Review: Elvenborn by Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey

Title: Elvenborn
Authors: Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: DNF
Reason for Reading: I really loved the first book in this series, The Elvenbane and thought that Elvenblood was passably OK. Sadly, my instincts told me I wasn’t going to like Elvenborn and I didn’t.

I didn’t find a good synopsis, so I’m just going to quote the blurb from Publisher’s Weekly, because I agree with it.

The excitement flags somewhat in the third book of Norton and Lackey’s popular high fantasy series (after The Elvenbane and Elvenblood). Where earlier volumes focused on humans and dragons, now elves come to the fore in a tale of the machinations, power-playing and cruel games that are the lifeblood of the High Lords. Into this treacherous territory blunders a good-hearted elf, Kyrtian V’dyll Lord Prastaran, who is not a High Lord, has no political ambitions and doesn’t care for the cruel ways of most of the elven folk. Kyrtian has a small holding in the country, keeps no slaves and his human servants actually like him. Obsessed with military tactics out in the middle of nowhere, Kyrtian has learned the art of war-which brings him to the attention of the High Lords. Against his will, Kyrtian ends up leading the elven armies in their ongoing war against the dragons and the halfblood elves that have plagued them throughout the series. But the battles that Kyrtian supposedly wins against his half-elven foes turn out to be just the beginning of his adventures. The authors take moral stabs at issues ranging from slavery to strip-mining, but the story line itself glosses over details, while the action comes across too often as told rather than shown. Hopefully, the next installment, the forthcoming Elvenbred, will resurrect the fireworks more typical of these heavy-hitting authors.

Additional Thoughts: Yeah, I got a quarter of the way through this book before I realized I really didn’t care all that much and quit. I thought Kyrtian came off as a fairly standard goodhearted but slightly doltish Marty Stu character, and there really wasn’t a whole lot of depth to the other characters in the book. Elvenlords are evil. Yeah, we get that. Apparently Kyrtian’s grandfather was the only elf in the history of ever to decide that slavery was wrong. OK. Riiight. Ultimately, as I feared when I started reading, I didn’t bguy the premise and I think I’m done with this series.