Customer Reviews

Owlknight Pb

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Darian's third adventure is a pleasure to read. And I disagree strongly with some of the other reviewers below. The three novels in the DARIAN`S TALE sequence are not as tigtly plotted as some of the other books in Misty Lackey's Valdemar universe, but they offer a lot of insights into everyday life in a Valdemaran village, a hawkbrother vale and even a Northern clan village. There's is no big LET`S SAVE THE WORLD YET AGAIN conflict that carries these novels. These three books are carried only by the characters and their slow maturation and growth. If you read all three books in the DARIAN`S TALE sequence in a row, you will realize what I mean. In these books Misty Lackey and Larry Dixon haven chosen to do without royal polticis and court intrigues, and I am really greatful for that. Darian's slow maturation in the course of three novels from an unlikeable and totally irresponsible teenager in OWLFLIGHT to the responsible and caring adult in OWLKNIGHT is a pleasure to read. And Mercedes Lackey announced that a fourth book in this sequence is planned.

It seems I've always been a rather large Lackey fan, and I've reread the Arrows trilogy and the Last Herald-Mage trilogy...and the first book of the Mage Wars trilogy over and over again. But it seems recently, when Lackey has been co-writing with Dixon, that the work is of almost lesser quality.

Okay, enough with the eloquence. THIS IS driving me, to quote Talia, "rather noisily mad"! What happened to the classic scenes that were in earlier books? What Lackey fan hasn't sobbed and reread Kris' death scene in Arrow's Fall fifty million times, and gone back and read it again? (My page of that book is tearblotted, hot-chocolate stained, and spaghetti-sauce stained. It's pretty pathetic.) What happened to solid, INTERESTING characters like Elspeth and Tremaine and Vanyel and Stefen and Tylendel? All we get now is a hairbrained idiot named Darian who's taking on waaaaay too many responsiblities, and his errant lover Keisha. The only reason I really stuck with this Owl trilogy was that the character of Shandi fascinated me, and Anda wasn't that bad for a secondary character. But I have to say, this book was still better than half of the science-fiction/fantasy junk that is out there.

I agree with another reader with a review below mine--why can't we read a trilogy about King Valdemar (that was NOT cowritten by Larry Dixon)? Or, jump ahead a hundred years...see what happens to Valdemar? Or explore Rethwellan a little more? (Tarma and Kethry and Kerowyn are fabulous characters. Why can't we see more mercs? They dropped off the face of the earth after By The Sword!)

Ah well, this is getting long-winded. Just wanted to give my opinion.

This book sets a good pace and holds interest throughout. It reveals more about the hertasi and blends a wildly different group of characters together in a way that makes it believable.

Ok, I've been holding my tongue and trying to objectively read all the reviews, but this is it! Mercedes Lackey is a human being. She cannot reel out soul-searching miracles at the drop of a hat. I freely admit that the Last Herald-Mage series and the Arrows series were more emotional than the Owl series, but the Owl series has more everyday details and is closer to real life. It includes no life or death struggle for the entire world, but what kind of a world would Valdemar be if it was constantly in mortal danger? I also agree that she is concentrating way too much on Valdemar, and not on the other countries, but if that is what she wants to write about, accept it. Some reviewers are being too critical about her writing. If you didn't like, don't read it again! It's that simple.

Now for my actual review. :) Owlknight is the end of the Owl series where Darian, a young Valdemaran who was adopted by the Taleydras (Hawkbrothers) has to deal with the pressures of being a responsible adult. He earns several honors in the beginning of the book, and then he decides that he is ready to search for his parents, who went missing some 6 years ago. Keisha, a young healer and Darian's lover, goes with him. During the trip, Darian has to resolve his feelings about the use of magic, and about his parents. Keisha has to resolve her feelings about a woman's role in marrage, and her feelings about her sister Shandi. I won't give away the ending, but the Owl series has good character development, an interesting storyline, and a determined (if not a 'rush or we'll destroy the entire universe by being slow') pace. This book isn't going to squeeze your chest and have you on the edge of your seat as if you are actually the person, but it won't bore you to sleep, either. Altogether a very good story to snuggle up with at night.

While this book offers some interesting description, its problem is that there is no suspense, conflict, or action to speak of. Any possible conflict between characters or threat to them is resolved so quickly that the reader doesn't even have a chance to start wondering about it. While I enjoy a book that has some quiet moments and introspection, "Owlknight" is almost all quiet moments and introspection, which makes it very dull.

"Owlknight" is definitely below Lackey's usual standards. She knows how to make a book interesting and have a good balance between action and introspection. One wonders what happened with "Owlknight."

The first book in the series, "Owlflight," was quite good. The second, "Owlsight," was somewhat lacking in action, but sometimes that happens in the middle of a trilogy. However, one expects the third book to have a rousing climax, not limp along from one pat solution to another, as "Owlknight" did.

Owlflight, the first book in this trilogy, made me feel as if it was intended for much younger readers than the rest of the Valdemar books and Owlsight, the second, was great- back up to the usual high standards! This book fell somewhere in-between. It started out very good and I enjoyed it immensely, but at a specific point near the end of the story, it abruptly changed- almost from one page to the next. The characters lost their depth, the plot became shallow, events offended common sense, and the dialogue became either trivial or sounded like a first time author trying to be profound. (Made me think of the Bard Leslac if you've read Oathbreakers!) The worst thing was that the characters started behaving in ways that were completely contrary to their previous personalities! That's why this book puzzled me- I kept asking myself, "What happened?!"

I gave it four stars anyway because the majority of this book was very good. If you're a Valdemar fan, this trilogy gives you more insight into the hawkbrothers, an idea of how the Mage Storms affected the world, and an introduction to a whole new culture- the Northern Tribes. If you're a newcomer, I don't recommend this trilogy. I'd suggest starting with either "Magic's Pawn," and be blown away by the depth and intensity of the characters, or with "The Black Gryphon," and find yourself swept up in the great action!

Where Ms. Lackey's books initially had great depth of chacacter and plot (especially Arrows of the Queen and Last Herald Mage, her first two trilogies), her writing has become increasingly more of a travelogue. It's disappointing to see an author who'd written so well about relationships and major conflicts sink to multi-page descriptions of clothing, housing and parties. Whether the influence is her co-author or just the need to crank out books for the money, I'd like to see a return to the quality and substance of her earlier works.

Publishers' money-making propensity for trilogies serves this series ill. It coulda shoulda been done in two books rather than three. The first two books were decent though attenuated tales, with nothing much new to add to the Valdemar history and much lower key than earlier series. That's okay. Not every fantasy has to be about struggles against master villains or world-altering forces successfully overcome. But in scaling back to more everyday conflicts and concerns, Lackey and Dixon have made Owlknight in particular too everyday. The first half of this book is drawn out painfully with a combination of National Geographic-style anthropology, a romance novelist's obsession with details of dress and food, and a Martha Stewart view of the exterior and interior decor of Hawkbrother architecture. Highly skimmable and not worth the cost of admission, even at paperback prices. Check it out of the library if you have to know what happened. But don't bother to buy this book.

Owlknight is the third and last volume in Lackey's Owl Trilogy. In this novel, Darian is honored for his many accomplishments, works on his problems with his girlfriend Keisha, and goes to look for his missing parents. 
 
Typically, I enjoy all  Lackey novels, but OwlKnight's suffered from a rambling plot line, too many over-powered characters, and 'Local 'Boy Makes Good Syndrome.'  (I.E. black sheep of the family returns home, and the rural rubes are awed and amazed at how witty/charming/saintly our hero has become). Please. What is that saying about never being appreciated in your own village? Apparently untrue in Valdemar.
 
Also, there were quite a few plot thread's left hanging that I wish Lackey had addressed. First, Darian's resolve to tell Winterfox about the young barmaid Lilly from the first book... He never does. Then,  Winterfox's resolve to counsel Darian and Keisha about their relationship. Nothing happened there either.  And finally, the sub plot about the Herald's Anda's arrival in the veil. He arrives... And Darian goes off on his adventure... And that's it? There is all this build up and suspense about what Anda will be like... What he will do...And... Nothing. Fizzle.  Further, Snowfire, Darian's adopted brother is almost completely absent in the book after playing such a major role in the first book in the series, he's reduced to a cardboard caricature of himself.
 
Lastly, there is the entire subplot of Keisha and Darian's relationship. (I hesitate to call it a 'romance' because it wasn't). I thought their relationship wasn't a particularly good one. There wasn't really a decent reason for these two characters to care about eachother.  Keisha seems WAY to insecure, and Darian is completely overconfident. (Did anyone else think this relationship was doomed for failure?)  Neither seem particularly happy with eachother... So why the big push to get them together? Is there some unwritten rule that characters at the end of a trilogy must be married?
 
While this book left me with an 'unsatisfied, there must be more feeling' I found Lackey's writing style compelling as usual, even if there wasn't a lot of action. I hope that there will be a sequel so we can learn just what happens to Darian and his friends. There is certainly a lot of room for further development.

I do not understand the critisism in some of the reviews. I read the owl series out of sequence with many of the other books in the Valdamar series and found that the amount of background information about Vales and aspects of the Hawkbrothers was exceedingly useful. The development of the charactures over the years was skillfully done