Owlknight

The finale of the Owl Mage Trilogy has Darian achieving mastery and also being made a knight of Valdemar. After a whole bunch of ceremonies, he finally has some time to think and to look for some sort of closure for the loss of his parents.

It is discovered that his parents were caught in a change circle. Some bones are found and Darian's teacher uses a spell to connect the bones to the body which tells Darian that his father, whose foot was found, is alive. However, no one knows how to track change circles. Finally, a clue comes in with some of the northern tribes as they come to join the Ghost Cat tribe and take advantage of the advanced medical knowledge in Valdemar. One of the new arrivals has a vest with embroidered symbols on it show more that are duplicated of his mother's work.

An expedition is formed which includes Darian, Keisha, and Keisha's sister who is a new herald of Valdemar and her companion. Others from the vale and Ghost Cat settlement also go along. The book is a story of their adventures with hostile tribes, magical creatures, and travels through areas unknown to Valdemar or the Hawkbrothers.

This was an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. I enjoyed the descriptions of the journey and all the things the company learned on their travels. I also liked that Keisha and Darian managed to work out their differences as they planned their future together. show less

Darian begins his new responsibilities as a Master Mage and governor of the settlement. However, his relationship with the healer Keisha faces hurdles as they struggle to balance their romance with their demanding professional duties.

A new Herald-Mage arrives to formally appoint a protector to the region. Shortly after, Darian uncovers evidence his parents survived the brutal mage storms from a decade prior and are trapped in hostile, unexplored territory to the north.

Putting his duties temporarily on hold. Darian, Keisha, and a search party of friends and allies venture into dangerous barbarian lands to find his parents. The quest forces Darian to reconcile his multiple identities: vale leader, knight, and son, and leads to a show more satisfying conclusion that ties up his personal trauma and solidifies his relationship with Keisha. show less

While Owlknight doesn't feel as strong as the first two books of the Owl Mage trilogy, it is still enjoyable and gives readers closure we didn't even really know we wanted or needed regarding the fate of Darion's parents. Darion's character development feels like it stagnates a bit while Keisha's feels as though it goes backwards. Overall not my least favorite Valdemar book, but not a favorite either.

Yeah, that's good. It takes quite a while to get started - the first third or more is planning for and description of some complicated ceremonies, welcoming the Heralds who will be stationed in the Vale (including Shandi) while making Darian a knight of Valdemar and a brother of the Ghost Cat tribe. Then chance and choice combine and Darian learns that his parents are still alive, and far to the north. He and his friends set out to find them, with adventures of many sorts along the way - from encounters with yet more Northern spirit-totems to a battle with a cold-drake. What they find is all Darian could have hoped for, and more, and less; the final battle with the Eclipse Shaman is - almost a distraction from the real story. The ending show more always makes me cry, and laugh. And a proper happy-ever-after to round things out. Darian's story is much lighter, and smaller in scope, than some of the others; it's not one of my favorites, either, though quite enjoyable. But there are some scenes, mostly in this book, that are up to the best in the rest of the Valdemar stories. Good book.

Reread - An excellent conclusion to the trilogy. k'Valdemar is established, including having a Herald-Mage assigned there (I can't remember if I've met Anda before, in one of the earlier trilogies). Darian gets some well-deserved honors (knighthood, among others). And things finally calm down enough that he can consider the great unsolved mystery - what happened to his parents? At the same time (Coincidence, in big red letters), clues and assistance show up, and send him and his friends Northward. Lots of events - helping people, at many levels; fighting a monster; the end of his quest, though not what he expected. Ten years is a long time. And a final battle that makes the world better. That's not quite where the story ends, and Darian has a lovely speech - there's a lot about emotions throughout the story, and he's amazingly good at expressing things. And an amusing postscript. Definitely worth reading, and rereading in another few years. show less

Eh. This book was sort of muddled and overlong, and I think the entire "knight" subplot was created just so the title could rhyme with the others. (There is no indication in any other book that "knight" is an actual title used in Valdemar.) The actual adventure isn't bad, although the ending is a little too pat, but the fact that it didn't actually start until halfway through the book tried my patience.

Not the worst of the Valdemar books, and the Owl stuff isn't the worst trilogy, but it's really not up to par with the best of them, and it's more obviously aimed at a YA audience without really being short and punchy enough to play to that market's strengths.

This is the concluding book in the Owl Mage series, that began with Owlflight and continues in Owlsight, so you should read those first. I'm a fan of Lackey's Valdemar books, and for a fan this is well worth the read.

What's best about it, I think, is the world-building. In this story we get to see more beyond the Heralds and horse-shaped Companions of the first Valdemar books, and it's fun to see the fleshing out of the Hawkbrothers, the gryphons, the dyheli; Lackey's good at giving a sense of an alien sensibility with those last, deer-shaped magical creatures. There's also innovative, inventive magic in this trilogy I appreciated.

I certainly enjoyed the novels, including this conclusion, and it's better than many a published fantasy show more out there. If I'm only giving this 3 stars, it's because I think there is better among Lackey's works, and Darian's story never quite touches me the way say Talia's and Vanyel's did. I doubt I'd ever want to reread the Owl trilogy. (Talia's story is the first of the Valdemar books, begun in Arrows of the Queen, and if you've never read Lackey's Valdemar tales, that's where I'd start. Or with Vanyel's story in Magic's Pawn, which comes earlier chronologically) show less

This is the concluding book in the Owlflight trilogy and Darien and Keisha have become a pair while Darien himself has become the acknowledged leader of the new vale he and his Hawkbrother colleagues have established outside the Valdemaran village of Errold's Grove, itself recognised by the Crown as a significant area in the Northern defences of Valdemar, even to the extent of having a pair of Heralds sent there as an embassy.

Darian reckons that all this is fine and dandy but it's time that he does something he should have done years ago and he finds out what happened to his parents, especially when one of the Northern tribes that were turning up with increasing regularity had a waistcoat that was a direct copy of one his mother had show more made for a much younger Darian.

Again, this was a good book and brings the trilogy to a fitting conclusion show less