Mercedes Lackey series'

I am a big fan of the Valdemar series, and getting curious about her other series'. I would love to hear from other Lackey fans about what you would recommend.

Mercedes Lackey

https://www.librarything.com/series/Tales+of+the+Five+Hundred+Kingdoms is rewritten fairy tales. Some of them are quite dark. Well, so are real fairy tales. I really like them.

https://www.librarything.com/series/The+Elemental+Masters+Series take place in historical England -mostly Edwardian, I think. These have to do with magic being used in the fight against evil. Dark again.

In both series the way the magic works is well defined. (I hate fantasy where the characters develop new powers to overcome any difficulties.) In both cases there is some overlap of characters between books, but the real continuity is in the type of world and how the magic works.

>2 MarthaJeanne: thanks for this. I agree about characters with either excessive powers or coincidentally-well-timed ones, it seems like a plot cheat.

I appreciate Lackey's discriminating use of magic with the Valdemar characters and the way she develops a setting that seems plausible within the framework. I'm glad to know that is true for these other two series', and will seek them out.

have you read any of the Diana Tregarde ones? They get mixed reviews so I'm not sure about those. But I have faith in Lackey as an author so maybe it's worth a look.

I've not come across those, but I tend to avoid crime novels. (Those in my catalogue are generally my husband's.) Reading the reviews of Burning Water makes me fairly sure I would not enjoy it.

I liked Diana Tregarde! Why not give it a try, if you usually like that sort of books?

>5 Ennas: never hurts to try, right? :) Do you recommend starting at the beginning, or is there one particular volume that you would suggest?

There are only 3, so treat is as an ordered trilogy. They aren't exactly crime novels, they're urban fantasy detective stories. It's been ages since I read them, but I remember enjoying them. Also a Valdamar fan and enjoy her other urban fantasy series. Haven't read any of the Elemental Masters.

>6 Darth-Heather: I would -of course- start at the beginning. Why would you start anywhere else? 🤔