Magic's Pawn: Valdemar: The Last Herald Mage, Book 1

I love all of the series and singles that make up the entire Valdemar saga, and this one has always been one of my favorites. Vanyel is a character that I think, in some way, is a universal character that we can all identify with in one way or another.Vanyel Ashkevron is the eldest son of a rather minor noble in the out country. His father is a rigid man, believing very firmly in certain things. And if you do not fall into his idea of what should be or what is right, then you are somehow lacking. This describes the relationship between Vanyel and his father for most of his childhood. His brothers and cousins, while not stupid, were far more interested in weaponswork and women than intellectual pursuits. Vanyel was intelligent and a gifted musician that took after his mother far more than his father. None of these things raised him in the eyes of his father. His mother, however, celebrated most of these things. She was a flightly woman who knew all too well how to play all of the "womanly" games and she loved having a son who could entertain her so well. However, she spent a lot of time throwing her lady's maid at him, despite his repeated assurances that he was not interested, often creating a bit of a mess for them both.When Vanyel's father finally tires of trying to change him, he sends him to his aunt in Haven, a rather brusque woman who is a Herald. Vanyel knows, even as he lives the prison that ihis own home has become, that he is really only trading one prison for another. But things at Haven aren't what he expects and his life changes so very much.I absolutely love the blend of characters in this book. No matter what your life story is, there is a character in this book that is relatable. No two characters are the same, giving a rich tapestry of characters in a wonderful story. I have heard many complain about the rather whiny attitude of Vanyel throughout the book. They are not wrong; he is whiny. But it is totally appropriate for the story. He is a young teenager, a fact easy to forget, and the reality is that he has a lot to whine about. I love that the character isn't portrayed to be perfect, that he is portrayed as realistic.My Recommendation: As with every book in the Valdemar series, I am in love with this book. Such a wonderful epic read!This review originally posted on my blog, The Caffeinated Diva reads.

If you want to start reading the Valdemar books, this is a fine place to start. Vanyel is possibly her most famous hero. Born the eldest son to a minor noble, Vanyel dreams of becoming a bard. He’s a misfit, however, to small and scrawny, and far too pretty, to fit in with his rough and tumble family. His largest struggle is with fighting, something he may well be called on to do to defend his holdings when he’s older. His small build limits his ability to move well in the heavy armor. But when he takes matters into his own hands and tries to teach himself a style better suited to his own body, rather than being praised, he is met with fury. Beaten, broken, and exiled, he is sent to live with his aunt in the capital of Haven where she serves as a Herald, one of the land’s magical protectors. There he finds the truth about himself, and begins his journey to become a legend.

This book really makes you want to hug Vanyel since it's always one after another with him. He's virtually unloved by his family except for his sister and even she is taken away from him. His father is a conservative thinker and doesn't like Vanyel's way of thinking and sends him away, hoping for him to "man up". While he doesn't do that, he certainly goes up quite a few levels in terms of character development! Still while I feel bad for Vanyel, it isn't until two-thirds of the book when I really like him since he spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself.I often feel that this book is very bittersweet. And I like that. This isn't one of those books where nothing bad really happens to the main characters. Pace varies throughout the book. It's slow (but not aggravatingly so) in the beginning but things pick up in the latter half. You'll meet a varied cast of characters that are very likeable.I've read this book multiple times and I haven't gotten tired of it yet!Good: characters you can sympathize with, well written, strong character development, diverse cast of charactersBad: we're introduced with the bad guy about five pages before we confront him (even if it's a coming-of-age book, it's too abrupt!), Vanyel spends a lot of time sleeping or injured (things happen to him more than he does something)

I read this many years ago, in my teens. It still made me emotional. I think this is one of Lackey's better series. I like that she was writing gay protagonists before it was common. Vanyel is an intriguing character. Glad I reread this. The man who performs the audio book is great, glad I bought it with the Kindle version. Switching between reading and hearing it worked well.

I was looking for m/m fantasy books when I found out about Magic's Pawn, it is more or less what I was looking for. I really enjoyed reading about the characters, especially the protagonist, there is a lot of angst and introspection. On the other hand the plot is not very good, very slow and mostly concentrated in the last few chapters, I think it was a bit rushed, however I cared more about the characters relationships so it didn't bother me at all.

This is the first book I'm reading from Mercedes Lackey that was recommended by a friend of mine, and it's the first one that's more character driven than other plots I've come across. At first, I hate Vanyel because he was a whiner and would not shut up, and then I find out that he has horrible parents who try to force them into their ideals of what a man should be like and then he meets Tylendel, his soul mate. Poor Vanyel. It didn't take me long to really feel for this character. Losing so much while trying to harness his powers. I would give him a hug.The only thing that I didn't like about this book is that the chapters are too long for me, but that didn't stop me for enjoying it. I have read the second one in the trilogy and I will give you my thoughts with that one as well. Until next, Seacrest out!

The book is in very good condition and it was awesome ! I was so enthralled by the story that I couldn't stop reading, I loved Vanyel's character and I will buy the rest of this trilogy as soon as I come back in France !The illustration on the cover is beautiful by the way !

An upset man hugging a horse? I think the cover alone is worth the price.The book is also a good read for fantasy lovers.

Book 1 of 3 in this series. Once I was about half way through this book I got the other two as I knew that this was a series which I would enjoy. I would recommend this series to anyone. Just a very good entertaining read.