The White Gryphon

Written by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon

Narrated by Gary Furlong

It has been ten years since the magical Cataclysm, which destroyed the twin strongholds of the two world's most powerful Mages, killing Urtho, creator of the gryphons, and sending his forces into exile. Now Urthro's peoples-human and non-human alike live in a terraced city carved into the face of a gleaming white cliff on the edge of the Western Ocean. Secure at least, . . . until the fleet of the mysterious Black Kings appears in their harbor, bringing envoys who inform the residents of White Gryphon that their newfound home lies on the northern perimeter of lands claimed by this powerful kingdom. Desperate not to lose their hard won home, Skandranon, along with his longtime friend Amberdrake-agree to accompany the envoys back to the Court of the Black Kings, hoping to negotiate an alliance. When a high ranking noble who opposes this alliance is found murdered-Skandranon and Amberdrake realize that they are up against unknown enemies who will stop at nothing, even the use of diabolical Blood Magic, to destroy White Gryphon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Apr 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977332417

Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes 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. Also known as Misty Lackey.

Reviews for The White Gryphon

[Susanna Warner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, I like to be able to listen to books that I have read in the past. There are things that you can miss while reading that add more to the story.

[johnfair_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the second in the 'Black Gryphon' series and is set ten years after the conclusion of the book of that nam. The survivors of Urtho's armies had been scattered to the four quarters of the world in their attempts to escape the effects of the Mage Wars. The Mage Winds had died down and Skandranon and his party had built themselves a new city built into the cliffs overlooking the oceans thinking that they were miles away from any other peoples. But even in the heart of this peacful society are those who would hurt others and it becomes the duty of Skan and Amberdrake to excise the evildoer. But it's the three sailing ships making for their harbour that bring the greatest change to the fledgling city of White Gryphon.This is probably the best book in the trilogy. Certainly as far as I am concerned as Lackey and Dixon develop the societies of White Gryphon and the Haighlei and through in a murder mystery story into the mix.

[jeremypreacher · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I actually like this ok - I don't like it nearly as much as most of the rest of the Valdemar books, but it's not nearly as bad as the other two in the sequence.

It's more or less a murder mystery, with the characters from The Black Gryphon but the focus on exploring a new culture with some interesting customs. Skandranon is mostly sidelined and thus spends much less time annoying me, and while the villain is cacklingly one-dimensional, he's likewise not really the focus.

Much stronger than The Black Gryphon; that's not saying much.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the second novel in Lackey's Gryphon series, so if you haven't you should read The Black Gryphon first--if you enjoyed that story I think you'll like this one: I like this second novel more than the first in fact. I thought this novel was better paced and more suspenseful, and I liked the setting, reminiscent of an ancient African civilization such as Mali, but with elements that make the culture pretty unique, and thus different than the usual pseudo-Medieval European setting you usually see in fantasy. I don't however like this book or the trilogy its part of as much as most of Lackey's other books set in this world. If you haven't already read them, I'd read Arrows of the Queen or Magic's Pawn first, set in the same "world" but set well over a thousand years after the events of this trilogy.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The only problem with rereading this book is that the climax is so vivid I can't forget even the details of what happens. So the mystery isn't a mystery. It's still a great story - as usual with a Lackey, the characters are worth reading even if I had it all memorized - but it does detract a trifle from the suspense. So I'm trying even harder than usual not to say what happens, only what I think about it...

[cabri_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is the 2nd book in the series which is already a strike against it -- it's very difficult for an author to carry the story through to the final volume without losing some of the suspense. The actual plot isn't too bad; however, it feels like Ms. Lackey didn't spend much time in the actual writing of the book, that it was mostly left to her husband who is not that good a writer (at least at this point in his career). I managed to slog through it solely because of the plot but it was painful.