We're heading into a new trilogy in the Reading Valdemar project. Mel (Grab the Lapels), Jackie (Death by Tsundoku), and I had mixed feelings about Mercedes Lackey's rather uneven Collegium Chronicles (Where was the plot? How old are these kids? How do we feel about Kirball? Are we thoroughly upset about the treatment of Amily … Continue reading Reading Valdemar: Closer to Home
Mercedes Lackey
Book Review: Beyond
Beyond (The Founding of Valdemar #1)Mercedes LackeyFantasy368 pagesExpected publication: June 15, 2021, by DAW The story of Valdemar's founding has been mentioned in more than one of Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar books: Once upon a time, Baron Valdemar led his people into the wilderness to escape an empire and find freedom. There, in their … Continue reading Book Review: Beyond
Reading Valdemar: Bastion
After five months, five books, a whole lot of Kirball, and a boatload of teen angst (from the characters, not from the readers), Jackie, Mel, and I have completed Mercedes Lackey's Collegiate Chronicles, which turned out to be not at all about the founding of the Heraldic Collegium at all (much to our surprise). What … Continue reading Reading Valdemar: Bastion
Reading Valdemar: Redoubt
Redoubt (The Collegium Chronicles #4)by Mercedes LackeyFantasy330 pagesFirst published in 2012 So. Four books into a series. Far more books into this world. A few dozen published books under her belt. You would think that Lackey would have this whole plot thing figured out but. . . Maybe not? Maybe she was just phoning this … Continue reading Reading Valdemar: Redoubt
Reading Valdemar: Intrigues
...while there are still plenty of slice-of-life goings on, we're presented with a book that has 47.3% more plot
Reading Valdemar: Foundation
Mags has had a rough life. The son of bandits who were killed in a skirmish when he was a baby, Mags was "adopted" by a cruel mine owner and put to work as soon as he could accomplish minor tasks. Now at thirteen, Mags lives and works in the mine, gathering sparklies, and helping … Continue reading Reading Valdemar: Foundation
August Summary and September Preview
August was a solid reading month, though I didn't pick up two of the books on the TBR stack from the beginning of the month. Oh well. I got through most of the books I intended to read, plus the three ARCs I needed to finish before their release dates in September. Good job, me! … Continue reading August Summary and September Preview
Reading Valdemar: Storm Rising
Storm Rising (Mage Storms #2) by Mercedes Lackey Fantasy 412 pages First published in 1995 by DAW In the second installment of Mercedes Lackey's Mage Storms trilogy, Karal discovers that being a full Sun-priest and ambassador isn't all it's cracked up to be. With his youth and apparent inexperience working against him, the majority of … Continue reading Reading Valdemar: Storm Rising
Reading Valdemar: Storm Warning
Wherein the nicest kid you'll ever meet comes from your country's worst foe, there's a new claimant to the Iron Throne, and the Austrians are definitely not invading.
Sunday Sum-Up, 07/14/2019
Soo... This week didn't go quite as planned. We had three super busy days at work thanks to a long-planned event. The lead-up to it had been stressing me out for the past couple of weeks, and I am so glad to be done with it. That was planned. I'd been dreading it, but I … Continue reading Sunday Sum-Up, 07/14/2019
Traveling in Books 