Deliverance of Dragons

The Dragon Prophecy Trilogy, Book 3

By: Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory

Narrated by: Kate Rudd, Christopher Lane

FROM THE AUTHORS OF NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS WHEN DARKNESS FALLS AND THE PHOENIX TRANSFORMED AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER TO LIGHT A CANDLE

The epic conclusion to the first War of the Endarkened

From orphaned child to prophesied savior, Vieliessar Farcarinon is more than ready to take her rightful place as Elven Queen. While her bickering countrymen may not have crowned her yet, she has been anointed by the stars above and the dragon at her side. But the overwhelming attacks of the Endarkened have forced Elvenkind to abandon internal politics in favor of an unprecedented strategy: retreat.

Runacarendalur Caerthalien is a thorn in the Queen’s side and should be her greatest enemy. A traitor to the Elvish empire, he has become the trusted general of once-subjugated creatures—a chaotic force of centaurs, merfolk, gryphons, minotaurs, and talking bears alike.

These two strong-willed leaders have been at each other’s throats for years. Now forced into tentative co-existence due to the common threat of the Endarkened, how will they react when they finally realize they are soulmates—bound despite their will by unassailable magics that twine their lifelines into one? If either should die, the other will also fall. And without their two greatest leaders, the Children of Light are sure to drown amidst the never-ending waves of Endarkened attacks.

The collaborative fantasy world of Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory features continent-spanning high adventure and epic battle. The Dragon Prophecy illuminates a time when long-lived Elves rule the Fortunate Lands. It is a time of dire prophecy, of battle and bloodshed, of great magics unlike any the Elvenkind have seen before. Deliverance of Dragons is the story of the end of one world and the beginning of the next.

©2025 Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Very enjoyable, until the end

Long-time Mercedes Lackey fan here. The third book to this series was long overdue (I had to re-listen to the first two books to remember what was going on!) I really enjoyed all the detailed world and character building throughout the series, including this book. However, the ending was out of character for the series: unsatisfying, rushed, and confusing. I kept thinking, “Oh, there must be a fourth book coming for the FINAL final battle,” but alas, no. A lot was glossed over in the last 2.5 hours of the book (i.e. significant deaths, big plot twists, romance developments, missing conclusions to sub-plots and characters, leaps in time, etc). I’m left unsatisfied, slightly confused, and wanting more.

Satisfying ending

This book wraps the trilogy in a way you might not predict. I will turn right around and listen to Outstretched Shadow again with new understanding, something I very much enjoy.

Thoroughly enjoyed it and HUGE props to the narrators for making people and place names understandable and using such a wide variety of voices. Thanks for making this enjoyable!

publisher was crazy

why delay this book at all the ending was great
that publisher was outright crazy

Tired and dragged out.

The narrator is still good, but they've changed up the pronunciations of several names (not that I blame them, given the absurd number of tongue twisters), and they sound like they're just phoning it in at the end. Again, I can't blame them, since it felt like the author was too. So many plot threads are unexpectedly warped or hastily resolved that it boggles the mind. Many characters die, only one of which gets anything like a proper send-off. The end wraps up abruptly without any real conclusion, and with a bizarre twist thrown in for no reason that's resolved as soon as it starts.

Overall, I wouldn't bother. You already know how this ends from later series anyways. Nothing new is introduced.

Not what I expected

I have loved this series but this last book in the trilogy is just OK. The pacing is off - either way too slow or way too fast. The overall tone of this book is cold & distant - it was hard to connect to well developed characters from the prior books.

The narrators are wonderful!