The Phoenix Unchained

Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

Tiercel is the newest High Mage in 1000 years. Harrier is his best friend, dragged after him on a quest to find Wild Mages and elves. Neither of them know what the end of this will be.

This entire novel is basically about the journey. They reach their destination in the end, but not in the manner you would expect. Me, I feel sorry for their parents that they have left behind – something you didn’t have to worry about for the first trilogy in this world.

I prefer the down to earth Harrier over Tiercel. It’s not a bad thing, since most of the novel is written from his perspective. He’s gritty, although sometimes he is also a bit annoying.

The sections with the Wild Mage gone to the bad are the least interesting for me, on this second or third rereading. How hard can it be to bring darkness back into the world? And how idiotic would you have to be to think you can control it?

I read this novel in a couple of hours, and despite it being a reread, couldn’t put it down for all that long. I was plagued with wanting to read it, because I remembered a fair bit, but not the bit that happened at the end!