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A review by kmj91
The White Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon
3.0
3 stars, I liked it better than the previous book but not quite enough to give it a higher score
In the years since the end of the last book, Skandranon has grown old and fat and, worst of all, respectable. He longs for the days when he was a maverick and resents being a diplomatic leader which he feels isn't true to who he is. Luckily, an unseen enemy soon starts attacking the city of White Grypone which gives him the chance to relive some of his glory days as he helps defend the city. I will say that I found Skandranon to be a better character in this book. I didn't particularly care for him as a cock-of-the-walk bad boy that everyone adores but I am extremely here for over-the-hill Skandranon who can't believe where he's ended up in life. Unfortunately, that interesting character growth does get sidelined a bit and the book is a bit too abrupt in its pacing (this is one of the shortest books of the Valdemar books I've read and though I haven't counted absolute pages, I feel like it probably is the shortest) so it feels like everything just needed a bit more breathing room, especially when the plot resolves so quickly and neatly. I'm curious how this trilogy will wrap up now since each book has neatly resolved all lingering issues from the previous book more or less.
In the years since the end of the last book, Skandranon has grown old and fat and, worst of all, respectable. He longs for the days when he was a maverick and resents being a diplomatic leader which he feels isn't true to who he is. Luckily, an unseen enemy soon starts attacking the city of White Grypone which gives him the chance to relive some of his glory days as he helps defend the city. I will say that I found Skandranon to be a better character in this book. I didn't particularly care for him as a cock-of-the-walk bad boy that everyone adores but I am extremely here for over-the-hill Skandranon who can't believe where he's ended up in life. Unfortunately, that interesting character growth does get sidelined a bit and the book is a bit too abrupt in its pacing (this is one of the shortest books of the Valdemar books I've read and though I haven't counted absolute pages, I feel like it probably is the shortest) so it feels like everything just needed a bit more breathing room, especially when the plot resolves so quickly and neatly. I'm curious how this trilogy will wrap up now since each book has neatly resolved all lingering issues from the previous book more or less.