Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar

Don't let the first story turn you off, it's the weakest of the lot - it's a good story by a younger author, but the rest of the book is much stronger. Michelle West and Tanya Huff's entries stand out, and of course I was excited to read about Talia's investiture as a Sun Priest (though it's told from Alberich's pov, and I felt almost cheated by not seeing more than glimpses of Talia and Kero), an event that fell between novels. This anthology focuses a bit more on people who *don't* become Heralds, which provides an interesting take on life in Valdemar and the surrounds.

Sun in Glory is much more even than the earlier collection - there are still some duds, most notably the opening story (good Gods, I know it's neat that a twelve-year-old wrote a fairly literate story, but that doesn't mean I want to read it,) but for the most part the quality is consistent.

The eponymous story is actually a critical part of the "modern" Valdemar story arc and well worth reading even if you skip everything else - most of the rest are decent but sort of iffy, canon-wise. (Except for Tanya Huff's Herald Jors, who has me totally convinced that I want to read a Huff-written Valdemar novel.)

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.

The Lackey story is very good, and fills a 'hole' in Valdemar's history.

The first story is also good and also tries to fills a hole. The writer may be only 12, but she knows Valdemar well.

The other stories did not seem to really belong in Valdemar. This sort of anthology is always a gamble, but this one was a lot less well done than most.

Yay for anthologies! What's fun about Mercedes Lackey is that she wrote fanfiction a long time ago, and these stories about Valdemar are basically the result of professionals doing what I do- using someone else's world to fuel my own imagination, with encouragement from the creator of said world! And each story fills in a little of the gaps deliberately left in the history of Valdemar/Velgarth. I can't wait to read more of these anthologies.

I originally reviewed this book on my blog - The Cosy Dragon. For more recent reviews by me, please hop over there.

Another collection of short stories set in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar universe. There are 12 new stories, as well as a novella by Lackey. Another good collection of tales, the majority were enjoyable to read.

'Errold's Journey' by Catherine S. McMullen wasn't a great short story to start this lot off. The dialogue and style seemed awkward and I wasn't engaged at all. Too passive, too much stating and not enough showing. The ending has a slight twist, but I didn't feel what Errold had achieved was worth his reward. Relevant to the Darian's tale Valdemar trilogy.

'The Cat who Came to Dinner' by Nancy Asire was excellent. I show more really enjoy reading about Valdemar. Reulan was a great priest and I could understand why the glorious ending was the way it was. I did want to see the aftermath though! Those who have read the Storm Warning triology will be familiar with a similar cat.

'Winter Death' by Michelle West is a little depressing really. The dream sequences I found confusing, and the reader is left in the dark for a long period. However it is touchingly painful and worth reading. The reader is held in anticipation. This story is slightly longer than some of the others and the ending to me was a little bit of a let down.

'A Herald's Rescue' by Mickey Zucker Reichert is a tricky one! You think you know what is going to happen (particularly if you read 'The Demon's Den' in Sword of Ice), but indeed you don't really know! I really liked it, and I didn't even remember it from the first time I had read it - a real surprise.

'In the Eye of the Beholder' by Josepha Sherman is short and decidedly not sweet. It's adrenaline pumping as you feel along with the protagonist. You have to wonder what happens to the beast at the end though - I see the potential for more mischief. The romance seemed a little out of place...

'Trance Tower Garrison' by Fiona Patton is another twisty tale. Initially the style of language didn't do anything for me but ruin my ability to get into the story. Ah, but it was worth continuing reading! It has a certain kind of symmetry - although it's no always apparent why things happen, they do happen for a reason - particularly Companions choosing a Herald.

'Starhaven' by Stephanie Shaver is a pure Herald story that is right with the vein of Lackey's own woks in my opinion. A pleasure to read, well-written and with just a hint of humour. The kind of Herald I like.

'Rebirth' by Judith Tarr is very very strange. I'm not sure it fits with the chronology of Lackey's universe. I'm really not in favour of creating an afterworld for Herald and Companions when they die, as I feel that Lackey has already done that (particularly in Vanyel's own trilogy - The Last Herald Mage). It's not bad, but it's not the best I have read either.

'Brock' by Tanya Hill depicts a Herald who is not a Herald. As in the first short story collection, this has Jors and his companion in it. I think they behave consistently across both, which is great! Brock is a MoonChild, which I think is somewhat similar to having Down's Syndrome. Touching.

'True Colors' by Michael Longcor shows how many people are needed to make up Valdemar. I liked Rin, and I half expected him to be chosen on the spot!

'Touches the Earth' by Brenda Cooper was a little odd, in that I didn't know Healers could do killing for a job at all. Anyway, Anya was someone to relate to, although the humour of this short story seemed strained.

'Icebreaker' by Rosemary Edghill is another that shows that people may have satisfaction in their lives even if they aren't a Herald. It is the job of Heralds to look after their people through anything.

'Sun in Glory' by Mercedes Lackey is an excellent new novella. Excellent excellent excellent. It takes place between the Arrows of the Queen trilogy and the Storm Warning trilogy. Just what I would expect. It is even linked in with 'The Cat who Came to Dinner'.

All in all, these stories are good in their own right as a whole, but most of them are not what I feel is true to the Valdemar world as created originally by Lackey. The majority are well written and enjoyable, and I particularly liked those with humour ('Starhaven' for example). show less

Although, like all these things, there are good and bad stories, the average tends towards the good

Catherine McCullen is the youngest writer here - but this does not detract from her story as she tells the tale of the one of the oldest settlements in what would become Valdemar (her father is the SF/Fantasy writer Sean) but the most powerful story in the anthology was Nancy Asire's 'The Cat Who Came to Dinner', and Mercedes Lackey's title story was almost as good.