The Last Herald-Mage
by Mercedes Lackey
Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage (Collections and Selections — 1-3), Valdemar: Chronological Order (Collections and Selections — Omnibus 750-798 AF), Valdemar: Publication Order (Collections and Selections — 6-8)
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Collects three novels about Vanyel and his magical horse Yfandes.Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Definitely in my top ten favorite books of all time! Vanyel's father sends away him to the Capital because he fears Vanyel isn't manly enough (read "gay"). Vanyel wants to be a bard, but doesn't meet the requirements to study in the Bardic Collegium. So, he feels resentful and outcast. Until love blooms between Vanyel and Tylendel, a Herald in training. In a cruel twist of fate Vanyel becomes the most powerful Herald-Mage in history, but loses his true love. But, an enemy is preparing to strike Valdemar, and Vanyel may be the only hope. I can't say enough how awesome this trilogy is, and the Valdemar series in general.
The writing is smooth, the characters come alive right off the page and the world-building is top notch. Lackey weaves a show more rich plot that still remains character focused. Lackey's original concept of having each mage have a horse as his "familiar" (here called Companions) was fantastic. I loved horses as a little girl, and the idea of horses bonded to a human and able to communicate with them is wonderful. Though the series as a whole is excellent, Last Herald Mage and Queen's Own stand out as the best. show less
The writing is smooth, the characters come alive right off the page and the world-building is top notch. Lackey weaves a show more rich plot that still remains character focused. Lackey's original concept of having each mage have a horse as his "familiar" (here called Companions) was fantastic. I loved horses as a little girl, and the idea of horses bonded to a human and able to communicate with them is wonderful. Though the series as a whole is excellent, Last Herald Mage and Queen's Own stand out as the best. show less
This series has got to be one of my favorite top 10 books. The writing is superb, the plot is comfortably unpredictable, and the characters are worth falling in love with EVERY time I read it. Even knowing Vanyel's orientation and having some fairly important information revealed early on in the book I sat balling for nearly an hour when I finished reading it for the first time. I remember it vividly. I was heartbroken for his story to be over. This is the book that hooked me on the Herald's of Valdemar series. Now I own just about every book in the series. (Actually I think I DO own every book in the series). READ IT!
Magic's Pawn:
Exasperated by his musical, dandy-ish, unmartial son Vanyel, Lord Withen sends him to stay with Savil, the boy's aunt at the court in Haven, as a punishment.
A quick, enjoyable coming-of-age, if rather overwrought, story set in a magic world. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I'd read it when it first came out and was closer to Vanyel's age.
Magic's Promise
12 years later, Vanyel is now a seasoned Herald-Mage in desperate need of rest and recuperation and so returns home to Forst Reach where he has to deal with some unresolved issues from his childhood and a dangerous political situation across the borders.
A quick read which kept me turning the pages to see what happened next without it being particularly show more emotionally engaging.
Magic's Price
Can the singing of a young Bard help ease the pain of the King of Valdemar, who is slowly dying?
I felt this one dragged a bit in places and there seemed to be a lot more typos in the text. But it was still a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. show less
Exasperated by his musical, dandy-ish, unmartial son Vanyel, Lord Withen sends him to stay with Savil, the boy's aunt at the court in Haven, as a punishment.
A quick, enjoyable coming-of-age, if rather overwrought, story set in a magic world. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I'd read it when it first came out and was closer to Vanyel's age.
Magic's Promise
12 years later, Vanyel is now a seasoned Herald-Mage in desperate need of rest and recuperation and so returns home to Forst Reach where he has to deal with some unresolved issues from his childhood and a dangerous political situation across the borders.
A quick read which kept me turning the pages to see what happened next without it being particularly show more emotionally engaging.
Magic's Price
Can the singing of a young Bard help ease the pain of the King of Valdemar, who is slowly dying?
I felt this one dragged a bit in places and there seemed to be a lot more typos in the text. But it was still a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. show less
Another great read. With every trilogy set in the Valdemar world, I always need a couple of chapters to really get into the characters, but when that is done, I really get into the story and love every bit of it. I love Vanyel, even though he remains almost to the end a bit full of himself at times. But his heart is in the right place and he does learn from his mistakes eventually. You can feel the story building up to a great and bitter ending but you feel hope of a better ending all the way. And somehow you get both the bitter and the better. It takes a very good writer to pull that of and Mercedes Lackey did.
Omnibus volume, so I'm going to review it in parts as I finish them:
Magic's Pawn:
I still don't like teenagers that much, but there's a substantial difference between whiny teenagers and genuinely tragic ones, and Vanyel's definitely the latter. There's a certain amount of "don't do that, dumbass!" going on, but it's all pretty solidly supported by the character development and hangs together quite well. It's a book of its time, in regards to the gay issues, but certainly on the right side of its time - it won a Lambda Award for a reason. Not a happy book, but a solid one.
Magic's Promise:
The best of the three, no question (especially if you don't care for teenagers.) It's a little more mystery/adventure and a little less interpersonal show more angst, and the plotting is fairly tight. I also very much appreciated the resolution to some of the family issues brought up in the previous volume, and the whole family dynamic was realistic and ultimately very satisfying. This is not a happy trilogy, on the whole, but this is the happiest volume and therefore I like it best.
Magic's Price:
Magic's Price is rather uneven in tone - it begins as a fairly light-hearted, even slapstick romance, then turns darker and darker until the inevitable tragic end. (Not, I should say, tragic in the usual "gay man's lover dies" even though that's pretty much what happens - and more than once in this series.) There's one particular interlude that is fairly horrifying and not well-justified, I think, but while grim, the book holds together fairly well and the coda is really very charming.
All in all, a successful series even discounting the daring nature of the gay lead character for its time. show less
Magic's Pawn:
I still don't like teenagers that much, but there's a substantial difference between whiny teenagers and genuinely tragic ones, and Vanyel's definitely the latter. There's a certain amount of "don't do that, dumbass!" going on, but it's all pretty solidly supported by the character development and hangs together quite well. It's a book of its time, in regards to the gay issues, but certainly on the right side of its time - it won a Lambda Award for a reason. Not a happy book, but a solid one.
Magic's Promise:
The best of the three, no question (especially if you don't care for teenagers.) It's a little more mystery/adventure and a little less interpersonal show more angst, and the plotting is fairly tight. I also very much appreciated the resolution to some of the family issues brought up in the previous volume, and the whole family dynamic was realistic and ultimately very satisfying. This is not a happy trilogy, on the whole, but this is the happiest volume and therefore I like it best.
Magic's Price:
Magic's Price is rather uneven in tone - it begins as a fairly light-hearted, even slapstick romance, then turns darker and darker until the inevitable tragic end. (Not, I should say, tragic in the usual "gay man's lover dies" even though that's pretty much what happens - and more than once in this series.) There's one particular interlude that is fairly horrifying and not well-justified, I think, but while grim, the book holds together fairly well and the coda is really very charming.
All in all, a successful series even discounting the daring nature of the gay lead character for its time. show less
I am so glad to see this collection. I want to read the books in one fell swoop and this makes it simple to do so.
In Magic's Pawn we meet Vanyel who will become the last Herald-Mage. Here Vanyel, a gay teen, grows from a young popinjay to the kind of person who cares for and protects others -- in short, a Herald.
Magic's Promise requires a tissue warning! Sometimes the middle book of a trilogy is a weaker one than the ends. This one is a powerful book in its own right. 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.
Magic's Price is a show more strong and moving conclusion to Vanyel's story. I like Vanyel, in part because he does his best, but isn't perfect. His strengths and flaws make this book a powerful story of love (of people and country) and duty. There are some scenes of sexual violence that are more implied than graphically covered, but that violence is integral to the story.
If you enjoy fantasy and have not yet read this trilogy, then I urge you to do so. I don't think you will regret the time you spend reading it. show less
In Magic's Pawn we meet Vanyel who will become the last Herald-Mage. Here Vanyel, a gay teen, grows from a young popinjay to the kind of person who cares for and protects others -- in short, a Herald.
Magic's Promise requires a tissue warning! Sometimes the middle book of a trilogy is a weaker one than the ends. This one is a powerful book in its own right. 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.
Magic's Price is a show more strong and moving conclusion to Vanyel's story. I like Vanyel, in part because he does his best, but isn't perfect. His strengths and flaws make this book a powerful story of love (of people and country) and duty. There are some scenes of sexual violence that are more implied than graphically covered, but that violence is integral to the story.
If you enjoy fantasy and have not yet read this trilogy, then I urge you to do so. I don't think you will regret the time you spend reading it. show less
This is the quintessential trilogy of my youth. Perhaps because I had some familial issues myself, I wholly identified with Vanyel and his feelings of isolation and of being an outcast. It definitely expanded my world view and helped shaped my future opinions on a wide range of subjects. They even helped me fight against my own ice dream - held it off a few years anyway! I feel I should check out her other stuff since I love these so much, but I remember trying other series of hers and just not "getting them". If you like these I recommend the Arrows and Oath books also.
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Author Information
359+ Works 188,483 Members
Fantasy fiction author Mercedes Richie Lackey was born in Chicago on June 24, 1950, and she received a B.S. from Purdue University in 1972. She is also a professional lyricist and has rehabilitated raptors. Lackey started writing her own short stories when her favorite science fiction and fantasy authors weren't producing new books fast enough for show more her. She began writing professionally with the encouragement of author C. J. Cherryh, whom Lackey had met at a science fiction convention. Many of Lackey's books, including the Queen's Own trilogy, the Vows and Honor series, Valdemar: family Spies, and the Last Herald-Mage and Mage Winds trilogies, take place in the imaginary world of Valdemar. She has authored numerous series, including the Bardic Voices series and a series of occult mysteries featuring Diana Tregarde, a modern-day witch. Lackey enjoys collaborating and has co-written books with authors such as C.J. Cherryh, Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mark Shepherd, and Ru Emerson. Her title Redoubt made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Series
Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage
3 works (Collections and Selections — 1-3)
Valdemar: Chronological Order
42 works (Collections and Selections — Omnibus 750-798 AF)
Valdemar: Publication Order
42 works (Collections and Selections — 6-8)
Belongs to Publisher Series
DAW Book Collectors (1716)
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1990
- People/Characters
- Vanyel Ashkervon; Tylendel
- Dedication
- [Magic's Pawn] Dedicated to:
Melanie Mar—just because
And Mark, Carl, and Dominic
for letting me bounce things off them
[Magic's Promise] Dedicated to:
Elizabeth (Betsy) Wollheim
Who said—“Go for it”
[Magic's Price] To Russell Galen Judith Louvis and Sally Paduch
and everyone who dreams of wearing Whites - First words
- [Magic's Pawn] "Your grandfather," said Vanyel's brawny fifteen-year-old cousin Radevel, "was crazy."
[Magic's Promise] The blue leather saddlebags and a canvas pack, all bulging with filthy clothing and miscellaneous gear, landed in the corner of Vanyel’s room with three dull thuds.
[Magic's Price] Sweat ran down Herald Vanyel’s back, and his ankle hurt a little—he hadn’t twisted it, quite, when he’d slipped on the wooden floor of the salle back at the beginning of this bout, but it was still bot... (show all)hering him five exchanges later. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[Magic's Pawn] —yes, Withen. You would be very proud. I know I am.
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[Magic's Promise] “Stick to the sheep,” the armsmaster advised impudently. “They don’t snore.”
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)[Magic's Price] To this day, that gittern is grown into the tree it leaned against then, the goldenoak's roots entwined around its strings in a gentle embrace, and there are bright days, when the wind whispers through the trees, that the Forest of Sorrows seems the most inappropriate name possible. - Original language
- English
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Statistics
- Members
- 890
- Popularity
- 30,496
- Reviews
- 12
- Rating
- (4.39)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 8
