HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Magic's Promise (The Last Herald-Mage…
Loading...

Magic's Promise (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 2) (edition 1990)

by Mercedes Lackey

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,234144,067 (4.08)48
Fantasy. Fiction. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:Groundbreaking epic fantasy series in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar universe
  • Lambda-Award winning novels with heartfelt high adventure and magic

    Wild magic is taking its toll on the land. Many Heralds and Herald-Mages have died fighting to preserve the peace. Even Vanyel, the most powerful of the Herald-Mages is almost at the end of his strength, in need of a respite from the dual threats of war and dark magic.

    But for Vanyel, there can be no rest. Not when his Companion, Yfandes, receives a summons which can't be ignoredâ??a desperate cry of a magical holocaust in the neighboring kingdom. Almost overwhelmed by the devastations they discover there, Herald-Mage and Companion must try to unravel this tragic mystery.

    Is the young Prince Tashir, a newly Chosen Herald who can't control his magic, responsible for the destruction? Or is Tashir a pawn in a deeper, more deadly gameâ??and, if so, will Vanyel be able to find and defeat the true destroyer before this master of dark powers can strike again?
    From the Paperback edition.
  • … (more)
Member:lilacsigil
Title:Magic's Promise (The Last Herald-Mage Series, Book 2)
Authors:Mercedes Lackey
Info:DAW (1990), Paperback, 320 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:fiction, fantasy, series

Work Information

Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 48 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)
The middle book sees Van sad, lonely, stressed out and put upon but at least there is no really brutal violence in this one, at least from what I remember, having read it last year. ( )
  kitsune_reader | Nov 23, 2023 |
I like the books Mercedes Lackey writes, she is good at creating a believable world and people to populate it. While her writing is not the strongest I do find it engaging ang and enjoyable. I like a series I can live inside of and her books are ones that have characters I feel invested in and a world I believe could exist. ( )
  KateKat11 | Sep 24, 2021 |
Absolutely loved it. One of my favorites out of all of her works. ( )
  Linyarai | Feb 16, 2020 |
This book requires a tissue warning! Sometimes the middle book of a trilogy is a weaker one than the ends. This one is a powerful book. Vanyel has come into his own as one of the most powerful (if not THE most powerful) Herald-Mages ever. Valdemar is still taking the geographic shape it would have in the Arrows trilogy. This story is one of personal sacrifice made for the good of others.

Do start at the beginning of the trilogy, but if you like fantasy, then you should try this series. ( )
  Jean_Sexton | Feb 10, 2016 |
This book takes up long after the end of Magic's Pawn and Vanyel is exhuasted by the wild magic and trauma that he has been through. He is almost an entirely different person in this book, changed and matured with the experiences of his past. As much as I loved the first book, I think I love Vanyel as a character even more in this book.

Over the years, he has become everything he was meant to be... and all of the things his father would never have imagined. He is a hero of Valdemar and has dedicated his life to keeping its people safe, even at his own expense. He is told to take some leave to rest and recuperate and goes to the most unlikely place,... Askevron Manor. But it isn't long before he realizes that there are things happening just beyond the borders that threaten everything.

Once again, I think Vanyel and his circumstances are universally relatable. I love Vanyel and I love his story. He is such a sympathetic character so it is easy to root for him throughout the story. Even after everything he has done for the kingdom, his parents still can't see him for who he is. His father is still dismissive and his mother is still throwing her ladies at him. And as a person, despite all that he has been through, he still has so much to learn about life, love, and moving forward after grief. This book also answered a lot of questions about some characters from the first book, particularly the family priest and the weaponsmaster. They were extraordinarily hateful in the first book with no real explanation as to why that was so extreme.

As with the other books, this one is full of twists and turns and intrigue. I think that there is an added level of suspense in this particular book because Vanyel is, as the series title suggests, the last of his kind. He is the last Herald-Mage. So much rides on him and there are moments when you wonder, even knowing there is another book in the trilogy, if he is going to survive.

My Recommendation: I highly recommend this series if you love high fantasy and rich, relatable characters!

This review originally posted on my blog The Caffeinated Diva reads. ( )
1 vote Kiki870 | Sep 21, 2015 |
Showing 1-5 of 14 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Mercedes Lackeyprimary authorall editionscalculated
Lee, Jody A.Cover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
Dedicated to: Elizabeth (Betsy) Wollheim. Who said - "Go for it"
First words
The blue leather saddlebags and a canvas pack, all bulging with filthy clothing and miscellaneous gear, landed in a corner of Vanyel's room with three dull thuds.
Quotations
Surrounded as it was by newer, smaller outbuildings of whitewashed stucco, it [Forst Reach] resembled a vast and rather ill-natured gray granite hen squatting among a flock of paler chicks.
Baby Heralds wrecking rooms, adult Heralds making magic Gates and then falling through them half-dead, a possible war on the Border, and still somehow the beds get made. What a world.-- p. 187
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Fantasy. Fiction. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:Groundbreaking epic fantasy series in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar universe Lambda-Award winning novels with heartfelt high adventure and magic

Wild magic is taking its toll on the land. Many Heralds and Herald-Mages have died fighting to preserve the peace. Even Vanyel, the most powerful of the Herald-Mages is almost at the end of his strength, in need of a respite from the dual threats of war and dark magic.

But for Vanyel, there can be no rest. Not when his Companion, Yfandes, receives a summons which can't be ignoredâ??a desperate cry of a magical holocaust in the neighboring kingdom. Almost overwhelmed by the devastations they discover there, Herald-Mage and Companion must try to unravel this tragic mystery.

Is the young Prince Tashir, a newly Chosen Herald who can't control his magic, responsible for the destruction? Or is Tashir a pawn in a deeper, more deadly gameâ??and, if so, will Vanyel be able to find and defeat the true destroyer before this master of dark powers can strike again?
From the Paperback edition.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
The wild magic is taking its toll on the land, and even Vanyel, the most powerful Herald-Mage to ever walk the world, is almost at the end of his strength. But when his Companion, Yfandes, receives a call for help from neighboring Lineas, both Herald-Mage and Companion are drawn into a holocaust of dark magic that could be the end of them both.
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.08)
0.5
1 7
1.5
2 36
2.5 6
3 112
3.5 32
4 259
4.5 23
5 276

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,238,196 books! | Top bar: Always visible