Books

Vanyel Ashkevron, Herald-Mage of Valdemar, has faced the worst that the world can throw at him. Karsite demons, enemy mages, creatures from the Pelagirs; he has faced and defeated them all. The bards he once aspired to join now sing songs of his exploits to a rapt nation. Young women worship his image while fearing to approach a legend. Even his teacher, Savil, acknowledges that Vanyel’s talents have exceeded her own in many areas.

The Eye of the World is the first novel in Robert Jordan’s epic series Wheel of Time. The series, which began in 1985 and presently spans more than 10 books, has been wildly popular ever since. The author has described the first part of The Eye of the World as a homage to Tolkien’s epic trilogy. Whether the series is worthy of that comparison remains to be seen, but there are certainly many elements that the initial part of both series have in common.

Magic’s Pawn, the first book in Mercedes Lackey’s The Last Herald-Mage trilogy, is a superb coming-of-age adventure. The trilogy itself is without a doubt the best thing Lackey has ever written, and represents required reading for fantasy fans even if the rest of Lackey’s work holds no appeal. The story begins approximately two centuries prior to the events of Arrows of the Queen, at a time when mages were still well-known within Valdemar…

Arrow’s Fall completes the story of Talia, Queen’s Own Herald of Valdemar. Returning from her internship, Talia’s friends and allies at Court welcome her back with the news that the Queen is considering a betrothal for Elspeth, heir to the throne, at the insistence of her advisors. The betrothal offer came from Ancar of Hardorn, a neighboring kingdom with a history of friendship, if not outright alliance, but something about the situation doesn’t sit right with the Queen – nor with the Queen’s Own.

Arrow’s Flight is the second novel of the Arrows of the Queen trilogy, and the second in Mercedes Lackey’s tales of Valdemar. It picks up the story with the completion of Talia’s Collegium training, and about to begin her internship with one of the other Heralds. The internship period is the final test before becoming a full-fledged Herald, and it will take Talia out of the capital city of Haven and into the northern border areas of Valdemar.

Arrows of the Queen is probably Mercedes Lackey’s first published work, or close to it, and that shows; although it’s well written for a first novel, it has the rough edges of inexperience, and a certain naive simplicity that renders it eminently suitable for children (really, young teenagers) and sometimes less engrossing for adults. All her works tend to have a touch of those qualities, but Arrows of the Queen is an explicitly escapist fantasy: a young girl’s dream of magical horses to cure her loneliness and carry her away from all her troubles.