Because I just reread The Black Gryphon and I don’t like leaving a series unfinished if I can help it, I just finished rereading The White Gryphon (fantasy, 399 pages) by Merceded Lackey and Larry Dixon.

“It has been ten years since the magical Cataclysm which destroyed the stronghold of the world’s most powerful Mage, killing Urtho, creator of the gryphons, and sending his forces into exile. It had taken urtho’s peoples one year of terrible travail crossing dangerous lands to find a sheltered haven, and nine hard years of building, but their city, called White Gryphon, is now a secure stronghold. Secure, at least, until the fleet of the mysterious Black Kings appears in their harbor, bringing envoys who inform the residents of White Gryphon that their newfound sanctruary lies on land claimed by this powerful kingdom. Desperate not to lose their hard-won home, Skandranon Rashkae, the Black Gryphon, along with his longtime friend, Amberdrake, agree to accompany the envoys back to the court of the Black Kings, hoping to negotiate an alliance. But once settled in this strange court, Skandranon and Amberdrake quickly become aware that this negotiation will not be an easy one. And when a high-ranking noble who opposes this alliance is found murdered – seemingly torn apart by gryphon’s talons – Skandranon and Amberdrake realize that they are up against unknown enemies who will stop at nothing, even the use of diabolical Blood Magic, to destroy White Gryphon.”

This book has a lot of very close, very deep, very uncomfortable looks inside the minds of very unhealthy characters. It’s a reminder that not everyone in the world, real or fictional, is a positive person who only has the best interests of others in mind. It’s a reminder that monsters do exist, and they usually have a pleasant face and do horrible things.

I think that’s one of the things I enjoy most about reading these books – the “good guys” do actually win and those human monsters who are true evil are not successful in their endeavors. But, boy howdy do they do a LOT of damage along the way.

I enjoyed my reread of this much more than The Black Gryphon and was a lot more invested in the characters and the overall situation, though you could tell this was a book written in the U.S. in the 1990s. Overall, I would say this is bumped up to a low three on my rating scale. I’m glad I own it and might actually reread it again in the future.

Lackey, Mercedes and Dixon, Larry. The White Gryphon. DAW Book Collectors, 1995.