The Black Gryphon
core novel 1994 Valdemar
Record
| First published | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.10 (15,663 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 460 |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-88677-577-9 |
| First-edition date | 1994-01 |
Synopsis
The first book of the Mage Wars trilogy, co-written with Larry Dixon, is set generations before the rest of the Valdemar novels, in an era before the Herald organization exists and magic remains wild and largely unregulated. Skandranon Rashkae is a young gryphon, one of the magically created beings bred by the powerful mage Urtho to help defend his territory against the ambitions of the sorcerer Maar. When one of Urtho's Seers has a vision warning that Maar is preparing to unleash a devastating magical weapon against Urtho's forces, Skandranon is sent on a dangerous mission of espionage behind enemy lines, protected only by one of Urtho's spells of concealment, to learn what he can before the weapon can be used.
Where it sits
- Universe: Valdemar
- Series: The Mage Wars (Gryphon trilogy) core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Mercedes Lackey
- Author: Larry Dixon
Notes
- From the series record (The Mage Wars (Gryphon trilogy)): Co-authored throughout with Larry Dixon.
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 Wars (Gryphon trilogy): position 1 of 3: next The White Gryphon (1995)
Sources
- Mercedes Lackey official site
- Valdemar Wiki (Fandom)
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_Lackey
- https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/the-black-gryphon-9781101127292/
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