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SERRAted Edge #1
Born to Run
Seeking to make their fortunes in human society, the elves of the underworld involve themselves in stock car racing, child pornography, and worse, and three runaway kids find themselves in a heap of trouble. Reissue.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1992
14 people are currently reading
1,395 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
509Ìýbooks9,326ÌýfollowersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 30, 2008
This book is pure unadulterated escapist fantasy. It may not be Pulizer Prize material, but Lackey's detailed descriptions take you to a different place. The human mage was a pretty cool character with a heart of gold. If you like fantasy especially urban fantasy, you'll love this one.
June 1, 2013
I loved this series when I was a teen. It was the first urban fantasy I'd ever heard of, and I really dug the idea of magic living alongside the human world without anyone noticing.
Going back to it, it's definitely dated (the cool hero rocks a mullet and bleeding-edge technology is a car stereo with a CD player), but what I found really awkward was the dialogue. If someone called me by name that many times in conversation I'd be more than a little creeped out. People just don't talk like that.
Still, it was a nice nostalgia trip with some likeable heroes and uncomplicated mustache-twirling villains.
I want to bust out my Clannad tapes now.
Going back to it, it's definitely dated (the cool hero rocks a mullet and bleeding-edge technology is a car stereo with a CD player), but what I found really awkward was the dialogue. If someone called me by name that many times in conversation I'd be more than a little creeped out. People just don't talk like that.
Still, it was a nice nostalgia trip with some likeable heroes and uncomplicated mustache-twirling villains.
I want to bust out my Clannad tapes now.
December 27, 2014
First in the SERRAted Edge urban fantasy series revolving around elves, magic, and racing cars. The focus is on Tannim.
My Take
It's an enjoyable story � using the sportscar racing as the story's setting is a unique twist � and must be some of Lackey's early writing as it is rather juvenile and could use some work. That said, it is clever with a clever substitution, replacing the iron in cars with fiberglass and other nonferrous materials to make it easier for elves to be around all that Cold Iron. I love the ease of using an elvensteed to test out prototypes in a wind tunnel too!
I like how "Tannim" describes magic as a discipline: "a way of describing an inborn talent that's been trained. It has rules, and it obeys the laws of physics. It uses the energy produced by all living things; it also uses the energy of magnetic fields, of sunlight, and a lot of other sources. It's a tool, a way of manipulating energies;�".
A nice bit on how SERRA was formed. Lackey/Dixon almost make it believable that humans were using magic before the elves arrived on scene.
Tannim has a very different approach to teen hookers. Expensive, but a good way to begin to earn their trust. One he'll use to help Tania who has run from a different, but still crippling kind of abuse. I'll say it again, some people should not have children. The Catholic Church is so big on counseling before you get married; I wish they (and others) had a similar policy on counseling parents. Although, considering the Church's reputation for what they do with children, maybe that's a good thing.
Who knew elves would need money? I much prefer the Seleighe Court's reasons and methods to that of their rivals.
It is funny how Aurilia is the smart one but also the lowest in status; watching her manipulate her partners is interesting. The evil triad is shocked to learn that Fairgrove's elves are training humans to battle other elves, revealing their secrets, and I can see why it would be seen as a bad thing. Even if I can't get behind their plans.
It's a crunch of desires: the triad wants to take out Keighvin and doesn't care who they hurt to destroy him. It's only by luck, good planning, and good living that some of them escape. Although, there certainly were a number of incidents that could have been avoided if the Seleighe had been thinking. It's that first battle that steps things up between them, for it brings Niall over to Aurilia's way of thinking. Not so good for our side.
We sure get a tonnage of useless description. I'm not usually one to reject a "painting" of the setting, but I do like to have a purpose behind it. Especially when the authors are so keen to give information that makes you wonder what event they're prepping you for. It's such a letdown when nothing results. Now, when it comes to Tannim's bed…that makes sense.
That Foxtrot Xray is too funny when he morphs from Oberon to an aircraft-carrier parking director!
The Story
Fairgrove Industries has done well in designing cars and creating innovative engines, but now they need a front man. Someone who can be convincing enough to outmaneuver Fairgrove's enemies.
It's Tannim's job to convince the retired Sam Kelly to come out of retirement and put his reputation on the line.
For the Unseleighe are determined to take down the Seleighe and wreck their foray into human life. Even as they crank up their own entry into the human world with their snuff films and pornography.
The Characters
Tannim is a human mage employed at Fairgrove Industries, a racing firm that's creating some innovative engines. He drives a much-loved, almost sentient dark red Mustang. Chinthliss is a dragon shifter and Tannim's mentor.
Sam Kelly was a starving and abused little boy. As an adult, today, Dr. Sam (he has an electrical engineering degree) has retired from his job as a metallurgist at Gulfstream. His father, John, was brokenhearted over the death of his wife, Moira. It's Keighvin who gives John a second chance to do right by his son. What happened to his great-uncle Patrick makes it easier for Sam to believe in the Fair Folk.
Fairgrove Industries
Keighvin Silverhair is Tannim's boss and an elf who was raised by humans. Rosaleen Dhu is his elvensteed. Tannim reckons a fourth of the SERRA members are either elves or human mages. Donal is one of three elven mechanics who can be around a lot of Cold Iron. Conal is Donal's twin with the scorched head and a fellow prankster. Rob, a.k.a., Skippy, van Alman is Donal's human shadow. Dottie, Jim, Cuil, Kieru, and Janie are in that first battle as well. Tannim finds out that Padraig, Sean, and Siobhan's interest in polo comes in handy.
Ross Canfield is getting a second chance to make things right. Marty is the guy his wife married. The Old Man is a good mentor, and Foxtrot Xray is another good friend, though Ross knows Foxtrot is a part of the spirit world but not a ghost. Vanessa is another ghost, a child hooker before she died.
Derek Ray Kestrel is a friend of Tannim's with a knack for magic and spends his time with cars and guitars.
Kevin Barry is a pub Tannim frequents. Terra Nova is a Celtic band that Trish, the pubowner, sings for sometimes. Julie is a waitress at the pub. Marianne is the barkeep.
Tania Jane Delaney is the underage hooker who catches Tannim's eye. Jamie, an addicted lad who gets his money by hooking, and his girlfriend, Laura, another hooker, are Tania's roommates and friends. Meg had been her only friend as a child. And only because they had the same time for tennis lessons. Joe, Tonio, and Honi are other roommates. Unwelcome ones.
The Unseleighe Court
Bane-Sidhe, a.k.a., banshee, get their energy from your fear and from your dying. Aurilia nic Morrigan is in partnership with Vidal Dhu and both are with the local Unselieighe Court; Niall, a Bane-Sidhe, is a third partner in Adder's Fork Studios (they don't bother keeping records; its actors are either volunteers or don't survive the experience), a pornographic film studio.
Both sides fear King Oberon.
George Beecher is a private investigator with Bruning, Inc. who finds out the truth behind the job too late. Terry is a cop who works in Vice; he is friends with George and with Tannim.
Sidhe, the Kindly Ones, the Lords of Underhill, the Old People, the Fairies, and the Fair Folk are all names for elves.
The Cover and Title
The cover is black and gold with a touch of red in Aurilia's brief red dress as she prepares to lash out with her fire magic at a young couple. It's a black racing car behind her with a city skyline behind that. The title combines font styles to look as though "run" is on the run with the wind whistling through it, making ripples in the letters. The whole title and the data on the series information both look like decals from a racing car: the title is black against a golden brown background while the series info is golden brown against a black background and both are outlined in red.
I think the title is about Tannim, as he is Born to Run with that Mustang of his!
My Take
It's an enjoyable story � using the sportscar racing as the story's setting is a unique twist � and must be some of Lackey's early writing as it is rather juvenile and could use some work. That said, it is clever with a clever substitution, replacing the iron in cars with fiberglass and other nonferrous materials to make it easier for elves to be around all that Cold Iron. I love the ease of using an elvensteed to test out prototypes in a wind tunnel too!
I like how "Tannim" describes magic as a discipline: "a way of describing an inborn talent that's been trained. It has rules, and it obeys the laws of physics. It uses the energy produced by all living things; it also uses the energy of magnetic fields, of sunlight, and a lot of other sources. It's a tool, a way of manipulating energies;�".
Things are only impossible because they haven't been done yet.
A nice bit on how SERRA was formed. Lackey/Dixon almost make it believable that humans were using magic before the elves arrived on scene.
Tannim has a very different approach to teen hookers. Expensive, but a good way to begin to earn their trust. One he'll use to help Tania who has run from a different, but still crippling kind of abuse. I'll say it again, some people should not have children. The Catholic Church is so big on counseling before you get married; I wish they (and others) had a similar policy on counseling parents. Although, considering the Church's reputation for what they do with children, maybe that's a good thing.
Who knew elves would need money? I much prefer the Seleighe Court's reasons and methods to that of their rivals.
It is funny how Aurilia is the smart one but also the lowest in status; watching her manipulate her partners is interesting. The evil triad is shocked to learn that Fairgrove's elves are training humans to battle other elves, revealing their secrets, and I can see why it would be seen as a bad thing. Even if I can't get behind their plans.
It's a crunch of desires: the triad wants to take out Keighvin and doesn't care who they hurt to destroy him. It's only by luck, good planning, and good living that some of them escape. Although, there certainly were a number of incidents that could have been avoided if the Seleighe had been thinking. It's that first battle that steps things up between them, for it brings Niall over to Aurilia's way of thinking. Not so good for our side.
We sure get a tonnage of useless description. I'm not usually one to reject a "painting" of the setting, but I do like to have a purpose behind it. Especially when the authors are so keen to give information that makes you wonder what event they're prepping you for. It's such a letdown when nothing results. Now, when it comes to Tannim's bed…that makes sense.
That Foxtrot Xray is too funny when he morphs from Oberon to an aircraft-carrier parking director!
The Story
Fairgrove Industries has done well in designing cars and creating innovative engines, but now they need a front man. Someone who can be convincing enough to outmaneuver Fairgrove's enemies.
It's Tannim's job to convince the retired Sam Kelly to come out of retirement and put his reputation on the line.
For the Unseleighe are determined to take down the Seleighe and wreck their foray into human life. Even as they crank up their own entry into the human world with their snuff films and pornography.
The Characters
Tannim is a human mage employed at Fairgrove Industries, a racing firm that's creating some innovative engines. He drives a much-loved, almost sentient dark red Mustang. Chinthliss is a dragon shifter and Tannim's mentor.
Sam Kelly was a starving and abused little boy. As an adult, today, Dr. Sam (he has an electrical engineering degree) has retired from his job as a metallurgist at Gulfstream. His father, John, was brokenhearted over the death of his wife, Moira. It's Keighvin who gives John a second chance to do right by his son. What happened to his great-uncle Patrick makes it easier for Sam to believe in the Fair Folk.
Fairgrove Industries
Keighvin Silverhair is Tannim's boss and an elf who was raised by humans. Rosaleen Dhu is his elvensteed. Tannim reckons a fourth of the SERRA members are either elves or human mages. Donal is one of three elven mechanics who can be around a lot of Cold Iron. Conal is Donal's twin with the scorched head and a fellow prankster. Rob, a.k.a., Skippy, van Alman is Donal's human shadow. Dottie, Jim, Cuil, Kieru, and Janie are in that first battle as well. Tannim finds out that Padraig, Sean, and Siobhan's interest in polo comes in handy.
Ross Canfield is getting a second chance to make things right. Marty is the guy his wife married. The Old Man is a good mentor, and Foxtrot Xray is another good friend, though Ross knows Foxtrot is a part of the spirit world but not a ghost. Vanessa is another ghost, a child hooker before she died.
Derek Ray Kestrel is a friend of Tannim's with a knack for magic and spends his time with cars and guitars.
Kevin Barry is a pub Tannim frequents. Terra Nova is a Celtic band that Trish, the pubowner, sings for sometimes. Julie is a waitress at the pub. Marianne is the barkeep.
Tania Jane Delaney is the underage hooker who catches Tannim's eye. Jamie, an addicted lad who gets his money by hooking, and his girlfriend, Laura, another hooker, are Tania's roommates and friends. Meg had been her only friend as a child. And only because they had the same time for tennis lessons. Joe, Tonio, and Honi are other roommates. Unwelcome ones.
The Unseleighe Court
Bane-Sidhe, a.k.a., banshee, get their energy from your fear and from your dying. Aurilia nic Morrigan is in partnership with Vidal Dhu and both are with the local Unselieighe Court; Niall, a Bane-Sidhe, is a third partner in Adder's Fork Studios (they don't bother keeping records; its actors are either volunteers or don't survive the experience), a pornographic film studio.
Both sides fear King Oberon.
George Beecher is a private investigator with Bruning, Inc. who finds out the truth behind the job too late. Terry is a cop who works in Vice; he is friends with George and with Tannim.
Sidhe, the Kindly Ones, the Lords of Underhill, the Old People, the Fairies, and the Fair Folk are all names for elves.
The Cover and Title
The cover is black and gold with a touch of red in Aurilia's brief red dress as she prepares to lash out with her fire magic at a young couple. It's a black racing car behind her with a city skyline behind that. The title combines font styles to look as though "run" is on the run with the wind whistling through it, making ripples in the letters. The whole title and the data on the series information both look like decals from a racing car: the title is black against a golden brown background while the series info is golden brown against a black background and both are outlined in red.
I think the title is about Tannim, as he is Born to Run with that Mustang of his!
August 11, 2010
Oh, man. I forgot about these books. I was looking through Teej's book list, thinking that I should read all the book's that he had listed that I had never read (and immediately giving up; Teej, my love; where ever you are now: know that I love you and would pay you any service or sign of respect in my power... except read those Xanth novels. Ye gods... what horrible taste in books you had in some respects, Boy. Heh.) and I came across the SERRAted Edge novels.
They're marvelously awful. Wonderful Fun. Fast. Tacky as all hell. Very, very '80's in concept and execution, even though they were published in 1990 an '91 or thereabouts. The gist is that there are these elves, right? And they live in modern cities in modern times and they race cars for a living. But because elves get burned if they touch any sort of iron, the race cares aren't really cars, they're horses. Elven steeds gone all shape-shifty. Adorable. I could just cuddle them.
Because they were written by Mercedes Lackey, who has a firm grip on her genre, the series (an this first book especially) are quite readable and only sometimes cause one to roll one's eyes. Most of the giggling elicited from readers by the text are caused more from a giddy sense of delight in the brain-dead yahoo-fare and less from any snarky tendencies one might have. It's very easy to suspend one's sense of good taste and just enjoy these little treats for what they are.
Recommended, if you're in to this sort of thing.
They're marvelously awful. Wonderful Fun. Fast. Tacky as all hell. Very, very '80's in concept and execution, even though they were published in 1990 an '91 or thereabouts. The gist is that there are these elves, right? And they live in modern cities in modern times and they race cars for a living. But because elves get burned if they touch any sort of iron, the race cares aren't really cars, they're horses. Elven steeds gone all shape-shifty. Adorable. I could just cuddle them.
Because they were written by Mercedes Lackey, who has a firm grip on her genre, the series (an this first book especially) are quite readable and only sometimes cause one to roll one's eyes. Most of the giggling elicited from readers by the text are caused more from a giddy sense of delight in the brain-dead yahoo-fare and less from any snarky tendencies one might have. It's very easy to suspend one's sense of good taste and just enjoy these little treats for what they are.
Recommended, if you're in to this sort of thing.
March 12, 2014
I absolutely loved the high concept of this one - that the Fair Folk are still alive in our time, and they have latched on to modern elements of our culture, with the light elves wanting to just hang out, listen to rock and roll and modify racing cars, and the dark elves being drawn to the tools of modern organized criminal rings.
When we get into the plot of the novel, it falls off a bit, going into after-school special territory, but it's told with enough joie de vivre that it stays entertaining throughout.
When we get into the plot of the novel, it falls off a bit, going into after-school special territory, but it's told with enough joie de vivre that it stays entertaining throughout.
August 29, 2019
Hmmmmm....
I don't think it quite holds up to her other work. The characters are a bit flat and unidimensional, especially the bad guys, who are not only uninformed, stupid and underestimating of the good guys, but can't even work together properly. They consistently prioritize their private revenge over actually achieving their goal.
On the other hand, this book is obviously intended for the tween/teen crowd and I appreciated the fact that she included a child help line in the end.
Entertaining, not worth purchasing.
I don't think it quite holds up to her other work. The characters are a bit flat and unidimensional, especially the bad guys, who are not only uninformed, stupid and underestimating of the good guys, but can't even work together properly. They consistently prioritize their private revenge over actually achieving their goal.
On the other hand, this book is obviously intended for the tween/teen crowd and I appreciated the fact that she included a child help line in the end.
Entertaining, not worth purchasing.
September 15, 2020
I haven't read this book in 10 to 20 years and still enjoy it after all that time. I had forgotten that these books are all one offs within the series but feel like you've known the characters for several books. I enjoy how the characters work through preconceived notions of what the homeless and runaway kids deal with. This was definitely an eye-opener for me when I first read it.
March 19, 2023
Born to Run by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon is the first book in the "SERRAted Edge" series. In this one, Tannim, a human mage, works for the Sidhe, good elves, who are trying to exist among humans. They are trying to develop a new type of motor for race cars with a combination of magic and technology. Tannim also has a soft spot for kids in tough places. He finds out some of the evil elves who are also enemies of the Sidhe are using magic and drugs to recruit street kids to use in porno movies and sometimes snuff films. He is determined to get a young girl named Tania out of this life before she is hooked on drugs or even worse killed. Meanwhile, the Sidhe have their own problems in that the evil elves want to destroy them and subjugate the human race.
This combination of elves, race cars, mages, and an evil kiddie porn snuff ring are a rather strange combination, but it worked well. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
This combination of elves, race cars, mages, and an evil kiddie porn snuff ring are a rather strange combination, but it worked well. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
April 7, 2019
CW: ABUSE, RAPE, VIOLENCE, WAR
Mercedes Lackey is the Queen of expansive fantasy worlds told through several interconnected series. Each book is only a small slice of the universe, and each narrative only uses the last for its foundation to build new and relevant lore. For example, a multitude of books set in her Valdemar series have necessary and entertaining crossovers, but there is never an ounce of irrelevant rehash. Lackey and (often) Dixon never show signs of being too in love with their own world building when said world contains literal centuries of on-page lore.
The world of Born to Run was the couple's second attempt to create such a world, and the work suffers for it. The plot is stretched too thin over several characters and factions, with something like seven or eight POVs, circulating with no discernible pattern. Some lasted for chapters, while some lasted for only a paragraph or two, never really letting the reader get to know any of the characters. At one point, two minor characters are killed, something treated as a huge, war inspiring event. I... what? This may not be the first book in the universe, but if you're trying to launch a new series, give your readers more than one chapter to get attached to doomed characters.
Then again, the lack of character development is the least of the book's failings, the first being the plot itself. SERRAted Edge is a series about elves who race cars and are basically the Sidhe. But Born to Run is a book about, uh, fighting evil elves for the lives of child prostitutes? At least half of it is. The other half is recruiting an old scientist as a PR move. Two plots that have very, very little do with each other. The plot turns over from a corporation political drama to an examination on the proliferation of pedophilia in 1980's sex work with NO WARNING.
It's not even a plot that the book does well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they book is wrong politically-- Fifteen year old girls should not be sex workers. However, there are better ways to go about this than showing us Tania, a girl whose trauma is so whitewashed that she is on the streets and turning tricks because.... her parents don't let her read fantasy novels. Now, parental abuse can come in the form of overly strict rules, yes, but this simple, trauma-free backstory seems ridiculous when compared to the fact that her two best friends are here because they were abused and raped.
I would almost accept that they simply didn't want to go that dark, but, while not being explicitly graphic, this book does include a POV that spends nearly a chapter describing all the scenarios in the snuff porn she makes, sometimes including real human deaths. The book shies from literally no other aspect of darkness, even choosing to discuss AIDs, an epidemic of the 80s that plagued both the LGBT community and sex workers.
Actually, I have a problem with the way they talked about AIDs, too. They have the audacity to bring it up, but then? Treat the people who actually have it like shit? Jamie, the male prostitute they think might have AIDs but doesn't, is actually straight-- The only ones who are implied to have it are the three prostitutes that Tania, Jamie, and Lauren share an apartment with. Two of them are gay men, who are in a romantic relationship and are physically abusive to each other. The other is a trans woman, described in really disgusting ways. All three of them are described as lazy, greedy, drug addicts. These three aren't characters: They're obstacles.
Fucking hell.
So why three stars? Honestly, because I don't know if my problems with the book have anything to do with what Lackey and Dixon were trying to achieve here. When reading, it's easy to forget the issues and take it for what it is: a 90's deconstructi9n of 80's fantasy tropes. It's a very Good deconstruction, one that is perhaps even more relevant now than it was when it was written. After all, nostalgia is running rampant.
Looking at you, Ready Player One.
It's not a very good book. So I stopped looking at it like a book, and started looking at it like a detailed plan for a handful of episodes in the middle of a tv show.
And you know what? Not a bad tv show, honestly.
Mercedes Lackey is the Queen of expansive fantasy worlds told through several interconnected series. Each book is only a small slice of the universe, and each narrative only uses the last for its foundation to build new and relevant lore. For example, a multitude of books set in her Valdemar series have necessary and entertaining crossovers, but there is never an ounce of irrelevant rehash. Lackey and (often) Dixon never show signs of being too in love with their own world building when said world contains literal centuries of on-page lore.
The world of Born to Run was the couple's second attempt to create such a world, and the work suffers for it. The plot is stretched too thin over several characters and factions, with something like seven or eight POVs, circulating with no discernible pattern. Some lasted for chapters, while some lasted for only a paragraph or two, never really letting the reader get to know any of the characters. At one point, two minor characters are killed, something treated as a huge, war inspiring event. I... what? This may not be the first book in the universe, but if you're trying to launch a new series, give your readers more than one chapter to get attached to doomed characters.
Then again, the lack of character development is the least of the book's failings, the first being the plot itself. SERRAted Edge is a series about elves who race cars and are basically the Sidhe. But Born to Run is a book about, uh, fighting evil elves for the lives of child prostitutes? At least half of it is. The other half is recruiting an old scientist as a PR move. Two plots that have very, very little do with each other. The plot turns over from a corporation political drama to an examination on the proliferation of pedophilia in 1980's sex work with NO WARNING.
It's not even a plot that the book does well. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they book is wrong politically-- Fifteen year old girls should not be sex workers. However, there are better ways to go about this than showing us Tania, a girl whose trauma is so whitewashed that she is on the streets and turning tricks because.... her parents don't let her read fantasy novels. Now, parental abuse can come in the form of overly strict rules, yes, but this simple, trauma-free backstory seems ridiculous when compared to the fact that her two best friends are here because they were abused and raped.
I would almost accept that they simply didn't want to go that dark, but, while not being explicitly graphic, this book does include a POV that spends nearly a chapter describing all the scenarios in the snuff porn she makes, sometimes including real human deaths. The book shies from literally no other aspect of darkness, even choosing to discuss AIDs, an epidemic of the 80s that plagued both the LGBT community and sex workers.
Actually, I have a problem with the way they talked about AIDs, too. They have the audacity to bring it up, but then? Treat the people who actually have it like shit? Jamie, the male prostitute they think might have AIDs but doesn't, is actually straight-- The only ones who are implied to have it are the three prostitutes that Tania, Jamie, and Lauren share an apartment with. Two of them are gay men, who are in a romantic relationship and are physically abusive to each other. The other is a trans woman, described in really disgusting ways. All three of them are described as lazy, greedy, drug addicts. These three aren't characters: They're obstacles.
Fucking hell.
So why three stars? Honestly, because I don't know if my problems with the book have anything to do with what Lackey and Dixon were trying to achieve here. When reading, it's easy to forget the issues and take it for what it is: a 90's deconstructi9n of 80's fantasy tropes. It's a very Good deconstruction, one that is perhaps even more relevant now than it was when it was written. After all, nostalgia is running rampant.
Looking at you, Ready Player One.
It's not a very good book. So I stopped looking at it like a book, and started looking at it like a detailed plan for a handful of episodes in the middle of a tv show.
And you know what? Not a bad tv show, honestly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2010
I loved this SERRAated Edge series and continue to re-read the books in the series.
November 14, 2010
GOTTA LOVE THE FAE
March 19, 2021
This story was actually read in the omnibus, Chrome Borne, which has the first and, I believe, the fourth stories printed together.
Because of this, I'm going to try and read them in order, which will mean going back and forth between the two omnibuses that I bought recently.
Tannim, the human mage in this story, has been mentioned a few times in previous books by Mercedes Lackey, and so I was over the moon when I realised that this was a book about him, especially as I'd wanted to read more about him, and all of his elf friends, who were so into racing cars.
As usual, Misty has written an amazing story, that was full of characters both good, evil, and somewhere in between. The plotline was gripping, but also hard to read at times, as both Misty, and her co-writer, Mark Shepherd, brought home to me the reality of those lives lived, by runaway children, having to survive in the cold streets of cities, that eat them up, then spit them out again.
I really hope that the phone number, given at the end of this first of the Serrated Edge series, has helped any young person finding it!
If so, this story is worth it's weight in gold, let alone for the brilliant read that it is!
So, I'll be going back to my bookshelves, to grab the other omnibus I got, so I can read book two in this series - The Otherworld, or book two of the series: Wheels of Fire, and then book three: When the Bough Breaks. Then I'll be going back to the first omnibus, to read book four: Chrome Circle.
Because of this, I'm going to try and read them in order, which will mean going back and forth between the two omnibuses that I bought recently.
Tannim, the human mage in this story, has been mentioned a few times in previous books by Mercedes Lackey, and so I was over the moon when I realised that this was a book about him, especially as I'd wanted to read more about him, and all of his elf friends, who were so into racing cars.
As usual, Misty has written an amazing story, that was full of characters both good, evil, and somewhere in between. The plotline was gripping, but also hard to read at times, as both Misty, and her co-writer, Mark Shepherd, brought home to me the reality of those lives lived, by runaway children, having to survive in the cold streets of cities, that eat them up, then spit them out again.
I really hope that the phone number, given at the end of this first of the Serrated Edge series, has helped any young person finding it!
If so, this story is worth it's weight in gold, let alone for the brilliant read that it is!
So, I'll be going back to my bookshelves, to grab the other omnibus I got, so I can read book two in this series - The Otherworld, or book two of the series: Wheels of Fire, and then book three: When the Bough Breaks. Then I'll be going back to the first omnibus, to read book four: Chrome Circle.
March 11, 2014
This review also appears .
Born to Run is urban fantasy. The premise is that elves and banshees and various creatures and circumstances of the Irish and Scottish mythology are real. The good elves are relatively well-disposed toward humans, and will generally help people, and the bad ones hate humans and will try to do them harm. The modernization of this basic story is that the good elves, led by Keighvin Silverhair, are building racecars in order to get money to help children, since in the modern world magically-created gold isn't so useful, while the bad elves (and other creatures of the Unseleighe Court) are running a business creating kiddie porn and snuff films, enjoying both the monetary profit and the negative emotions.
The story plays out in the lives of the elves of Elfhame Fairgrove, the human mage Tannim, the retired metallurgist Sam Kelly, and the teenage runaway and prostitute Tania.
I like this modernization of the mythology. It serves as a great basis for the story, and it's an interesting enough setting to hold the reader's attention.
Unfortunately, the writing wasn't so good. It was very heavy-handed. I'd even call it amateurish, in many ways. The foreshadowing is obvious enough that they might as well have just said "check back in a hundred pages when this plot thread ties into the others".
Besides the plot-related issues, the book feels very like reading fanfiction--regular references to popular culture and scifi/fantasy literature. As for the former, being published in 1992, it's very firmly set in a late-eighties/early-nineties cultural milieu, which is probably a little more jarring now than it was twenty years ago. As for the latter, the only other book I can think of that made quite so many scifi references was Inferno by Niven and Pournelle, but it had a pretty good reason for it. Born to Run also ignores the at odd moments, devoting, for example, two large paragraphs to describing Tannim's bed. Those kinds of things can add character to a work, when done well, but they just felt out of place here.
The heavy-handedness I mentioned comes through not just in the foreshadowing, but in the moralizing the book engages in. The most substantial theme of the book is that there are children in very bad circumstances, forced to live as no child should, and that this is a real problem. True and important. But they try too hard, I think, to convince us. A relevant quotation:
Sam, being one of the good guys, comes around pretty quickly (he decides that elves are probably pretty hard to trick). I recognize that the authors are intentionally trying to head off the kinds of arguments people make in the real world, by having them countered in the story, but it still feels clumsy. And it's far from the only time in the novel when there's a scene that is almost certainly only present to counter some misconception that the readers may have.
I've said a lot of bad things about this book, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I'll probably read the others in the series, some time, and I'd even recommend the book--if you think it sounds interesting, you'll probably not be disappointed if you read it. Just don't expect a masterpiece. The plot is engaging enough, and it's not hard to care about what happens to the characters, particularly in Tania's segments.
I enjoyed Lackey's Valdemar series much more, but this book is a pretty solid 3/5, in my opinion. It used to be in the Baen Free Library, but it doesn't seem to be, anymore, so if you'd like to read it, you'll have to .
Born to Run is urban fantasy. The premise is that elves and banshees and various creatures and circumstances of the Irish and Scottish mythology are real. The good elves are relatively well-disposed toward humans, and will generally help people, and the bad ones hate humans and will try to do them harm. The modernization of this basic story is that the good elves, led by Keighvin Silverhair, are building racecars in order to get money to help children, since in the modern world magically-created gold isn't so useful, while the bad elves (and other creatures of the Unseleighe Court) are running a business creating kiddie porn and snuff films, enjoying both the monetary profit and the negative emotions.
The story plays out in the lives of the elves of Elfhame Fairgrove, the human mage Tannim, the retired metallurgist Sam Kelly, and the teenage runaway and prostitute Tania.
I like this modernization of the mythology. It serves as a great basis for the story, and it's an interesting enough setting to hold the reader's attention.
Unfortunately, the writing wasn't so good. It was very heavy-handed. I'd even call it amateurish, in many ways. The foreshadowing is obvious enough that they might as well have just said "check back in a hundred pages when this plot thread ties into the others".
Besides the plot-related issues, the book feels very like reading fanfiction--regular references to popular culture and scifi/fantasy literature. As for the former, being published in 1992, it's very firmly set in a late-eighties/early-nineties cultural milieu, which is probably a little more jarring now than it was twenty years ago. As for the latter, the only other book I can think of that made quite so many scifi references was Inferno by Niven and Pournelle, but it had a pretty good reason for it. Born to Run also ignores the at odd moments, devoting, for example, two large paragraphs to describing Tannim's bed. Those kinds of things can add character to a work, when done well, but they just felt out of place here.
The heavy-handedness I mentioned comes through not just in the foreshadowing, but in the moralizing the book engages in. The most substantial theme of the book is that there are children in very bad circumstances, forced to live as no child should, and that this is a real problem. True and important. But they try too hard, I think, to convince us. A relevant quotation:
Sam nodded, but he had reservations. Not that he hadn’t heard about all the supposed abused kids, on everything from Oprah to prime-time TV dramas, but he wasn’t sure he believed the stories. Kids made things up, when they thought they were in for deserved punishment. Hell, one of the young guys at work had shown up with a story about his kid getting into something he was told to leave alone in a store, breaking it, then launching into screams of “don’t beat me, Mommy!� when the mother descended like a fury. Embarrassed the blazes out of her, especially since the worst she’d ever delivered in the kid’s life was a couple of smacks on the bottom. Turned out the brat had seen a dramatized crime-recreation show the night before, with an abused-kid episode. Sam was beginning to think that a lot of those “beaten kids� had seen similar shows, then had been coached by attorneys, “child advocates,� or the “non-abusing spouse.� Wasn’t that how the Salem witch-trials had happened, anyway? A bunch of kids getting back at the adults they didn’t like?
Sam, being one of the good guys, comes around pretty quickly (he decides that elves are probably pretty hard to trick). I recognize that the authors are intentionally trying to head off the kinds of arguments people make in the real world, by having them countered in the story, but it still feels clumsy. And it's far from the only time in the novel when there's a scene that is almost certainly only present to counter some misconception that the readers may have.
I've said a lot of bad things about this book, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I'll probably read the others in the series, some time, and I'd even recommend the book--if you think it sounds interesting, you'll probably not be disappointed if you read it. Just don't expect a masterpiece. The plot is engaging enough, and it's not hard to care about what happens to the characters, particularly in Tania's segments.
I enjoyed Lackey's Valdemar series much more, but this book is a pretty solid 3/5, in my opinion. It used to be in the Baen Free Library, but it doesn't seem to be, anymore, so if you'd like to read it, you'll have to .
October 11, 2022
I knew this book was fantasy going in and the outline seemed interesting. But in reality this book was unfortunately very disappointing. All of the character seemed rather flat and uninteresting. The bad guys were meant to be into some seriously bad stuff but I didn’t hate them, they didn’t elicit any emotion from me which isn’t great.
The way the authors talked about prostitutes (especially child prostitutes), homosexuality, transgender people, and people with AIDS is problematic to say the least. The main girl runs away from home, engages in child prostitution and actively puts her life in danger because her parents won’t let her read whatever she wants and they’re too strict?!
This book is written as if you already know the characters, the history and everything that’s happened but given that it’s the first in a series this is where the authors should be laying the ground work to entice me to read more.
The way the authors talked about prostitutes (especially child prostitutes), homosexuality, transgender people, and people with AIDS is problematic to say the least. The main girl runs away from home, engages in child prostitution and actively puts her life in danger because her parents won’t let her read whatever she wants and they’re too strict?!
This book is written as if you already know the characters, the history and everything that’s happened but given that it’s the first in a series this is where the authors should be laying the ground work to entice me to read more.
March 17, 2024
This was about as crazy as you would expect from the description. A little bit of everything tossed in--racing cars that are actually elven steeds, a Seliegh court vs Unseliegh court battle with humans caught in the middle ...AND through all that a thought provoking look at young adult/teen runaways being sucked into the world of prostitution and drugs. There were parts that showed its age reading this now in 2024, but the way children are used and manipulated sadly hasn't decreased that much over the decades and this book showed an interesting facet of that. Overall would recommend to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy.
June 14, 2023
3.5
The story, which I first read in book form when it was originally released, is a decent urban fantasy. The framing of car racing is a bit cheesy, but not too obtrusive. And the writing is typical of Mercedes Lackey, with engaging characters, good plotting, and enjoyable action scenes.
Warning, the narrator for the audiobook (Brian Wiggins) is very poor. I would recommend reading this in another format.
The story, which I first read in book form when it was originally released, is a decent urban fantasy. The framing of car racing is a bit cheesy, but not too obtrusive. And the writing is typical of Mercedes Lackey, with engaging characters, good plotting, and enjoyable action scenes.
Warning, the narrator for the audiobook (Brian Wiggins) is very poor. I would recommend reading this in another format.
December 28, 2020
I loved thesr in my 20s but find them less to my taste 40 years later. Still, they are well done, the characters are engaging, and the world they create is one I wouldn't mind living in. I wish we did have elves to steal away abused children and raise them with love. There is a great need for that.
November 25, 2018
Nice little snack. Love the characters and want to read more. It is odd that I can't find the second book as ebook, only the first and the ninth book of this series.
May 17, 2019
I didn’t really like the characters or the setting.
February 16, 2020
NICE BOOK.
July 11, 2020
You don't have to be a NASCAR fan to love this elvish fantasy series by Lackey and Dixon but it helps!
November 17, 2020
Have a battered paper copy of this from the 1980s - great fun to listen to it on audiobook -SO retro! Elves and fast cars and tape decks!!
October 8, 2021
could not finish.
May 19, 2022
Too many points of view for me. And too much time spent with the badguys.
July 13, 2023
Read this as a teen. Fun YA novel
September 27, 2017
My favorite of these books, and my introduction to the genre of urban fantasy. The first 3 books of this series were Lackey trying to beat the reader over the head with Serious Social Problems. Here, it's teenage runaways.
I love Tannim with his cool car and his odd friends and The Bed. He's as bad at taking care of himself as Toby Daye is, but his drink of choice is Gatorade, not coffee. I love that when Fairgrove is going to be attacked, his friends hide it from him and send him home to rest because his aim is awful when he's tired.
Sam Kelly, the 2nd main character, is a spry, retired engineer with the Sight. He's cut from the same cloth as my dad and granddad, and based on the pages I has dog-earred, teen!Merc thought so too.
The book, which I'm sure was hip when it was published, seems dated with its references to Bugle Boy jeans, etc. And mullets. So many mullets.
I love Tannim with his cool car and his odd friends and The Bed. He's as bad at taking care of himself as Toby Daye is, but his drink of choice is Gatorade, not coffee. I love that when Fairgrove is going to be attacked, his friends hide it from him and send him home to rest because his aim is awful when he's tired.
Sam Kelly, the 2nd main character, is a spry, retired engineer with the Sight. He's cut from the same cloth as my dad and granddad, and based on the pages I has dog-earred, teen!Merc thought so too.
The book, which I'm sure was hip when it was published, seems dated with its references to Bugle Boy jeans, etc. And mullets. So many mullets.
August 30, 2012
This review has been crossposted from my blog at . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
I seem to have lapsed into comforting fiction again. I don't know what exactly is comforting about a human mage that can protect his race car by magic, an urban elf that has a sot spot for children and a porn ring that has a lot more going on than you can imagine...
Tannim is a race car driver, but he's mixed up with elves and other fun things. His weakness is a poor leg and also that he wants to protect children, just like the elves. He's a likeable character, with proper flaws that make him seem real and believable.
The main character of Tannim better be believable, because the rest of this novel is pretty unbelievable. There are elves on the loose in USA! Not to mention ghosts, dragons and other otherworldly creatures. It's well known that elves have a weakness for cold iron, and it's fascinating the way that Lackey and Dixon produce ways around that.
It's nice that Lackey & Dixon don't feel that everything has to turn out perfectly. People are allowed to die, things can turn messy in a heartbeat and battles feel like they have a real element of danger. You find yourself on the edge of your seat so quickly and you can't stop reading.
I think one of my favourite characters is Sam, the old engineer. He's so quirky and quick! I also have always had a soft spot for the Irish, and Sam's a good old irish breed. Sam takes everything in his stride. Soda siphon here we come!
Something you won't see from Sam or Tannim is character development. Rather, their characters are very consistant, just as I would want from adult characters. The children on the other hand harden up very quickly, and do change. The storyline involving Jamie is particularly sad.
I can't emphasise enough how complicated, but also at the same time, simple, this plot is. It's told from several perspectives, so it's possible to get a balanced view on most of the characters. There are so many different things going on, and it seems like the bad elves are the only ones that are aware of the majority of things. It really worked for me.
I would recommend this book for adults, probably not teenagers, as there is detailed descriptions of drug use and the various things involved in making snuff and child porn.
I seem to have lapsed into comforting fiction again. I don't know what exactly is comforting about a human mage that can protect his race car by magic, an urban elf that has a sot spot for children and a porn ring that has a lot more going on than you can imagine...
Tannim is a race car driver, but he's mixed up with elves and other fun things. His weakness is a poor leg and also that he wants to protect children, just like the elves. He's a likeable character, with proper flaws that make him seem real and believable.
The main character of Tannim better be believable, because the rest of this novel is pretty unbelievable. There are elves on the loose in USA! Not to mention ghosts, dragons and other otherworldly creatures. It's well known that elves have a weakness for cold iron, and it's fascinating the way that Lackey and Dixon produce ways around that.
It's nice that Lackey & Dixon don't feel that everything has to turn out perfectly. People are allowed to die, things can turn messy in a heartbeat and battles feel like they have a real element of danger. You find yourself on the edge of your seat so quickly and you can't stop reading.
I think one of my favourite characters is Sam, the old engineer. He's so quirky and quick! I also have always had a soft spot for the Irish, and Sam's a good old irish breed. Sam takes everything in his stride. Soda siphon here we come!
Something you won't see from Sam or Tannim is character development. Rather, their characters are very consistant, just as I would want from adult characters. The children on the other hand harden up very quickly, and do change. The storyline involving Jamie is particularly sad.
I can't emphasise enough how complicated, but also at the same time, simple, this plot is. It's told from several perspectives, so it's possible to get a balanced view on most of the characters. There are so many different things going on, and it seems like the bad elves are the only ones that are aware of the majority of things. It really worked for me.
I would recommend this book for adults, probably not teenagers, as there is detailed descriptions of drug use and the various things involved in making snuff and child porn.
September 23, 2011
What I liked about it:
This is the first book in the Serrated Edge series, and it is a bit dated now. But when I read it, all those things turned into quaint details. This is a surprisingly complex book, and a book I urge everyone to read. Yes, I know it is an urban fantasy. The focus of the conflict is the animosity been Keighvin Silverhair and Vidal Dhu. If I explained how much it affected the book, I would spoil the plot. Fairgrove, and Silverhair, are genuine do-gooders. But since the world is much more technical, they cannot conjure gold. No, they need to earn money. And that’s where this book starts. The plot moves on rapidly, and every decision, both good and bad, makes sense from the characters point of view. What makes this book so important is Tania, and her story. Tania is a runaway teenager. This is as much about her as it is about Fairgrove and Vidal Dhu.
The characters had their flaws, both good and bad. Sometimes I wanted to scream at them, since they could be so stubborn.
So, that’s what I liked but what I didn’t like:
It might be because I haven’t read her books in awhile, but I didn’t like that there is always a runaway in her books. Or at least it feels like that to me. But, on the other hand it is the strong social theme that makes her urban fantasy novel stand out. So, I guess it is something I have to swallow.
I am not sure if it is something I didn’t like, but I was struck by the fact that it is unusual to have the classic Sidhe/ Unseelighe rivalry as the main source of conflict. That could be because I haven’t read the right books.
Summary:
A bit dated, but still a good read.
This is the first book in the Serrated Edge series, and it is a bit dated now. But when I read it, all those things turned into quaint details. This is a surprisingly complex book, and a book I urge everyone to read. Yes, I know it is an urban fantasy. The focus of the conflict is the animosity been Keighvin Silverhair and Vidal Dhu. If I explained how much it affected the book, I would spoil the plot. Fairgrove, and Silverhair, are genuine do-gooders. But since the world is much more technical, they cannot conjure gold. No, they need to earn money. And that’s where this book starts. The plot moves on rapidly, and every decision, both good and bad, makes sense from the characters point of view. What makes this book so important is Tania, and her story. Tania is a runaway teenager. This is as much about her as it is about Fairgrove and Vidal Dhu.
The characters had their flaws, both good and bad. Sometimes I wanted to scream at them, since they could be so stubborn.
So, that’s what I liked but what I didn’t like:
It might be because I haven’t read her books in awhile, but I didn’t like that there is always a runaway in her books. Or at least it feels like that to me. But, on the other hand it is the strong social theme that makes her urban fantasy novel stand out. So, I guess it is something I have to swallow.
I am not sure if it is something I didn’t like, but I was struck by the fact that it is unusual to have the classic Sidhe/ Unseelighe rivalry as the main source of conflict. That could be because I haven’t read the right books.
Summary:
A bit dated, but still a good read.
November 2, 2014
There are elves out there.And more are coming. But even elves need money to survive in the "real" world. The good elves, intrigued by the thrills of stock car racing, are manufacturing new, light-weight engines (with, incidentally, very little "cold" iron); the bad elves run a kiddie-porn and snuff-film ring, with occasional forays into drugs.Ranged on the other side of all that's good ---- Keighvin: elf lord with a problem, and the victim of a vendetta.-- Tannim: a human mage with a taste for fast cars and loud music.-- Sam Kelly: mild-mannered retired engineer with an Irish temper.-- Ross Canfield: a good old Southern boy who just happens to be dead.The people trapped in between: three runaways. Good kids already in serious trouble and about to get into more. Unwitting pawns in a deadly game, they will either be saved -- or led into a fate worse than death....
March 2, 2014
There are elves out there.And more are coming. But even elves need money to survive in the "real" world. The good elves, intrigued by the thrills of stock car racing, are manufacturing new, light-weight engines (with, incidentally, very little "cold" iron); the bad elves run a kiddie-porn and snuff-film ring, with occasional forays into drugs.Ranged on the other side of all that's good ---- Keighvin: elf lord with a problem, and the victim of a vendetta.-- Tannim: a human mage with a taste for fast cars and loud music.-- Sam Kelly: mild-mannered retired engineer with an Irish temper.-- Ross Canfield: a good old Southern boy who just happens to be dead.The people trapped in between: three runaways. Good kids already in serious trouble and about to get into more. Unwitting pawns in a deadly game, they will either be saved -- or led into a fate worse than death....
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