maleesha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
claire_michelle18's review against another edition
5.0
I can't believe I've not read any Mercedes Lackey books before! Although given the speed at which I've burned through this trilogy I'm sure I'll soon rectify that lack. Valdemar's adventures from neglected teenager to legendary Herald-Mage are enthralling from start to finish.
majorditzy230's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sam_ash_smash's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this trilogy much more than The Arrows Trilogy, however The Last Herald Mage definitely suffered from some of same problems.
Lackey does make some interesting choices in her portrayal of Vanyel’s queerness. However, I know that at the time this book was published it was considered quite forward thinking and meant quite a lot to many young queer folks. (I found this trilogy because of an article talking about the planned tv adaptation which touched on it’s impact to the author and other people.) I think (hope) that Lackey would make different choices if she were writing this story today. And I hope as they are making the TV adaptation they are updating some of outdated stereotypes, both the ones Lackey portrays and the ones she attempts to fight against.
In general, the pacing was an improvement in this trilogy although still rather uneven. Sometimes the books seemed to drag on and other times it felt like important events were skipped.
There was once again so much brooding (which does not help the pacing problem), particularly in the first book but there is no lack of broods in the other two. It’s as if Lackey never wants to leave the reader in doubt of her hero’s (and sometimes side characters) motivations and so makes sure to write them out directly for the reader in the form of self reflection. It’s not working for me. The characters do no feel very real because Lackey doesn’t show their motivations or show them acting in way that in consistent enough to allow the reader to interpret their motivations, they are constantly spelled out on page. And to be honest, to an extent it still felt as though they were sometimes simply acting in ways to make the plot as dramatic as possible.
I continue to dislike life-bonds. Add to that the reincarnation romance in book 3. At this point I feel like Lackey is using life-bonds as a lazy way to skip over actually having a romance build up slowly over time. Yes, the romance in the third book was slower burn than first, but only because Van was slow. The other person met Van and immediately was like, “I think I’m in love. I don’t want to sleep with anyone but him. Suddenly I’m ashamed of all the people I slept with before.” (And yes that last one is a whole other can of worms). It seems like Lackey isn’t interested in building up a relationship realistically (or maybe just wasn’t capable as this point in her career).
Other things I disliked include (but aren’t limited to): rape as drama again, tayledras culture seeming to be based on very generic Native American stereotypes, Tashir looking like Tylendel and that little sub-plot, how much homophobia and internalized homophobia come up in book 2, magic usage and capabilities seem very arbitrary with no sense of structure - very deus ex…
However, I did give this book a whole three stars. So yes there were somethings I did like. I did like Stefan. I liked Savil. I thought some of the various characters working through their homophobia to come out to be better people was nice (a little saccharine perhaps, but also a lot of wishful thinking for many people probably), I may have cried a bit at the end (which I actually hate, but it means the writing did its jobs at least there). And overall, I liked Vanyel. Yes, I wish Lackey had done of better job at giving him consistent character growth (like Talia he seemed to keep making the same mistakes and we are told he learns but he doesn’t actually seem to learn) and yes, he was an ass at times (particularly near the end of book 3, which seemed like another one of Lackey’s need for drama causing characters to act inconsistently), but overall I really liked him.
Although this trilogy was an improvement on Lackey’s first, I don’t think that it’s enough of any improvement to convince me to continue with her books. I do hope the tv adaptation turns out well though!
Lackey does make some interesting choices in her portrayal of Vanyel’s queerness. However, I know that at the time this book was published it was considered quite forward thinking and meant quite a lot to many young queer folks. (I found this trilogy because of an article talking about the planned tv adaptation which touched on it’s impact to the author and other people.) I think (hope) that Lackey would make different choices if she were writing this story today. And I hope as they are making the TV adaptation they are updating some of outdated stereotypes, both the ones Lackey portrays and the ones she attempts to fight against.
In general, the pacing was an improvement in this trilogy although still rather uneven. Sometimes the books seemed to drag on and other times it felt like important events were skipped.
There was once again so much brooding (which does not help the pacing problem), particularly in the first book but there is no lack of broods in the other two. It’s as if Lackey never wants to leave the reader in doubt of her hero’s (and sometimes side characters) motivations and so makes sure to write them out directly for the reader in the form of self reflection. It’s not working for me. The characters do no feel very real because Lackey doesn’t show their motivations or show them acting in way that in consistent enough to allow the reader to interpret their motivations, they are constantly spelled out on page. And to be honest, to an extent it still felt as though they were sometimes simply acting in ways to make the plot as dramatic as possible.
I continue to dislike life-bonds. Add to that the reincarnation romance in book 3. At this point I feel like Lackey is using life-bonds as a lazy way to skip over actually having a romance build up slowly over time. Yes, the romance in the third book was slower burn than first, but only because Van was slow. The other person met Van and immediately was like, “I think I’m in love. I don’t want to sleep with anyone but him. Suddenly I’m ashamed of all the people I slept with before.” (And yes that last one is a whole other can of worms). It seems like Lackey isn’t interested in building up a relationship realistically (or maybe just wasn’t capable as this point in her career).
Other things I disliked include (but aren’t limited to): rape as drama again, tayledras culture seeming to be based on very generic Native American stereotypes, Tashir looking like Tylendel and that little sub-plot, how much homophobia and internalized homophobia come up in book 2, magic usage and capabilities seem very arbitrary with no sense of structure - very deus ex…
However, I did give this book a whole three stars. So yes there were somethings I did like. I did like Stefan. I liked Savil. I thought some of the various characters working through their homophobia to come out to be better people was nice (a little saccharine perhaps, but also a lot of wishful thinking for many people probably), I may have cried a bit at the end (which I actually hate, but it means the writing did its jobs at least there). And overall, I liked Vanyel. Yes, I wish Lackey had done of better job at giving him consistent character growth (like Talia he seemed to keep making the same mistakes and we are told he learns but he doesn’t actually seem to learn) and yes, he was an ass at times (particularly near the end of book 3, which seemed like another one of Lackey’s need for drama causing characters to act inconsistently), but overall I really liked him.
Although this trilogy was an improvement on Lackey’s first, I don’t think that it’s enough of any improvement to convince me to continue with her books. I do hope the tv adaptation turns out well though!
elisekatherine's review against another edition
5.0
Mercedes Lackey may not be a master prosaist, but she knows how to tell a good story. Sometimes a book earns a five-star rating not because I think it's "great literature" or whatever (though who knows what that means) but because it hits me in specific ways where I live, and that's what this series did. It also a) made me cry and b) had me thinking about it for a while after I finished, which are two cues for a five-star rating for me.
I wish I'd read this series as a youth. I think it would have meant even more to me then.
I wish I'd read this series as a youth. I think it would have meant even more to me then.
noctadea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Gore, Torture, Animal death, Classism, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Self harm, War, Drug abuse, and Rape
rancidslime's review against another edition
4.0
I think Mercedes Lackey might be like... the only straight author I'm totally willing to give a pass to for the whole "buried gay main character" thing - both because the details of the Last Herald-Mage trilogy were hammered out well after the main arc of it was decided, and because you can almost tell that she's spending the last two books being like "AAAAAA SHIT FUCK I'M SORRY I'M SORRY" and course-correcting when she apparently realized what the current trajectory of the books MEANT in the broader context of writing LGBT characters, especially at the time.
Like, yes, Tylendel kills himself, which traumatizes the shit out of Vanyel, who then spends the next several years in mourning, but also the two do wrap around to being reunited (first through reincarnation, then through becoming basically guardian deities). Yes, Vanyel has to deal with a shitload of homophobia, but the way later books play out implies that because Vanyel was such a larger-than-life hero to Valdemar (one whose gayness was both crucial and undeniable), homophobia in modern-day Valdemar is considered by most modern main characters to be somewhere between stupid and softly treasonous/un-Valdemaran. So like, yes, the road there isn't GREAT necessarily, but Lackey's determination to write LGBT characters with pathos and compassion PLUS the fact that we end up with a setting where one of the country's biggest national heroes was undeniably unambiguously gay means it's a pretty fuckin' small price to pay tbqh.
As for the books themselves? I don't really know, it's kinda hard to recommend them without caveats. I read these suckers when I was sixteen, buying them with gas station credit cards and reading them on my phone at church while my parents were in the choir (it sounds so much more dramatic than it felt, looking back on it) and they were a bright spot in my teenhood that I thought about a lot, with the teenage point of view being pretty much pitch-perfect teen writing. But like, can I recommend them easily, nowadays? It's hard to say - I can't really give a hard answer on how it'd be to read them as an adult, since my first exposure to them was when I was still in high school, but at the same time it's hard to say "go buy this" to modern teens since, uh, they have a lot more cool, great LGBT fiction on hand than I did. (like a LOT more, I rag on adults who consume nothing but YA a lot but the modern explosion of rad gay and trans YA is an unambiguous good for kids)
Valdemar is kind of a comfort setting for me, full of people fundamentally kinda trying their best to make the world a better place and fighting against shadowy villains in grand battles. I think it'll always have a place in my heart. Even if I can't readily recommend it to people, this trilogy is special to me and a bunch of guys like me, and maybe that's enough.
Like, yes, Tylendel kills himself, which traumatizes the shit out of Vanyel, who then spends the next several years in mourning, but also the two do wrap around to being reunited (first through reincarnation, then through becoming basically guardian deities). Yes, Vanyel has to deal with a shitload of homophobia, but the way later books play out implies that because Vanyel was such a larger-than-life hero to Valdemar (one whose gayness was both crucial and undeniable), homophobia in modern-day Valdemar is considered by most modern main characters to be somewhere between stupid and softly treasonous/un-Valdemaran. So like, yes, the road there isn't GREAT necessarily, but Lackey's determination to write LGBT characters with pathos and compassion PLUS the fact that we end up with a setting where one of the country's biggest national heroes was undeniably unambiguously gay means it's a pretty fuckin' small price to pay tbqh.
As for the books themselves? I don't really know, it's kinda hard to recommend them without caveats. I read these suckers when I was sixteen, buying them with gas station credit cards and reading them on my phone at church while my parents were in the choir (it sounds so much more dramatic than it felt, looking back on it) and they were a bright spot in my teenhood that I thought about a lot, with the teenage point of view being pretty much pitch-perfect teen writing. But like, can I recommend them easily, nowadays? It's hard to say - I can't really give a hard answer on how it'd be to read them as an adult, since my first exposure to them was when I was still in high school, but at the same time it's hard to say "go buy this" to modern teens since, uh, they have a lot more cool, great LGBT fiction on hand than I did. (like a LOT more, I rag on adults who consume nothing but YA a lot but the modern explosion of rad gay and trans YA is an unambiguous good for kids)
Valdemar is kind of a comfort setting for me, full of people fundamentally kinda trying their best to make the world a better place and fighting against shadowy villains in grand battles. I think it'll always have a place in my heart. Even if I can't readily recommend it to people, this trilogy is special to me and a bunch of guys like me, and maybe that's enough.
michaeljohnhalseartistry's review against another edition
1.0
After suffering through C.S. Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy last year I had told myself I’d never read another gay novel written by a heterosexual woman… but here I am. Mercedes Lackey’s highly acclaimed Last Herald-Mage Trilogy comprises the novels Magic’s Pawn, Magic’s Promise, and Magic’s Price (released between 1989-1991), and tells the story of Vanyel Ashkevron, the last herald-mage of the fantasy world Valdemar. I was so excited to dive into this series (despite it being written by a heterosexual woman) because it’s received critical acclaim, won numerous awards, and has such good ratings everywhere, and having recently come out myself, I wanted to dive into gay-themed fantasy, and man there’s slim pickings out there. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this series. Lackey’s writing felt very childish, almost like I was reading a YA novel, and that’s not something I was looking for. The characters are incredibly flat, the plot is dull and nothing really matters in the end, and overall it felt like a waste of time reading it. I actually took a break between reading Magic’s Promise and Magic’s Price because I couldn’t even force myself to continue with the series, and when I picked it up again, only six months later, I had completely forgotten what had happened in the first two books, and who any of the characters were… and that’s never a good sign.
While I think there were a lot of flaws in these novels, I kept track of a few that really stuck out to me. The first was the relationship between Vanyel and Tylendal from the first novel, Magic’s Pawn. Without giving away spoilers, Vanyel starts the series off as a very cocky, prim boy who slowly comes to term with his sexuality after falling for Tylendal, a fellow student at his Mage school. And while the relationship was an important marker for growth in Vanyel, there really wasn’t much build between the two characters. One day they met, thought the other was cute, and them BAM, they’re in love. There was no show, no development, and their “love” seemed very childish and, honestly, pathetic and whiney. Of course, this relationship ends tragically… incredibly tragically, but who didn’t see that coming.
In the second book, Lackey throws new characters at us. While Vanyel is still the whiney main, she tosses in new close friends Randale and Shavri, and expects us to immediately sympathize and have feelings for them, simply because Vanyal does. As well, the plot makes little to no sense. The villain doesn’t appear until the very end, and there’s absolutely no build-up to an ending that… really, I didn’t care about. And by the third book I was so done with Lackey’s plot and writing, that I was just happy to be done it.
There is SO little depth to these books, and it’s incredibly frustrating. Every character is a stereotype, especially Vanyel, and I saw the exact same thing in Pacat’s trilogy… Once more, I’m vowing to never read a gay-themed fantasy by a heterosexual woman.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
While I think there were a lot of flaws in these novels, I kept track of a few that really stuck out to me. The first was the relationship between Vanyel and Tylendal from the first novel, Magic’s Pawn. Without giving away spoilers, Vanyel starts the series off as a very cocky, prim boy who slowly comes to term with his sexuality after falling for Tylendal, a fellow student at his Mage school. And while the relationship was an important marker for growth in Vanyel, there really wasn’t much build between the two characters. One day they met, thought the other was cute, and them BAM, they’re in love. There was no show, no development, and their “love” seemed very childish and, honestly, pathetic and whiney. Of course, this relationship ends tragically… incredibly tragically, but who didn’t see that coming.
In the second book, Lackey throws new characters at us. While Vanyel is still the whiney main, she tosses in new close friends Randale and Shavri, and expects us to immediately sympathize and have feelings for them, simply because Vanyal does. As well, the plot makes little to no sense. The villain doesn’t appear until the very end, and there’s absolutely no build-up to an ending that… really, I didn’t care about. And by the third book I was so done with Lackey’s plot and writing, that I was just happy to be done it.
There is SO little depth to these books, and it’s incredibly frustrating. Every character is a stereotype, especially Vanyel, and I saw the exact same thing in Pacat’s trilogy… Once more, I’m vowing to never read a gay-themed fantasy by a heterosexual woman.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
aportablemagic's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75