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Product Description
Product Description
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Mercedes Lackey presents three exciting short urban fantasy novels featuring three resourceful heroines and three different takes on the modern world and on magics both modern and ancient.
Arcanum 101: Diana Tregarde, practicing witch, romance novelist, Guardian of the Earth. Studying at Harvard, Diana is approached by Joe O’Brian, a young cop who has already seen more than one unusual thing during his budding career. The distraught mother of a kidnap victim is taking advice from a “psychic” and interfering in the police investigation. Will Diana prove that the psychic is a fake? Unfortunately, the psychic is not a fake, but a very wicked witch—and the child’s kidnapper.
Drums: Jennifer Talldeer, shaman, private investigator, member of the Osage tribe. Most of Jennie’s work is regular PI stuff, but Nathan Begay brings her a problem she’s never seen before. His girlfriend, Caroline, is Chickasaw to his Navaho, but that’s not the problem. Somehow, Caroline has attracted the attention of an angry Osage ghost. Thwarted in love while alive, the ghost has chosen Caroline to be his bride in death.
Ghost in the Machine: Ellen McBride: computer programmer extraordinaire, techno-shaman. The programmers and players of a new MMORPG find that the game’s “boss,” a wendigo, is “killing” everyone—even the programmers’ characters with their god-like powers. A brilliant debugger, Ellen discoveres that the massive computing power of the game’s servers have created a breach between the supernatural world and our own. This wendigo isn’t a bit of code, it’s the real thing . . . and it’s on the brink of breaking out of the computers and into the real world.
Arcanum 101: Diana Tregarde, practicing witch, romance novelist, Guardian of the Earth. Studying at Harvard, Diana is approached by Joe O’Brian, a young cop who has already seen more than one unusual thing during his budding career. The distraught mother of a kidnap victim is taking advice from a “psychic” and interfering in the police investigation. Will Diana prove that the psychic is a fake? Unfortunately, the psychic is not a fake, but a very wicked witch—and the child’s kidnapper.
Drums: Jennifer Talldeer, shaman, private investigator, member of the Osage tribe. Most of Jennie’s work is regular PI stuff, but Nathan Begay brings her a problem she’s never seen before. His girlfriend, Caroline, is Chickasaw to his Navaho, but that’s not the problem. Somehow, Caroline has attracted the attention of an angry Osage ghost. Thwarted in love while alive, the ghost has chosen Caroline to be his bride in death.
Ghost in the Machine: Ellen McBride: computer programmer extraordinaire, techno-shaman. The programmers and players of a new MMORPG find that the game’s “boss,” a wendigo, is “killing” everyone—even the programmers’ characters with their god-like powers. A brilliant debugger, Ellen discoveres that the massive computing power of the game’s servers have created a breach between the supernatural world and our own. This wendigo isn’t a bit of code, it’s the real thing . . . and it’s on the brink of breaking out of the computers and into the real world.
About the Author
Mercedes Lackey is the author of the bestselling Valdemar series, the Obsidian Trilogy (The Outstretched Shadow, To Light a Candle, and When Darkness Falls), the Enduring Flame trilogy (The Phoenix Unchained, The Phoenix Endangered, and The Phoenix Transformed), and the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms. She has written many other books, including Phoenyx and Ashes, Sacred Ground, The Firebird, The Fairy Godmother, and Alta. Lackey is the co-author, with Andre Norton, of the Halfblood Chronicles, including Elvenborn. Mercedes Lackey was born in Chicago and graduated from Purdue University. She has worked as an artist’s model, a computer programmer, and for American Airlines, and has written lyrics and recorded more than fifty songs. She lives in Oklahoma.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review by Bibliotropic,
By
This review is from: Trio of Sorcery (Hardcover)
One book, three novellas, two of which deal with characters familiar to fans of Lackey's overall work. Diana Tregarde and Jennifer Talldeer make their comebacks, much to the delight of many.Arcanum 101 was a prequel to the Diana Tregarde novels of so long ago, set during the 1970s. To younger readers, this must honestly seem like a different world, a world of partly-line phones, hippies, and a stunning lack of international familiarity. Combine that with an "X-Files meets Scooby Doo" feel with a supernatural mystery, and you've got this story in a nutshell. Interesting to read, and interesting to see a piece of Diana's history. Drums is one that I don't feel completely qualified to comment on, because although it was interesting and fun to once again see a character I haven't seen in a while, most of the plot is centered around aspects of Native American mythology and rituals that I am unfamiliar with. I can't say that Lackey's research was superb or lacking, because I simply don't know. On its own, though, it's a good tale, though I do admit that reading this one immediately after Arcanum 101 left me with the sense that Jennifer isn't very different in personality than Diana, although perhaps a little less abrupt. They could be cut from the same cloth, so to speak. Ghost in the Machine brings us to the modern age, having traveled through the 70s and the 90s in the two previous stories, and gives us a look at how magic and technology can combine in terrifying ways, especially when it comes to the fantasy worlds of online games. It asks the question of just how virtual a world is when so many people place their belief in it and invest so much time in it, and then goes a step further and asks what happens when a creature who's gained self-awareness in the game learns of the world beyond it, and wants out. Overall, these stories were fairly light reading, nothing disturbing but definitely thought-provoking, and it was kind of fun to take a step back in time and see the world the way it once was. This definitely isn't the book to pick up if you haven't read the Diana Tregarde books or Sacred Ground, as the full effect of the stories with those characters will undoubtedly be lost. Definitely one for the fans.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews) 43 of 43 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally!,
By Jackie-the-Greyhound - Published on Amazon.com
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I never thought we'd ever get to see Diana Tregard in action again! She first showed up in 1989 when urban fantasy wasn't even a named genre yet. A modern day witch, who knows martial arts and who writes romance novels to put food on the table, but her real job was as a Guardian--a defender against supernatural badness. I'm pretty sure (hey, 1989 was a long time ago...) that she was the first @!&*@*kicking female urban magic wielder I read. Not as hardcore as Anita Blake was at the beginning (and before AB became obsessed with a certain body part, not that there's anything wrong with that but I digress). But..when I picked up the first AB novel--10+ years later-- I remember thinking, 'gee I wish there'd been more about Diana Tregarde'! A search of old Mercedes Lackey information made me think that some creepy/nutty/stalker types must have taken the Diana-verse so seriously and obsessively that ML decided not to write the stories again.All I can say, is thank goodness she changed her mind! So here we have a new Diana Tregarde book, which is funny, as story-wise, it's the first one and set in the 70s--which I am old enough to remember and appreciate the fine details of. The novella length (almost half the book) was for this tale. Hopefully we will see more of her. I'd like to re-read the older stories, but woefully my paperbacks are locked up in storage for another year or three and the originals are not on the Kindle as yet--if they were this is a series I'd re-buy because this story is out! The paper ones were re-issued a few years ago and are obtainable, if anyone is interested in those. The second story features Jennifer Talldeer--the main character from Sacred Ground. That was a stand-alone novel, and one I had wished for more stories. Now, 15 or so years later, I finally have it. Once again, this is a character I reminisced about when reading new books, this time like those of CE Murphy's Joanna Walker and others with the urban/shaman theme. Again, Mercedes Lackey was a few years ahead in terms of building a theme. In any case, this too was a nice story, very appropriate for the less-than-full-novel number of words. In contrast to the first story which have a history, this gave a follow up story for the characters...a 'where are they now', except the now is the mid 90s--right around the birth time of Amazon in fact. (Gasp! Life at the infancy of ebay too--which gets a mention). The final story was an all new product--set in the current time with new characters. I basically started reading it to finish the book--hey I'd read the good ones right? Well, I ended up liking this one too...and very happy I didn't stop. Computer coding and magic...that's all I'm saying. I got the sense with this book the characters were interesting to the author as well--and I hope she enjoyed them enough to give us more of all three. All in all, I'd give the 4.5 (or 9.125) if only I could use more than the standard 5 star vote! In this case I round up. JTG 20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Familiar Faces and Someone New,
By J. Markovic - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Trio of Sorcery (Hardcover)
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:[...] Mercedes Lackey is an author responsible for a number of my firsts. Diana Tregarde was probably the first the urban fantasy series I ever read, and she mixed magic with police interceptors much to my delight. I also know for a fact that Jennifer Talldeer, in SACRED GROUND, was the first character I ever read who used a condom in a love scene (a realistic, compelling, touch). Both Diana and Jennie have new stories in TRIO OF SORCERY, as well as a new character, Ellen McBridge. All three characters left their mark on me for better or worse in this anthology, and not in the way I expected. Diana Tregarde's story in Arcanum 101 works well for those familiar with her previous books, but can also serve as a good introduction to the series. Featuring a witch/romance novelist, I love the trademark Lackey touch of mixing magic with practical concerns (like getting a job or figuring out bus schedules). While being a Guardian does give Diana a bump up in magical power, she's not above further augmenting that power with research, martial arts, and the fastest get away car she can bum a ride in. Reading this origin story whetted my appetite to go back and re-read all of those Diana Tregarde books I remember enjoying so much. Arcanum 101 was followed by Drums, taking up the story of Jennie Talldeer and David Spotted Horse where SACRED GROUND left off. Of the three stories, Drums was the weakest in the triology. It felt unfinished on the edges, awkward at the beginning and vague at the end. Given how vividly I remember Jennie and David's relationship, I didn't like how Lackey raises questions between them that were never resolved in the scope of this story. I'd be willing to forgive, however, if this means more stories featuring these characters will follow. And finally, set in present day, Ghost in the Machine was definitely my favorite story (and not just because it deals with an on-line computer game very similar to World of Warcraft). Ghost in the Machine introduces a fascinating concept of how magic might collide with our modern world. Usually short stories leave me wanting in the character development department, but the techno-shaman Ellen McBridge and magically augmented AIBO were a pair that I would love to read more about. Thoughout these three stories, Lackey emphasizes this passage of time by prefacing each story with a primer on the technological and social norms of the day. While I enjoyed these prologues, I would have enjoyed the stories themselves more if Lackey had used a lighter hand with these time period markers. I felt like many of the "period references", were rather clunky and unnecessary for the story itself. Over all, this trio was a pleasant trip down memory lane, as well as a sweet showcase of Mercedes Lackey's portfolio. I only hope that these stories are the seedlings of new full length books. Sexual Content: None 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magical Investigations,
By Arthur W. Jordin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Trio of Sorcery (Hardcover)
Trio of Sorcery (2010) is a Fantasy collection of three shorter works. These stories feature two known characters and someone new.Diana Tregarde is a witch and a Guardian. Di has studied magic since moving in with her grandmother. When she was sixteen, she swore the oath and became a Guardian. Now she has to help anyone who Calls for her aid. This story tells of Diana's first days in Harvard. Parts of this tale were mentioned in Burning Water. - "Arcanum 101" has a police detective asking for help on a side issue in a case. While almost overwhelmed by the curriculum and other responsibilities, Diana listens to what Joe O'Brian has to say. He is working on a missing girl case and a so-called medium has latched onto the mother. He wants Diana to debunk the psychic so that the police can work without her interference. Jennifer Talldeer is a Private Investigator and a Medicine Woman. Jenny has been trained in Medicine for most of her life, first by her grandfather and then by other Medicine Men and Women. Now she has a partner, David Spotted Horse. This story follows Sacred Ground. - "Drums" is about a mi-ah-lushka, a nasty ghost. A Navaho man comes to Jenny and David to ask them to watch a Chicksaw woman. After checking his story, they stake out the house. Jenny gets the night shift and finds the ghost dancing with the enthralled woman. Ellen McBride is a techno-shaman. Ell counters magicians flipping bits for luck. She has a familiar who inhabits a robot dog. This is her first story. - "Ghost in the Machine" leads a game developer into a very scary situation. A Wendigo monster in a new game is zapping almost everybody who enters Dark Valley. The coder talks to Ellen about fixing the game. It is good to have the author writing more outside the Valdemar series. Hopefully other stories will follow, especially with the new character. Highly recommended for Lackey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of combat magic, tough challenges, and clever mages. Read and enjoy! -Arthur W. Jordin |
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