Mark Shepherd (1961–2011)

First off, this book gets trigger warnings for child abuse.
Misty normally does not write books about 'issues,' and in the two stories in this book she manages (in my opinion) to tackle the very difficult topic of child abuse while keeping the story central and not turning preachy. That said, anyone unfamiliar with the realities of child abuse can learn a fair bit from these stories. For her handling that that alone, this book would get high marks from me.

Otherworld is set in Misty's urban elves world. This particular book is the only one that really focuses on elves as the main characters. In Wheels of Fire, Alinor is travelling the wilds of the human world, doing test runs on the first cast aluminum engine block Fairgrove has sent out to the Real World. He has a human partner, Bob, both to help with the engine and keep him out of trouble. Being Alinor, he finds trouble anyway.

When the Bough Breaks has MacLynn, who's been dodging his responsibilities to the Court and burying himself in the human world ever since the woman he loved died 200 years ago. His quest to ditch his duties eternally takes a wrong turn when the student of his current human lover unintentionally becomes a threat to his home court while trying to escape her abusive father.

Both stories are well written, and give readers an inside look at what life is like for elves living in a world run by humans. I have a slight preference fro Wheels of Fire, partly because it ties into the stories about the human mage Tannim, who is one of my favorite Misty characters, partly because I really enjoy Alinor, and partly because When the Bough Breaks hits on some stuff that does trigger me.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Misty, elves, race cars, people who stand up to do the right thing, and unusual urban fantasy.

Shelving note: I've tagged this book as romance, but it is not your typical romance. While both stories do have HEA, in Wheels of Fire the HEA is for Bob, not the main character Alinor, and in When the Bough Breaks, Maclynn gets a HEA with another elf, and the book ends when he has to say good by to his human lover. Not your typical romance ending, but I rather like the way it turns the expected cliches awry while still giving HEA. Others may not consider this book a romance, and the romance plot is definitely not the main plot of either story.… (altro)

This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.

Al and Bob work as mechanics for a race car driving team. There's just one catch - Al happens to be a centuries old elf and Bob a human fosterling brought up after being abused by his father. Al has a soft spot for children as it happens, and when he finds out Jamie is missing, he does everything he can to help.

This is one of the few books in this series that is told mainly from the perspective of an elf, Al. I found the extent of this a little disappointing to be honest - I didn't feel a real connection to Al, and I didn't feel like there was a real difference in the way he and Jamie thought.


The focus on all of these books seems to be the respect of children. There are some pretty horrifying things going on in this book - starvation and sensory deprivation of children under the age of 10 is not exactly nice. Not to mention torturing them with summoning the 'Holy Fire'.

I liked Jamie. And you're not really sure right up until the end whether he is going to survive or not. Joe is a bit of a dark horse, but it's nice to hear some things from his perspective too. There's a good balance here again, you don't feel limited to only Al, yet the transitions are smooth.

The salamander in this novel is one of the few actual strange occurrences - once you get past the fact that there are urban elves. The flashback recounting Al's previous experiences with salamanders is fascinating, and feels genuine and well researched. As a sometimes writer myself, I appreciate the effort that goes into writing a novel like this. I can't believe that this book is a collaboration of three writers! It doesn't come across that way at all, although I would have said that the dominant style would be that of Mercedes Lackey.

This book (the one I'm actually reviewing here, Wheels of Fire) can be found in an omnibus with the next in the series When the Bough Breaks. The novels have been grouped like that because of the authors involved, but the next two reviews I have done of The Chrome Bourne novels actually occur in between.

I'd recommend this book for adults, and mature teenagers. The cult does some very disturbing things that really aren't for polite company. A warning for drugs, violence and supernatural themes I suppose!… (altro)

An omnibus containing two of Lackey's SERRAted Edge books: Wheels of Fire, (with Mark Shepherd), and When the Bough Breaks, (with Holly Lisle). The SERRAted Edge books are a bit difficult to pin down. On the one hand, they're fun; they're about elves who race cars and integrate themselves into the human world. But at the same time, they deal with some really horrible child abuse cases. It's a bit of a strange mix, and not one that I'm entirely comfortable with.

Both books are still decent, though. There's a goodly amount of tension, the stakes are fairly high, and the magic works pretty well with the real-world stuff. It's nice, too, to read about people who are committed to doing something to help abused children. Even though there are terrible things going on, you know everything's going to work out in the end. The abused kids are going to get the help they need, and the abusers will get their comeuppance. Things won't be perfect, but they'll be better at the end than they were in the beginning.

Both books are offered free online; see here.… (altro)