Heralds of Valdemar - Mercedes Lackey

Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: epic fantasy, magic
Age Appropriate: Teens
Recommended for my sister: YES

"Hindsight is ever perfect" - Starwind k'Treva

The Heralds of Valdemar books span over multiple trilogies. While Lackey wrote them in a different order, there is a specific timeline that moves the history along. The first series chronologically is the Last Herald-Mage series featuring Vanyel, a young man who feels separate from his family and is sent to the capital, Haven, to be with his Aunt Savil. His arrival starts the story off with his emotional issues and secrets that lead to great tragedy and discovery of his own mage powers. Through the story the audience learns the special marks of those who are "Chosen" in the kingdom of Valedmar, and is given a good basis for the following story lines.

Throughout all of the trilogies, the main characters are either Heralds or those who become somehow involved with Heralds. IT's the Heralds who are chosen, and to that effect are considered unshakable in their honor and loyalty to their land. The clear designation of a Herald is the presence of their Companion - a magical spirit being in the guise of a horse, who "chooses" their Herald. The tie between Herald and Companion is soul deep and together they will go out and do the hard things done in need of their country. Those "gifts" can range from telepathy - or Mindspeaking - to Firestarting, and in some case the ever mysterious Mage-gift. With the exception of the Mage-gift, all fo the abilities are considered "mind-magic," and the distinction becomes very important as the books go forward.

There are wide varieties of characters, with various idiosyncrasies in either tale. Each kingdom has different rules and histories that cause great conflicts, as often is the case between kingdom and monarchs. On top of that, there are magical beasts running feral, magically tainted lands being watched over by some strange people and even a demon or two thrown in for good measure. All in all, if you put them together, the Heralds of Valdemar books are one long epic. There are even a few short-story companion novels available when you can't get enough.

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I love them. I read my first one when I was probably around 10ish. It was the first Herald-Mage Vanyel book and I was completely hooked. I'll admit that I didn't particularly like the Mage Winds trilogy as some of the others, but each trilogy is fairly important for character development. There are a few that might be considered stand-alone, but I wouldn't recommend it. Find the chronology online and read them all. Even the books that may not be set in Valdemar are important. The things you might miss are small, but they gave me a little boost when I noticed them.

I suppose it's hard to do a full review when you're talking about a series as long as this. While I've read them all recently, I remember the first time being pretty strong emotionally. I still feel strongly when I read the Herald-Mages books and the Arrows books. The sads are as important as the happies. The series is highly recommended, especially if you like epic-type series. I think the splits of trilogies probably helps with consumption levels, but I wouldn't be too shocked if you found yourself buying them all right away.

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