Review of Bastion by Mercedes Lackey

Bastion (Valdemar: Collegium Chronicles #5) by Mercedes Lackey 5*
BLURB: Mags returns to the Collegium, but there are mixed feelings--his included--about him actually remaining there. No one doubts that he is and should be a Herald, but he is afraid that his mere presence is going to incite more danger right in the heart of Valdemar. The heads of the Collegia are afraid that coming back to his known haunt is going to give him less protection than if he went into hiding. Everyone decides that going elsewhere is the solution for now. So since he is going elsewhere--why not return to the place he was found in the first place and look for clues? And those who are closest to him, and might provide secondary targets, are going along. With Herald Jadrek, Herald Kylan (the Weaponsmaster's chosen successor), and his friends Bear, Lena, and Amily, they head for the Bastion, the hidden spot in the hills that had once been the headquarters of a powerful band of raiders that had held him and his parents prisoner. But what they find is not what anyone expected
My Review: I have to admit to being a little bit biased towards any Valdemar story as they are my favourite fantasy series books. This one, as the fifth in the collegium storyline, is exactly what I expected it to be. A nice simple tale that continues with the trials and tribulations of Mags and his friends. There weren't many surprises and the story flowed easily. Over all I enjoyed it and look forward to any new collegium stories in the future. Mind you any stories about Valdemar are automatically on my to buy list.

Yet again the reader is kaput!

Darn Levro reader broke again - this time the on/off switch fell off and now I can't get at my books :(

Luckily before it broke I managed to read Ruffskin by Megan Derr and since then I have reread an old favourite Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey. So on to a couple of reviews:



Ruffskin (Dance With The Devil #4)by Megan Derr 3*
BLURB: An ordinary rainy day at the Bremen is interrupted when a strange courier shows up with a package for Peyton Blue, the Bremen's much-loved owner and bartender. When the package turns out to be a piece of Peyton's past and brings that past violently into the present, it is up to Johnnie to resolve a years old problem and put the past where it belongs once and for all.
My Review: I gave this only 3* because it seemed rushed and didn't really give me a feeling of a full story. There was a cameo appearance of Johnnie and Grim but the main romance of Peyton seemed like it had something missing. Not that what was there wasn't good because actually it was very good, it just wanted as much as the story deserved.



Magic's Pawn (Valdemar: The Last Herald-Mage #1)by Mercedes Lackey 5*
BLURB: Vanyel Ashkevron is beautiful. He's a talented musician. He's his mother's pride and joy. Too bad his father and siblings don't feel the same way about him. For that matter, too bad Vanyel doesn't feel the same way about himself. He can't seem to do anything right as far as anyone else is concerned. It seems like the only person who really loves him is his sister, Lissa. And she's just a woman, she doesn't have enough influence to protect him. So he lives, enduring the hatred of everyone, never able to do anything right, to please anyone. Then his father finally gets fed up with him and makes a decision that will change the course of his whole life. Vanyel is to be sent to the capital, Haven, and his Aunt Savil, one of the famous Herald-Mages of Valdemar. Anyone else would be thrilled, but Vanyel has met his Aunt once before, and he knows that she hates him just as much as everyone else. He has no choice but to go to Haven though, and maybe, just maybe, he'll find what he's been looking for, and the life he was destined to lead.
My Review: Even though I have read this book so many times the thing is falling apart (again) I am still moved to tears at the tragic tale of Vanyel. Mercedes Lackey has a knack of putting so much emotion on the page that your feel every word. In the case of this, the first one in a trilogy, it is more obvious than ever. Vanyel seems to have the ability to attract bad luck no matter what he tries to do to avoid it. The story is full of magic, action, romance and tragedy. The magic is believable, the action is bloody and the romance and tragedy go hand in hand and will bring most people to tears.