Beyond World's End (Bedlam's Bard)
by Mercedes Lackey, Rosemary Edghill
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mercedes Lackey, Rosemary EdghillEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-12-01
ISBN: 0671318551
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Baen
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Book Reviews of Beyond World's End (Bedlam's Bard)
Book Review: A decent follow-on but not what I had come to expect
Summary: 3 Stars
This is not a bad third book in this series of Urban Fantasy from Mercedes Lackey. However, the plotline is thin and threadbare in many places -- enough there that one won't notice too much on first look, but close inspection really shines through on that point. The character growth of Eric Banyon is stale halfway through the book, but the character development for Ria is stellar throughout. There are nods to her "Elves and Fast Cars" urban fantasy and her Diana Tregarde series throughout -- but the Guardian characters are mere hints and placeholders towards Tregarde, and the "Elves and Fast Cars" gets some cursory nods in places.
All in all, I was firmly disappointed in this effort from Mercedes. The plotline is not at all what I've come to expect from her, and the character development is slightly shaky when compared to the two earlier novels in this series, and her "Last Herald Mage" series in her Valdemar world. There's enough here to call the book an "average" read, but not enough to whet an appetite for those who enjoyed "Knights of Ghosts and Shadows" and "Summoned to Tourney" previously.
Summary of Beyond World's End (Bedlam's Bard)
The evil elf-lord of the dark Unseleighe Sidhe plans to create a drug-enslaved army to break through to the human world and feed on the suffering there. Musician-mage Eric Banyon must somehow stop him.Beyond World's End continues Eric Banyon's tale in the Bedlam's Bard series. Sieur Eric, Knight and Bard to the court of the Queen of Elfhame Misthold, moves back to the Big Apple to take care of unfinished business. Most notably, he wants to finish his interrupted education at Julliard and settle down to a normal life.
As Eric says goodbye to his friends Kory and Beth, he settles into a new apartment and a rigorous schedule at Julliard. However, a normal life doesn't seem to be in his immediate future as he quickly discovers his apartment has unique features, including a living gargoyle named Greystone and four Guardians who have sworn to protect New York from evil. But the evil the Guardians are facing this time is something they haven't seen before.
Unscrupulous researchers have created a drug that briefly unlocks magical powers in a small percentage of the humans it's given to. Unfortunately, it also has a 100 percent mortality rate. But something evil from Underhill has other plans and seeks to use the temporary human powers to threaten the World Above. As Eric gets drawn into the fray, his past catches up with him and good grades become the least of his problems.
Beyond World's End, which takes place in the same universe as Lackey's SERRAted Edge series, combines human evil and magical evil in a compelling way that brings the characters into today's world. Eric is all grown up now and he's a wonderful hero. However, Beyond World's End feels like it's missing the last few chapters. So much time is spent on back-story and the physical setup of the novel that many characters and their stories are introduced only to be dropped with no explanation or resolution. What could have been a great book ends up being ultimately disappointing coming from these two excellent authors. --Kathie Huddleston
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