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A review by fuchsiarascal
Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The conclusion to Vangel's tragic life... but also one with love, and Vangel does truly find love again in this book. After holding everyone at arm's length for decades for "their safety", Vangel finally encounters someone who won't accept that... and is willing to face whatever it takes to be with Vanyel. Of course, Vanyel knows "whatever it takes" is going to turn out to be a lot more than expected...
I will admit, the pacing on this book is odd. A lot of slow, daily life happens for most of it, with pretty much all the action happening at the last 10%. When Vanyel is off on Herald duties, we skip over those months with a page break and a brief summary. And yet, it's okay. The focus in this story is Vangel and his relationships, not his duties to the Valdemar (although that’s the impetus for everything he does). We've already seen him be heartbroken, be determined, and be an amazing battle-mage. What we had not seen, up until now, was letting himself be human again, letting people in and loving them without holding back. Magic’s Promise was Vanyel isolating in depression; in Magic’s Price, he really starts to live again finally - and we understand then why he's willing to make the sacrifice that he does. Vanyel cares so much, more than anyone suspects, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect those he cares about.
As a bonus, after reading the song lyrics at the back, do yourself a favor and look them up on YouTube. The record label sadly no longer exists that put the CDs out, but they’re beautiful renditions (especially The Shadow Lover) that Misty didn’t *have* to put time into making but she did.
I will admit, the pacing on this book is odd. A lot of slow, daily life happens for most of it, with pretty much all the action happening at the last 10%. When Vanyel is off on Herald duties, we skip over those months with a page break and a brief summary. And yet, it's okay. The focus in this story is Vangel and his relationships, not his duties to the Valdemar (although that’s the impetus for everything he does). We've already seen him be heartbroken, be determined, and be an amazing battle-mage. What we had not seen, up until now, was letting himself be human again, letting people in and loving them without holding back. Magic’s Promise was Vanyel isolating in depression; in Magic’s Price, he really starts to live again finally - and we understand then why he's willing to make the sacrifice that he does. Vanyel cares so much, more than anyone suspects, and he'll do whatever it takes to protect those he cares about.
As a bonus, after reading the song lyrics at the back, do yourself a favor and look them up on YouTube. The record label sadly no longer exists that put the CDs out, but they’re beautiful renditions (especially The Shadow Lover) that Misty didn’t *have* to put time into making but she did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts