Customer Reviews

Owlsight (Heralds of Valdemar)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book is well-written (what Mercedes Lackey book isn't?) and has very good detail and description. She's obviously done a great deal of research into the life of a rural herbalist, and has spent a lot of time mentally crafting the village and Vales. Unfortunately, she sacrifices plot and conflict for this, cramming the climax into a few chapters at the end, as if she suddenly realized that a deadline was approaching and she'd spent all her time describing the Vale and Keisha's work. Also, I found myself reading passages thinking that they could have been summed up in a few sentences--do we really need to know EXACTLY how Keisha decides what things to take when she moves? Most annoying, to me, was that none of the characters had any real character flaws. One of the great things about Lackey's Valdemar books is the humanness of the characters: Elspeth is impetuous and sometimes arrogant, Vanyel shuts himself off, Amberdrake won't believe that he's a leader. Unfortunately, she seems to have misplaced this knack for this series. Keisha is kind, sensible, and generous, and most of her minor "flaws" are simply the result of an untrained Gift; Darian is kind, sensible, generous, and eloquent to boot. And the Tayledras have suddenly turned into Purveyors Of All That Is Useful, rather than an isolated, forest-dwelling people with a small population who carry on a very limited trade of luxury goods for basic supplies. And Firesong, who was kind but fickle and EXTREMELY arrogant in the Winds trilogy, has not only mellowed but is in this book utterly calm and humble and seems to have lost any sense of vanity. Though I usually love Lackey's books, I was getting thoroughly sick of Darian and Keisha by the end. To sum up: this book is pretty good, but not up to Lackey's usual standard. It's fairly fun, especially if you like lots of description, but slow-moving, and understandable even to those unfamiliar with the series. Don't expect it to be on the level of the Last Herald-Mage trilogy, though, or to be a gripping adventure story.

I read some of the comments on the sequel to this, and I must conclude that I am either helplessly in love with Mercedes Lackey's and Larry Dixon's writing style, or that the books in this series are actually rather nice to read. OwlSight certainly doesn't have as much action and wild adventure as the other series that these two wrote, but it helps to satisfy my thirst for extra knowledge on the subject of the Hawkbrothers and their non-human associates. I like Darian a lot, but in a book with these authors' names on the cover that is to be expected. It is very easy to understand if you already know what all of the typical Mercedes Lackey vocabulary means, so if you are a fan of hers you are all set. Overall I loved it, and it made me laugh more than any of the other books she wrote except for the Vows and Honor duology. I hope you like it as much as I do!

This book was wonderful. I think there is much more going on story wise than alot of the negative reviewers picked up on. At the end of Storm Breaking magic was shattered remember people?

The big magics had all but vanished other than of course the magic done by blood sacrifice or many working in concert. Yes Firesong is a shadow of himself but rightly so. He lost almost all in the aftermath of the last book. And as for his eyes being silver as one person said. Magic "bleaches" out the user or did you not remember? All eyes of magic users turn a lighter shade and their hair eventually goes silver as do their bondbirds.

Now as for the plot I think that Mercedes Lackey did well introducing us to the world that now has little or no magic. Or rather, magic that is scattered like rain all over and no longer in pools (nodes) or streams (ley lines). She is letting us know that now the Big magics are gone there are going to be more occurances of weirdling beasts, nomad and barbarian tribes, and other possible kingdoms that might test the Valdemar, Karasite, Hawkbrother, and Shin'a'nin alliance.

Don't let the bad ratings discourage you loyal Mercedes Lackey fans! Read on with the other two in this series and see what she is setting us up for next!

Well, I finally got around to reading this second book in the trilogy, and I must say, it's a step up from the first! The characters were more realistic and compelling, and the plot was more engaging. Not only did we get a closer look at Darian, we also saw a different side to the 'barbarians'. The new character, Keisha, was a very refreshing departure from her usual 'I wanna die' depressed teens.

There are some annoying aspects that are beginning to surface in her novels... does every main character *have* to be an Adept level mage? You can only get so many spins from this point of view, and honestly, it's getting quite boring. I would like to see some books where the focus is around normal magic-less citizens of Valdemar. This is a whole side of Valdemar that Lackey has barely touched upon!

All in all, the book was a surprisingly good read, considering the first one. I simply wish Lackey would discuss other aspects of Valdemar, ones that readers haven't gotten much information on.

This book was okay, but not up to usual Lackey standards. A few of the things that bothered me... 1. hair. Silverfox is supposed to hair down to his ankles. Firesong's hair is white, as stated in the winds trilogy. 2. eyes. Firesong's eyes are blue, not silver. 3. Firesong and Silverfox's relationship. Come on. For all the mentioning of 'ashke,' the two guys seem like casual acquaintences, not lovers. And why would Starfall think so negatively of Silverfox's profession when the Tayledras 'do it like kestrals'? (as mentioned in Winds) 4. There was no villain. Even though I like coming-of-age novels, they're not fun to read when the characters are so goody-goodyish. 5. Also, I'd love to know just exactly how many years have past since the Storms trilogy. In Winds, Firesong wasn't even 30.In this one, he's like what, 40? I'd read this just if you want to read more about Firesong. But even he's taken a turn for the goody-goodies.....

I have always been a fan of Mercedes Lackey and I did read both the first and second books in the "Owl" series, but this book was quite flat and disappointing. Why was the climax of the book squashed into one or two chapters (and it wasn't a very good ending either... so predictable and not worthy of a novel-length). Where is the side conflict? If some of the Hawkbrothers are upset at "outsiders" coming into the Vale, why isn't Darien the subject of more animosity? ML draws some very good and realistic characters, but BORING characters as well. Nothing seems to be happening that is book-worthy here.

Another thing... WHO IN THE WORLD comes up with these HORRIBLE titles? Well, to Mercedes or her editors or whoever: Get rid of the cutsey rhyme deal! I can see you'd want to keep the books together with "Owl" but come on! In keeping with the current owl-rhyme conditions, I have some title proposals: How about OWLSBITE, OWLSGRIPE, or OWLSFIGHT? OWLSPIPE? Or the final series book, OWLSWIPE? Give me a break. It's hard to take a book seriously when it has absolutely ridiculous titles.

With the slight exception of the POV and setting of the book jumping around at first, this book is like a good meal. If you are looking for non-stop action, turn away now. If you are looking for REAL fantasy, the kind that makes you sigh, smile and wish you could see the place being described and meet the people who's lives you are peeking in on, this is the book (and series!) for you!

This is the second book in the Owl series and follows Darian's life as an adopted hawkbrother. It also introduces Keisha into the mix, a young healer-in-training. Both characters are delightful and practical and yes, there is romantic interest between them.

The pace of the book is a bit slow but I hardly noticed it! I marvel at all the research Lackey must have done for this book alone! This is the book that best highlights the luxuries and beauty of the vales and several time reading this book I just had to put the book down, close my eyes and try to imagine it all.

This series along with Take a Thief are two things I have to get on Kindle. The cover is about to fall off my copies!

This book is not terrible, but compared to a lot of other fantasy on the market, and even some of her other books, it lacks something. Like most of her other work, this starts out slow, but unlike those others it never really picks up the pace. 75% of the book is just introducing characters and following them through their day, and even when the "action" begins, it isn't really much. A frustratingly high amount of the book is detailed description of things that don't need to be described in detail and following the characters though the process of them coming to terms with something. "Maybe this is the case. But then again, maybe this. And this could be it. I've never thought of that." Way too much of the book is telling us what someone is thinking like that. Something that really bugs me too is the extreme overuse of italics to put emphasis on words. She literally does this three or four times per page. It's just as annoying as a writer who uses exlamation points all the time. You don't need to emphasize everything, or else it loses its effect.

I was apprehensive when I began reading the Valdemar books because the pretty horses on the cover made me think these books might be aimed towards kids or girls who dream about ponies. For most of the series, I didn't feel like that was the case, but in this series I do. There is something indescribable about the style that makes me think this was not intended for adults. It just doesn't seem suited for an adult intellect.

Although I have always loved Lackey books, I must say this book is a little dull. Unlike her other works, this series doesn't have a true villian to spice things up a bit. And the ending.... it was too perfect, too unrealistic to be good. I personally find it stupid. Lately, Lackey seems to have lost her touch with her books.

Well, I did enjoy this one much more than the first one in this trilogy. I like Keisha's character and having Firesong and Kerowyn show up in this one made an especially nice surprise. I also liked that the conflict in this one wasn't a battle, which is a nice difference. Mostly, I am excited to read the last one, which I don't remember anything about and then be ready to read something that is not in a 20+ book-long series!