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Loading... Owlsight (1998)by Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon (Author), Mercedes Lackey
None.  JeremyPreacher | Mar 30, 2013 |  Here's another book that could be a 3.5 star if I rated that way (Maybe I really will start). It's not a four star due to the lack of ... something. But I did like it more than the first book Owlflight. Darian is more mature, there is another character, Keisha, introduced. I actually enjoyed reading about Keisha until the end where she became a little flatter as a character. Actually I didn’t like the ending anyways. These's book's endings all feel rushed. I think more of Lackey's books are exactly the same way, but here it bothered me more. That could be because I haven't read Lackey in a while. But regardless the story is a nice one. I liked the interval between conflicts. Lackey is good at making daily life fun to read. It's the other events that are rushed and come out slightly off kilter to the rest of the writing. But I know Lackey has other books out there that I love so I'm still willing to keep reading her books to find those few that really really stand out. (  ) Kassilem | Dec 21, 2012 | Like most of Lackey's middle books, this one is mostly setting up for the climax. We meet Keisha, the Healer of Errold's Grove, and catch up with a much more adult Darian. The new Vale, between Tayledras territory and Valdemar, gets set up - a little faster than intended, as reports of a new barbarian incursion coming down from the North come in. These barbarians, however, turn out to be quite different from the last lot, and (eventually) willing to make peace - partly because what's driving them is a disease, and Keisha and the other healers find out how to deal with it. The book ends on the treaty field, with a lot of loose ends lying about - see previous note about this book being a set-up for the next. Good but not great - a lot of interesting people and situations, and some old friends show up, but there's not a lot to the story. The best bits are largely side-issues - Darian's discussion with the local lord's heir about what battle's really like, for instance. Very rich. (  ) jjmcgaffey | Apr 6, 2012 | This is the second book in the Owl Mage series, that began with Owlflight, so you should read that first. I generally like Lackey's Valdemar books, and if you're new to them I'd start with the first published, Arrows of the Queen. They almost all deal with Heralds, a police/military force bonded to and partnered with "Companions," magical creatures in horse guise. Heralds don't factor much in this particular trilogy though, but the Tayledras, featured in other stories, do, and for me that more than makes up for that. The previous book centered on Darian, a Valdemarian adopted into a Tayledras clan who wishes to be a bridge to both peoples. This book introduces Keisha Alder, a young healer-in-training from his village. I found her an appealing character and the book a light, enjoyable read, even if I wouldn't name it among Lackey's best. ( ) LisaMaria_C | Sep 28, 2010 | A good Valdemar book. Not earth shattering, but I do enjoy them. (  ) Nikkles | Aug 23, 2010 | no reviews | add a review Is contained in
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0886778034, Mass Market Paperback)It has been four years since Darian saw his village sacked and burned by barbarians. Taking refuge with the Hawkbrothers, he soon finds his life's calling--as a Healing Adept. But even as he learns the mystical ways of this ancient race, Darian cannot escape the dangers threatening his future. Another tribe of barbarians is approaching. The time has come...to stand up and fight. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:14:50 -0500) It has been four years since the village of Errold's Grove, on the border of Valdemar, was sacked and burned by barbarians. Four years since the rebellious orphan boy Darian escaped into the vast Pelagiris Forest, finding sanctuary with the mysterious Tayledras Hawkbrothers. During his stay with the Hawkbrothers, Darian has found his calling and has begun training with them to become a Healing Adept. Born a Valdemaran, but now steeped in the mystical ways of the Tayledras, it is his dream to become their emissary - forging an alliance and providing a diplomatic link with his own people. Keisha Alder has taken over the workshop left empty when the wizard Justyn was murdered by the barbarians. With no formal education, working with only the natural instincts of her inborn Healing Gift, this young woman has devoted herself to the care of the people of Errold's Grove.She knows that she should leave the village and seek proper training at the Healer's College in Haven, the capital city of Valdemar - but how can she? She is solely responsible for the medical care of her now bustling community. Yet with the heightened empathy of a Healing Gift, and the inability to shield herself because of her lack of training, it is becoming harder and harder for Keisha to bear the strains of everyday life. And then Darian returns to Errold's Grove with a small contingent of Hawkbrothers to warn the townsfolk that another tribe of barbarians is approaching their village and advises them to evacuate their homes. But Keisha and some of the villagers refuse to flee. As a Healer she knows she will be needed if there is bloodshed, and her Gift dictates that she stay, even if it puts her life in jeopardy. Yet how can one small band of Hawkbrothers and two Valdemaran teenagers with partially trained Gifts stand against the destructive might of a barbarian horde?… (more) |
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Wikipedia in English (2)
4
My main gripe with this series is the bizarre-in-context patriarchal assumptions. In a country where there is no sexism at all in the ruling class, it's jarringly out-of-place to have a village where the women cook, clean, and gossip and the men run the place with no comment at all about how that's a little odd. Valdemar was set up from the beginning as an egalitarian society, and I really dislike that those principles seem to be ignored here in favor of a dreadfully stereotypical European rural village setup. It makes for better contrast with the Hawkbrothers, I suppose, but that contrast is never actually remarked upon, and I find it tooth-grindingly irritating. (