Storm Warning

core novel 1994 Valdemar

Record

First published	1994
Original language	EN
Work type	novel
Canon status	core
Reader rating	4.08 (13,667 ratings, collected 2026-09-12)
Page count	428
First-edition ISBN	0-88677-611-2
First-edition date	1994-08

Synopsis

The first book of the Mage Storms trilogy opens with Valdemar and its longtime enemy, the theocratic kingdom of Karse, forced into an uneasy alliance in the face of a new and far greater threat. The young Karsite envoy Karal, previously introduced in the Vows and Honor and Last Herald-Mage material, finds himself working alongside Heralds and their Companions, former adversaries whom he was raised to distrust. Looming over the fragile alliance is the Eastern Empire, ruled by an emperor who commands a form of sorcery unlike anything Valdemar's Heralds or Karse's Sunpriests have faced before. As the danger grows clearer, the Companions may be forced to reveal secrets they have kept hidden for generations if Valdemar and Karse are to have any hope of surviving what is coming.

Where it sits

• Universe: Valdemar
• Series: The Mage Storms core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
• Author: Mercedes Lackey

Awards (verified)

• Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1995: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 8th.
• Lambda Literary Award (Science Fiction/Fantasy), 1995: nominated

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

• Publication order, within the series The Mage Storms: position 1 of 3: next Storm Rising (1995)

Sources

• Mercedes Lackey official site
• Valdemar Wiki (Fandom)
• https://www.isfdb.org
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey
• https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/storm-warning-9781101127872/
• https://www.sfadb.com/Mercedes_Lackey

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