The Golden Sword

Praise for Branion series: I was hooked from the first chapter. Mercedes Lackey Patton weaves a brilliant tapestry of loves, lusts, and loyalties.... Her characters are subtle, complex, and extremely believable.... One of the best fantasies I have read in a very long time. Dave Duncan, award-winning author of the Seventh Sword series Takes a complex plot with tangled threads of magic and politics and deftly weaves it into a thrilling fantasy that is hard to put down. RT Reviews Moves quickly through charming scenes.... A nice touch is the gender blending in traditional roles.... Despite a large cast of characters, they are all well developed, believable, and in most cases, extremely likeable. Kliatt An epic tale of intrigue and battles, or betrayals and romances, of misunderstandings and magic.... Refreshingly avoids the common tropes or themes in much contemporary gay fiction. Lambda Book Report A complex conflict full of intrigue and rousing adventures...in an increasingly engaging series about a (literally) hot-headed family and the nation they rule, in a fascinatingly distorted, yet tantalizingly familiar, alternate history. Locus Although supernatural forces both benign and inimical abound in this tale, The Stone Prince is not about a cosmic, predestined struggled between the forces of good and evil.... The vast sweep of the novel fits well with the deeply personal perspective used in the telling.... Patton writes with clarity and conviction, rare and required qualities for a writer of epic fantasy. SF Site Rousing adventure, full of color and spectacular magic. Locus Patton writes in a mesmerizing fashion as she weaves uniquely engaging characters, a complicated plot, and some nifty magical concepts into a fascinating whole. RT Reviews"