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The Mage Storms

by Mercedes Lackey

The Mage Storms series by Mercedes Lackey has 3 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Storm Warning (1994).

Books
3 books
First published
1994
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: Storm Warning (1994) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of Storm Warning, the first book in The Mage Storms

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. Storm Warning

    Novel

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  2. Storm Rising

    Novel

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  3. Storm Breaking

    Novel

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About The Mage Storms

The Mage Storms trilogy picks up immediately where the Mage Winds trilogy leaves off: the return of true high magic to the world has consequences, and a series of catastrophic magical storms — side effects of that returning power — begin devastating the land, forcing Valdemar, its Hawkbrother allies, and even its old enemies to cooperate against a threat too large for any one kingdom to survive alone. Elspeth, Firesong, and the wider cast built up across the Mage Winds books face down both the physical destruction of the storms and the political fallout of nations forced into uneasy alliance, while the source and true scale of the magical crisis is gradually revealed to be far larger than a regional problem.

Storm Warning, Storm Rising, and Storm Breaking close out the six-book Elspeth/Firesong arc that began with Mage Winds, resolving the high-magic storyline that reshapes how magic works across the rest of Lackey's Valdemar universe going forward.

How to read this series

Read in publication order: Storm Warning (1994), Storm Rising (1995), Storm Breaking (1996). This trilogy is a direct continuation of the Mage Winds trilogy (Winds of Fate, Winds of Change, Winds of Fury) and should be read immediately after it — together the two trilogies form one continuous six-book story. Do not start here without having read Mage Winds first; the stakes, cast, and magic-system context are all established there.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Mage Storms trilogy?

Three: Storm Warning (1994), Storm Rising (1995), and Storm Breaking (1996).

What order should I read the Mage Storms books in?

Publication order: Storm Warning, Storm Rising, Storm Breaking, and only after finishing the Mage Winds trilogy that precedes it.

Is Mage Storms a direct sequel to Mage Winds?

Yes. It picks up immediately after Winds of Fury and continues the same story with the same core cast (Elspeth, Firesong, and their allies), resolving the high-magic crisis set up across the earlier trilogy.

Do I need to read anything before Mage Storms besides Mage Winds?

The Mage Winds trilogy is essential; broader familiarity with Valdemar and the Heralds of Valdemar books is also assumed, since the trilogy draws on the wider cast and history of the series.

Is Mage Storms the end of Elspeth and Firesong's story?

It concludes their central arc as co-leads, though both characters and their world continue to be referenced in later Valdemar novels.

Reading order last verified .