Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: Arrows of the Queen is an absolutly amazing book. This novel is full of not only thrilling action but also intriguing politics. It is extreamly entertaining and captivating IF you are ready to totaly let go of reality. Mercedes Lacky has a very unique ablility to form her own reality, in which the mature mind is easily lost. I am only a freshman in highschool an d i severly doubt that my mind has reached it's full potential but i do know that this book swept me off my feet. It put Mercedes Lacky at the top of my list.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful start!
Review: I read this book around 1990, and have been a Lackey fan ever since. The author introduced me to a world that I have always wanted to visit (since I couldn't live there!). I enjoyed the fact that I could neither love the heroes nor hate the villians with impunity. No one is perfect, and everyone has a history as to why they developed into the characters that we read about.One of the neatest places to start a character off (especially a young one like Talia) is a school setting. Lackey does such a wonderful job of setting up the Collegium, along with its students and faculty, that I could feel myself roaming its halls and looking into the classrooms. A nice touch of detail: how the author sets up the school library so you can spend as much time as you need in there, but you cannot "check out" any of the material, thereby allowing everyone ready access to the books. The "bad" students may be a little too typical; but they do provide a good foil for Talia to develop into a fighter and a sharp intellect. As a character, Talia is a great example of what young teenagers could do if only they are allowed (and encouraged) to think for themselves. She has to reap her mistakes along with the rewards; but at least they are the result of her own actions and reactions. Strongly recommend for anyone with a love for high fantasy, especially young folks looking for a hero to whom they can relate.
Rating:
Summary: New friends are the best...
Review: I made new friends when I read this book. Not the kind of friends that die at the end or live happily ever after so you never have to wonder about them again, but the kind who stick around for a while. The kind where you buy more books to find out where they are, how they're doing, and what adventures they've gotten themselves into. Arrows of the Queen is the introduction to the realm of Valdemar. The main character of the tale, Talia, is a young girl who is raised in a very strict environment. She runs away and circumstances land her in a school for Heralds, where she begins learning how she can help and protect the people of her realm. Only slightly disappointing is the plot. Simply put, not much of consequence happens. It's a sort of 'Guide to the Life of a Herald', which is ideal if you're planning to read more about the characters of Valdemar, but not if it's the only Mercedes Lackey novel you ever plan to collect. That's not to say that it doesn't have it's exiting moments, just that it isn't focused on them. Character development is without a doubt the best quality of Arrows of the Queen. People like Jadus and Skif and Talia were so much fun to get to know that I read on the train and at lunch and every other available moment to finish the book well before the day was out. The book is a lighter style of fantasy similar to Pern or EarthSea - the kind that you can enjoy on several levels without thinking too deeply.
Rating:
Summary: You're Getting It All Wrong!
Review: I agree that Arrows of the Queen has NO plot. But if that is turning you off from Mercedes Lackey, you don't understand the Fantasy Process. Arrows of the Queen is really just the first chapter of a much longer book. Read it, and then read through all the 22 other books. In Arrow of the Queen nothing happens. Thats because the purpose of the book is to introduce you to the charachters, Valdemar, the political scene, and the ways of the Heralds. Arrows of the Queen is a very good book in that it endears you to the charachters, so that once the plot starts getting interesting and all the minute and subtle subplots start coming together a couple books later, the charachters are old friends to you and you enjoy the books infinately more. Even though the majority of the books don't have sad endings they all bring me to tears at the end just because the story is over and I'm not part of that world anymore. That is the great genious of Lackey's writing.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: This was the first book by Mercedes Lackey that I have ever read. I found that I couldn't put the book down. I loved it! Lackey really makes you feel for the characters, especially Talia. This book was a little fairytale-ish, but that actually went with the story. I highly suggest this book for any fantasy lover or horse lover, for horses are some of the main characters in this book. I also suggest you read this book before any other for it is a perfect introduction to Mercedes Lackey's world.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: This was the first book by mercedes lackey i ever read. I loved it from the moment i picked it up. The way she made the land come alive at my finger tips was extraordinary. I was thrown into a world, along with talia, that held new and wonderful adventures. I did not put the book down until i finished it, and for me that was amazing. I would recommend this book for anyone from thirteen on up but don't pick up the first one unless you have all three novels beside you.
Rating:
Summary: I'm only in the middle of it, and I love It!
Review: My Friend recomended it to me, and I am not usually a fantasy-type person. I never thought I would like it this much, and I am only in the middle of it! I am aticipating the end very much, and I am definetly going to read the rest of the series!
Rating: 
Summary: Too Close for Comfort
Review: This book is entirely too much like Anne McCaffrey's Harper Hall trilogy. Let's see: young girl with abusive males in her past runs away from her overly restrictive home, gets lucky and ends up in a Hall with Healers etc, and happens to live in a world with Companions entirely too similar to McCaffrey's dragons (telepathic mind link & all). Oh and she finds she loves to sing (like Menolly) and she also suffers all sorts of bully problems (like Piemur deals with in _Dragon Drums_). And I think at one point the place is actually called a "Hold" too. If you read this book and loved it, read Anne McCaffrey's series and you will see that the writing there is vastly superior to Lackey's. And those books were written 10 years earlier. I hope the next books in this series make up for this oh-so-sweet (and completely predictable) first book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good!
Review: This book was my very first fantasy book that i really enjoyed! and that is pretty good considering that i am 13 and am a bookworm! anyway, although the plot did drag alittle, i really liked how Talia transformed in this book! Like i said the plot did drag however in the next 2 books there is a plot and are extermely well written! i hope that misty keeps writing about Valdamer! c ya!
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring...
Review: Arrows of the Queen is, I think, one of the best Mercedes Lackey books. Talia, the main character, is not any superhero or bigshot, but a shy girl who is thrust into a completely knew life. This story, and the other two in the seris, Arrow's Flight and Arrow's Fall, touched me to the point of crying from sadness and joy. These are inspiring tales of true heros and best friends thatI recommend anyone, no matter what age, read.
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