Arrows of the Queen
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Arrow's Fall
Arrow's Fall completes the story of Talia, Queen's Own Herald of
Valdemar. Returning from her internship, Talia's friends and
allies at Court welcome her back with the news that the Queen is
considering a betrothal for Elspeth, heir to the throne, at the
insistence of her advisors. The betrothal offer came from
Ancar of Hardorn, a neighboring kingdom with a history of friendship,
if not outright alliance, but something about the situation doesn't sit
right with the Queen -- nor with the Queen's Own.
Talia must somehow sort out the mess her personal life has become,
figure out what it is about the betrothal offer that makes her wary,
and find true love, all in the course of a few hundred pages. For
the first time, Talia is faced with serious threats to her life and
sanity, as the fate of nations and the plots of kings threaten both her
personally and the throne to which she owes her allegiance.
The events in Arrow's Fall are the true beginning of the entire
Valdemar series, detailing the return of true magic to a land that has
done without for almost two centuries. While it is the end of
Talia's story, Lackey has much more in mind for the Heralds of Valdemar.
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Arrow's Flight
Arrow's Flight is the second novel of the Arrows of the Queen trilogy, and the second in Mercedes Lackey's
tales of Valdemar. It picks up the story with the completion of
Talia's Collegium training, and about to begin her internship with one
of the other Heralds. The internship period is the final test
before becoming a full-fledged Herald, and it will take Talia out of
the capital city of Haven and into the northern border areas of
Valdemar. But the real dangers of the journey are not those
of bandits, insular villagefolk, or court intrigue; for Talia's own
gift of Empathy is an unusual one, and the other Heralds have little
idea how to train her properly in its use and ethics...
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Arrows of the Queen
Arrows of the Queen is probably Mercedes Lackey's
first published work, or close to it, and that shows; although it's
well written for a first novel, it has the rough edges of inexperience,
and a certain naive simplicity that renders it eminently suitable for
children (really, young teenagers) and sometimes less engrossing for
adults. All her works tend to have a touch of those qualities,
but Arrows of the Queen is an explicitly escapist fantasy: a young
girl's dream of magical horses to cure her loneliness and carry her
away from all her troubles. The cliche is so thick that I'm
always surprised at how well the actual story is told within that
framework.
It should be noted that, although first published, Arrows of the Queen does not represent the first Valdemar novel chronologically.
That honor goes to The Last Herald Mage trilogy (for the kingdom of
Valdemar itself), or the Silver Griffon trilogy (for the world of
Velgarth). Nevertheless, this novel is the proper place to start.
Imagine a young girl, living in a repressive and distinctly
anti-feminist medieval culture, whose only escape from the daily
drudgery of her existance is reading fantasy novels. What would
such a person dream up? Start with a magical horse to carry her
away from her troubles, magical powers to make her a special person, a
community that will accept and trust her, and an important position in
the government to make her feel useful. Now, imagine it's all
real -- and you have the kingdom of Valdemar.
The hero of this novel, Talia, is Chosen as a Herald of Valdemar -- and
not just any Herald, but Queen's Own Herald. She must take
up both her training as a Herald and her tasks as Queen's Own, advisor
and counselor to the Queen, while adjusting to the changes in her own
life and surviving the assassins bent on making that life short indeed.
Don't expect too much from this novel, since it exists primarily to set
up the sequels (both the two direct sequels, and the larger Valdemar
story arc). The prose is light, the characters and plot are
simple; there's not much emotional committment necessary. Read it
quickly without shame, and you'll enjoy the experience.
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