Mad Maudlin

July 21, 2003
In Lackey and Edghill's latest rollicking Bedlam's Bard fantasy (after 2001's Spirits White as Lightning), Eric Banyon finds some new surprises have popped up in his muddled existence as a human artist, magical Bard and former Juilliard student. They include a brother he never knew existed, a fairytale monster come to life and some really evil dudes that he doesn't even know he's crossed. Jachiel ap Gabrevys (aka Jaycie), an elfin princeling, has gone missing from Underhill, and his Protector is desperately trying to find him. Normally, his Protector would have no trouble locating the runaway, but Jaycie has hidden himself in the iron-bound city of New York and
has become addicted to caffeine—which has a drug-like effect on elves. Coincidentally, Jaycie has befriended two mortal youths, Ace, who has musical talent, and Magnus Banyon, the newly discovered brother of Eric. All three runaways, plus Eric and pals (who include Greystone the gargoyle), become entangled in a mess the size of New York City itself. Except for a few annoying references to the Buffyverse, the story romps quickly from beginning to end.

August 1, 2003
Gifted with the magic of a true Bard, Eric Banyon leaves the Elven Courts of Underhill to rejoin the mortal world. As he struggles with the quandary of what to do with his life and his magic, he discovers that the brother he never knew is missing as a result of an ongoing war between creatures of light and darkness that threatens the fate of his city and its children. This sequel to Spirits White as Lightning continues the tale of Eric and his companions, mortals who occupy the borderlands between the human world and the world of faerie. Coauthors Lackey (the "Valdemar" series) and Edghill (Warslayer) succeed in delivering an urban fantasy that should appeal to both adult and YA fantasy readers.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2003
The sixth tale of Eric the Bard, last seen in " Spirits White as Lightning" (2001), can be enjoyed independently, though some knowledge of the series enhances its pleasures. New York, post-9/11, is the setting as bard Eric Banyon discovers that he has a 17-year-old brother, who, like Eric, has run away from their pressure-cooker parents and is now homeless in Manhattan. Eric's apprentice, Hosea, is trying to find out whether the stories of a ghost that he has heard from homeless children mean that some sort of nonhuman is roaming the city. Meanwhile, a young elven prince has fled his own realm and is also homeless in Manhattan. The homeless characters and a nasty villain or two prove enough to keep Eric, Hosea, and female series regular Ria as busy as ever. Much of the action takes place among homeless youth, and those sequences are vivid and disturbing, though not enough to prevent an upbeat ending or to tie up the loose ends that guarantee another book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)