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SERRAted Edge #8
Lazerwarz
When the Lazerwarz arena came to town, Dobie discovered both laser tag and a warrior's soul he never knew he possessed. Then the goddess Morrigan picked him up in her shiny red Corvette, and made him her champion -- and then the fireworks really started. The Foevorian ruler is kidnapping the best Lazerwarz players for an army to conquer Underhill. Special Agent Samantha McDaris uncovers the plan and enlists her brother, the Elven King, in infiltrating the Lazerwarz arenas. She expected to find dark magic, but didn't expect the King himself to be abducted while on recon!
Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1999
256 people want to read
About the author
Mark Shepherd
38 books11 followersMark Shepherd was an American fantasy novelist and musician.
Born in 1961 in Tampa, Florida, during the 1990s Shepherd was a writing protégé and live-in personal secretary of author Mercedes Lackey and artist Larry Dixon at Highflight, their Tulsa, Oklahoma residence.
He co-authored two novels with Lackey, and composed music to accompany his later books. He has also written several short stories.
Shepherd's secretarial duties at Highflight were taken over by Englishman Paul Fisher in 2000.
He committed suicide by shooting himself on May 24, 2011.
Born in 1961 in Tampa, Florida, during the 1990s Shepherd was a writing protégé and live-in personal secretary of author Mercedes Lackey and artist Larry Dixon at Highflight, their Tulsa, Oklahoma residence.
He co-authored two novels with Lackey, and composed music to accompany his later books. He has also written several short stories.
Shepherd's secretarial duties at Highflight were taken over by Englishman Paul Fisher in 2000.
He committed suicide by shooting himself on May 24, 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 25, 2021
Having never been a gamer - not even Dungeons and Dragons (yes, I was around when that was the craze, but was too busy reading books to take the time to play games) - it took me a little while to get into this story but, once I did, I have to admit to thoroughly enjoying it.
With new characters, and old, the plot was fast paced throughout - and I loved the Stonehenge thing, and the many mythical references!
As is natural, Mark Shepherd has his own style of writing and, though I missed the Misty touch, I did enjoy it overall, and feel it definitely fits well within the Serrated Edge series.
Talking of which, I'll be going on to the next book in the series - with Misty, and her co-writer, Cody Martin, in: Silence.
With new characters, and old, the plot was fast paced throughout - and I loved the Stonehenge thing, and the many mythical references!
As is natural, Mark Shepherd has his own style of writing and, though I missed the Misty touch, I did enjoy it overall, and feel it definitely fits well within the Serrated Edge series.
Talking of which, I'll be going on to the next book in the series - with Misty, and her co-writer, Cody Martin, in: Silence.
January 22, 2016
The only two books with titles worse than Lazerwarz are Elvendude (also in this set by Mark Shepherd and used pretty poorly within this book) and Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly which is at least about the B movies the title apes.
I'll admit, the name makes slightly more sense when you consider that the laser tag arenas featured in the books are called Lazerwarz. It's very 90s and silly, but more understandable. Elves playing laser tag is also ridiculous, but given elves, I have to give it a pass. Frankly, this book is full of hilarity and I was giggling and snickering my way through all 280 pages.
What I didn't care for is the fact that Shepherd genuinely doesn't seem to understand Mercedes Lackey's elves, which he was using as main characters throughout. Elves are long-lived and age more slowly than humans. Elves are not very fertile and while they tend to have a lot of cousins, siblings would usually be separated by centuries in most cases. All elves are mages, though many can't manage too much beyond glamouries and some costume changes while Underhill. The will and magic of a domain's ruler is what keeps Underhill territories from melting back into the Unformed, and their death can destroy the domain entirely. Elvensteeds are perfectly capable of shifting their appearnace on their own and don't need a mage to do so for them. And the bit with the Foevors (which seems a very silly name for your evil race) and the Celtic gods having so much power over the elves seems somewhat out of nowhere. Nor is Oberon mentioned even once, and he is the King all elves bow to.
Overall, I'd say that there are some good ideas that were expressed, some interesting concepts that could have used more stage time, and several problems that needed another draft or two. It was entertaining, but disappointing in that it could have been so much better.
I'll admit, the name makes slightly more sense when you consider that the laser tag arenas featured in the books are called Lazerwarz. It's very 90s and silly, but more understandable. Elves playing laser tag is also ridiculous, but given elves, I have to give it a pass. Frankly, this book is full of hilarity and I was giggling and snickering my way through all 280 pages.
What I didn't care for is the fact that Shepherd genuinely doesn't seem to understand Mercedes Lackey's elves, which he was using as main characters throughout. Elves are long-lived and age more slowly than humans. Elves are not very fertile and while they tend to have a lot of cousins, siblings would usually be separated by centuries in most cases. All elves are mages, though many can't manage too much beyond glamouries and some costume changes while Underhill. The will and magic of a domain's ruler is what keeps Underhill territories from melting back into the Unformed, and their death can destroy the domain entirely. Elvensteeds are perfectly capable of shifting their appearnace on their own and don't need a mage to do so for them. And the bit with the Foevors (which seems a very silly name for your evil race) and the Celtic gods having so much power over the elves seems somewhat out of nowhere. Nor is Oberon mentioned even once, and he is the King all elves bow to.
Overall, I'd say that there are some good ideas that were expressed, some interesting concepts that could have used more stage time, and several problems that needed another draft or two. It was entertaining, but disappointing in that it could have been so much better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews