Magic's Pawn (Last Herald Mage Series #1)

What a Unique Book!

I have a love/hate relationship with this book! It was by far the most emotionally draining book I have read in a while, but, at the same time, to drain my emotions means I was heavily invested in this book and its characters. The writing style of this novel engaged and excited me right from the start and kept me reading continually until the end!
Be aware of some controversial issues this book addresses, but know that if you are open-minded, this book will really entertain you! It is truly one of a kind!
Another book to try is Lackey's "Joust" of the "Dragon Jouster's" series. It is my favorite Lackey book (so far) and is one of the best dragon books I have ever read.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

There is nothing wrong with someone who is different.

Magic's Pawn, tells a wonderful story about love, friendship, revenge, pain and more. It proves that love is a valuable thing that should not be taken for granted. That revenge is not the answer and friendship can cure many hurts. Also, that without pain, some things may never have come about. And that just because something horrible happens, you should not give up, because what if you are the last hope to others. An exciting novel, that transports the reader to this wonderful land of Valdemar and let's them see into the minds of people who are different. This book keeps you turning pages all the way through and encourages you to read it more than once.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Loved this book and series ever since i was 16

And just rebought it for my nook

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of my most favored books in my forty years.

One of my favorite books within my forty years of being alive. This book was a refuge, in-spite of the great difficulty the character goes through.

The main character goes through a discovery of his sexuality (which does not become the center of the story). Then goes on to suffer loss but with a gift that again makes him unique and powerful. For the right person, this story will, grab you, make you love the characters, then put those characters through hell and take you along for the ride. It is a story of being unique, different, unaccepted, finding safety, empowerment, and then even greater difficulty. It can be depressing, but it is also beautiful. Sometimes the best images are framed by the difficulty that created them. It reads easily, innocently, without sophistication, and yet manages to grab me still, some twenty years after my initial read. If the cathartic journey could be conveyed on screen it would be one hell of a movie.

The last two novels in this series do not live up to the first book, but are still enjoyable to catch up on the character of Vanyel.

Note; If you have difficulty with male homosexuality, skip it, it is your loss.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is my favorite fantasy series ever

Rarely dose a fantasy book (or series) include gay characters in it, and Lackey dose it really well. Her entire world that this is based in has a very tolerant view on homosexuals, which is refreshing. The best thing about it is the fact that the main character is gay is secondary to the other trials he goes through. It is considered just part of who he is and what he dose with his life and accomplishes is more important to both the story and how he is treated by the other characters. A book I go back to time and time again when I want an enjoyable read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Mercedes Lackey doing exactly what she does best.

This book truly shows us what Mercedes Lackey can do that no one, that I have read, has been able to duplicate and that is showing real, true human emotion. While this book is grim in most parts(depression suicide, abuse ect.) it does not skimp on how a real person really would feel about those things if they had them do onto them. Normal people don't bounce back the next week about losing the one that they are in love with, and this is what the author believes and she shows it quite amazingly! While it can be a hard book to read at a couple of parts, it truly is genuine and will even have you look within yourself for similar feelings. Empathy is what this book demands! (but not in a bad way, don't worry ) I recomend this to any fantasy lover who is looking for a book to 'feel'.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Read!

I couldn't put this book down. This series is the best Mercedes has written. She had very imaginative characters and though most of her books can be rather dull at times, this one was inticing form the first chapter. Defiantly Recommended

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My favorite series from one of my favoritr authors

I have loved this book since I was in high school. A compelling story filled with well-crafted characters, you can't help rooting for Vanyel and hoping he finally gets the happiness he deserves. I highly recommend this book!!

Loved it

Excellent. Great charactet, great story. LOVED it!

Wonderful

Beautiful story. I really enjoyed the read. I found that I could connect with Vanyel and some of the things he went through. I bought the other two books before I even finished the first one.

Loved it

This is Lackey at her be5t. Vanyel is, by far, her greatest character, and one of the best fantasy characters in an age. It is must reading for any fans of Valdemar, of course, but also any fantasy fans -- nay, this is required reading for any serious fantasy fan. If you like the works of Brandon Sanderson 0r Terry Goodkind, you will love this book.

The on(y problem with the Nook book is that it is OCRed, and not edited at all. In fact, the word "only" is spelled with a parenthesis early in the book. It would have been nice if it was read through once by a human with an eye for catching those errors. Crowdsource it. I'd volunteer.

I have read this book about five times, and it has made me a loyal fan to her writing. If you want a great, if heartbreaking story, you will love this.

One of the Best I've Ever Read!!!

Magic's Pawn is absolutely brilliant! It took me about 100 to 150 pages to finally get into it, (when Vanyel finally meets his aunt Savil and her Herald trainee Tylendel, (too dangerously close to the OTC Tylenol)), but once I did I couldn't let go. Mercedes Lackey had me smiling as I read, falling in love, crying my eyes out, and joyously cheering Vanyel on. It's one of the best emotional roller coasters I've read. I've only read her work The Obsidian Trilogy, which I loved and there are just as many big differences between the two as there are similarities. When she talks about Vanyel's home, family, and upbringing, it reminded me of Kellen Tavadon. Primarily when it comes to magic and its practitioners, you can always tell when it's Mercedes Lackey's great handiwork. Her magic can be just as destructive as it is romantic. Also, like Kellen had his magical friend the unicorn Shalkan, the Herald-Mages of Valdemar have horses that choose them as Companions. I was really looking forward to reading a great and adventurous fantasy adventure with a gay character, (the bonus would be if it had romance too.) There are so very few of them which are one of the things that makes this trilogy a jewel. Magic's Pawn definitely delivers. The main character Vanyel is so vain in his obvious good looks, but like just about every son he tries so hard to please his father. In the end all his efforts gets him nothing but beat down. It's no wonder he decides that whatever he does, he'll never be good enough, so why even try. Vanyel will go through so many trials of being shay'a'chern. He'll try to hide his non-masculine behavior, he'll find and loose his ashke, (beloved), he'll know pain, lose, and despair as only I believe a shay'a'chern can know them. It will be him literally dying that will force him to choose to give in to its darkness or to become so much more and stronger and chose to continue to live on. (There are other coming-of-age issues addressed in this fantastic novel, which are obvious to members of the openly gay community. Because face it, not everyone was supported when they were a closeted gay teen. Mercedes's book is entertaining, easy to relate to, and an overall great read. I would highly recommend that parents read this book along with their maturing adolescent readers, even if their son or daughter isn't gay there are similarities that heterosexual adolescents can relate to. Along with responsible parenting, there is so much tragedy in the world today that can be prevented with this great book.) This is a trilogy that I'm looking forward to revisiting again and again. It's a true gem and a must have for any fantasy reader's permanent library.

One of the Best I've Ever Read!!!

Magic's Pawn is absolutely brilliant! It took me about 100 to 150 pages to finally get into it, (when Vanyel finally meets his aunt Savil and her Herald trainee Tylendel, (too dangerously close to the OTC Tylenol)), but once I did I couldn't let go. Mercedes Lackey had me smiling as I read, falling in love, crying my eyes out, and joyously cheering Vanyel on. It's one of the best emotional roller coasters I've read. I've only read her work The Obsidian Trilogy, which I loved and there are just as many big differences between the two as there are similarities. When she talks about Vanyel's home, family, and upbringing, it reminded me of Kellen Tavadon. Primarily when it comes to magic and its practitioners, you can always tell when it's Mercedes Lackey's great handiwork. Her magic can be just as destructive as it is romantic. Also, like Kellen had his magical friend the unicorn Shalkan, the Herald-Mages of Valdemar have horses that choose them as Companions. I was really looking forward to reading a great and adventurous fantasy adventure with a gay character, (the bonus would be if it had romance too.) There are so very few of them which are one of the things that makes this trilogy a jewel. Magic's Pawn definitely delivers. The main character Vanyel is so vain in his obvious good looks, but like just about every son he tries so hard to please his father. In the end all his efforts gets him nothing but beat down. It's no wonder he decides that whatever he does, he'll never be good enough, so why even try. Vanyel will go through so many trials of being shay'a'chern. He'll try to hide his non-masculine behavior, he'll find and loose his ashke, (beloved), he'll know pain, lose, and despair as only I believe a shay'a'chern can know them. It will be him literally dying that will force him to choose to give in to its darkness or to become so much more and stronger and chose to continue to live on. (There are other coming-of-age issues addressed in this fantastic novel, which are obvious to members of the openly gay community. Because face it, not everyone was supported when they were a closeted gay teen. Mercedes's book is entertaining, easy to relate to, and an overall great read. I would highly recommend that parents read this book along with their maturing adolescent readers, even if their son or daughter isn't gay there are similarities that heterosexual adolescents can relate to. Along with responsible parenting, there is so much tragedy in the world today that can be prevented with this great book.) This is a trilogy that I'm looking forward to revisiting again and again. It's a true gem and a must have for any fantasy reader's permanent library.

Awesome

one of the best series she's ever written. read more than once

A good friend revisited

This isn't the best book ever written, but somehow Mercedes Lackey manages to convey all the correct emotions. Her books are more of a gulty pleasure read for me, but I still love them. I read all the Valdemar books years ago and am revisiting them all now. They are as good now as I remember them from my high school days. Magic's Pawn is the first in The Last Herald Mage trilogy. It follows Vanyel's life as he leaves home, falls in love, loses his greatest love, and acquires an extremely powerful mage gift. All at the age of 16. This is one of my favourite Valdemar books.

Arguably Lackey's Best Book

This is my favorite of Lackey's books, her most moving and heartfelt. It famously has a gay protagonist, rare even in speculative fiction, even in those days (Swordspoint recommended below is one of the few others I can recall in fantasy. Gay characters aren't unusual, especially now, but gay protagonists still are). Those themes are important in this book and trilogy, and I think it explores it in ways that are thought-provoking and stayed with me as a young woman. However, although I do think this is part of what gives the Last Herald Mage novels emotional punch, it doesn't pound the narrative to pieces; it doesn't feel preachy. It's just a good adventure, fantasy story, set in a pseudo-medieval world of "heralds" who are a police/military force chosen by seeming horses, magical creatures that can see into someone's character and are full partners--it's simply a good read.

not a great book

this is not a very typical Mercedes Lackey book. all those planning to read this book need to know that the main character is gay, as are several other characters. some descriptions are disgusting if you are offended by homosexuality. the book is filled with the recurring themes of depression, death, suicide, and heart break. it was difficult to keep reading, and is definitely the worst Mercedes Lackey book I have read.

0 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

Still brings me to tears (a good thing!)

It's hard to believe it's been over 12 years since I read this book the first time...I've read the trilogy probably a dozen times, but my last reading must have taken place some time back in 2000 or 2001. I'm still moved to tears when I reflect on the story of Vanyel--his life and experiences literally saved me from the depths of despair. This trilogy is by far my favorite reading of all time! I'd encourage any one interested to buy it--you most certainly will not be disappointed.

The best book EVER!!!!

This and the other two books in the trilogy is the best book I have ever read in my life!!!!! I have read it so much and my copy is well loved! It is my favorite book in the world! I could read it over and over with the next two and I would never be bored. I completely fell in love with Vanyel and his story. He is such a strong person and I am fascinated by the books! Please read this book-you will be hooked on it for sure. :)

Decidedly, a good read

I admit, that I have read this particular series until the pages were bent, and the binding broken. Mercedes Lackey brings to life the most interesting cast of characters, into a thrilling fantasy epic. Vanyel, the main character, is young, beautiful, and inspiring. He's the kind of character you love and hate for his personality. I adore that it's a fantasy, and a love story based on the devotion of two men. When you finish the first installment, you'll want to read the other two, as well as the trilogy many times over. Though at times slightly cliche, and a little taxing...the book will capture your confidence, and interest...to keep you wanting more.