#valdemar books

[saphira-approves]

Alright buckle up y’all, I’ve got a book series recommendation and propaganda under the cut for any fans of the Inheritance Cycle.

If you read our beloved farmboy-turned-dragon-rider books and had a particular fondness for: the idea of an order of individuals chosen to be both partner and rider to powerful and beautiful magical creatures; Snowfire; an immortal evil that resurfaces in disguised and unexpected forms (specifically referencing the Draumar cult which we now know had influence in Galbatorix’s rise to power); and/or the juicy juicy drama of complicated parent-child relationships, then oh boy do I have a recommendation for you.

Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series, comprising of many, MANY individuals novels, trilogies, and short story anthologies. I don’t currently have a count for the exact total of published books, as I’ve been getting most of these from my local secondhand bookstore, but she’s been publishing these books since 1987 and is still writing them today in 2024.

Since this is such a huge collection, it can be hard to know where to start, so first of all I’d like to assure you that you can start pretty much anywhere, with any of the individual novels or series, so long as you make sure to find the first installment of that series. Personally I started with The Black Gryphon, which seems to be one of the chronologically earliest books; Arrows of the Queen of the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy would also be a good place to start, being the first published Valdemar book, though I haven’t actually read it yet—I only just got my copy today, actually!

At any rate, wherever you start, there’s a lot to look forward to. Lackey has a knack for writing characters with depth and complexity, giving them flaws that are so well balanced by endearments that even at their worst, you can still understand and empathize with them; she absolutely refuses to write idiot-plots, allowing her characters not only to remain consistent with their established characterizations, but also to communicate with each other and allow their relationships to evolve as the characters do. Characters are allowed to make mistakes, be vain and stubborn and prideful, get angry, get jealous, get scared, and yet afterward still be received with love and forgiveness when they apologize. The magic is beautifully described and, at least for me, easy to understand; the schemes are clever, diabolical, and exciting to watch unfold. There is true, pure evil in the villains, and satisfaction in their endings.

There’s also a decent amount of diversity, which may or may not be surprising, depending on what you’ve read of 80s/90s SFF. Of the handful of books I’ve read so far, here are my observations: Lackey writes fantastic and complex women full of depth, emotion, and ingenuity, each as different from each other as their backgrounds would demand. There are several canonically queer characters across the timeline, including a main protagonist. Lackey’s worldbuilding establishes several unique and disparate cultures, drawing clear influence from many non-European real life sources, with featured characters of those cultures given, in my opinion, respectful and appreciative spotlights. There are characters with disabilities, respected both by the narrative and the characters around them. There are also non-human cultures, characters, and protagonists!

As fantastic as I have been finding these books, it would be remiss of me not to add that these books will not be for everyone. They are firmly adult fantasy, and Lackey does not pull her punches when she wants her characters to suffer. There is torture, sexual assault, suicide. Not all of this is graphically described, but some certainly is; most of the graphic stuff I have so far read is of about the same intensity as the torture scenes of Inheritance, but some of the abstractions are much more intense, and I get the sense that some of what I haven’t yet read may be both graphic and visceral. That being said, if you could handle Game of Thrones’ graphic violence and assault but disliked the persistent pessimism of that series, this one might be right up your alley!

Anyway. That’s all from me for now. I’m off to go read about characters bonding with magical creatures somewhat beyond mortal ken and going on fantastic and harrowing magical adventures. :)

[boneskullravenriver]

Book haul?? My first since i can never do this with Barnes and noble lol. Too expensive. But!! Apparently you can buy used books online for cheap. I paid almost $50 for this.

I'm happy. I've been wanting TID for a while because I only ever borrowed it from the library. Herongraystairs my beloved

They came in pretty good shape too. Just a couple of creases here and there but nothing major

[halibellecter]

Valdemar rp? anyone? anybody? pspsps?

[weirdlookindog]

“Dead! dead!´ absolutely bursting from the tongue and not from the lips of the sufferer”

Frederick Simpson Coburn (1871–1960) - The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

illustration from ‘Tales of Edgar Allan Poe’ 1902

source

[idiomagic]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give you a brief update, and a basic accounting of where all the money has gone.

SpyBoy is at the vet for his 24 hour monitoring. Hopefully this will be the last one, since it's $634 each time.

Jonathan is still waiting to hear from the recruiter about the job. It's not a great job...it's $20,000 per year less than he was making. But if it's offered, he'll take it while looking for something better. He has another interview tomorrow, for a different job.

We're on month four of no income, and we're hurting. All of you wonderful people have helped us get this far, and we would be lost without you.

We have currently received $9945. $6400 of that has gone to vet bills, plus the $634 we'll have to pay tomorrow for this monitoring session. $3000 has gone to mortgage payments...these have been partial payments, since the mortgage company is working with us through all of this. The other $500 has gone to making partial payments on bills, to keep the lights on and the internet going.

We're behind on everything. Our credit cards are maxed out, and we have those payments looming.

I am going to be listing another 40 or so books on my ebay over the next couple of days. First edition hardcovers of Anne Rice's vampire novels, Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar novels, and Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake novels, as well as two of the Hunger Games books. https://www.ebay.com/usr/featherinyourcapnola

I'm still taking commissions, if anyone wants something sparkly. I can make anything you like look like Faberge! I can do masks or skulls with what I have on hand. If you have an item you'd like blinged out, you can send it to me. Message me here, or at idiomagic at gmail.

February is a short month, and in only two weeks we'll have another mortgage payment due. I don't know what we're going to do. I'm so very afraid we will end up losing the house. The stress has been taking a serious toll on my health. I find myself less and less able to function, losing more mobility, and can't sleep.

Our gofundme is here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-spy-boy-urgent-medical-funds-needed SpyBoy has a wishlist. We have food stamps now, but they don't cover the things he and his sister Scout need.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/BK56PZUL2A76?ref_=wl_share We are so grateful for everything you've done for us. My beloved SpyBoy is still here and alive because of you. Please keep sharing our links, and please help if you can. You've already done so much for us, but we don't have anywhere else to turn.

[nightmaskart]

Herald Mags

[book--brackets]

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas (2008-2014)

In a city that runs on a dwindling supply of magic, a young boy is drawn into a life of wizardry and adventure. Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery's pocket and touched the wizard's locus magicalicus, a stone used to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Nevery finds that interesting, and he takes Conn as his apprentice on the provision that the boy find a locus stone of his own. But Conn has little time to search for his stone between wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who--or what--is stealing the city of Wellmet's magic.

100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson (2007-2010)

Twelve-year-old Henry York is going to sleep one night when he hears a bump on the attic wall above his head. It's an unfamiliar house—Henry is staying with his aunt, uncle, and three cousins—so he tries to ignore it. But the next night he wakes up with bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall, and one of them is slowly turning...

 Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers doors—ninety-nine cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room—with a man strolling back and forth! Henry and his cousin Henrietta soon understand that these are not just cupboards. They are, in fact, portals to other worlds.

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (2008)

A girl is transformed, through instruction in life at court, determination, and magic, from sullen, pudgy, graceless Ben into Crown Princess Benevolence, a fit ruler of the kindgom of Montagne as it faces war with neighboring Drachensbett.

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen (2021-present)

Vanja Schmidt knows no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love. Abandoned to Death and Fortune as a child, she has scraped by as a lowly maidservant with her quick wits and the ability to see her god-mothers’ hands at work in the world. But when they demand her lifelong servitude in exchange, Vanja decides that gifts not given freely…can always be stolen.

When an opportunity rises to steal a string of enchanted pearls, Vanja seizes it, transforming herself into Gisele, the princess she’s served for years. As the glamorous princess, Vanja leads a double life, charming the nobility while ransacking their coffers as a jewel thief. Then, one heist away from funding an escape from her god-mothers, Vanja crosses the wrong god, and is cursed to turn into jewels herself. The only way to save herself is to make up for what she’s taken—starting with her first victim, Princess Gisele.

Valdemar: Mage Wings by Mercedes Lackey (1992-1993)

High magic had been lost to Valdemar when he gave his life to save his kingdom from destruction by the dark sorceries. Now it falls to Elspeth Herald, heir to the throne, to take up the challenge and seek a mentor who will awaken her mage abilities.

The Numair Chronicles by Tamora Pierce (2018-present)

Arram Draper is on the path to becoming one of the realm’s most powerful mages. The youngest student in his class at the Imperial University of Carthak, he has a Gift with unlimited potential for greatness–and for attracting danger. At his side are his two best friends: Varice, a clever girl with an often-overlooked talent, and Ozorne, the “leftover prince” with secret ambitions. Together, these three friends forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms. And as Ozorne gets closer to the throne and Varice gets closer to Arram’s heart, Arram realizes that one day–soon–he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.

Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones (1998-2000)

Everyone - wizards, soldiers, farmers, elves, dragons, kings and queens alike - is fed up with Mr Chesney's Pilgrim Parties: groups of tourists from the world next door who descend en masse every year to take the Grand Tour. What they expect are all the trappings of a grand fantasy adventure, including the Evil Enchantress, Wizard Guides, the Dark Lord, Winged Minions, and all. And every year different people are chosen to play these parts. But now they've had enough: Mr Chesney may be backed by a very powerful demon, but the Oracles have spoken. Now it's up to the Wizard Derk and his son Blade, this year's Dark Lord and Wizard Guide, not to mention Blade's griffin brothers and sisters, to save the world from Mr Chesney's depredations.

Traveler's Gate by Will Wight (2013-2014)

Simon can only watch, helpless, as his family is killed and his friends captured by enemy Travelers-men and women who can summon mystical powers from otherworldly Territories. To top it off, another young man from Simon's village discovers that he's a savior prophesied to destroy evil and save the realm.Prophecy has nothing to say about Simon. He has no special powers, no magical weapons, and no guarantee that he'll survive. But he sets off anyway, alone, to gain the power he needs to oppose the Travelers and topple their ruthless Overlord. It may not be his destiny, but Simon's determined to rescue his fellow villagers from certain death.Because who cares about prophecy, really?

Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda (2000)

The evil Shadow Lord is plotting to invade Deltora and enslave its people. All that stands against him is the magic Belt of Deltora with its seven gems of great and mysterious power. When the gems are stolen and hidden in dark terrible places throughout the kingdom, the Shadow Lord triumphs, and Deltora is lost.

In secrecy, with only a hand-drawn map to guide them, two unlikely companions set out on a perilous quest. Determined to find the lost gems and rid their land of the tyrant, they struggle towards their first goal - the sinister Forests of Silence.

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi (2016-2017)

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn't miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it's been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she's about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she'll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. It will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself--and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

[mercedeslackeyblog]

There are eight days left to get in on the deluxe edition of my Valdemar short stories, Grandmaster.

This beautiful book is going to have illustrations for the stories, which are collected from most of the Valdemar anthologies, plus the novella from Herald's Companion.

The illustrations are just beautiful, and include one from the amazing Nene Thomas.

Thank you all for being fans and readers for all these years, and supporting me and all these amazing artists.

[near-dareis-mai]

Vote for your favourite horse/horse-adjacent character from Fantasy and Science Fiction books, and yell at me in the replies/comments about your fave that i missed.

[queer-book-character-tournament]

Character, book, and author names under the cut

Max Owen/Sean Moore - Magical Boy by The Kao

Vanyel Ashkevron/Tylendel Frelennye- The Last Herald Mage by Mercedes Lackey 

Logan Maletis/Rosemary Hale- Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

Louis de Pointe du Lac/Lestat de Lioncourt- The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

[checkoutmybookshelf]

You Have My Attention: The Founding of Valdemar Trilogy First Lines

Previously only told in song and diegetic story, Mercedes Lackey finally put the founding of Valdemar down as a canon trilogy. Her fans knew snippets of this larger tale, but she still had to catch new and old fans with this trilogy. Let's see how she did it with the Founding of Valdemar Trilogy first lines.

"Help them through, whenever you can," mutter Kordas, Duke of Valdemar, in a horse-box that felt stifling for the stark, dirty work to be done. he had latched onto that as his personal guide to life when he'd begun equine husbandry, and he must have repeated it to himself twenty times in the past candlemark, to maintain his focus. The Duke was nearly beside himself over the state of his favorite mare, but no grinding of teeth nor fretting would take the place of skilled hands in a time like this. The mare in question was in the throes of foaling, and it was not going well. Knowing that he was very close to dropping, Kordas had ordered her put up in her loose-box just before sunset, and it was a good thing he had. It was, as these things always were, the middle of the night.

-- Beyond

Royal fist met commoner jaw with an impact that jolted Kordas's right arm all the way up to the shoulder. He was vaguely aware that his hand was going to hurt like bloody hells--but that would be later. Right now, he had a good excuse to let his rage take over, and a good target to vent it on. He had the surge of adrenaline powering him, now. A little thing like pain was not going to stop him. Not now. Not when pure rage misted his vision. Not when all the emotion from the pure shit he had gone through the last year was piled up behind him like a tempest and here was a righteous target to unleash it upon.

-- Into the West

When one is accustomed to constant work, anything but work feels strange. Is it unhealthy if one finds the work itself pleasurable? What does one's work take the place of? Kordas's perpetually active mind followed the branching paths of thought. If it does take the place of anything. Done well enough, a labor can be a pleasure. I've always found my work enjoyable, except, obviously, for the lethality, danger, horror, and pain. And to be fair, those weren't part of the work, just the results of the work. Stray musings like this cropped up any time he had a minute of peace. It was very hard for him to keep his mind from racing these days, and this torrent of thoughts was a slow one for him.

-- Valdemar

[do-you-know-this-queer-character]

Do you know this queer character?

Vanyel is Gay and uses he/him pronouns!

[boneskullravenriver]

I love my bookshelf. I love how full it is.

Finally figured out where to put my new books!

I sort things by genre or genre adjacent if there's no space. I know where everything is lol

(new books in the pics are the Mercedes lackey books, the infernal devices, and price of the Phoenix next to my doctor who books btw)

Had to move some things around. If I ever get more books, I think I might need to get like a new shelf or something but my room is small and I am broke so... LMAO.

[halibellecter]

somebody reblog this and ask me about my ecoterrorist oc for the Mercedes Lackey books. I don't have her fleshed out but I'm unable to Not think about writing a fic about her hellllllllp

[weirdlookindog]

Alberto Martini (1876-1954) - The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

illustration for the works of Edgar Allan Poe, c. 1905-09

[ardatli]

The Shelved by Genre podcast is doing a read-through of the Last Herald-Mage series. One of the three has read the series before, the others are coming in blind. So far they've done the first half of Magic's Promise and are making a lot of comparisons to other YA fantasy romance lit, while Guy 3 bites his tongue a lot.

I'm sitting here chortling.

Oh, you sweet summer children.