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Bedlam's Bard #2
Summoned to Tourney
With San Francisco doomed to fall off the continent, the bard must summon the Nightflyers, the soul-devouring shadow creatures from the dreaming world.
298 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1992
6 people are currently reading
847 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
432 books9,562 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 3, 2020
Pant, pant, pant...could not read it fast enough...it's too exciting...
December 10, 2010
Knight of Ghosts and Shadows was an excellent first start for this particular series. Very enjoyable. Fast-paced plot, excellent character flaws that lead to well-defined character development. The shame of it is that Summoned to Tourney just doesn't quite live up to KoG&S. Parts of the plot are fairly flat, and the character development is continued to some degree. However, the plot is a little too fast paced, and somewhat thin in places. Still, the characters will keep you riveted to the pages. Not top notch in comparison to KoG&S, but still a good book to have on the shelf.
February 11, 2022
I was a little worried at first that I wouldn’t like this as much as the first book in this series, because while it started promising before too long Beth gets kidnapped. And I was all ready for the type of character gets kidnapped and spends most of the book kidnapped while bad stuff happens to them plot that I’m not interested in. Plus, pulling at the fault lines of the Eric/Kory/Beth throuple felt like a bit too much of a repeat of the character arc in the previous book, what with Kory running off after Beth with no real plan.
But then Kory gets captured too, and Eric decides to go all out to rescue his boyfriend and girlfriend, and the true shape of the plot was revealed: it’s the classic Protagonist Solves A Problem In A Stupid Way And Then Solves The New Problem In A Stupider Way plot. See, in Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, there’s mention of something that happened when Eric was younger where he played Danse Macabre really well and summoned up a shadow monster. And he does it again when he has a fight with his elf girlfriend. But now in this book it turns out these shadow monsters, called Nightflyers, hail from some sort of nightmare dimension and would love nothing more than to invade our universe and use it as a breeding ground.
Cue Eric summoning an army of Nightflyers to invade the secret government psychic research facility where Beth and Kory are being held. Oh, and did I mention they’re also doing research on preventing earthquakes that can be easily weaponized to cause earthquakes? And whereas last book we were in LA but now we’re in San Francisco? And Eric has been having dreams about his loved ones dying in an earthquake and him being surrounded by shadow monsters?
So yes, it’s time again for Eric the goof off to get his shit together to fix the problem he caused by only kinda getting his shit together. In fact, there’s a rather entertaining bit where after everyone escapes the evil scientist, a bunch of elves point out to Eric all the mistakes he made.
The characters are still enjoyable, though there’s rather less time spent at Renaissance Faires, which I’m a bit disappointed by. Eric’s ex from Texas shows up early on, which allows for a nice chance to show how he’s grown since the first book. There’s also a lot more of Kayla and Elizabet in this book, which makes me feel a bit less like I wasted my time on their book. Kayla does give the highlights of her backstory here, though. I’ve warmed up to her and Elizabet more and I can’t help feeling a little sad that the fact that the next book moves to NYC means I don’t think I’ll be seeing her or the rest of the supporting cast again.
I also liked the bit about elves who give young men and women a summer of passion and happiness that they then forget. In general, this book has a bit more elves beyond Korendil and it’s nice to see more of the Bedlam’s Bard version of elves. I like how the authors take classic elven legends and update them to the modern day, with details like Kory being wary of a lot of cars because they have so much metal in them. It was also fun seeing some more human magicians, and it felt like the ragtag group Beth assembles to help stop the earthquake could easily be the focus of at least some fun short stories. It makes me wish there were more than just the three Diana Tregard stories, especially cause it’d be fun for her and Eric to actually meet rather than just share a universe.
This was originally the end of the series, and as the second part of a duology I think it works reasonably well. The characters have grown from the first book and have to face new challenges and continue to grow, and the ending is generally satisfying, though I’d probably like a little more detail than the coda gives me. Fortunately, there’s four more books and a short story collection, not to mention some number of books about elves who race cars that I may eventually get to. I remember enjoying the next two books when I first read them in college, so I’m really looking forward to revisiting them and then finally tackling the rest of the series. Here’s hoping Eric’s adventures continue to be great, and that I’m only a little sad when they inevitably end.
But then Kory gets captured too, and Eric decides to go all out to rescue his boyfriend and girlfriend, and the true shape of the plot was revealed: it’s the classic Protagonist Solves A Problem In A Stupid Way And Then Solves The New Problem In A Stupider Way plot. See, in Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, there’s mention of something that happened when Eric was younger where he played Danse Macabre really well and summoned up a shadow monster. And he does it again when he has a fight with his elf girlfriend. But now in this book it turns out these shadow monsters, called Nightflyers, hail from some sort of nightmare dimension and would love nothing more than to invade our universe and use it as a breeding ground.
Cue Eric summoning an army of Nightflyers to invade the secret government psychic research facility where Beth and Kory are being held. Oh, and did I mention they’re also doing research on preventing earthquakes that can be easily weaponized to cause earthquakes? And whereas last book we were in LA but now we’re in San Francisco? And Eric has been having dreams about his loved ones dying in an earthquake and him being surrounded by shadow monsters?
So yes, it’s time again for Eric the goof off to get his shit together to fix the problem he caused by only kinda getting his shit together. In fact, there’s a rather entertaining bit where after everyone escapes the evil scientist, a bunch of elves point out to Eric all the mistakes he made.
The characters are still enjoyable, though there’s rather less time spent at Renaissance Faires, which I’m a bit disappointed by. Eric’s ex from Texas shows up early on, which allows for a nice chance to show how he’s grown since the first book. There’s also a lot more of Kayla and Elizabet in this book, which makes me feel a bit less like I wasted my time on their book. Kayla does give the highlights of her backstory here, though. I’ve warmed up to her and Elizabet more and I can’t help feeling a little sad that the fact that the next book moves to NYC means I don’t think I’ll be seeing her or the rest of the supporting cast again.
I also liked the bit about elves who give young men and women a summer of passion and happiness that they then forget. In general, this book has a bit more elves beyond Korendil and it’s nice to see more of the Bedlam’s Bard version of elves. I like how the authors take classic elven legends and update them to the modern day, with details like Kory being wary of a lot of cars because they have so much metal in them. It was also fun seeing some more human magicians, and it felt like the ragtag group Beth assembles to help stop the earthquake could easily be the focus of at least some fun short stories. It makes me wish there were more than just the three Diana Tregard stories, especially cause it’d be fun for her and Eric to actually meet rather than just share a universe.
This was originally the end of the series, and as the second part of a duology I think it works reasonably well. The characters have grown from the first book and have to face new challenges and continue to grow, and the ending is generally satisfying, though I’d probably like a little more detail than the coda gives me. Fortunately, there’s four more books and a short story collection, not to mention some number of books about elves who race cars that I may eventually get to. I remember enjoying the next two books when I first read them in college, so I’m really looking forward to revisiting them and then finally tackling the rest of the series. Here’s hoping Eric’s adventures continue to be great, and that I’m only a little sad when they inevitably end.
July 11, 2020
Ever wondered what could poison an Elf King? Read Summoned to Tourney and you'll find out!
March 31, 2022
definitely a big step up from the initial book! I really enjoyed this!
June 12, 2024
I reread this series every so often. It’s not good but I love it. Elf punk and renaissance fairs and evil government agents. Fun stuff.
August 24, 2024
I listed to this on Audible. It was excellent
September 3, 2010
Our band of heroes [and heroine] move to San Francisco and the plot continues...
Read in order.
Contains some m/m so if that's a problem for you stay away...
Bedlam's Bard
1. Knight of Ghosts and Shadows (1990) (with Ellen Guon)
2. Summoned to Tourney (1992) (with Ellen Guon)
4. Beyond World's End (2000) (with Rosemary Edghill)
5. Spirits White as Lightning (2001) (with Rosemary Edghill)
6. Mad Maudlin (2003) (with Rosemary Edghill)
7. Music to My Sorrow (2005) (with Rosemary Edghill)
Ellen Guon the co-author also has Bedlam Boyz (1993) which ties into this series.
Read in order.
Contains some m/m so if that's a problem for you stay away...
Bedlam's Bard
1. Knight of Ghosts and Shadows (1990) (with Ellen Guon)
2. Summoned to Tourney (1992) (with Ellen Guon)
4. Beyond World's End (2000) (with Rosemary Edghill)
5. Spirits White as Lightning (2001) (with Rosemary Edghill)
6. Mad Maudlin (2003) (with Rosemary Edghill)
7. Music to My Sorrow (2005) (with Rosemary Edghill)
Ellen Guon the co-author also has Bedlam Boyz (1993) which ties into this series.
December 31, 2015
A Bard, an elf, and a witch fight evil government scientists in order to prevent a massive earthquake from destroying San Fransisco, which - besides being bad in and of itself - would allow demons to take over the world. I liked this book less than the first one in the series, I think because it was much more focused on the plot and less on the character interactions. That said, I'd still recommend it for anyone looking for books about clair universes, because it's a sweet if slight example of one.
March 2, 2014
Elves in L.A.? When things get too hot there, they move north to San Francisco. But in their futuristic world, San Francisco is doomed to drop into the ocean The only hope lies with the humanlflord--who must summon the soul-devouring Nightflyers. Here is an exciting, all-new urban elven fantasy by the authors of Knight of Ghosts & Shadows. Lackey is also the author of Baen titles Bardic Voices: The Lark & the Wren and Born to Run with Larry Dixon.
**
May 8, 2022
I am always mixed when Ms. Lackey writes with a co-author. Sometimes it becomes very involved with world building. Sometimes it becomes less on character development and all about the quest. Other times, it comes across a bit lackluster. I still enjoyed this one but it is unfortunately all too forgettable.
December 31, 2008
I absolutely loved this book. Eric is so cute, and in this one he realizes a lot about himself. The night fliers scared the crap out of me, especailly since I had recently seen this: www.elfwood.com/art/n/o/nohidrim/star...
October 23, 2018
Second of the series Eric Banyon (our Bard) is in San Francisco, in hiding with Beth and Korendil(elf) trying to put behind them the battle to save "the Grove", source of all magic in the LA area.
July 25, 2009
This is a good read, but it depends a little heavily on knowledge of Lord of the Rings.
January 20, 2013
There's a line at the end when one character says "that's it? " yeah that about describes everything about this book.
May 16, 2015
Magic, monsters and mad scientists make for a wild ride.
August 3, 2008
Anothe great Bardic Magic book. Music and magic!
May 2, 2017
A modern fairy tale. The characters are starting to get more fleshed out in this second book of the series. I am planning on reading more. Recommended to fantasy fans.
did-not-finish
October 9, 2018Couldn't finish it; it stopped being fun to read for me.
Read
February 16, 2019Enjoying the aspects of Valdemer being applied in modern day San Francisco.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews