Book Reviews
Copyright (c) 1994, Thomas Van Hook
All rights reserved


Chrome Circle by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
Baen Books, August 1994
Cover Art by Barclay Shaw
End Piece by Larry Dixon
ISBN 0-671-87615-5

For the past few years, Mercedes Lackey has enjoyed a loyal following of 
readers that has steadily grown.  The immense popularity of her various book 
series (The Heralds of Valdemar, The Last Herald-Mage, The Mage Winds, Diana 
Tregarde Investigations) have recieved critical acclaim from many corners of 
the SF/F (Science Fiction/Fantasy) realm.  Her characters have been right on 
the money, while her storylines sensitive, funny and somewhat believable.  
Once again, she is totally on target with "Chrome Circle," her latest offering
 in the SERRAted Edge series.

These books are based around a group of Elves and humans in Georgia and some 
of the mis/adventures that they have along the way.  The Elves are interested 
in stock car racing and build their own vehicles using magick and a bit of 
technological wizardry (that's where the humans come in).  The stock car 
racing makes for a nice distraction from tense situations in the storylines, 
but it still seems odd to me that Elves would be interested in human gadgetry.
After all, this Elf is particularly interested in fun, music and women -- but 
that is beside the point (sigh).

The story follows one of the human mages named Tannim on his trip to visit his
 folks in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Yessir!  People actually DO LIVE in Oklahoma!!).  He
 gets visited by the lady of his dreams (literally), and she challenges him to 
a duel.  From here, the plot twists and turns like a roller-coaster, with some
 quite preditable endings and some really shocking ones.  While Miss Lackey 
included several very funny scenes there is one thing missing that is usually 
prevelant in her novels:  Emotion.  The story never really tugs at your 
heart-strings like her "Last Herald Mage" or "Mage Winds" series do.  She 
never really gets you to "fall in love" with Tannim or Shar
(Tannim's love interest).

Art-wise, Barclay Shaw's cover-work is quite misleading.  Shar is never 
described in the manner that she is depicted on the cover.  The dragon 
Charcoal looks more like a maniacal horse with wings.  Larry Dixon's end-piece
 is obviously his attempt to put the drawing in a better light.  His end-piece 
is not as well-done as Shaw's -- and once again Charcoal looks like a horse 
with an Ozzy Osbourne attitude!  Big failure on both these artists' part.

All in all, "Chrome Circle" is much more enjoyable than most novels that I 
have read.  Being a big Mercedes Lackey fan, I enjoyed reading yet another 
story in the SERRAted Edge series.  I am dissappointed at the missing 
emotional elements from the book, but I do recommend it to anyone looking for 
a "fun" read.

Overall Grade:    B-
Cover Art Grade:  D
End-Piece Grade:  F

