Harvest Moon

by Mercedes Lackey, Michelle Sagara, and Cameron Haley

Three unforgettable new stories

A Tangled Web by New York Times bestselling author Mercedes Lackey

Kidnapping Persephone should have been an easy task. But in the Five Hundred Kingdoms, nothing's ever simple--and the wrong blonde goddess is stolen by mistake, leaving Prince Leopold without his new bride. At least until he braves the realm of the dead to get her back...

Cast in Moonlight by New York Times bestselling author Michelle Sagara

Barely a teenager, Kaylin Neya is a thief, a fugitive and an attempted assassin. She also has a smart mouth, sharp wits and mysterious markings on her skin. All of which make her perfect bait for a child prostitution sting in the city of Elantra--if she survives her first meeting with the Hawks!

Retribution by Cameron Haley

In the underworld, there are tricks to killing.

Like executing rivals at crossroads so ghosts won't follow you home. But sometimes retribution is hard to avoid--and now a supernatural hit man has a contract on Domino Riley's life. Luckily she knows a thing or two about death....

• ISBN10: 0373803222
• ISBN13: 9780373803224
• Publish Date: 1 October 2010
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Luna Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Three stories set in different worlds The first is set in Mercedes Lackey's Five Thousand Kingdoms and a quest by Prince Leopold and Brunnhilde searching for a solution to their prospective life lengths in a greek-style kingdom where they become involved in a Persepone and Hades story which is done well and interestingly. Persepone has more agency in this story than usually.
Cast in Moonlight, my favourite, which tells the early story of how Kaylin and the Hawks first intersected and it made me want to re-read and read anew the series. It's a story that made me want to know more and read on, even if I have read several of the stories.
Retribution by Cameron Haley is an urban fantasy featuring mobs run by magic where Domino Riley takes out an opponent who curses her and then she has to work out how to defeat this curse, while also discovering that the reasons for killing her victim aren't as obvious as first seen.
Good read but the middle story makes it a keeper.

[Kim Deister]

A Tangled Web is the first novella in the book and is the story of the Greek god Hades and his bride Persephone. The usual tale is that Hades essentially kidnaps Persephone, forcing her to be his wife. Lackey's version is a fresh and often humorous retelling in which Persephone and Hades plot to be together despite the interference of Persephone's mother, Demeter. A pair of gods, Brunnehilde and Leopold, from Norse mythology added an interesting subplot and twist to the story, as well. The gods of Greek mythology were far more human in this version of the story, and far more relatable to the reader. Anyone who has read any of Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms novels will also recognize the references to "The Tradition" and to Godmother Elena, although the story is easily enjoyed without having read those works. I am a huge Mercedes Lackey fan, so I enjoyed the headlining story, but it was my least favorite of the three.

The second novella, Cast in Moonlight, by Michelle Sagara, was set in the world of Elantra. Not having read any previous works by Sagara, I was not at all familiar with Elantra or its inhabitants. The very beginning was a little confusing for me, and I suspect that was because of a lack of familiarity with the setting, but it sorted itself out quickly. The heroine is 13 year old Kaylin, who is captured after trying to assassinate Lord Grammayre, the leader of the Hawks. Expecting a death sentence, she is stunned when her intended target decrees that she will become one of them, a Hawk. The journey of self-discovery that Kaylin goes through as she adjust to her new life, all while dealing with betrayal, intrigue and magic, is extremely engaging. I very much enjoyed this novella.

The final novella is Retribution by Cameron Haley, another author that I had not read. The very first line, "I was twelve years old the first time I killed a man", sparked my interest in the heroine. Dominica Riley is a hard woman, a sorceror and enforcer for the Underworld mob. After an attempt on her own life, she kills in retribution and soon learns that there will be severe consequences, even after her enemy is dead. Definately more violent and more graphic than the previous two novellas, Retribution is a dark tale of violence, magic, and self-discovery, Of the three, this one was definately my favorite!