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Bedlam's Bard

Bedlam's Bard

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Welcome back Bard!
Review: I bought this book because I knew it had the sequel to "Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" in it. Two years ago I fell in love with that book and it's still my favorite (I always have in my purse in case I'm somewhere with nothing to do, I'll just pull it out and read it)!!! I adore Kory and Eric (at times I could do without Beth)!! "Summoned to Tourney" I was disappointed with, but sequels "usually" aren't as good as the first, so I gave it some slack. I was really upset that it seems like Kory dotes on Beth and Eric dotes on Beth, but what happened to the relationship between Eric and Kory? We all know it's there, but in this book it seems like it's ignored! I've heard there's going to be a third book! WHERE WHERE?! What's the title?! Although, I think it will have a lot to do with Ria, whom I never liked in book one! Why Eric would think about her with Kory (and Beth) around I don't know! I only give it four stars because "Summoned to Tourney" could have been better. "Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" is a 5 though! :)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Welcome back Bard!
Review: I bought this book because I knew it had the sequel to "Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" in it. Two years ago I fell in love with that book and it's still my favorite (I always have in my purse in case I'm somewhere with nothing to do, I'll just pull it out and read it)!!! I adore Kory and Eric (at times I could do without Beth)!! "Summoned to Tourney" I was disappointed with, but sequels "usually" aren't as good as the first, so I gave it some slack. I was really upset that it seems like Kory dotes on Beth and Eric dotes on Beth, but what happened to the relationship between Eric and Kory? We all know it's there, but in this book it seems like it's ignored! I've heard there's going to be a third book! WHERE WHERE?! What's the title?! Although, I think it will have a lot to do with Ria, whom I never liked in book one! Why Eric would think about her with Kory (and Beth) around I don't know! I only give it four stars because "Summoned to Tourney" could have been better. "Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" is a 5 though! :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Misty does it again I LOVE this book
Review: I bought this book mainly cause it's from Misty (that's Mercedes Lackey for all of you who don't know that). After about two pages I was totaly hooked on it =o).It's a great book and while the lovebirds in this book can be anoyingly sweet they tend to make you smile more than not and I'm betting the only reason the seem anpying is ause I haven't got a significant other. Beth Kory and Eric make a good team thought personaly I don't see what's the big deal(romanticaly) of Eric and Kory I can understand the atraction to beth (she kewl) but then I might be a bit bias on that =o). the only thing that was slightly off in the book is that on the second part there's more Eric-Beth and Kory-Beth. Thought it's kinda sweet how Eric keeps protecting Kory from cafine and such. Like always Misty keeps the magick as part of the enviroment and doesn't make it the solution to everything. No magical talisman that fixes all the problems thank you verry much. In my honest opinion the best part of ALL her books are the fact that they teach tolerance and compasion and equallity.Whhat matters is what you are not if your a guy a woman a homosexual a heterosexual and it definetly does NOT matter if your handicapped or not be it from burns paralisys missing limbs what ever. She makes everything like that just seem trivial it doesn't matter sure abit of consideration is good but pity sure isn't. Like I said a GREAT book READ this one .... and everything else she's made for that matter =o)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: It's a REPRINT!!!
Review: I bought this book thinking, "Goodie! Another wonderful urban fantasy!" So, I read it and realized it was simply a reprint of pre-published materiel under a new name. Be warned, faithful Misty fans, things arn't always as they seem!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Music, magic and urban fantasy in one volume
Review: I can see why others were so disappointed that this wasn't a new title in this terrific series! This omnibus edition of two previously published titles is a great way to introduce readers to Lackey's urban fantasy world, likely in preparation for a future third volume. With characters that are likeable and are easily identified with, a real-life presentation of Renaissance Faires ( do yourselves a favour and find the nearest one this summer!), as well as a plot that keeps moving and doesn't bog down, this volume is enjoyable in all respects. I finally picked this up because it was cheaper than the two separate books, and easier to carry (glad I wasn't caught without the second book!). I also agree that Valdemar can wait for a while; they're getting a bit less enjoyable than the earlier series, and this is a world which deserves more exploration.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greatest Fantasy I've read in ages!!!
Review: I first read Bedlam's Bard becuase Mercedes Lackey is one of my favorite authors, but as I got further into the book I began to fall in love with the plot itself. The quips, jokes, and love are irresistable. As I read the book again and again, it had me luaghing so hard I couldn't breath. I recomend this book to all my friends, and so far each of them has loved it. A great read for anyone who still believes in Elves. All Mercedes Lackey boooks are great reads but this one was superb.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Maybe I expected too much
Review: I guess I am one of the few (read only) people to read this book who didn't like it as much as Mercedes Lackey's other books. But I have to be honest. I am a HUGE fan of the Valdemar books, and this one kind of felt disjointed to me. The character development wasn't up to the standard of the other books and I just didn't feel the book had a natural flow.

For example, Eric is supposed to be a bard and -save- the elves. But he is expected to be a rather quick study and sort of just know what he is doing. Granted, he is the only bard and not likely to find a teacher. But I felt kind of cheated that there wasn't any more development that aspect of the story. Misty goes into much more detail in her other books with her characters and how they came to their role in the story. This book jumps around a lot without much of a concept of a realistic time or sequence of events.

To be fair, the book has its good qualities. The characters are likeable, and Misty is good at creating a good villian. I also liked the way the elves were portrayed in conjunction with the modern world.

I guess I would have to say I liked the *idea* of this book, and I really looked forward to reading it, but I didn't find it as satisfying as her other work.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fabulous! Loved it!
Review: I have not seen the previous prints of this story and I loved every minute of it!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Dreadful
Review: I have read and enjoyed many of Mercedes Lackey's books. I am not so familiar with Ellen Guon's work.

Bedlam's Bard was not an example of good writing, something of which I know Mercedes Lackey is capable. I nearly stopped reading it in the middle, something I rarely do.

It is disjointed. It is redundant. It over-explains. The relationships between characters range from unhealthy to downright creepy even when you can tell the authors mean them to be positive. There is a surplus of reversed-in-the-nick-of-time near death experiences. It lacks depth and cohesion overall.

The idea behind the story could be clever, but the application is very poor.

If you wish to read books by these authors, I would choose something else. And I WOULD try something else by either writer before deciding all of their works are this poor.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: what a wonderful world
Review: I have read nearly everything M. Lackey has written and each new novel leaves me wanting more. This was the best novel she has written thus far and that pains a Vanyel fanatic to say. It was engaging, transporting and best of all the world (if it is possible, was amazingly believible). Loved it very much.


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