Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey

I thought that the book, "Magic's Pawn" was a terrific book. The characters of the story were well drawn out in my mind as was the scenes and the plot. There is only one word to describe the kind of writer that Mercedes Lackey is . . . "moving." She can make the most beautiful story out of something that is totally unexpected. This book is truly and amazing find for anyone who enjoys its kind.

This book is particularly incomplete without the other books in the "Valdemar" series. It is still a good book. But it simply lacks the details needed to fully understand what is going on in the world. That may be an inevitable consequence of writing such a huge series, but this book is particularly affected by that fact. It also becomes repetitive at times, is almost transparent for a huge chunk of the story, and doesn't "get good" until the latter part of the book (although it started out well also). These are the books only weaknesses, however, and it is a moving and well told story. If you like Mercedes Lackey's other works, then you'll certainly want to read this one.

This is the first book in Mercedes Lackey's THE LAST HERALD-MAGE trilogy. It is the second series to take place in her land of Valdemar. It takes place a few hundred years before the ARROWS trilogy, but was written afterward. If I had gone to write a review of this book about halfway through the book, I would have had to give it three stars. The book started out really well. The main character was very sympathetic and I kept hoping for him to escape the torturous life he was living. As usual, Lackey's characters are vivid and engaging. You actually start to care about them in the first few pages. Unfortunately, from about page 50 to page 200, not a lot happens. It's 150 pages of gushing, sappy proclamations of love and arguments of who loves who more. Yes, this part of the book is vital for setting up what happens afterward, but I think it could have been done in half the space. After that, though, the action really picks up. We get to see what the Mage powers truly bring to the characters (in the ARROWS trilogy, no one had Mage powers anymore if I recall correctly). The book became an absolute page turner after this. As always, Lackey's plot and action are top notch. This book was definitely a page turner. Even when there wasn't really anything much happening, I still felt compelled to keep reading in order to find out what was going to happen next. This is what I like best about the author: she always knows how to keep the reader engaged in the story. Definitely an enjoyable read and a must for any Lackey fan.