This book, the third in the Bardic Voices series, is probably my favorite of the three I’ve read so far. I’m still partial to Rune from the first book, but I d the characters in this book a lot and I also enjoyed the story. The story is a bit generic, but it’s told well and it held my attention. It was also a really quick read.

Throughout this series we’ve seen that conditions in the land are deteriorating. This is because the High King, who used to be a very good king, seems to have lost interest in doing his job. He’s become petulant and he refuses to take responsibility for the things he should be doing. Our main female character, Nightingale, reluctantly goes to the city where the king lives to try to learn what’s happening. While there, she unexpectedly meets up with an old friend and they work together to achieve their common goal.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was that we were able to learn a lot more about the non-human characters. This book also had a bit more of a mystery to it, which helped hold my interest. The previous two books had simple, straight-forward stories. There wasn’t anything complicated about this story either, but it did at least give me more to think about as I speculated about who was responsible for some of the things that happened in the book.

Mercedes Lackey’s writing tends to be pretty black-and-white from what I’ve seen so far. People are either good or evil with very little ambiguity or middle ground. However, there’s one big shade of gray in this series and that’s the bardic magic. The characters who can use it talk now and then about what constitutes unethical use of their magic, and they talk as if they’re determined not to cross that line. Yet I often feel uncomfortable with the way they use it, and they do cross the line that I would have drawn. I’m not sure if this is Lackey’s attempt to add shades of gray into her writing, or if we’re supposed to see all of their choices as ethical because our wonderful main characters are good people who are working toward good causes.

I’m enjoying the series, and I plan to start reading the fourth and final book before the end of the night, but I am glad the series is almost at an end. I’m getting ready for a change of pace.
completed-series fantasy2 s CJ1,085 22

Mercedes Lackey knows what's up. This book was written in the nineties and it has a fantasy setting, but boy did she nail the political zeitgeist of the 2020s.2 s Derek Enlow11

A very enjoyable read. While the book previous, and second in the series—The Robin and the Kestrel—may have disappointed a bit, The Eagle and the Nightingales heartily did not. It included a better cast of characters, with a good balance between those we've seen before and those new. The story takes place in Lyonarie, and being the largest city and capital of the Twenty Kingdoms, the plot is able to take place in a wider breadth of locations. While the first book of Bardic Voices remains my favorite, The Eagle and the Nightingales matched it in richness, and is sure to bring enjoyment for any fan of the series.1 Susan1,481

This book stars the gypsy free bard Nightingale, who we met briefly in the previous books. She is requested by several people, including an elf lord, to go to Lyonarie and find out why the High King isn't doing his job. There is unrest all over the country. She gets a job singing at the Freehold owned by a Deliambren, and begins to collect information. While there, she meets T'fyrr, a birdman with whom she once sang (in one of the previous books.) He is there with Harperus, also a Deliambren, and has become the king's singer. They gradually realize that the king is under the control of his council who encourage him to "delegate" most of the work and just enjoy himself. As things escalate, it becomes obvious that there is a traitor in the court - possibly even in the king's Council. Nightingale and her friends are in danger, and she has to resort to asking help of the elves to protect herself. When T'fyrr is injured, she heals him and finds herself bonded to him. A great read (I powered through it in less than a day), although it is probably not the best one of the Bardic Voices series. This was a re-read, but it has been so long since I read it that I had forgotten a lot of the details - so I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Terralyn1,116 43

4- 4 1/2 Stars ?
This is the 3rd of 4 in the Bardic Voices Series.
Book 3: The ending of this book, book 2, is very much the end of a fairy tale...... This book could easily be enjoyed by precocious tweens and YA. I shall save them for my grandchildren, although they will occupy a shelf for at lease a decade. They are well worth saving fo them. As a reference, I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter Series. This is more mystic but in a similar vein and enjoyment. Definitely not Anne McCaffrey, but recommended for adults as well as YA readers. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself.
On to book #4 Four and Twenty Blackbirds.

{From my review of Book 1: Although I’ve had Mercedes Lackey on my radar for decades, this is my first time reading her. I was hoping for something very much Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series which is my very favorite off-world saga. The draw of a society with a bard class is something I can never pass up. I enjoy Ms. Lackey’s writing style. The story line and characters are very appealing. I was impressed enough to order the rest of this series even before I finished this book.}3-7-to-3-94-avg-rating-finished a-review-written c-animal ...more Theresa7,815 124

The Eagle & the Nightingales (Bardic Voices, #3)
by Mercedes Lackey

This is a beautiful story of love and acceptance of others no mater the differences. Mercedes Lackey looks into the problems with fear, miss understanding, and manipulation because of religion, and political goals. Nightingale is a wonderful bardic musician that not only knows many people of many types and ideology, her love of music transcends all the differences. She was given a mission to find out what was happening with the High King. Sent by friends, acquaintances, and powerful groups of her world. She struggles with wanting to help, but not be involved, she could not promise any of those who asked her. She finds that others have been sent on her same mission, some did not fair well with the investigation.
The voice of the reader add to the beautiful content of the book, showing the nature of the beauty of acceptance and music. Katy1,161 8

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, even though I discovered that this Bardic series was all jumbled up on my bookshelves - my daughter always seems to enjoy poking at my OCD, bless her! Lol

But, having finally got that sorted, I decided just to keep reading this one - well, only because I couldn't put it down! Lol

Now that I've finished it, though, I'm going back to the first book in the series: The Lark and the Wren - and I'm looking forward to reading about all the things referred to in this book!

I do hope its as convincing as this one, as Misty has, once again, drawn me totally in with her world-building abilities
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