First printing

2/3 of the book is people processing their emotions, as internal monologue or with one another. Unclear if the emotional processing would be less of a slog if Vanyel was less whiny and obnoxious---I don't think so. It's not Lackey's best book. But it's a classic of gay fantasy. Best read by preteens. ( )

Read this series last year and already can't recall much about it except that it is full of angst with a capital A. The hero is packed off to live with his aunt and falls for another of her male students and all ends unhappily except that he turns out to be the most superly talented magically endowed person ever.

Have read a few of these Herald of Valdemar books, and I like the Companions (intelligent and empathic horses) but I do find the wallowing in emotions a bit wearing. ( )

Oh, man, this book was brutally tough to get through. I found Vanyel incredibly whiny, and he grated on my last nerve from the very beginning. So much whining and moaning and groaning about his fate without actually doing anything about it. He's one of those characters to whom things happen, rather than being proactive about his fate in the world.

I also found the writing incredibly repetitive. The same point was driven home again and again, page after page reminding us of things we already learned. I'm not sure if the author just assumed the reader's an idiot, or if she was trying to pad her word count, but in any case, I found it painful to read.

The only thing I liked was the same-sex relationship and the message of tolerance the author was clearly trying to drive home. So, yeah, this is definitely not a series I'll be continuing with. Which is a shame, because I'd had high hopes. ( )

I like the books Mercedes Lackey writes, she is good at creating a believable world and people to populate it. While her writing is not the strongest I do find it engaging ang and enjoyable. I like a series I can live inside of and her books are ones that have characters I feel invested in and a world I believe could exist. ( )