Lark and Wren

Lark and Wren (1992) Mercedes Lackey

I read a LOT of Mercedes Lackey when I was in my 20s. Then, several years ago (and several years after I’d fallen off reading Mercedes Lackey) I all but stopped reading epic/high fantasy. Was there a single reason? Not really. The fact that high fantasy books tended to be in never-ending series full of cliffhangers was part of the reason, but I think something in my tastes changed as well. I just haven’t been able to get into it.

Regardless of the reasons, when I came across the Baen Free Library and saw Lark and Wren, which I had read probably when it came out, I decided to get it another try. I remembered the basics of it, but it had been a long time, so I decided to try it again.

Rune is a bastard child who works in the inn where her mother–claiming to be a widow (a claim no one believed)–found a job soon after Rune was born. The inkeeper’s wife liked Rune, and gave the young girl a fiddle after seeing her many attempts to play the instruments of the wandering minstrels who came to their inn. Unfortunately for Rune, the innkeepers wife dies, and Rune’s mother decides she would like to be the new wife of the innkeeper, so things start to get unpleasant for Rune–whose only dream was to become a musician and eventually a bard.

Things happen, and Rune strikes out in her own to become a bard.

I’d forgotten that this book basically reads like two separate stories: the first half, and the second half. The first half where Rune learns to become a musician, the second half where she has become an accomplished musician, finds true lurve, and another completely different adventure happens.

It’s not that the two halves of the book are bad mind you, it’s just that the story takes a definite change in feel once Rune comes into her own musically. The first part is a coming of age story, the second part is a magical adventure story.

I definitely prefer the first half of the story. Not that the second half is bad per se, it’s just a romance adventure which is OK.

On the other hand, I can hardly complain about having downloaded and read the story for free, can I?
Rating: 6/10

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