
This was a great story, and I was sad to reach the end of it. As far as I know, this is the only other Talldeer story written, apart from Sacred Ground - I can only hope that Mercedes writes some more, some day soon!
The third, and last, story in the book, is: Ghost in the Machine. This is totally different from the previous two, in that the setting is all about Gaming, and that's something I've never been into.
I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but it drew me in quickly - not for the gaming aspect per se, but because of Mercedes' character, and plot, building.
This actually had me on the edge of my seat, wondering how her characters were going to be able to beat, and banish, the ghost in that particular machine, and she didn't disappoint!
This Trio is well worth reading again someday, so it's a definite keeper for me!
June 28, 2017
An anthology of three stories, each featuring a woman using magic to battle the forces of evil. The stories are set in different times and places, but the heroines come across as pretty similar -- all are tough, brave, and somewhat sarcastic. It wouldn't have taken much rewriting to make them all the same person. But each story does feature different styles and traditions of magic, so that does set them apart.
My favorite was probably the third entry, which stars a "techno-shaman" who has to deal with an evil spirit that has invaded an online video game. I thought the combination of magic and technology was handled in a very clever way. I also enjoyed the middle story, based on Native American traditions, with an ancient ghost being accidentally summoned and wreaking havoc. Both of these stories do a good job establishing high stakes and building up tension towards a big final battle.
The lead story in the volume didn't quite match up to the others. The set-up, with a crooked fortune teller using magic to bilk people out of money (and other things), was interesting enough. But the bad guy is set up to be this big, scary threat, and ends up being dispatched with relative ease, which was a bit of a let-down. There's also some stuff involving a transgender character that I found a little dodgy.
This is my first exposure to Mercedes Lackey's work. Her prose is straightforward, but effective, and there are lots of clever concepts on display. I liked it enough that I'll probably seek out more of her work in the future.
My favorite was probably the third entry, which stars a "techno-shaman" who has to deal with an evil spirit that has invaded an online video game. I thought the combination of magic and technology was handled in a very clever way. I also enjoyed the middle story, based on Native American traditions, with an ancient ghost being accidentally summoned and wreaking havoc. Both of these stories do a good job establishing high stakes and building up tension towards a big final battle.
The lead story in the volume didn't quite match up to the others. The set-up, with a crooked fortune teller using magic to bilk people out of money (and other things), was interesting enough. But the bad guy is set up to be this big, scary threat, and ends up being dispatched with relative ease, which was a bit of a let-down. There's also some stuff involving a transgender character that I found a little dodgy.
This is my first exposure to Mercedes Lackey's work. Her prose is straightforward, but effective, and there are lots of clever concepts on display. I liked it enough that I'll probably seek out more of her work in the future.
September 30, 2020
I enjoyed this trio of stories. I don't tend to like short stories but perhaps novellas, as these were, are long enough that I can like them better. "Arcanum 101" is about Diana Tregarde, a Wiccan witch, who has been given the powers of a Guardian, which means if anyone asks help, she has to give it. She's a college student and trying to fit her studies in with solving occult problems keeps her running, so finding some students living in her dorms to help out--after setting them straight about dabbling indiscriminately in pagan rituals--is helpful. They then track down the whereabouts of a young child who has been kidnapped.
"Drums" switches to Jennifer Talldeer, an Osage shaman, and a private investigator. Both Jennifer and Diana are quite similar in character, both steeped in magic, although Jennifer's abilities are based in Indian shamanism and Diana's in Wiccan and occult traditions. In "Drums," Jennifer is asked to help extricate a client's girlfriend from entanglement in an Indian legend that is being replayed again. Both these two novellas are excellent continuations of the settings and themes and characters of Merecedes Lackey's other books with these main characters. So if you like the novellas, go get the other books.
"Ghost in the Machine" is about a gaming and programming and what happens when the fantasy world of computers threatens to spill over into reality. I think my lack of knowledge of computers and gaming kept me from enjoying it as much as others might have.
"Drums" switches to Jennifer Talldeer, an Osage shaman, and a private investigator. Both Jennifer and Diana are quite similar in character, both steeped in magic, although Jennifer's abilities are based in Indian shamanism and Diana's in Wiccan and occult traditions. In "Drums," Jennifer is asked to help extricate a client's girlfriend from entanglement in an Indian legend that is being replayed again. Both these two novellas are excellent continuations of the settings and themes and characters of Merecedes Lackey's other books with these main characters. So if you like the novellas, go get the other books.
"Ghost in the Machine" is about a gaming and programming and what happens when the fantasy world of computers threatens to spill over into reality. I think my lack of knowledge of computers and gaming kept me from enjoying it as much as others might have.
January 20, 2023
I was excited for a new Di Tregarde story, because I LOVED that trilogy when it came out. I haven't read them in at least 20 years, so no idea if they hold up, but I still remember them vividly. But....this, despite being written in 2010, does not hold up. The Di story takes a hard veer into some super dated and unpleasant transphobic stereotypes - I was mostly enjoying it till that happened. I was pretty disappointed, because my impression of Lackey has always been that she was fairly open minded and accepting (albeit in a somewhat dated way) so this was kind of a surprise. (I also found the long intro extremely tedious and condescending - I think anyone old enough to read these is likely aware that cell phones are relatively recent, whether or not they remember that time?)
For the other two stories, I never read the original Talldeer book, but this short story was easy to get into and follow, and I liked the gamer story despite not being a gamer. I don't think any of these are her best writing, but they are certainly better than the Collegium series, which really dragged.
Growing up in the 80s, Lackey was very important to me as someone who wrote girls/young women as strong, active fantasy lead characters - there was not very much of it back then. I appreciate all three of these leads as part of that groundbreaking tradition. I just wish Lackey hadn't devolved into stereotypes.
For the other two stories, I never read the original Talldeer book, but this short story was easy to get into and follow, and I liked the gamer story despite not being a gamer. I don't think any of these are her best writing, but they are certainly better than the Collegium series, which really dragged.
Growing up in the 80s, Lackey was very important to me as someone who wrote girls/young women as strong, active fantasy lead characters - there was not very much of it back then. I appreciate all three of these leads as part of that groundbreaking tradition. I just wish Lackey hadn't devolved into stereotypes.
October 6, 2022
There are three urban fantasy novellas in this collection by Lackey. The first is a prequel to the Diana Tregarde novels, set in the 1970s. The second story is set in the modern day, with a pair of Indian private investigators who are also medicine people. The third is about a techno-shaman, who deals with magic when it is applied to computers. I liked the third the best, as an on-line computer game company adds a Wendigo to its game and finds that they have invoked something quite scary and quite real. I especially liked the techno-shaman’s familiar, which is embodied in a robot dog and given the voice of K-9, Doctor Who’s robot dog. This was the story that I could most vividly imagine as I read, perhaps because I have done some gaming of my own and perhaps because I love Dr. Who. The other two stories were more traditional witchcraft (in the Celtic and native American traditions). I found witchcraft mixed with software more intriguing.
October 4, 2025
Trio of Sorcery felt like coming home. Getting new Diana Tregarde stories after all this time was such a treat — even if they weren’t flawless, they reminded me why I fell in love with this world in the first place.
Each story has its own energy — some tighter than others — but they all have that signature Mercedes Lackey blend of folklore, grit, and heart. The writing feels a little dated in places, sure, but honestly, that’s part of the charm. There’s something comforting about revisiting that classic urban fantasy style, where magic sits just under the surface of the everyday.
Seeing Diana again, older and still fighting the good fight, made me smile more than once. She’s still stubborn, compassionate, and human in all the ways that matter.
It’s not perfect, but it’s genuine — and that counts for a lot.
Each story has its own energy — some tighter than others — but they all have that signature Mercedes Lackey blend of folklore, grit, and heart. The writing feels a little dated in places, sure, but honestly, that’s part of the charm. There’s something comforting about revisiting that classic urban fantasy style, where magic sits just under the surface of the everyday.
Seeing Diana again, older and still fighting the good fight, made me smile more than once. She’s still stubborn, compassionate, and human in all the ways that matter.
It’s not perfect, but it’s genuine — and that counts for a lot.
July 10, 2018
This was a real miss. The Diana Tregarde story twist felt transphobic (which also made me wonder about the strangely defensive "it was the 70s" author note). The Jennifer Talldeer story had difficulty containing Mary Sueism. I did not finish the final story because, although it was touted as back to the present, the writing was very "can you jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace". Needless to say of the trio it showed its age most.
October 14, 2018
I actually really enjoyed this book. Arcanum 101 is a good entry for those who haven't read the other Tregarde novels and a fun backstory for those who have. Drums has the flavor of her Jennifer Talldeer books. Be aware that some of the off spellings are atypical but recognizable (e.g. Navaho, I'm looking at you). And Ghost in the Machine is absolutely a modern story. Some dislike the "historical" pieces. I laugh, but I'm also old enough to remember some of these! Overall an enjoyable read.
January 2, 2019
Three novellas from three very different worlds - a young witch trying to find balance between freshman year at Harvard and her duties as a Guardian; a Medicine Woman fighting a ghost for the life of a young woman; and a battle at the crossroads between legend and technology.
Found this book in an unexpected place, and because Mercedes Lackey has become one of my favorite authors, I was very pleased to discover new worlds and new heroes I hadn't come across before. Very enjoyable.
Found this book in an unexpected place, and because Mercedes Lackey has become one of my favorite authors, I was very pleased to discover new worlds and new heroes I hadn't come across before. Very enjoyable.
March 27, 2022
Keeping in mind and giving grace to the fact that this book was written in 2010 and there was less popular awareness, I was willing to overlook some of the very problematic elements- the transphobia in the first short story and what I believe would be cultural appropriation in the second. Otherwise I wouldn’t have finished it.
That being said- putting those very problematic concerns aside…the stories just aren’t great. They’re not bad. They plod along slowly…almost painfully slowly.
That being said- putting those very problematic concerns aside…the stories just aren’t great. They’re not bad. They plod along slowly…almost painfully slowly.
May 22, 2017
All three stories were very entertaining reading! I loved seeing some back story for Diana Tregarde, as I really liked those books. As someone who has both been a computer programmer and been a player in a massively multiplayer online game similar to the one she writes about in the third story, I thought she did a great job of capturing that world from both ends. Solid, fun stories, all three!
June 11, 2017
I read the Diana Tregarde and Jennifer Talldeer stories and enjoyed them.
It was great to read the lead in to the overall Tregarde stories, though they are too few for my taste.
Jennifer Talldeer is an intriguing character. I hope there is more once I read the 1st book in the series.
Tried a few pages of the 3rd story and I just couldn't engage.
It was great to read the lead in to the overall Tregarde stories, though they are too few for my taste.
Jennifer Talldeer is an intriguing character. I hope there is more once I read the 1st book in the series.
Tried a few pages of the 3rd story and I just couldn't engage.
January 17, 2018
Three new novellas by one of my favorite authors. One is a Diana Tregarde prequel, one is a Jennifer Talldeer sequel, and the third features new characters, including a techno-shaman. Not bad overall, the first two were decent additions to their series, and the third was ok although I found some of the gaming jargon a little beyond my interest.
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