LibGuides: Author Readalikes: Lackey, Mercedes

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Web Sites of Interest

The World of Mercedes Lackey
Her official website offers information about her books and the worlds contained within them.
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She also offers several free (previously published) stories and essays on her website.
Queen's Own
The Official Mercedes Lackey Fan Club.
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FAQ section about Velgarth (the continent Valdemar is located on). Offers information about newsletters (which include poetry and stories inspired by Lackey's work).
Baen Books
Baen offers e-books for sale on their website. They also offer a rather extensive *free* library. These free titles represent plenty of big-name authors, including several of Lackey's titles.
DAW Books
One of Lackey's numerous publishers. DAW Books was the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy.
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Published most of the Valdemar novels.
Tor
Publisher of fantasy and science fiction novels, Tor has online stories, reviews, art galleries, and community boards.

If you like her use of music. . .

Singer of souls by by Adam Stemple
Stemple’s hero, Douglas Stewart, shares similarities to Lackey’s Eric Banyon. Like Eric, Douglas is a busker with serious problems, mostly drug related.

Douglas leaves Minneapolis for his grandmother’s place in Edinburgh in an effort to break free of his drug habit. During the Fringe arts festival a fey young woman gifts Douglas a vial of white powder for his song. Unable to resist, Douglas shoots up the powder. Instead of the expected high Douglas finds he can see fairies. Very quickly Douglas is swept up by two factions that have been warring for generations.
Dragonsong by by Anne McCaffrey
Set in McCaffrey’s Pern universe, Dragonsong is the first in the Harper Hall trilogy and combines world-building, music, and a female heroine who comes into her own. Like Lackey, McCaffrey emphasizes the power music has to shape individual lives and entire societies. And the dragons and firelizards in McCaffrey’s Pern share bonds with their humans that are similar to those of Lackey’s Companions and Bondbirds.

Menolly lives for music and dreams of somehow becoming a Harper. But her family, particularly her father would never allow it, believing it to be a disgrace for a woman to even think of such a thing. After an accident damages her hand Menolly believes she’ll never play an instrument again and takes advantage of a chance to run away from her home and live on her own. But thanks to some firelizards and Menolly’s own abilities, her story doesn’t end there.

Screen Adaptations

Currently none of Mercedes Lackey's works have been adapted for either TV or the big screen.

Multi-media

If you enjoy Lackey's books, consider these movies & music.

Celtic crossroads
Several of Lackey's books, particularly the Bedlam's bard series, feature Celtic-inspired music. Here ancient traditions meet modern technology.
Serenity [videorecording]
Lackey freely admits she's a fan of this movie in which a group of intergalactic revolutionaries get more than they bargained for when they agree to transport two teenagers aboard their space ship.
Lord of the Rings trilogy
This trilogy is one Lackey admits she could watch over and over again. Start with The Fellowship of the Ring for the full effect.
The princess bride
ISBN: B000TJBNHG
It's a bent fairy tale, complete with fencing, fighting, chases, escapes and true love. Buttercup loves Westley, but when he is captured by pirates, she is chosen by the evil Prince to be his bride.

Fantasy Book Discussions

New Sci-fi & Fantasy

Last Update:

Last updated: December 2016. (CM)

Meet: Mercedes Lackey

Although Mercedes Lackey has almost thirty different science fiction and fantasy series set in at least five different universes, she is best known for her fantasy books set in her Valdemar universe.

Valdemar is a kingdom in a world with magic and magical creatures, many of them intelligent. Most of her books set in this universe feature telepathic and empathic bonds between humans and magical creatures resembling wolves, birds and horses. Her books are set in different time periods of the world's history spanning over 3,000 years.

Mercedes Lackey has co-authored books with both new and established authors including Anne McCaffrey, Larry Dixon, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Piers Anthony, and James Mallory.

Bibliography/Series info

Valedemar
- Mage Wars
- Collegium Chronicles
  - Foundation
  - Intrigues
  - Changes
  - Redoubt
  - Bastion
- Herald spy
- - Closer to home
  - Closer to the Heart
- Last Herald-Mage
- Vows and Honor series
- Heralds of Valdemar series
- Mage winds
- Mage storms
- Owl mage
- Anthologies (multiple authors)
  - Sword of ice : and other tales of Valdemar
  - Sun in glory
  - Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar
  - Moving targets and other tales of Valdemar
  - Changing the world : all new tales of Valdemar
  - Finding the way : and other tales of Valdemar
  - Under the Vale and other tales of Valdemar
  - No True Way: All new tales of Valdemar
Bardic voices
Dragon jousters series
- Joust
- Alta
- Sanctuary
- Aerie
Elemental Masters series
Elves on the Road universe
- Bedlam's bard series
  - Bedlam's bard
  - Beyond world's end
  - Spirits white as lightning
  - Mad maudlin
  - Music to my sorrow
  - Bedlam's edge (short story collection with a story from the series)
- Diana Tregarde series
- The SERRAted Edge series
  - The Chrome Borne (originally published separately as Born to run and Chrome circle)
  - The Otherworld (originally published separately as Wheels of fire and When the bough breaks)
  - Stoned souls
  - This scepter'd isle
  - Ill met by moonlight
  - By slanderous tongues
  - And less than kind
Fairy tale series
- The black swan
- Firebird
Five Hundred Kingdoms
Halfblood chronicles(co-authored with Andre Norton)
Heirs of Alexandria series (co-authored with Eric Flint and Dave Freer)

The shadow of the lion
This rough magic
Much fall of blood
(A mankind witch by Dave Freer--set in same world but not part of the series)
Burdens of the dead

One dozen daughters series

The house of the four winds

Secret World series

Shadow Grail series (Young Adult series)

Wildmage universe

Obsidian trilogy
Enduring flame series

Dragon Prophecy Trilogy

Crown of vengeance

If you liked Valdemar's Companions . .

If you like the telepathic and emotional bonding between humans and intelligent creatures such as horses or dragons, take a look at these series.

Animist by Eve Forward
ISBN: 031286891X
Publication Date: 2000-06-03
Like many of Lackey's stories of Valdemar, Animist is a coming-of age story.

Alex, sold to the College of Animism as a child, embarkes on a quest to find his Anim, the empthatheic animal which will bond with him. Finding his Anim will allow Alex to detect and resist magic.
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
ISBN: 0345481283
Publication Date: 2006-03-28
An alternate history series that begins during the Napoleonic Wars. The difference? Dragons! Although lacking the telephathic and empathic bonds between the humans and dragons, the dragons here are intelligent and capable of speech. They *do* develop extremely close emotional bonds with their riders.

Begin with the first book in the series, His Majesty's Dragon as Will Laurence of the British Navy unexpectedly finds himself with a dragon egg after capturing an enemy ship.
Water for elephants : a novel by by Sara Gruen
Water for elephants depicts a different kind of bond between human and creature as the story has no elements of fantasy.

As a young man during the Great Depression, Jacob Jankowski is tossed by fate onto a rickety train that is home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. For Jacob, the circus is both his salvation and a living hell.

Put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie, he meets Marlena, a beautiful equestrian star married to a charismatic, but twisted, animal trainer. And he meets Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant who is the great gray hope for the third-rate traveling show. The bond that grows among this unlikely trio is ultimately their only hope for survival.
Protector of the flight by by Robin D. Owens
Owens' story has a much stronger romantic element than most of Lackey's Valdemar books. While lacking the telephathic/empathic bonds Lackey's Heralds have, the volarans (flying horses) are intelligent and capable of communicating with some humans. The volarans develop extremely close emotional bonds with their riders.

Protector of the flight is actually the third book in Owens' "Summoning" series. (Begin with the first Guardian of Honor to best understand the story.)

Crippled, self-doubting ex-rodeo rider and horse trainer Calli Torcher is summoned from Colorado to Lladrana, a medieval French society on a magical parallel Earth, to assist in a dangerous fight against evil. After a spell heals Calli, she learns that she's needed to help train the flying horses—volarans—and the Chevaliers, their riders, who form the front lines against evil demons from the north.
A Companion to Wolves by Sarah Monette; Elizabeth Bear
ISBN: 9780765318169
Publication Date: 2007-10-16
Njall Gunnarson, son of Lord Gunnar, is chosen to join the wolfcarls, warriors who bond with wolves and dedicate themselves to protecting the nearby villages from the ravages of man-eating trolls. Bonded with the female wolf pup Viradechtis, Njall learns the requirements of living closely with a soul-bonded wolf, including sexual bonds between wolfcarls whose wolves choose to mate.

Although the wolcarls and their wolves share a strong empathic bond similar to the Herald-Companion bond, these wolves are alien creatures with completely different customs and thought patterns. Much more sexually explicit than Lackey's Valdemar books.
Dragonriders of Pern by by Anne McCaffrey
ISBN: 9780345457394
Probably the closest match to Lackey's Herald/Companion bond. Pern is threatened by Thread, something that falls from the sky and consumes organic material at a voracious rate, including crops, animals, and any humans in its path. Pern is protected by flying dragons which bond telepathically with humans shortly after they hatch. A good place to start is Dragonflight in which Lessa bonds with the last queen dragon.

Another good entry point is Dragonsong. Music is plays a much larger and more important role here as Menolly yearns to become a harper (a type of bard) even though everyone knows only men can be harpers.

If you liked her strong heroines . . .

If you liked her strong, usually optimistic, heroines who come into their own during the story (usually without the horrific past you'll find in most recent urban fantasy), consider these:

When Demons Walk by by Patricia Briggs
Briggs’ heroine succeeds because of her determination, empathy and cunning. And like most of Lackey’s stories, there’s a distinct thread of self-discovery running through Briggs’ story. When demons walk shares the most similarities with Lackey’s Tarma and Kethry stories. Like Tarma, Shamera lost her family at an early age to violence. After her country was invaded Shamera became a thief in order to care for herself and the Wizard Maur who was crippled during the invasion.

Shamera is a wizard-apprentice and seeking vengeance for her master’s murder when she becomes involved in the hunt for a murderer. Although the third in a trilogy, you need not read the earlier books before reading When demons walk.
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
ISBN: 0553586963
Publication Date: 2007-06-26
Lush best describes Kushner's writing style. Kushner tends to be more forthright when dealing with sex and violence than Lackey without explicit or graphic.

When Katherine, a well-bred country girl, expects to follow the usual path and marry well. Instead her uncle, aka the Mad Duke Tremontaine, who delights in breaking society's rules decrees that Katherine learn swordplay instead. . .

If you liked her witch . .

If you enjoyed Lackey's urban fantasy series starring Diana Tregarde (witch and Guardian) take a look at these:

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
Call Number: FICTION HARRISON
ISBN: 9780061567193
Publication Date: 2008-04-29
Dead witch walking begins this series about Rachel, a witch and bounty hunter of the Greater Cincinnati area. Harrison's character is harder-edged than Lackey's Tregade character.

Tregade was one of the first Urban Fantasy heroines. Since her introduction, one of the characteristics of the Urban Fantasy genre is its tone, darkly reminiscent of noir literature, and the palpable tension displayed by the various embattled species fosters the high-stakes atmosphere, adding layers of complexity and ratcheting up the reader's awareness of the characters' emotional and physical conflicts.
Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
ISBN: 0451459520
Publication Date: 2003-12-02
Closer in tone to the Tregarde novels (and lighter than Harrison's series). Caine's series features paranormal events and supernatural characters. Joanne Baldwin, a neophyte Weather Warden with control over violent storms, is introduced in Ill wind.

If you liked her fairy tales . .

If you enjoyed Lackey's interpretations and retellings of fairy tales, especially with some romance, take a look at these:

The Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro
Call Number: SCIENCE FICTION ASARO
ISBN: 037380203X
Publication Date: 2004-01-23
The charmed sphere is an excellent place to meet the Kingdom of Aronsdale. This fantasy series is lighter in tone than some of Lackey's fairy tales, but it has the same infusion of strong female characters and romance.
Celtika by by Robert Holdstock
Celtika lacks the romantic storylines of Lackey’s work, and Holdstock reframes Arthurian myth and Greek legend rather than traditional fairy tales but those who enjoy new interpretations of traditional tales will find much to enjoy here.

Long before his fateful meeting with Arthur Pendragon, Merlin traveled with Jason of Greek legend aboard the Argo. Centuries after the journey Merlin follows strange tales to discover the Argo with a still-living Jason aboard and embarks with him upon a journey to find Jason’s sons, long believed dead by their mother’s hand.
Deerskin by Robin McKinley
ISBN: 1497673674
Publication Date: 2014-11-18
Darker in tone and content than most of Lackey's fairy tales. McKinley doesn't remove the horror from this fairy tale story. Nevertheless, Deerskin offers a primary female character who grows into a strong woman with an understanding of herself and others. Heir to her late mother's legendary beauty, Princess Lissar becomes the victim of her grief-maddened father's desire. Fleeing her home, she seeks solace and solitude in a great forest--and discovers a magic that leads her toward healing and justice.