Rating: 
Summary: It drags
Review: I tried a couple of times to read this book. Each time I stopped half way through. It dragged in places and was OK in others, but it's definately not up to Mercedes' usual standard. The book finally wound up in the "donate to the library" pile.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fabulous Alternative History
Review: I'm not one who normally likes alternative histories, but this is one of the best, most complex Lackey books I've read in ages. The characters, as always, have depth and humor, and the plot is fascinating -- my one question -- will there be a sequel?One word of caution -- those who have read C.J. Cherryh's Merovingen Nights Series may find many aspects of the plot strangely familiar...
Rating: 
Summary: Mercedes wrote this?
Review: I've been a longtime fan of Mercedes and own most of her Valdemar series. So, of course, I picked this book up at my local store. After wrestling through 50 pages, I gave up! I plan to sell it back to my local store ASAP- this is nothing better than a paperweight in my bookshelves. The worst part is, my boyfriend picked it up and tried reading it. Now he thinks that this is a good example of her work!
Rating: 
Summary: Normally I don't write reviews of my own work!
Review: I've never stuck my nose into the customer reviews before, since it seems to me that writing a review of your own work is an act of monumental hubris, but I am so excited about this new collaboration with Eric and Dave that I had to say something for their sake rather than my own. Eric Flint and Dave Freer are an amazing couple of gentlemen, whose knowledge of history is so much greater than mine that I am in awe of it. Each of us brings his or her own strengths to the table on this book, and let me assure all of you that all three of us contributed equally to this book; we plotted it out together from a rough idea of mine (and the exchange of emails on that would fill another book!) and then the three of us passed the manuscript back and forth via email until we were all satisfied with it. This is how we plan to work on all of the subsequent books (and in fact are doing so now with THIS ROUGH MAGIC). We also plan to make each book able to stand completely on its own. We know that these are complicated books, but they are enormously fun to write and we think this shows---and all of us are certain that fantasy readers are intelligent and more than up to the challenge of complicated books in a complex series.
Rating: 
Summary: Challenging and confusing
Review: If you're a scholar of medieval Italian history, knowledgeable about all the schisms of the Catholic Church and the various monastic orders and their feuds, you probably have the background to really enjoy this book. But since I lack such knowledge, I found it extremely difficult to keep all the characters straight, let alone all of their alliances, intrigues and issues. If I knew something of the history of Venice and its relationship to the other city states of Italy, the Holy Roman Empire and Hungary in the 1500s, perhaps I would have the insight I needed to understand this book. While the authors develop their plots and realistically weave demons and magic into everyday life, the book jumps around amongst a plethora of characters, making it difficult to follow one person's story, let alone the couple of dozen main characters that make up the plot. There is a list of characters in the back (which I discovered after reading much of the 825-page book), but frankly, I'm not sure if it helps a great deal. You'd need a book in itself to explain some of the motivations and vendettas which swirl around the characters -- along with veiled references to the Romeo and Juliet story (I'm not a Shakespearean scholar, either).
If you enjoy a richly written and extremely detailed story with a great deal of historical reference, let alone fantasy, I recommend this book. But I can't give it more than three stars, and I find it not nearly as good as the stories Misty writes herself -- even those which are outside her Valdemar series.
Rating:
Summary: This book has already been written
Review: Mercedes Lackey contributed to a series I'll refer to as the Merovingian Nights Series, set in a universe invented by C.J. Cherryh. Mercedes's ORIGINAL contribution to the Merovingian Nights series is a far better read. The Shadow of the Lion was a major disappointment to me, not to mention I could have spent my money more wisely on another book. There should have been a warning posted on the cover or flap that if the reader has read the Merovingian Nights series, this book will offer very few surprises. Shame on you Ms. Lackey!
Rating:
Summary: Sad
Review: Mercedes Lackey is one of my favorite Authors. This book was such a let down, so much about nothing. The different plot lines were written by different people and you can tell where one picks up and one leaves off. it was a very irritating style. There are so many characters it's easy to mix them up. Some of the characters you never figure out why they are in the novel at all. It's too bad that I spent money on this book when I could have purchased a Mercedes Lackey Novel without help.
Rating:
Summary: Tells of a Venice where magic is alive
Review: Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint & Dave Freer's Shadow Of The Lion is set in 1537 and tells of a Venice where magic is alive and two vagabond brothers are posed to influence its changes. A monster has been loosed on the city; and it's up to an unlikely band of individuals to join in defeating the danger.
Rating:
Summary: This is Merovingian Nights ,not a new book
Review: mergovian nights was the original series this muddled piece of work is based on. entire chapters and plots are lifted from those books, its unreal.
the original books are much better, the loss of Retribution Jones, turning her into a minor wimpy character, was a great loss of a strong voice. i found most of the characters a poor imitation of the original series.
having been to venice, i can state this book did not take me there, i had trouble belivieng it was venice, not paris.
M lackey has written some fine books, why she put her name on this is a mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Actually it should be 4.5 stars!
Review: Okay this book is big, fat and very much "Not of this world"! Misty, Eric, and Dave take us into a world where the Library of Alexandria was not destroyed, where magic works, and where evil walks (or in this case, swims) the night. So far rather tame for a fantasy. Well there is a whole lot more!
The caracters in this book are not perfect and, frankly I don't want them to be. They make mistakes, and fix them, get into trouble and get of it, fall in love, and out of it, and in general have a fine time doing it. How they do this is one of the things that makes the book so much fun. From a kinght, to a boat girl, an assssian on the run, a young heir needing help, a imperial heir hiding in plain sight, and a Emperor looking over everything, this book is packed with people.
As to parts of the book being recycled from another series, Misty stated _in public_ on Baen's WebBoard, that some things were reused. And the parts that were reused were in the first couple chapters of the book. After that, it is all new material. The material was good and now has a new home. And I am glad she used it! As for the writing styles, the three authors in question made a [darn] good book, and while it may not be to all tastes, it is to mine. Thank you Misty, Eric, and Dave. You have given me hours of reading pleasure and I can't wait for the next one!
|
