1. Mercedes Lackey Books List
2. Foundation By Mercedes Lackey

At the time I first read it, this was the first Mercedes Lackey book set on Velgarth I'd come across. I would later pick up Arrows of the Queen, but at that point all I'd read of her work was the Bardic Voices series - which I'd quite enjoyed.As introductions to fantasy worlds go, this is. Mercedes Lackey has 410 books on Goodreads with 1455078 ratings. Mercedes Lackey's most popular series is Valdemar (Publication order).

Arrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1) Ebook DescriptionArrows of the Queen (Heralds of Valdemar, #1) Book has a good rating based on 30,948 votes and 972 reviews, some of the reviews are displayed in the box below, read carefully for reference. Find other interesting books from 'Mercedes Lackey' in the search field.Follows the adventures of Talia as she trains to become a Herald of Valdemar in the first book in the classic epic fantasy Arrows trilogyChosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen's own elite guard.

For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.But as Talia struggles to master her unique abilities, time is running out. For conspiracy is brewing in Valdemar, a deadly treason that could destroy Queen and kingdom. Opposed by unknown enemies capable of both diabolical magic and treacherous assassination, the Queen must turn to Talia and the Heralds for aid in protecting the realm and insuring the future of the Queen's heir, a child already in danger of becoming bespelled by the Queen's own foes. When I was a kid and my father was out of town for work, my mom and I got to have sleepovers in the big bed. We would curl up with our pillows stacked behind our backs and read books and eat ice cream and fall asleep whenever we wanted to.

And, unsurprisingly, the tradition continued on until I left home. One particular time I remember it was a Friday night and I was fourteen and my mom and I went to the base library to see what we could find. I wandered down the aisles and stopped when my eye caught on a pink and purple spine in the fantasy/scifi section. It seemed a bit.girly.for me and when I saw the pretty much opalescent horse on the cover I almost put it back on the shelf. But I liked the title. And the girl on the horse looked pale and sad and interesting with her short hair and her threadbare scarf. So I checked it out and that night curled up with my mom and a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and fell in love.Talia is an orphan.

Raised in a very claustrophobic, incredibly closed off family hold that her uncle runs with an iron fist, she longs for a kinder, more stimulating world in which 'family' refers to people who love you and not people who revile and shame you. When a white horse straight out of her dreams appears one day, Talia climbs into his saddle and never looks back. The horse is clearly no ordinary horse. He can sense emotions and share his own with Talia. He takes her to Haven, the capital city of Valdemar, where her hidden talents are recognized and she is enrolled in the Collegium-a school for heralds-in-training. The heralds are an elite force who are trained to protect the Queen and the realm from threat or harm.

There at the Collegium Talia makes the first friends of her life (and a few enemies as well). When she stumbles across a plot to destroy the Queen, she is forced to harness her wayward abilities and use the connections she's made to convince the Queen and her council that there is a traitor in their midst.This series is a very dear one to me.

My fourteen-year-old self completely empathized with Talia and her insecurities and longings. She has to be one of the most passive heroines of any I've read, which makes her unique as I generally find myself drawn to stronger, more forceful personalities. But Talia matures, both chronologically and emotionally in this series, particularly in book two, Arrow's Flight, when she gets shoved through the refiner's fire as she completes her Heraldic training and emerges prepared to defend her Queen. And yet, she retains that innocence and inherent sweetness which somehow captured my heart more than a decade ago and has not let it go. Each book in this trilogy gets better and better and you only grow fonder of this family of characters Lackey has pieced together. Among Talia's inner circle, there is a not-so-ex-thief, a spoiled princess, a gruff and intimidating armsmaster, a crippled harpist, and Rolan-her horse and Companion. Mercedes Lackey's strength lies in these characters and how she is able to make you want so much for them.

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If you fall in love with the world you're also in luck as Ms. Lackey has written a whole host of books that take place in Valdemar, though this trilogy is by far the best, IMO, and definitely the place to start. Reading order: ARROWS OF THE QUEEN, Arrow's Flight, and Arrow's Fall. Executive Summary: This book is super trope-heavy and not always the best written, but I found it a light, fun, quick read that seemed to suit my current mood. 3.5 stars.Full ReviewI’ve heard of Mercedes Lackey, but none of her books had made it onto my to ever growing to read pile. If not for Sword & Laser I probably never would have read this.This is one of those books that read at a different point, I might have been bored.

I’ve been a bit burnt out on reading lately and this seemed to hit the spot. This is the classic chosen one trope mixed with the magic school trope.

I’m a complete sucker for the Magic school trope.It was obvious at times that this was Ms. Lackey’s first book. The writing was decent, but could use some more polish.The biggest surprise for me were all the social issues casually woven into the story, especially given the time this was published. It seems like only recently that books are dealing with things like gender equality, homosexuality or casual sex without negative connotations are more commonplace. This book covers all of those things, but in subtle ways. It could simply be that my own personal reading selection in the 80s and 90s simply neglected other works covering these kinds of things.This certainly seems to be a book aimed at young women more than boys. Much of my reading was stuff my mom brought home for me.

I doubt the cover with the girl on the magic horse was something I’d have been willing to give a try in my teens. That said, who wouldn’t want a magic horse as your companion? If you don’t, you might be dead inside!If this book was published today, it’d be put in the YA section and might be lost in vast array of fantasy aimed at young girls. In many ways this book feels like it could be a prototype for those books. However, as I don’t read a lot of YA anymore I could be wrong there.The book ends in a pretty good place. The major issues seem to be wrapped up (albeit a bit too quickly and neatly).

I feel like I might be up for reading more, but could be perfectly content to stop here.Overall, I’m glad I read this book. I’m not sure if I’m going to continue on with the series. I’ll probably have to be in the right mood for it. Maybe this time next year. Utterly delightful. One of those 'to be loved by all ages' books. I'd read Magic's Pawn and was expecting some rough and perhaps more 'period' views on things, but all told I thought this was stronger and much less traumatic than that book.CONTENT WARNING: (no actual spoilers, just a list of topics) spoilers removedThings to love:- Talia.

Poor little girl! We watch her go from downtrodden outcast to a strong, beloved young woman.

It was very sweet, watching her grow up.- The instructors. Adults who act like adults! People who notice children are hurting and do what they can to give them skills to cope, who listen and mentor and comfort. They were all good, caring people and we'd all be fortunate to have one person like them in our memories, let alone five or more!

I loooooved that once Talia and her friends had found evidence of bad things, the adults acted on that. It never makes sense to me in books with teens who save the world where the hell the grown ups are. In this case, it was beautifully done, with them doing what makes sense to shelter their charges and reward their efforts.- Talia's friends. There are more than two girls! And they're all nice to each other!

The only people who are at all mean are the bad guys! Everyone else is super chill and supportive. Boys and girls are friends!

Girls and girls are friends! Boys show emotion! In case it's not obvious, I was very pleased with this. It's so rare for me to see in books at all, let alone books aimed more at younger readers, and it's so effing nice to have a great example of what platonic love looks like before kids get put on that track of romantic love. Hell, I am a grown up and I still like having reminders of how friendship should feel. Also, I like how there were different levels of friendship and that those levels changed at points throughout the book. Again, a wonderful reminder that you don't need to be everything to everyone, and a healthy look at accepting that we all mean different things to people we care about.- Handling the issues.

So, this is something I'd gladly give to a tween. Yes there's casual sex, but it's dealt with healthfully, with discussion of the difference between lust and love, the use of protection and all that. There's also coping with loss, recovering from trauma, finding 'your tribe,' the value of boundaries and consequences and so on. I really liked most of it, except for (minor spoiler but still a real one) spoilers removed which was definitely 'of its time.' I also love that gay relationships were prominent and NBD. It was clear that the characters were used to a little prejudice, but that they had a safe spot where they lived.- The world. Be still my girlish heart.

I was definitely a horse girl as a child. A telepathically linked horse that's faster, smarter and braver than all the other horses? One that picks me of all the people in the world??? I want to go to there. And a nice school and pretty people in a tough world. Wild forests!

I'm not sure what to say. When I say 'epic fantasy' this is the place I want to be in my head.Things someone probably doesn't love:- There's no plot. I mean there is, but the plot is very much secondary to seeing her grow up and make friends.

The main character is important to the big moments in the story, but she's neither their cause nor their focus, for the majority of the story. This is a 'cozy' fantasy.- It does get dark. Well, it's cozy except for some dark parts. I'd compare this book to Tamora Pierce, except that her books skate much further away from issues like molestation and forced marriage.

This is the darker version of the Lioness series.I thought this book did exactly what it set out to do, and it was a nice palate cleanser from some heavier books. I'd recommend this to most people who like epic fantasy and likely even give it to my younger friends, as long as their parents thought they were ready for it. I’ve always vaguely known about Mercedes Lackey’s work, but rarely read any, so this was my first experience with Valdemar.

Mercedes Lackey Books List

I’m aware that there are tons of problematic things about Mercedes Lackey’s body of work, though I haven’t looked at details. Still, Arrows of the Queen is a book I wish I’d had when I was younger. It has a couple of queer characters, who are treated pretty much like the other characters — okay, things aren’t all rosy for them, but not for other characters, either.

Foundation By Mercedes Lackey

And the main character is a young girl who loves books, and turns out to belong to something bigger than herself — that scullery maid to (almost) princess sort of transition which can be so fun (and which so often brings forth cries of “Mary Sue” when the character is female, and yet no such complaint is made if the character is male).It’s fun, and Talia is capable and compassionate, while also learning and growing throughout the book. There are some things which jar a little now, for example her casual use of corporal punishment with the spoilt young princess, even after coming from a rather abusive background herself. It’s pretty commonly agreed now that corporal punishment doesn’t really go any good, but here it’s treated as a valuable tool in the arsenal of unspoiling a child.

I’m dubious, and I’m sure there are people who would hate that section, but at least Talia has a general common sense approach to dealing with the Brat.On the less positive side, the writing seriously falls down in places. Large chunks of time fly by, without any real framing, so that you think she’s been at the school for a month and it turns out it’s been a year, and such things.

Worse, Lackey is — at least at this point in her career — very prone to “telling, not showing”. This sometimes wrecks the pacing and makes sections seem rather dry and didactic.Still, I read it in one go and did enjoy it, and I’m planning to read more in the Valdemar universe. And I still wish I’d actually picked this up as a kid, and given it to my sister too. It might have made us feel less alone.Originally posted here.