#griselda gimpel's valdemar guide

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Chapters: 13/13 Fandom: Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Additional Tags: Meta, series guide Summary:

A guide to the Valdemar series for new readers.

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Valdemar Series: The Last-Herald Mage Trilogy

The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy - Magic’s Pawn, Magic’s Promise, and Magic’s Price - is where I started the series. (Well, specifically, I started with the accompanying soundtrack. Oh, yeah, by the way, a number of the books in the series have soundtracks that go with them. But that’s a different topic.) Anyway, this is also where the television series is going to start. It’s not a bad place to start, and the only reason I would say not to start here is that if you read Arrows of the Queen first, it properly contextualize The Last-Herald Mage trilogy as this epic tragedy about a great hero of the past. But that’s up to you. Like I said, I started here.

Magic’s Pawn is set during the reign of Queen Elspeth the Peacemaker, and the remaining books in the trilogy are set during the reign of King Randale.

Vanyel - the hero of this trilogy - is one of the first (the first?) openly gay heroes in high fantasy. (Magic’s Pawn came out in the late 80′s.) And as you’d might imagine, that’s a pretty big burden to bear. It holds up fairly well, though. If I’m not conveying things properly, I listened to the soundtrack, which lead to me reading this trilogy, which lead to me reading the entire rest of the series.

Anyway, in terms of things I’d most want to forewarn a reader about, a gay character commits suicide halfway through Magic’s Pawn. There are also three other attempted-but-unsuccessful gay suicides in the book, and there’s a pretty graphic rape scene in Magic’s Price. Just, go into it expecting a tragedy not a light hearted comedy.

(Also, if you’ve heard Valdemar described as a homophobia-free setting, this is not entirely true, and is not true for this trilogy. There are some settings within the series that are this, but not all of them are.)

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Valdemar Series: By the Sword

I’ve been taking things chronologically so far, but By the Sword makes that difficult, as the book runs parallel to several other books in the series. It is the story of Kerowyn, the granddaughter of Kethry and Tarma, and her adventures. The beginning takes place around the same time as Exile’s Valor, and the end takes place after Arrow’s Fall.

I really liked this one, in a large part because it has more complexity than I’ve often seen in Female Character Challenges Sexist Society stories. Like, the obstacles with Kerowyn and Eldin’s relationship aren’t about sexism but them being different types of people. Whereas Kerowyn prizes freedom, Eldin lives for duty. She fight for money; he fights for queen and country. It’s not a right/wrong conflict! (This is less there being an issue with the other Female Character Challenges Sexist Society stories and more me just appreciating variety.)

In terms of stuff to be forewarned about, there’s a minor gay character who dies. It happens off page, but unlike Magic’s Pawn, it doesn’t actually contribute anything to the story, which made it rather irritating.

Anyway, I probably wouldn’t *start* with this one, but I definitely recommend it. I’d say read it after Arrow’s Fall.

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Valdemar Series: Darian’s Tale Trilogy

Darian’s Tale follows Storm Breaking and consists of Owlflight, Owlsight, and Owlknight. Owlflight is fine, but Owlsight and Owlknight were the other two books in the series that I really didn’t care for. (Owlflight has Darian being accepted into the Fantasy Native American Clan. Owlsight has the obligatory objection by an existing Clan member, who is, of course, Wrong.)

To keep things brief, I don’t think the Northern Clans (who are also Fantasy Native Americans) get as fleshed out as well as the Tayledras, Shin’a’in, and Kaled’a’in do and so are more reliant on stereotypes. I also spent much of Owlsight going “Darian, no!” Owlknight isn’t as bad, but it has lots of character shilling how great Darian is, which never actually works.

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Valdemar Series: The Mage Storms Trilogy

The Mage Storms trilogy follows Winds of Fury and is Storm Warning, Storm Rising, and Storm Breaking. When the television series gets to this one, I hope that they get Riz Ahmed and Omid Abtahi to coach whoever they cast as Karal in the Art of Looking Vulnerable. I highly recommend this one if you have a fondness for woobies.

In terms of content being forewarned about, this one features a break-up, so be advised if you go to read it right after having a break-up yourself. There’s also a conqueror who gets accepted as king of the area he was conquering. The story invests a lot of time in constructing circumstances in which this is plausible, but it’s kinda fundamentally an imperialist fantasy, so fair warning there.

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Valdemar Series: Vows & Honor

Alright, last one for this morning: the Vows & Honor series. This one isn’t actually a trilogy, and that’s important. If you get the omnibus for this one, as I did, don’t start with the first book. Go to the third “book” in the trilogy Oathblood, which is actually a collection of short stories, some of which were then reworked to be The Oathbound. Read the first short story Swordsworn. Then go back to the beginning and read The Oathbound. (By the way, you can make Swordsworn your entry point into the series.)

These stories are set during the reigns of co-consorts Arden and Lessa and then during the reign of King Roald. Although, they’re mostly not set in Valdemar.

Anyway, the Vows & Honor trilogy is about a could of mercs trying to make good, but a bard who is following them around keeps on making them out to be noble heroes. The Oathbound is one of only three books in the series I outright didn’t like, but Oathbreakers was really good.

In terms of stuff I’d most want to forewarn a reader about, The Oathbound is a transphobic mess. There’s also a lot of rape in the trilogy, especially in The Oathbound. Next, there’s a thing where Lackey explicitly did not want to have Kethry & Tarma be a lesbian couple but then promptly subjected them to every ‘shipping fan fic trope under the sun. (Fake dating! One one bed at the inn! Co-parenting children!) I wouldn’t call it queer-bating so much as Lackey’s right hand not knowing what her left hand was doing. Finally, The Oathbound has White Character Joins Fantasy Native American Clan. (Technically, The Mage Wars trilogy and The Last Herald-Mage trilogy have this, as well, but there it happens off-page and so doesn't have the requisite scene where an existing member of the Clan objects to the joining and is then Proved Wrong.)

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Valdemar Series: The Mage Wars Trilogy

So you’ve heard there’s going to be a Valdemar television series, and you’re thinking of checking out the books. But then you look and see that, um, there’s a lot of them. Welcome then to the first in a series of tumblr posts I’m going to do, where I talk about different parts of the series, although I will be avoiding major spoilers. Where to start, things to be forewarned about, etc. 

Like everything, the Valdemar Series has its shortcomings as well as its virtues. There's also potentially triggering content. Plus, sometimes you're in the mood for a tragedy and sometimes you're not, you knowing? I’m going to try to hit the “big” stuff, but I can’t promise this is going to be comprehensive. It’s going to be subject to flawed memory, personal preference, my own blind spots, etc. Think of it as an informal guide, with the goal of hopefully allowing readers to make an informed decision and to prevent them from being caught off guard by something.

Alright, so first up is The Mage Wars trilogy. This is The Black Gryphon, The White Gryphon, and The Silver Gryphon. Chronologically, these are the [thus far] earliest books in the series, dealing with the Mage Wars, which was the multi-pronged conflict that basically broke the continent and shapes a lot of the world building.

The Black Gryphon is a war story, The White Gryphon is court intrigue, and The Silver Gryphon is a survival in wilderness story.

Overall, I really liked these. Amberdrake is great, as is Silverblade. As you’d might expect, lots of gryphons in this trilogy, if you’re a gryphon fanatic.

In terms of stuff I’d forewarn a reader about, The White Gryphon has a king of the Haighlei Empire (Fantasy Unified Never Colonized Africa) falling for not one, but two white women. Which is literally two-thirds of the white women that appear in the book.

There’s also a character with a mental disability who’s treated as an eternal child. The character features most prominently in The Black Gryphon.

If you don’t want to start with The Mage Wars, you don’t have to, as there are multiple good starting points in the series. However, some stuff established in The Mage Wars trilogy comes back later, so if you want to read it, I’d recommend reading it before The Mage Winds trilogy.

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Valdemar Series: Reasons to Read It

To conclude my Valdemar Guide, I wanted to do a post about some of the reasons I love the series.

1. Diverse cast. When I was younger, I read a LOT of high fantasy that was very white and very male and very straight and so on. Valdemar has a diverse cast, and they get to be main characters! They get to do things!

2. Anti-heroes are rather popular right now, and that’s fine, but if you want something other than “What if the hero was an asshole?” the Valdemar series has heroes who are pure-hearted even if the setting isn’t.

3. None of the villains have the goal of wanting to destroy the light. None of the villains profess their allegiance to some abstract since of Evil. The villains are motivated by things like greed and lust for power.

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Valdemar Series: The Mage Winds Trilogy

The Mage Winds trilogy consists of Winds of Fate, Winds of Change, and Winds of Fury. The most important thing to know about the trilogy is that Winds of Change introduces Firesong, who is The Best. I’d recommend reading The Mage Winds trilogy after By the Sword, which does not have Firesong but is quite good. And also, as I said previously, after reading The Mage Wars trilogy.

In terms of stuff to be forewarned about, not too much comes to mind. You’ve got White Characters Join Fantasy Native American Clan, but it’s treated as more of a formality, and if my memory does not fail me, there’s no scene where an existing Clan member objects but is then Proved Wrong. Maybe an incest trigger warning for this trilogy? For a lot of the would be triggering content in The Mage Winds trilogy, there’s a lot of fading-to-black and left-up-to-implication.

There is one thing, though. Near the end of Winds of Change, something gets stolen from the Fantasy Native Americans by a white character we're supposed to sympathize with. It's the sort of thing that ought to have been fixed in a second draft, but as it is, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

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Valdemar Series: The Arrows Trilogy

The Arrows Trilogy, omnibused under the name The Heralds of Valdemar, consists of Arrows of the Queen, Arrow’s Flight, and Arrow’s Fall. Set during the reign of Queen Selenay, this is the story of the new Queen’s Own, Talia. This is an excellent place to start the series as Arrows of the Queen was the first novel published in the series. (Although I believe that Swordsworn was the first bit of published Valdemar content overall.)

In terms of stuff to be forewarned about, Arrows of the Queen features the death of a gay character, and Arrow’s Fall has a lot of rape and torture near the end of it.

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Valdemar Series: Exile of Valdemar

Exiles of Valedmar is another not-trilogy. The first two books - Exile’s Honor and Exile’s Valor - are about Alberich, while the third book - Take a Thief - is about Skif. But they get packaged together as an omnibus.

I think this is a good point to talk about a thing with the world building of the series, although this isn’t really something that’s confined to any one specific book. Here goes. You’ve got Valdemar, which draws inspiration from Western/Northern Europe. Then you’ve got Karse, which seems like a mashup of Germany (particularly the names) and the Middle East. But since part of the world build is also that Valdemar doesn’t start wars (something it doesn’t remotely share with its real life inspirations) you end up with a situation where the Middle East-coded country is Always in the Wrong in the fantasy geopolitical conflicts (or at least until Ancar happens). So fair warning there.

Anyway, Exile’s Honor is story of how a Karsite army captain has to become a Herald of Valdemar, entirely because his horse says so, and all the humans are just going to have to Deal With That. Seriously, Exile’s Honor is one of my absolutely favorites in the series. I also quite enjoyed Exile’s Valor and Take A Thief.

You could start with the Exiles of Valdemar trilogy. They’re set during the reign of King Sendar and Queen Selenay. As you’ll see in later posts, the reign of Queen Selenay is sort of the “present” for the series, and this series covers the beginning of her reign. However, the novel definitely turns on the subversion of Karse’s role as the Bad Guy Country in the series, so reading some of the other books in the series first can give it the proper context.

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Valdemar Series: Brightly Burning

Continuing on in chronological order to the reign of King Theran, we have Brightly Burning. This is the tale of Valdemar’s most legendary firestarter - Herald Lavan Firestorm. You can read this one first, as it’s the only story thus far set during King Theran’s reign, but I’d recommend reading both Arrows of the Queen and Magic’s Pawn first, just to have the proper context for it. See, this one’s another tragedy. It’s really good, though, just go into it knowing that things are not going to end well.

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Valdemar Series: Mags & Family

There are 11 books centered around Mags & his family. I’m putting them all together in one post. These 11 are very self-contained onto themselves. They center around Mags (a slave-turned-Herald-spy), his eventual wife Herald Amily, and their kids. They are during the reigns of King Kyril and then King Sedric.

The Collegium Chronicles (Mags as a kid)

Foundation (2008)

Intrigues (2010)

Changes (2011)

Redoubt (2012)

Bastion (October 2013)

Herald Spy Trilogy (Mags & Amily as adults)

Closer to Home (October 2014)

Closer to the Heart (October 2015)

Closer to the Chest (October 2016)

Family Spy Trilogy (Kidfic)

The Hills Have Spies (June 2018)

Eye Spy (July 2019)

Spy, Spy Again (June 2020)

Anyway, these are all fine. I generally enjoyed all of them, but I didn’t love any of them. I’m not recalling anything exceptional that I’d forewarn a reader about?

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Valdemar Series: New Trilogy and Anthologies

There’s a new trilogy that just started that details the founding of Valdemar. Only the first book - Beyond - is out at the moment. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, so I can’t speak about it.

By the same token, I haven’t read most of the anthologies yet, so I won’t be talking about them, either.