Crown of Vengeance by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Summary: Many legends begin as history, and much history begins with a single person caught up in an extraordinary time. So it is with the great Elven Queen Vieliessar of Farcarinon, who was the first to lead the forces of Light against the Endarkened. Perhaps the greatest Elven Mage of all time, Vieliessar was the first person to ever bond with a dragon. On behalf of her people and to save the world, Vieliessar worked astonishing magics…and paid a heartrending price.
But long before those days, Vieliessar was Varuthir, a young orphan who dreamed of becoming a knight. Varuthir’s dream was cruelly ripped from her when she was abruptly banished to the Sanctuary of the Star, to spend her life in service to the greatest Mages of the Fortunate Lands.
The Sanctuary was Varuthir’s prison- and Vieliessar’s birthplace. For ti was there that she learned that she was not just the last heir of the vanished kingdom of Farcarinon but also the Child of the Prophecy, whose coming heralded the destruction of the hundred kingdoms. More, Vieliessar discovered she was a Mage of undreamed-of power.
But magecraft alone will not make Vieliessar High King over the Hundred Houses. Her campaign to seize the Unicorn Throne is a tale of loyalty and betrayal, of love and loss, and of sacrifice and salvation. Of moments of humanity in the midst of war. And of the greatest battle of all, between Light and Dark.

This book is the third trilogy Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory have collaborated on. The first was the Obsidian Mountain Trilogy (possibly my favorite series ever) and the second was the Enduring Flame trilogy which takes place about a thousand years after the events of the first. They’ve just published the first in the Dragon Prophecy trilogy, which explains the history of events and people from the Obsidian Mountain Trilogy. I’m not sure what the timeline is for this one. I want to say it’s two thousand years or so before OMT, but I’m not sure so don’t quote me on it.
I’m so happy I finally read this book. At the same time, I’m really upset I finally read this book. This is only because I have no idea when the next one’s going to come out but probably not for at least a year. A fact that makes me want to cry.
I loved this book. In my personal opinion, Lackey and Mallory can do no wrong. I’ve read many other books by Lackey and liked all of them. I haven’t read any by Mallory yet but I’m sure I will at some point. I’ve loved both series they’ve written previously. They’ve created such an extraordinary world with amazing characters.
I was worried that I’d be disappointed by this book because I’d had my hopes up for so long. I wasn’t disappointed at all. I loved this story. I only wish I didn’t have to wait for the rest of it.
The characters are elves that live for about a thousand years, give or take a few centuries. This makes it so they’re still considered “young” long after what it means in our world. This meant I got to watch Vieliessar grow up through several decades. And no, it felt neither rushed nor drawn out. Vieliessar is a great, strong, female lead. At first it seems everyone and everything is working against her, but she doesn’t let it stop her. She fights against the prophecy set on her from birth, but when she realizes it’s something she’s meant to do to save the Hundred Houses, she sets everything else aside and whole-heartedly throws herself into the task, despite everyone telling her she’s crazy. I love her and I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.
Runacarendalur is basically the equivalent to the male lead. I didn’t really like him much at the beginning. He seemed like all the other ambitious, arrogant War Princes. Eventually, I realized he’s not and now, I love him. Also, SPOILERS, they’re bonded! (It’s the equivalent of soul mates, just more magical. If one of them dies, the other does also.) It makes me so happy even though they think they hate each other. They don’t. They’re going to love each other. How do I know this? Well, because it has to happen or I’m going to cry. Also, I CAN’T BELIVE HE FUCKING LEFT! And then the book fucking ended! I am so not happy about this. But it’s okay. Because he’s going to come back and love Vieliessar for forever. …Because I said so. END SPOILERS.
If you like fantasy books I would absolutely recommend these books. If you haven’t read the other two series, I would advise you start with the Obsidian Mountain trilogy, partly because it’s my favorite and partly because it’s the first one they published. I would advise reading the Enduring Flame trilogy after Obsidian because it gives away some very important details. If you’d rather read them all chronologically (which I know some people prefer), that might be a little difficult considering only the first book in the Dragon Prophecy trilogy is out.
However you decide to read them, you absolutely, 100%, without hesitating, should run to your bookstore or library and read them. Right now.
I don’t get the chance to talk to many people who’ve read these series, so if you have, I would love to hear your opinion on it.
-Antonia

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