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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Collection and Fresh Air, November 3, 2002
I really like short stories and I think there aren't enough of them published so I'm always glad when a book of short stories I haven't read in magazines comes out. Letting other authors in your world can be asking for heaps of trouble. Here it really works out well. I'll risk heresy and state that I think Lackey had been getting stale and a book of fresh viewpoints into her mythos is a great thing that can only help future works. There are tales here that are absolutely Valdemaran yet probably could never have been written by Ms. Lackey herself. This only strengthens her world considerably. To me, every tale here rang true to what Valdemar is about with nothing throwing me out of the story by being obviously wrong. Quality varies of course, but I don't think any story would be worse than mediocre, and most are above average and some first rate tales. The short story is quite well suited to providing a look at the other corners of Valdemar that aren't royal family, or top herald related and these do so superbly. These new voices may have even inspired the better quality Exile's Honor which was just published. If you enjoy short stories, if you enjoy Valdemar, pick these up. Allow yourself to believe that other people can write in this universe as well as the creator and you'll be in for a pleasant treat. Ms. Lackey deserves kudos for allowing others into her world, and doing such a fine job of picking good stories that fit into her world yet reveal more.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
got the feeling of valdemar, lots of points of view, November 2, 1999
I thought this was a great collection. I am, admitedly, a long time Lackey fan, but I have to say that recently I'd been disapointed with her Valdemar work (the first Owl one read like a first novel-errgh), but this book completely sucked me in, and I liked getting other author's looks on Valdemar. I read a lot of anthologies like Sword and Sorceress, so I was familiar with a lot of the authors. I especially liked Tanya Huff's, since it sounded like her, but still like Valdemar. This is, though, really only a book for Valdemar fans.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lackey Lets Others In Her Sandbox, September 18, 2001
... and it makes for a lovely book! Honestly, I'd been finding Mercedes Lackey's own Valdemar books to be getting repetitive. It's to the point where I can pick one up (say, Brightly Burning) and go, 'Ok, he's going to be Chosen, she's going to have a Lifebond with HIM, and those two over there are going to have catastrophic mental Gifts that they have to fight to master.' Predictable. Still affecting, I must admit - nobody can make me cry like Lackey - but boring.This book is not like this. Why? Because other authors were let in to play with Ms. Lackey's toys, and it's an enchanting work. Lots of short stories set in the Valdemar universe, each exploring some small aspect that Lackey hasn't focussed upon yet. One thing that sucks me into fantasy worlds like nothing else is the feeling that so many OTHER stories could be being told than the one the author has chosen. This book proves Valdemar has this potential. If only Ms. Lackey could write Valdemar stories like these, instead of her (now-standard) Tayledras/Herald/etc moony lovefests about Grand Quests and World-Changing Events, I'd buy a lot more of them in hardcover. As it is, I hope she lets folks into her playground again, for another similar volume.
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by Mercedes Lackey
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