Review by Booklist Review
The latest collaboration between Lackey and her husband is laid in the same world as her popular Valdemar books but a thousand years earlier. The focus is on Skandranon Rashke, the Black Gryphon of the title, and his only human friend, the healer Amberdrake. It is also the tale of Skandranon's secret missions in a war in which magic is used freely on both sides. Lackey has a complete command of the basics of storytelling, which she and Dixon display here and to which they add some nice satirical hits at psychiatrists. Although not the ideal introduction to Lackey, this is a well-told tale for the gifted and prolific fantasist's genuine devotees. ~--Roland Green
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Setting a story in prehistory suggests a enormous potential, a feeling that all is new and possible. Lackey's latest created world (illustrated by husband Dixon) predates the setting of her Valdemar series by a millennium but never quite lives up to its expanded possibilities. The gryphon of the title is the charismatic Skandranon, leader of the gryphons, a race of birds just evolving into awareness. After establishing this intriguing premise, however, the tale soon bogs down in fantasy cliches as the main characters fight a standard war against the forces of evil. Although some of the novel's elements, like Skandranon's human friend Amberdrake, suggest a possible complexity, the plot is predictable and the overwritten battle scenes are difficult to follow. In the end, the evil Mage of Black Fire is destroyed, nearly everyone else lives and the chaotic magic of prehistory is tamed. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
As the tyrant-sorcerer Kiyamvir Ma'ar's forces sweep across the land in a relentless war of conquest, one man--Urtho, the Mage of Silence--arises as the leader of the opposition. Set a thousand years before the founding of Valdemar and the rise of the Herald Mages, the latest novel by Lackey and Dixon relates the story of the legendary black gryphon Skandranon Rashkae, his healer-companion Amberdrake, and the war that changed the face of a world forever. Featuring some of the authors' most endearing protagonists yet, this first in a projected dualogy is recommended for most fantasy collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Prequel to Lackey's various fantasy series, chronologically set about a millennium before the founding of Valdemar. Here, the good archmage Urtho and his armies are locked in mortal combat with the evil Ma'ar. Urtho has created numerous races, most importantly the gryphons, chief among whom is the black-dyed mage, Skandranon; other leading characters include Winterhart, an emotionally repressed human Healer, and Amberdrake the kestra'chern--the latter something like a combined masseur, sex counselor, and psychotherapist. While Skandranon recuperates from wounds received in yet another heroic mission, young Zhaneel--a slender, clever, agile gryphon despised by some of Urtho's generals for her lack of sheer bulk and strength--develops new tactics against Ma'ar's airborne makaar slaves. While Amberdrake builds up Zhaneel's self-esteem, Skandranon heals, and Urtho loses more territory. Skandranon resolves to learn the secret of gryphon fertility--a secret closely guarded by Urtho. Amberdrake practices his healing arts on Winterhart, and they fall in love. Ma'ar advances to capture some of Urtho's Gates by which beings and material are moved about. Finally, as Urtho lies dying, poisoned by a treacherous mage, a clever plan by Skandranon and Amberdrake tempts Ma'ar to enter the Gate, which thereupon explodes. Weakly, unevenly plotted, with far too much chat and therapy, somewhat alleviated by the life-sized, believable characters. Should keep the fans happy but won't tempt many newcomers. (A sequel, The White Gryphon, is promised.)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
