Rating: 
Summary: An emotional roller-coaster!
Review: I am 15 years old. "The Black Swan" is the second book that I've read by the outstanding author, Mercedes Lackey. Odile was a charming character but pretty clueless throughout most of the book. I cried with Odile and Odette and the other "little swans", I was infuriated by Odile's father, and Queen Clothilde just made me want to scream, "Give up your throne!" It was a beautiful novel that took me into an enchanting world of fantasy and left me thinking, "I hope there will be a sequel!" "The Black Swan" is a very emotional book that takes "The Swan Princess" and "Swan Lake" to a whole new level. Read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: An engaging and pleasant read.
Review: The Black Swan was the first Mercedes Lackey book that I have ever read, though her books seem to be everywhere. I thought it was a decent book; the characters were well-rounded, the plot sensible and the details of it all were quite beautiful.The plot follows the story line of the fairy tale Swan Lake, with Odile as the protagonist. Odile develops very well through the course of the story and the swan maidens are well drawn. It bothered me, though, that Von Rothbart's hatred of women was never explained. The reader never finds out what happened to Odile's mother or why Von Rothbart has set himself upon this quest. Those missing details left the story feeling incomplete, in my opinion. Lackey switches her point of veiw between Odile, Prince Seigfried, and Siegfried's mother, Queen Clothide. Queen Clothide was an interesting and well developed, if not particularly likable character. I could see why she made some the choices she did. It was very interesting to see things through both the eyes of Seigfried and his mother. Lackey did a wonderful job of portraying life through the very different eyes of her three storytellers. Overall, the book was a nice little read. I enjoyed it quite throroughly, even if it did leave some questions unanswered. Lackey's characters and details are distinct and nicley drawn, and, after all, who doesn't love a good fairy-tale?
Rating: 
Summary: not worth your money
Review: I am a very large fan of Merecedes Lackey, but this book was absolutely horrible. She spends forever on the exposition, forming an intricate plot that isn't actually all that interesting. The actual story of Swan Lake didn't begin until 2/3 into the book, when the prince finally gets around to going hunting and meeting Odette. I found that the uncanny way our heroine's name "Odile" was so close to Odette's, as well as the fact that they were look-alikes, was a little to coincidental to believe. The premise of the book, the Baron's (Odile's father) obsession with punishing all women who are unfaithful, untruthful, etc., is rather farfetched, as is his method of giving the evil queen her come-uppance. If you are in the mood for a Mercedes lackey book, I recommend her Heralds of Valedmar series, but avoid this book at all costs.
Rating:
Summary: A Surprise Ending?
Review: I have read a few Mercedes Lackey books, and I have to admit that this is the best one that I have read so far. It is about a young lady (what Lackey book isn't?) who is trying to learn sorcery from her tyrannical father. Her father's hobby is kidnapping young women who he thinks have "sinned" by committing aduterous acts. He kidnaps them and turns them into swans and has his daughter look after them while he goes out to look for more wayward women. The story takes off when the father makes a deal with the swan princess (a princess who he turned into a swan). The deal is that she has to make an ordinary man fall in love with her, even after she tells the whole truth about herself (that she is really a swan, that she betrayed a man,etc.). So the challenge begins. At first, the sorcerer's daughter does not know where her loyalties lie: with her father (from whom she has much to learn, although he treats her harshly and hates women), or with the swan princess (whose trust she has gained by taking care of her and the rest of the swans). The book has lavish descriptions and a clever and original story about betrayal, loyalty, love, lust and magic. The book is better than the other books I have read by this author because the story and characters are fresher; there is more than one protagonist and more than one antagonist. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: The Black Swan..... To Read or Not to Read? Is that your Q?
Review: okay, so in this book, its pretty much that movie, The Swan Princess, but in my opinion, it was WAY better, its not all about Odette, poor innocent ODette,and no one else, it tells about darker stuff, its About Odile, ( who in my opinion is WAY better then Odette) and there is all this magic and other subplots going in all the time, ODette is trying to save herself and the other swan-maidens, who was ensorcered by the evil sorcerer, and Odile, evil sorcerer's daughter, who gradually becomes really nice, and eventually saves the day, and She falls in love with a prince, whose mother is trying to take over the throne forever by killing the prince "by accident" and Benno, the prince's best friend is trying to keep his friend safe, and the prince is trying to be good, and all this stuff happens, and its soooooooo cool, I read through the entire thing, I couldn't put it down, there were some slow parts, and in the beginning, you don't really like Odile, but you get to like her a lot, if you compared this book to tv it would probably be a soap opera. READ IT! I guarentee it will be worth it, especially if you like slightly older fairy tales. enjoy, and remember, THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ALL YOU FAIRY TALES FANS!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: This was the first Mercedes LAckey work that I read, I got it out from the library three times before deciding, finally, to buy it. It involves an evil sorcerer, his daughter, the swan-girls, and the magic that surrounds them all. It also has a healthy dash of sex snd conspiracy thrown in there for those that like that.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent grown up fairy tale
Review: As a moderate fan of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books, I was interested in seeing what her other books were like. I had friends warn me against Gates of Sleep, so I picked up The Black Swan. The book is wonderful. It is such a rich, multidimensional telling of the story of Swan Lake. The characters have true depth and development. Viewing the events from the pivoting standpoints of Odile, the black swan, and Prince Seigfried makes the story all the more interesting. We see Odette, the tragic Swan Queen only through the eyes of those about her.
Rating: 
Summary: Not an exciting read
Review: Compared to some of M. Lackey's earlier works, especially her tales of Valdemar, but this book left me wanting. The characters were flat and the story was contrived and bland. The villian of the story was about the only character who remained consistent. The females of the book were often simpering and melodramatic. The "heroic" prince is a confused rapist who falls in love with a the leading fowl of the swan flock. This story would have greatly benefited if the author had made her main character more independent and less of a (excuse the pun) lackey.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but....
Review: I'd never read anything by this author before but the book looked promising (I enjoy historical and fantasy works). The setting was very realistic, the plot interesting, the characters good and the writing good. However, it misses a 5-star rating becuase it felt like something was lacking. Somehow a distance is created from the characters. None of them feel very close to you or very easy to identify with. There is a general distant feel to the wiriting and the story as though you're watching the events from a distance rather than feeling like you're one of the characters (as some better books allow you to do...like the Mists of Avalon, etc.)
Rating:
Summary: Black Swan
Review: The Black Swan was a good book, but not Mercedes Lackey's best. It was an excellent version of a classic tale, but did not excel in characterization the way The Lark and the Wren did.
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