Winds of Fury

As with all Lackey books, I'm really just here for a good time and not super critical. I love Valdemar and the companions. I'm always invested in her characters and plots. That said I do think the Mage Winds trilogy is the most convoluted as Lackey ties everything going on across her world together. It feels a bit as though she had written herself into a corner and had to figure out how to write her way out.

Winds of Fury is the third book in the Mage Winds trilogy, and is not only a satisfying but also quite creative and interesting conclusion to that part of Valdemar's history. The war with Ancar rages on, and the stakes are even higher now that, thanks to Ancar botching a spell, he has Falconsbane in his clutches and under magical coercions. Magic has returned to Valdemar and mages are being recruited from all over, and those with mage-potential are being looked for and trained. Everything's leading up to a battle between not only Valdemar and Ancar, but also Falconsbane, and Hulda, three of the most powerful and pissy people that Valdemar has had to deal with in an age.

That alone would be epic enough, but Lackey takes it a step further show more by giving us the character on An'desha, the man whose body Falconsbane took over and is currently inhabiting, and who is trapped in a tiny corner of Falconsbane's mind, his own personality intact but afraid. With the help of a little divine intervention, An'desha works to undermine Falconsbane's plans from the inside while the heroes of Valdemar can attack from the outside.

I've always had a fondness for stories involving trapped mental presences, other people dwelling in minds where normally there's just one personality present. (What can I say, MPD and DID have been pet interests of mine for a long while now.) An'desha appealed to me from the moment he was introduced for that reason alone, and that was just helped along when we got to see his backstory, find out how his body was taken over by Falconsbane/Ma'ar, and more interestingly, just how he managed to keep his own personality intact while quietly sharing headspace with an ancient psychopath.

If there's one thing about this book that irks me, though, it was actually the divine intervention that did it. I have no problem with deities showing their hands, but I have to admit that some things seemed a little bit like a cop-out. Avatars assisting someone, fine. But the goddess reaching down and undoing most of the physical changes that were done to both An'desha and Nyara so that they no longer looked so inhuman seemed like things were being tied up too neatly. A good chunk of the Valdemar books stress that actions have consequences, but that's just undone by admitting that sometimes your gods will step in and remove the consequences or the difficulties just because they feel like it. I'm not saying that An'desha and Nyara didn't deserve pity for what had been done to them. It's more like I'm saying it would have been far more interesting to see them continue to cope with what they had, come to grips with it, and moved beyond it. If you're looking for inspiration in characters, removing their problems rather than having them get past their problems takes away that which could be incredibly inspirational.

It also raises questions. Why didn't the goddess step in earlier and remove Falconsbane's coercions from Starblade? Why didn't she show up and smack Ma'ar down in one of his previous incarnations? Why use that great power for aesthetics? It would give An'desha and Nyara some comfort, no doubt, and was a nice reward for all that they had done to bring Falconsbane down, but it seemed rather arbitrary.

Aside from playing the deity card, this book was quite enjoyable, and a fitting end to the trilogy. It closes off that arc of the story nicely while still leaving some tantalising unanswered questions. If I didn't know there were books in the series after this, I'd be able to make a pretty good guess that there would be at least one set soon after. (As it turns out, there's another trilogy, which I will be getting to shortly.) Good Valdemaran fun, and this is pretty much where we get to see what I would consider the height of Lackey's stylistic development in the Valdemar novels. Definitely interesting to see that progression. show less

This volume is aimed at tying up the Mage Winds Trilogy, although as noted by at least one other reviewer, in many ways the entire trilogy is really setting the ground work for the Mage Storms trilogy.

There are times when the development of Mornelithe's character seems jerky and choppy but it's my impression that Lackey wanted to demonstrate how patchy the villain's sense of self and reality are.

The final show down in this book always seems to abrupt to me - the explosion of rage between the two female mages is understandable in light of their history but it takes no time whatsoever for them to go from cooly in control to unhinged and it always strikes me as an awkward moment.

Back to the adventure side of things. Elspeth goes home, with Darkwind, Skif and Nyara (and Need); and, much to their surprise, Firesong and the gryphons (who _meant_ to go to Firesong's vale!). Vanyel is _still_ an elegant pain in the butt (though seeing him interact with Firesong is truly amusing). Haven suddenly has a Heartstone, as well as a Herald-Mage and a good many mage-teachers. Falconsbane sticks his head up again, through some seriously weird coincidence and luck (bad and good). Major life-changes for a lot of people, just incidental to the adventure. Somehow, this book goes so fast that I can't see any over-arching meaning to it, unlike Change - there are a lot of aspects, but I don't really see a theme. Aside from "if you show more try hard enough, sometimes it works". This time Falconsbane is _thoroughly_ dealt with, as are Ancar and Hulda...and new threats and dangers start to appear. The Mage Storms trilogy follows directly from this story - not just this book, there are threads from throughout the Winds trilogy that don't get dealt with until Storms. I have to review as soon as I finish the book, mostly because otherwise I can't remember where one book stops and the next begins, in this six-book arc. Which is not a complaint - it's one magnificent story. show less

Despite my loathing for the first two-thirds of this trilogy, I actually like Winds of Fury just fine. It's got a plot, it's got a villain, it goes somewhere and is an interesting ride most of the time - all things the earlier books fail on.

The thing that really pulls it together is the introduction of An'desha as an actual character. The idea of a villain that's literally occupying the body of a conscious and self-willed innocent is interesting, and handled deftly. He's the interesting character that would have pulled the whole thing together, if we'd met him two books ago (beyond an apropos-of-nothing POV somewhere in the second book that went nowhere.)

It'd be totally possible to only read this book and not miss much, especially on a show more reread. Good stuff, but sadly associated with two serious disappointments. show less

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.

Winds of Fury is the third book in the Mage Winds trilogy, so you'd at least want to go read the first two books, starting with Winds of Fate first and I'd also recommend you first read the trilogy that starts with Arrows of the Queen. I liken the Valdemar series to good comfort food. No, this isn't very literary in quality, but I find myself rereading the series every few years, because I like the characters and the world Lackey created. I don't think this trilogy has quite the same verve as the original Arrows of the Queen trilogy, and isn't as moving as the trilogy with Vanyel that starts with Magic's Pawn. So if you're new to Lackey or the Valdemar series, go read the other books first. But if you've read the other books in this show more series and trilogy, I think you won't find this conclusion to the trilogy involving Elspeth disappointing. Go then and let yourself enjoy some times with old friends. show less