Rating: 
Summary: One of the most painful books I've read in a long time
Review: I really used to like the Valdemar books...I really did. Magic's Pawn/Price/Promise were especially good. You could really empathize with the characters and get caught up with the plot.Boy has it ever jumped shark. I think it started around the Owlknight series. To tell the truth, I had hoped that Brightly Burning would break the tedium- be a breath of fresh air and a new direction. There's nothing quite like the sound of hopes being dashed. Draw out every cliche you could find from all the previous books, and toss them into one. A tramatic childhood, unconrolable and "unique" powers, life bonding, sacrificeing oneself to destroy the invading army. It's really, trulely unbearable. Plus, Lavern ends up being life bonded to his own Companion. Nothing fishy there at all, of course not. Do yourself a favor and go read the older books again and stop before you reach the Owl Knight series and Brightly Burning. It will hurt a lot less.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting tale...
Review: I am a long time reader of Mercedes Lackey, and I jut wanted to say that this is one of her better books. Some people may be put off a bit by some of the relationships, but you must take the story as a whole before you judge certain aspects. I deffinately recomend this to any one who is a fan of the Valdemar series of books, as well as anyone else who might want to take a gander at the world Ms. Lackey has created in that series of novels, without getting involved with a trilogy as of yet.
Rating:
Summary: The Passive-Aggressive Pyrokinetic
Review: This book is irritating. Lavan is a poor, picked-upon, beat-up whiner who gets all of his problems solved for him. He's the most passive main character (I can't call him a hero -- he doesn't DO anything) I've ever read. His Firestarting gets out of control and kills some kids? No problem, the Heralds rescue him and then he's Chosen. He can't control his Firestarting? No problem, his Companion channels it all away. The mother of the dead kid gets angry & goes a bit insane & cause problems? No problem, the King steps in and imprisons her away. Karsites invading over the border? No problem, they kill his Companion & get him angry enough to lose control & kill 'em all. Not once does Lavan ever face his problems on his own. Not once does he ever take control of a situation or even try to. All he does is react; not once does he act. Pass on this one. Hunt up the Vanyel trilogy for a great read from this author!
Rating:
Summary: Laven Firestorm is a true Valdemar character!
Review: Even if you're not a Lackey fan, this is the book to make you one. The struggle and pain that our young hero goes through is amazing and terribly real. Readers get caught up in Laven's search for his own identity separate from that of his parents' and family's expectations. Everyone can relate to the emotional upheaval he goes through and the feelings that you are going to lose control...explosively. Lackey shows a passion and descriptive talent which has aged with experience and ultimately revealed itself in this incredible novel.
Rating:
Summary: some old stuff that adds nothing to the series
Review: I was really hoping to like this book because I used to be a huge fan of Lackey, but I found it to be the same old formula. The Arrows and Last Herald Mage series are still among my favorite fantasy books, but this series has steadily gone downhill for a long time now. Furthermore, the book seemed pretty pointless. We already knew what happened to Lavan Firestorm from another book and it didn't really add anything to the history of Valdemar. I realize that the end of Vanyel's story was also revealed in an earlier book, but the characters in the Last Herald Mage were so well drawn, and so many new elements were added, such as the Hawkbrothers and Herald-Mages. Brightly Burning just didn't have that same originality.
Rating: 
Summary: A major let-down
Review: Mercedes Lackey is obviously a big name in the world of fantasy writing. As a result, I decided to borrow this book from the library and give it a go. I was very much disappointed. The plot was somewhat engaging, but I found many of the characters to be flat and one-dimensional. I was very unsympathetic with Lavan because of his irksome and seemingly uncalled for gloomy outlook. I wouldn't buy this book, but if you're looking for a somewhat entertaining read that you don't have to put much thought or emotion into, this is it.
Rating: 
Summary: Yet another great read from Mercedes Lackey
Review: In this Valdemar story we finally get to read the story of Laven Chitward, one of Valdemars most famous heralds, also known as Laven firestorm. Unable to fit in at his new school, Laven is bullied, and becomes very depressed. Until one day during another painful bulling sesion his gift for firestarting awakes, with disasterous reasults for his tormentors.
With the help of heralds and acompanion, Laven soon learns to keep his gift under control and eventually, to direct his awful gift. WHen Karse attacks, Laven proves how strong his firestarting ability really is.
This book, was writen really well, and *blushes* at the end I cried, it was a very emotional story.
Rating:
Summary: A great look into a hero of Valdemar's past
Review: I read the first review that popped up after browsing through ML books, and was astonished. Some people have such a negative attidue. Some things the person said were true... and some (to me, anyways) were not. I think Lavan was a very likable and well-thought out character. I haven't read all the ML books yet, as I live in the middle of nowhere and cannot easily get my mom to take me to the library, and though I am 16, I still dont have a car/liscense. My other choice is to buy the books at B&N or something, and as I am also an avid anime fan, I only have so much money for the two (as anime is SO expensive on DVD). With these limitations, I have only read the Arrows, the Mage Winds, the first two of Vows and Honors, Brightly Burning, and By the Sword. Personally, I believe Brightly Burning is a wonderful book. The way he starts out, a sullen boy taken from a country setting among friends flung into the city, where he is bullied incessently, to a boy struggling with controlling his great Gift (which I won't say here, cuz it is a spoiler, and I know I woulndn't want to know), and finally to a boy saving all of Valdemar (with the help of his beloved companion) makes you give your heart out to him and those around him. One last thing about the bullying, if you have ever been bullied in your life, it is nice to see some revenge, and the bullies to come to justice.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: I love the Valdemar series, and while this book rates a 3 star on its own merits it is definetly no more than a 2-star in the Valdemar series. Levan starts out real, intelligent and troubled, but seems to fade into streotype and melodrama. The suuporting cast is a mix of well-written and streotype and never seem to quite click into place. The book just left me wanting something more.
Rating:
Summary: A flaming bag of poo.
Review: This book is not up to Mercedes Lackey's standards. It's practically a boilerplate vignette of the standard 'herald comes of age' story, without any of the in-depth character development we see in Arrows or the Vanyel series. There's virtually nothing in this book that makes it stand out, and is only a must-read if you absolutely have to know every bit about Valdemar that's ever been written, and are willing to wade through a sea of drivel to accumulate that knowledge. You know how in each of ML's books there are slow parts and great parts? Sadly, the chapters in this book are all fluff, and by the climax of the book (which is already known to readers who have read other Valdemar books) this reader didn't even care. I'm very worried that Valdemar is going the way of Xanth, where each book goes further down the formulaic path, appealing to younger and younger readers, while saddening those who used to long for a galley copy of new books. Let's hope that ML can pull out of this nosedive in time.
| 
