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Okay, so despite the cliches and ocassional preachiness of Mercedes Lackey's Heralds of Valdemar series, I love it. I have the entire series save the Griffons trilogy, which I'm not too interested in, and the Oathbound duology, which I desperately want but can't find. cry My favourite book by far is Kerowyn's tale, By the Sword, and I LOVE Need, especially when

I like the Arrows trilogy about Herald Talia too, although I really think Mercedes Lackey went the "gratuitous torture" route instead of putting work into characterisation. It's pretty obvious from the way she reacts when she leaves home with Rolan--with her upbringing, she shouldn't have handled it so well. I don't like the idea of lifebonds, either; it seems like a cheap way to avoid character development. It takes a lot of development before you realise that two characters are in love. It's not something you can just say, "Okay, they go together" without hurting the story. neutral

The Valdemar novels I read most would be The Last Herald-Mage trilogy, even though I dislike a lot of aspects about it. Vanyel at least has an excuse for being a whiny b***h--he's fifteen. Most fifteen-year-olds whine. I sure as hell did. I still do sometimes. ^^; And past that, well, he's ostracised by his family and worried people judge him on his sexuality. That's not an easy thing to deal with, as I'm sure any other LGBTs in here can attest to.I think I like it so much because I can relate to Vanyel a bit, even if he does tend to whine. heart

So guys, you ever read about the Heralds of Valdemar? Who's your favourite character? What's your favourite story? What do you think of Mercedes Lackey's writing style with the Heralds of Valdemar? What else do you hope to see from Valdemar? Do you hope Mercedes Lackey will go past the the Owls trilogy, or do you hope she'll delve into the past and cover the centures before King Sendar? Do you hope to read more about the Shin'a'in or the Tayledras or countries outside Valdemar?

NOTE: I put the Vows and Honor trilogy with By the Sword in the poll because there's not enough options and Kerowyn's related to Kethry, so I guess it works. xp

I've thought about getting some of the CDs. Are they any good? Which ones would you recommend?

I'm pretty fond of Brightly Burning, and can even sympathise with Lavan a little, being a former bully-target, though I like Herald Pol better as a character. I tend to enjoy the minor characters more in the stand-alone novels; it seems like Lackey puts more into their development, which struck me as odd at first.

The Last Herald-Mage I know I ranted on already, but its real weak point is the preachiness--namely, the speech about gay animals. I mean, honestly. That doesn't work with hardheaded parents. Trust me, I tried it. ^^;