MERCEDES LACKEY

The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). The editor, selected by SFWAs anthology Committee (chaired by Mike Resnick), is American science fiction and fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey. This years Nebula winners are Ursula Vernon, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nancy Kress, and Jeff VanderMeer, with Alaya Dawn Johnson winning the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

The ongoing saga of Valdemar enters a new era with this epic trilogy, from the New York Times bestselling author and Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.On the border between Valdemar and the deadly Pelagirs Forest, the gryphon hero Kelvren returns from a near-fatal self-sacrifice that won him the approval of Valdemars ground troops but caused a diplomatic crisis. Frustrated by his lack of a heros welcome, Kelvren is talked into helping with an expedition by his old friend, Firesong. Firesong struggles with his own age and mortality, and he intends to solve a vast mystery at the center of legendary Lake Evendim as his crowning achievement. Just getting the multicultural fleet underway is a challenge, but what awaits them is a situation none of them could expect.

Born of the Clan of the Hawk, Tarma saw her entire tribe slain by brigands. Vowing blood revenge upon the murderers, she became one of the sword-sworn, the most elite of all warriors. Trained in all forms of death-dealing combat, she took to the road in search of her enemies.Born to a noble house and sold into a hateful "marriage", Kethry fled lifes harshness for the sanctuary of the White Winds, a powerful school of sorcery. Unlike other sorcerers, Kethry could use wordly weapons as well as magical skills. And when she became bearer of a uniquely magical sword that drew her to those in need, Kethry was led to a fateful meeting with Tarma.Vows and Honor chronicles the adventures of Tarma and Kethry, swordswoman and sorceress, bound by a blood oath to carry on their mutual fight against evil. Together they will set forth to fulfill a destiny neither could have imagined...

In this new series, set in the bestselling world of Valdemar, Heralds Mags and Amily must continue to protect the realm of Valdemar while raising their children and preparing them to follow in their footsteps.Mags, Herald Spy of Valdemar, and his wife, Amily, the Kings Own Herald, are happily married with three kids. The oldest, Peregrine, has the Gift of Animal Mindspeechhe can talk to animals and persuade them to act as he wishes. Perrys dream is to follow in his fathers footsteps as a Herald Spy, but he has yet to be Chosen by a Companion.Mags is more than happy to teach Perry all he knows. He regularly trains his children, including Perry, with tests and exercises, preparing them for the complicated and dangerous lives they will likely lead. Perry has already held positions in the Royal Palace as a runner and in the kitchen, useful places where he can learn to listen and collect information.But there is growing rural unrest in a community on the border of Valdemar. A report filled with tales of strange disappearances and missing peddlers is sent to Haven by a Herald from the Pelagirs. To let Perry experience life away from home and out in the world, Mags proposes that his son accompany him on an expedition to discover what is really going on.During their travels, Perrys Animal Mindspeech allows him to communicate with the local wildlife of the Pelagirs, whose connection to the land aids in their investigation. But the details he gleans from the creatures only deepen the mystery. As Perry, Mags, and their animal companions draw closer to the heart of the danger, they must discover the truth behind the disappearances at the borderbefore those disappearances turn deadly.

Latest in the Elemental Masters series where magic and fairytales collide on an alternate Earth of the early 1900s.

The long-awaited story of the founding of Valdemar concludes in the final book of a trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author and beloved fantasist.The refugees from the Empire have established a thriving city called Haven with the help of the Tayledras and their allies. But the Tayledras have begun a slow withdrawal to the dangerous lands known as the Pelagirs, leaving the humans of Haven to find their own way.But even with Haven settled, the lands around Haven are not without danger. Most of the danger comes in the form of magicians: magicians taking advantage of the abundant magical energy in the lands the Tayledras have cleansed; magicians who have no compunction about allying themselves with dark powers and enslaving magical beasts and the Elementals themselves.Kordas, his family, and his people will need all the help they can get. But when a prayer to every god he has ever heard of brings Kordas a very specific and unexpected form of help, the new kingdom of Valdemar is set on a path like nothing else the world has ever seen.

The long-awaited founding of Valdemar comes to life in this new series from aNew York Timesbestselling author and beloved fantasist.Within the Eastern Empire, Duke Kordas Valdemar rules a tiny, bucolic Duchy that focuses mostly on horse breeding.Anticipating the day when the Empires exploitative and militant leaders would not be content to leave them alone, Kordas father set out to gather magicians in the hopes of one day finding a way to escape and protect the people of the Duchy from tyranny.Kordas has lived his life looking over his shoulder. The signs in the Empire are increasingly dire. Under the direction of the Emperor, mages have begun to harness the power of dark magics, including blood magic, the powers of the Abyssal Planes, and the binding and "milking" of Elemental creatures.But then one of the Duchys mages has a breakthrough. There is a way to place a Gate at a distance so far from the Empire that it is unlikely the Emperor can find or follow them as they evacuate everyone that is willing to leave.But time is running out, and Kordas has been summoned to the EmperorsCourt.Can his reputation as a country bumpkin and his acting skills buy him and his people the time they need to flee? Or will the Emperor lose patience, invade to strip Valdemar of everything of worth, and send its conscripted people into the front lines of the Imperial wars?

The sixteenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series continues the reimagined adventures of Sherlock Holmes in a richly-detailed alternate 20th-century England.Annie Oakley has always suspected there is something "uncanny" about herself, but has never been able to put a name to it. But when Buffalo Bills Wild West Show goes on tour through Germany, Bill temporarily hires a new sharpshooter to be part of his "World Wide Congress of Rough Riders": a woman named Giselle, who also happens to be an Elemental Master of Air. Alongside this new performer, Annie discovers that she and her husband, Frank, are not simply master marksman, but also magicians of rare ability.As they travel and perform, Annie must use her newfound knowledge and rare skill to combat creatures of the night scattered across the countryside, who threaten both the performers and the locals. Annies got her gun, and its filled with silver bullets.

Anna May Jones is the daughter of a coal miner. When her father succumbs to Black Lung, the coal company wastes no time in turning the family out of their home. In desperation, Anna Mays mother sends her to live with her Aunt Jinny, a witchy-woman and an Elemental Master, in a holler outside of Ducktown. As she settles into her new life, Anna May finds herself falling for a stonemason with such a talent for stonecarving that people come all the way from Memphis to commission statues and tombstones from him. But hes not content with his current skill--he wants to learn to carve stone so well it looks real.When the stonemason disappears on a quest to fulfill his ambition, it is up to Anna May to follow and find him, armed with the new abilities Aunt Jinny has taught her.To save the man she loves, Anna May must journey into the mountain--and confront the horrors that lurk in the darkness of the mine.

Long ago, high magic was lost to Valdemar when the last Herald-Mage gave his life to protect his kingdom from destruction by dark sorceries. But now the protective barrier over Valdemar is crumbling, and with the realm imperiled, Princess Elspeth, Herald and heir to the throne, has gone on a desperate quest in search of a mentor who can teach her to wield her fledgling mage-powers and help her to defend her threatened kingdom.

In this new series, set in the bestselling world of Valdemar, Heralds Mags and Amily must continue to protect the realm of Valdemar while raising their children and preparing them to follow in their footsteps.Mags, Herald Spy of Valdemar, and his wife Amily are happily married with three kids. The oldest, Justyn, has the Gift of animal Mindspeech--he can talk to animals and persuade them to act as he wishes. Justyns dream is to follow in his fathers footsteps as a Herald Spy, but has yet to be Chosen by his horse companion.Mags is more than happy to teach Justyn all he knows. He regularly trains his children, including Justyn, with tests and exercises, preparing them for the complicated and dangerous lives they will likely lead. Justyn has already held positions in the Royal Palace as a runner and in the kitchen, useful places from which he can learn to listen. As the next stage of Justyns training, Mags proposes that Justyn joins a group of traveling players and musicians, to get experience away from home and out in the world. Justyn joins the troupe, and he starts collecting information for his father. And the patterns he finds are unsettling....During the troupes travels, Justyn witnesses growing rural unrest about an indigenous community of Valdemar, known as Hawkbrothers. When the troupe settles for a season at a fortified manor of a local lord, Justyn watches the unrest grow increasingly hostile. The manor lord dismisses Hawkbrothers as inhuman--and has a local militia to back up his hatred. When a child goes missing, the locals immediately blame Hawkbrothers, and Justyn finds himself in a dangerous position.He enlists the help of a local stray dog, who knows a lot about the towns goings-on, despite being a bit...odd. Justyn must find the missing child and warn the Hawkbrothers community of the trouble headed their way--before tensions turn deadly.

Mags was a Herald of Valdemar. But he had once lived the brutal life of a child slave. When he was Chosen by his Companion Dallen, his young life was saved, and he slowly adjusted to being well fed, educated, and treasured as a trainee in the Heralds Collegium at Haven. Singled out by the Kings Own Herald, Mags would thrive in his secret training as a spy. His unusually strong Giftan ability to Mindspeak and Mindhear anyone, not just others who were Giftedmade him a perfect undercover agent for the king.Sequel to Mercedes Lackeys Closer to Home, this adventure continues Magss journey as Valdemars herald spy.

The Heralds of Valdemar are the kingdoms ancient order of protectors. They are drawn from all across the land, from all walks of life, and at all agesand all are Gifted with abilities beyond those of normal men and women. They are Mindspeakers, FarSeers, Empaths, ForeSeers, Firestarters, FarSpeakers, and more. These inborn talentscombined with training as emissaries, spies, judges, diplomats, scouts, counselors, warriors, and moremake them indispensable to their monarch and realm. Sought and Chosen by mysterious horse-like Companions, they are bonded for life to these telepathic, enigmatic creatures. The Heralds of Valdemar and their Companions ride circuit throughout the kingdom, protecting the peace and, when necessary, defending their land and monarch.Now, twenty-three authors ride with Mercedes Lackey to her magical land of Valdemar, adding their own unique voices to the Heralds, Bards, Healers, and other heroes of this beloved fantasy realm.Join Elizabeth Vaughan, Fiona Patton, Jennifer Brozek, Brenda Cooper, Rosemary Edghill, and others in twenty-two original stories, including a brand-new novella by Mercedes Lackey, to Valdemar, where:A Herald must crack an ancient code in a historic tapestry in order to arbitrate a dispute over land and lineageA Healers daughter flees the noble family that has trapped and enslaved her mother, and must seek help to free her motherA young woman who hides her clairvoyant powers from her towns Karsite priests ForeSees a threat, and must risk revealing her Gift to save her communityA Herald finds his assistant has been abducted by a man upon whom he had levied a heavy fine, and must foil the kidnappers plans to save his charge

Karse and Valdemar have long been enemy kingdoms, until they are forced into an uneasy alliance to defend their lands from the armies of Eastern Empire, which is ruled by a monarch whose magical tactics may be beyond any sorcery known to the Western kingdoms. Forced to combat this dire foe, the Companions of Valdemar may, at last, have to reveal secrets which they have kept hidden for centuries... even from their beloved Heralds.

Set around three thousand years before the rest of the Valdemar series, this is the ancient history of Velgarth and the story of Skandranon Rashkae, a gryphon with gleaming ebony feathers, keen magesight and acute intelligence. He is the fulfillment of all that the Mage of Silence, the human sorcerer called Urtho, intended to achieve when he created these magical beings to be his champions, the defenders of his realm.

The long-awaited founding of Valdemar comes to life in this new series from the New York Times bestselling author and Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.Baron Valdemar and his people have found a temporary haven, but it cannot hold all of them, or for long. Trouble could follow on their heels at any moment, and there are too many people for Crescent Lake to support. Those who are willing to make a further trek by barge on into the West will follow him into a wilderness depopulated by war and scarred by the terrible magics of a thousand years ago and the Mage Wars. But the wilderness is not as "empty" as it seems. There are potential friends and rapacious foes........and someone is watching them.

The thirteenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series continues the reimagined adventures of Sherlock Holmes in a richly-detailed alternate Victorian England.The threat of Moriarty is gonebut so is Sherlock Holmes. Even as they mourn the loss of their colleague, psychic Nan Killian, medium Sarah Lyon-White, and Elemental Masters John and Mary Watson must be vigilant, for members of Moriartys network are still at large. And their troubles are far from over: in a matter of weeks, two headless bodies of young brides wash up in major waterways. A couple who fears for their own recently-wedded daughter hires the group to investigate, but with each new body, the mystery only deepens.The more bodies emerge, the more the gang suspects that there is dangerous magic at work, and that Moriartys associates are somehow involved. But as they race against the clock to uncover the killer, it will take all their talents, Magic, and Psychic Powersand perhaps some help from a dearly departed friendto bring the murderer to justice.

From a High Tower is the newest adventure in Mercedes Lackey’s Elemental Masters series, featuring a retelling of Rapunzel’s not-so-happily-ever-after ending.

Saved from a harsh life of destitution as an enslaved orphan, Mags has been recruited by the Kings Own Herald as a spy. In this special appointment, Mags has thrived - he is well fed, educated and treasured for his unusually powerful Gift, an ability to Mindspeak and Mindhear anyone, regardless of whether they are Gifted. This makes him the ideal undercover agent for the king.

When a man is caught stealing from a walled garden owned by a strange woman, he bargains away his youngest daughter in return for food for his family. The woman, rumored to be a witch, takes the golden-haired child and locks her away in a high tower. Sixteen years later, Giselle has lived an isolated life, but her adoptive mother has trained her in Air magic, and Giselle must use her new skills on a quest to avenge her broken heart...