Mercedes Lackey bibliography


This is a list of books by Mercedes Lackey, arranged by collection.

Valdemar universe

Some of the trilogies follow on chronologically from each other, while others are set a considerable number of years apart from the others—overall the books span some 2500 years.

''The Mage Wars''

Co-written with Larry Dixon, these are set in pre-history, some 2500 years before the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy. They describe the events which set off The Mage Storms. It involves gryphons, creatures created by the mage Urtho. The co-protagonists are Skandranon Rashkae, a princely but proud ebony gryphon, and Amberdrake, a Healer of spirit and mind called a kestra'chern.
  1. The Black Gryphon
  2. The White Gryphon
  3. ''The Silver Gryphon''

    ''The Founding of Valdemar''

The story is about the Baron Kordas Valdemar fleeing with his people the oppressive Eastern Empire and founding the kingdom of Valdemar in the western wilds. The trilogy takes place c. 1000 years after The Mage Wars and some 1400 years before the original Arrows trilogy.
  1. Beyond
  2. Into the West
  3. ''Valdemar''

    ''The Last Herald-Mage''

These occur some centuries before the Heralds of Valdemar books, telling the life story of Vanyel Ashkevron; by the time of the "later" books he has become legend, thus explaining some of the small inconsistencies. This series was also consistently nominated for the Lambda Literary Prize, with Magic's Price winning in 1990. As of 2021, the novels in The Last Herald-Mage trilogy are in development as the first season of a television show based on the Valdemar universe adapted by Kit Williamson and Brittany Cavallaro with Ted Field, Anthony Tringali, Michael Napoliello, and Maria Frisk at Radar Pictures executive-producing. It is intended to be the first live action adaptation of Lackey's work.
  1. Magic's Pawn
  2. Magic's Promise
  3. ''Magic's Price''

    ''Collegium Chronicles''

This series marked Lackey's novel-length return to Valdemar after a five-year hiatus. The series takes place about a half a century after Magic's Price and about 500 years before the Heralds of Valdemar books and tells about the time of the founding of the Heralds' Collegium.
  1. Foundation
  2. Intrigues
  3. Changes
  4. Redoubt
  5. ''Bastion''

    ''The Herald Spy''

This series is a continuation of the story of Mags from the Collegium Chronicles. It covers Mags' journey as a full herald and a spy.
  1. Closer to Home
  2. Closer to the Heart
  3. ''Closer to the Chest''

    ''Valdemar: Family Spies''

This series is a continuation of the story of Mags after The Herald Spy trilogy. It follows Mags and his children as they learn the family business.
  1. The Hills Have Spies
  2. Eye Spy
  3. ''Spy, Spy Again''

    ''Brightly Burning''

Brightly Burning is a stand-alone novel, set somewhere between Collegium Chronicles and the Heralds of Valdemar books; it describes another legendary character briefly referred to in the latter, Lavan Firestorm.

''Vows and Honor''

These precede the Heralds of Valdemar books and center around the characters Tarma and Kethry. These characters appeared first in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress series and were revisited in subsequent short stories. Two of these short stories are woven into the Vows and Honor books as part of a longer narrative. The original Vows and Honor pair of books were linked together with By the Sword as a trilogy.
  1. The Oathbound
  2. Oathbreakers
  3. Oathblood
The third volume, Oathblood, is made up entirely of short stories in place of a longer narrative. With its publication, nearly all of the Tarma and Kethry stories were available together in a single compiled volume for the first time. The single missing story, "A Dragon in Distress", was co-authored with Elisabeth Waters and was originally published in the Sword and Sorceress series, volume XII. The story, now available as a solo e-book, is missing from the Oathblood collection due to being set in Elisabeth Waters's world, not Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar.
The contents of Oathblood are as follows:
  1. "Introduction" — originally published in Oathblood
  2. "Sword-sworn" — originally published in Sword and Sorceress III
  3. "Turnabout" — originally published in Oathbound
  4. "The Making of a Legend" – originally published in Sword and Sorceress VI
  5. "Keys" — originally published in Sword and Sorceress V
  6. "A Woman's Weapon" — originally published in Sword and Sorceress IX
  7. "The Talisman" — originally published in Sword and Sorceress VII
  8. "A Tale of Heroes" — originally published in Sword and Sorceress IV
  9. "Friendly Fire" — originally published in Sword and Sorceress X
  10. "Wings of Fire" — originally published in Sword and Sorceress VIII
  11. "Spring Plowing at Forst Reach" — originally published in Oathblood
  12. "Oathblood" — originally published in Oathblood
In the books and short stories, Tarma is a sword-wielding Shin'a'in clanswoman. Kethry is a magic-user who carries a sword with unusual properties. The nature of this sword, Need, is explored in later series set in Valdemar. At the time of the Vows and Honor books, all that is known is that it is magic, protects female bearers, and can pressure its owner into assisting other women. The overarching goal for the two women is to accumulate resources enough to regenerate Tarma's almost-destroyed clan. As the titles of the books suggest, emphasis is laid on the importance and consequences of oaths in at least one story from each book. The setting of the books is generally in the lands south of Valdemar such as Rethwellan, although there is a brief sojourn in Valdemar in Oathbreakers. Despite limited time in Valdemar, there were references in the first two Vows and Honor books to the Companions of Valdemar which laid early hints to their nature. The introduction of a fourfold deity was something of a novel idea at the time of publication.

''Kerowyn's Tale''

This is a stand-alone novel which connects the Vows & Honor sub-series to the Heralds and other trilogies; it introduces the character Kerowyn, who is the granddaughter of Kethry from the Vows and Honor sub-series.
  • ''By the Sword''

    ''Heralds of Valdemar''

This set consists of the original trilogy, the very first Valdemar books published, and a prequel trilogy.

''Heralds of Valdemar'' prequels

These center on the Weaponsmaster Alberich and the thief Skif, telling the stories of their not-entirely-voluntary enrollments as Heralds. The order in which they were written differs from the internal chronology.
  1. Exile's Honor
  2. Exile's Valor
  3. ''Take a Thief''

    ''Arrows'' trilogy

The first written and published of the Valdemar novels, these center on the character Talia, who from the moment of being Chosen by her Companion Rolan becomes the special and hard-working Queen's Own Herald.
  1. Arrows of the Queen
  2. Arrow's Flight
  3. ''Arrow's Fall''

    ''The Mage Winds''

These follow on from the original Heralds of Valdemar trilogy and center on Princess Elspeth completing her transformation from "the Brat" to a fully-fledged Herald. Secondary protagonists include Skif and a new character, Darkwind.
The latter part of Kerowyn's Tale, By the Sword, fills in the events that happen after Arrow's Fall but before Winds of Fate.
  1. Winds of Fate
  2. Winds of Change
  3. ''Winds of Fury''

    ''The Mage Storms''

This next trilogy follows on the Heralds of Valdemar story and centers around the characters Karal and An'desha as Velgarth is threatened by a repetition of the Cataclysm described in The Mage Wars trilogy. This trilogy also focuses on the threat posed to Valdemar by the vast Eastern Empire and the development of the newly formed Alliance between Valdemar and its surrounding nations.
  1. Storm Warning
  2. Storm Rising
  3. ''Storm Breaking''

    ''Darian's Tale''

The Owl trilogy takes place several years after the events of The Mage Storms and follows the character Darian. The story focuses on the repercussions of the mage storms on Valdemar's northern border and centers on new tensions between the Kingdom and invading barbarians from beyond the Ice Wall.
  1. Owlflight
  2. Owlsight
  3. ''Owlknight''

    ''Kelvren's Saga''

The setting of this miniseries of shorter fiction and a novel is a post–Mage Storms military conflict with a "secessionist" movement in Deedun. The series features the character Kelvren Skothkar from the preceding series Darian's Tale.
  1. "A Perfect Day in Valdemar", novelette by Larry Dixon, first appeared in the anthology Fantasy: DAW 30th Anniversary
  2. "Transmutation", short story by Larry Dixon, first appeared in Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar, Valdemar Anthology, Volume 3
  3. "Ripples and Cracks", short story with Larry Dixon, first appeared in Tempest, Valdemar Anthology, Volume 10
  4. Gryphon in Light , with Larry Dixon

    Anthologies and other publications

Various anthologies have been published from 1997 featuring some short stories by Lackey and other authors she invited to write about the Valdemar universe. A companion book was also produced about the universe.
  • Sword of Ice and Other Tales of Valdemar
  • The Valdemar Companion, edited by John Helfers and Denise Little
  • "On the Other Side"
  • Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar
  • Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar
  • Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar
  • Changing the World: All-New Tales of Valdemar
  • Finding the Way and Other Tales of Valdemar
  • Under the Vale and Other Tales of Valdemar
  • No True Way: All-New Tales of Valdemar
  • Crucible: All-New Tales of Valdemar
  • Tempest: All-New Tales of Valdemar
  • Pathways: All-New Tales of Valdemar
  • Choices: All-New Tales of Valdemar
  • Seasons
  • Passages
  • Boundaries
  • Shenanigans
  • Anything with Nothing
  • ''Feuds''