Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books
Copyright: 2008
9780756405243
The amazon.com product description:
In this chronicle of the early history of Valdemar, a thirteen-yearold orphan named Magpie escapes a life of slavery in the gem mines when he is chosen by one of the magical companion horses of Valdemar to be trained as a herald. Thrust into the center of a legend in the making, Magpie discovers talents he never knew he had-and witnesses the founding of the great Heralds' Collegium.Discovering that the sequel to this book is finally available for pre-order for next October inspired me to re-read Foundation yesterday. My original review is here: The Collegium Chronicles: Foundation.
Most of my opinions haven't changed between the last time I read the book and now. It still seems rather suited to the same teen audience as the Arrows series (Arrows of the Queen, Arrow's Flight, Arrow's Fall), but that suited me just fine this time around.
I said last time as well that Mags fits the 'formula' for Mercedes Lackey's characters. I still feel that way, but she's taken some aspects to more of an extreme this time. Namely the rough background aspect. Mags, before being Chosen lived a life rather like that of Vetch at the beginning of Joust.
On the other hand, I found myself paying more attention to the actual starting of the Collegium this time around. It's interesting, because the Collegium is just something that we take for granted as being a part of Heraldic, Bardic, and Healer's training. Just because the Last Herald Mage trilogy is the only one where there is no Collegium. Seeing all the doubts and 'what-if's' when we know it's going to work is interesting.
I'd forgotten just how many loose ends Foundation left hanging for the sequel. Frankly, I'm not sure there's even one resolved by the end of the book, and the story built to it's climax very quickly. Still, I definitely enjoyed the read, and I'm waiting for Intrigue, the next book.
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