A surprising improvement on the first in this series. I liked the depth of Mags' politico-social environment, which was the focus of this installment. ( )

The second of the Collegium Chronicles sees Mags beginning to fit in at the Collegium. While still mainly a loner who feels he has nothing in common with most of the other students, he has made some friends with Lena and Bear and Amily. Each of them are different than the other students too.

When Lena's father comes to the Collegium, Mags learns that he is a famous bard who had ignored Lena all her life. He is totally self-centered, but Lena wants his love and approval. He can only see her if there is some way he can use her like when Mags becomes a champion at a new sport being developed and when Mags becomes a hero for saving Bear's life when he's kidnapped.

Meanwhile Bear is facing his own problems. He comes from a family of healers, but he doesn't have the magical gift of healing. However, he is an excellent herbalist consulted by everyone including senior healers at his school. And he is good at surgery and other healing too. But his family wants him to come home, get married, and sire children who might have the healing gift. He's under constant pressure because of their demands.

Then Mags comes in for his share of pressure when those who can see the future predict that someone foreign born will assassinate the king. Mags has just learned that his parents were captives of bandits and were from some unknown country. That makes Mags immediately an object of suspicion. And since part of his heraldic gifts includes a touch of empathy, Mags is totally aware of the suspicions which feed into his own insecurity about his right to be a Herald.

This was an emotional story with Mags and his friends all dealing with deep personal issues. But there is also the problem of the foreign envoys who disappeared from the palace and have some sort of hidden agenda. They seem to have some mind gifts to go along with their agenda and only Mags is able to tune into them.

This was a fun story with great worldbuilding. I'm enjoying watching Mags build confidence and become a Herald of Valdemar. ( )

I've been disappointed for a while with Lackey's books. It seems like, when she decided to team up with her husband, the general quality level of her Valdemar books dropped significantly, and they began to read like YA titles. Very YA titles. And so I drifted away. I'd read the new ones, be a bit ho-hum about them, and wander off to something else.

I really feel like the first two books of the Foundation trilogy are a return to the writing style of the Arrows and Last Herald-Mage titles. They're not quite as grand -- the first books of a series tend to be the best, in my experience, and Lackey has done some significant exploration of the history and world of Velgarth. That she's able to return to some of the simplicity and grandiosity of the first few books really was a very pleasant surprise.

I just want to say, on the off chance that she checks the reviews for these books, that Lackey was really my introduction to epic fantasy as a genre, and it's really been something I've enjoyed for my whole life as a consequence. I was 13 when I started with the Last Herald-Mage, and it's been fifteen years of absolutely amazing adventures, and through her, I've had my eyes gently opened to some of the more pressing issues of our times. I would not feel guilty giving these books to a young adult in the early teenage years, depending on maturity levels, but also feel as though they're written for an adult.

Either way, definitely worth a read. Writing style and story are on the same level as Brightly Burning, though Mags is not as legendary or as outstanding as Lavan Firestorm -- which is not necessarily a bad thing. I hope I don't have to wait two more years to find out where Mags ends up. :) ( )

This trilogy is set two generations after Vanyel’s life as the Collegium is being built to deal with the influx of new Heralds and the expansion of Valdemar’s size. Mags is a former slave, rescued from a terrible life in jewel mining, and has to learn to navigate his new status. It’s a lot about him getting cuddles and dealing with making friends; did not feel very high stakes. ( )

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. ( )