Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review:
I expected the brilliance of Magic's Pawn to be woven into Magic's Promise. Unfortunately, I didn't get what I was seeking for. Instead, the book was more akin to "Murder she Wrote" or playing a whimsical game of "Clue". Admittedly, I found the book more of the mystery genre than of the fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: As fate had it...
Review: ...I got this book by chance. Hell, even before reading this particular book I have never even glance at any fantasy novel. I'm glad I did. Vanyel is simply the most wonderful of characters that one might imagine.I cried every time I read the books in this trilogy (and that amounts to hundreds of times). I first read this book in '94 and since then I have been buying Misty's books, basically on the srength of this particular book. Vanyel is the most complex of characters I have ever encountered and to me Misty managed to flesh him out realistically. When I read this book I feel as though I'm a part of the story, an invisible 'ghost' who dogged his every step, shared his every thought and feel his every pain. I love him to the point of madness. I especially respect the way Misty managed to convey his confusion over his feelings towards Shavri and 'Lendel.And I especially love his banters with Yfandes, whom to me is the rock which helped keep his feet on the ground and restrain him from going bonkers. I can imagine how lonely his life is when people's perception of him are coloured by his heroics and how his legend preceeded him. This can be seen by how Herald Sofya (?) treated him. For me this is the best book of the trilogy since this time 'round he's already matured (unlike the time in Magic's Pawn) and not too obsessed (as in his revenge-mad mode in Magic's Price). Okay, for you sceptics out there I can just say one thing: I wish he was straight and alive. I loved him when I was 13 and I still love him now that I'm 18. Miss this book at your own risk.
Rating:
Summary: What better way...
Review: ...to spend a rainy day than with this book. I laughed, I cried, I read it again and kept wondering what kind of magic Mercedes Lackey has over her readers. There are no other authors who have so completely captivated me with their characters. I swear, if Vanyel wasn't fictitious and gay, I'd be pining over him like a 14 year old over Justin Timberlake. Anyway, if you haven't read the previous book in this trilogy, I recommend you start with that before reading Magic's Promise - but you should read it.
Rating:
Summary: A derivative, but slightly improved sequel.
Review: A boy who lives in the holding of Forst Reach who is the black sheep of the family, bullied by the armsmaster, and who's only real talent and ambition lies in music. A boy who's father tries to send him to live with relatives. A boy who has an extraordinary herald-potential, but has not yet learned to control his own power.You may think that I am describing the first book, but I am not. Magic's Promise, the second book of the "last herald-mage" trilogy, is very much like a bowl of yesterday's leftovers with some added spice to make it a different experience. While this sequel is an experience of its own, it's hardly unique, and is derivative of the first book. Mercedes Lackey comes off as a formulaic writer, employing many of her usual tricks with cosmetic differences, but ultimately the same experience at its heart. This book returns to an older (and more experienced) Vanyel, roughly twelve years after the events of the first book. Much to my relief, Vanyel is much more mature and has developed a likeable personality. He still has a tendency to whine, but this time it is a forgivable (and even endearing) quirk, rather than an insufferable habit. Vanyel is, however, still as whiney and insecure as he was in the first book when it comes to his homosexuality. Throughout the book he literally looks for reasons to preach about the virtues of his sexuality and how he is emotionally victimized by people's homophobia, and generally makes a mountain out of a molehill. The story sees Vanyel returning to Forst Reach, while the first book saw him leaving to live with his aunt. I must say I was curious as to how an older Vanyel would react to his old, abusive family. It is a solid and interesting idea for a sequel. It is clear from Vanyel's constant whining about how his family is going to be so irritating and misunderstanding that he still has many unresolved issues about them from the first book. However, some ways into the book the plot shifts to a mini-mystery of a dire and destructive mishap in the bordering land of Lineas, where we meet a young prince with a strong herald-gift who can't control his own powers. This is where Lackey's formulaic approach to writing becomes apparent. As I read further, it became more and more obvious how the plot of the this book derives from the plot of the first, with many all too familiar elements of the first book sprinkled into this one. The ones I mentioned in the beginning being good examples of which. Lackey attempts a slightly different approach to this one, sending Vanyel off to find the answers to the mystery of Prince Tashir and his connection with the disaster that took place in the city of Lineas. Vanyel investigates, but is practically handed the answers by a mysterious magic that makes a tight-lipped woman spill all the beans. A case of magic being blatantly used to bail the protagonist out of a tough spot. Lackey uses magic liberally throughout the book to remedy situations that would have otherwise required hard work and ingenuity on the characters' part, ultimately overriding some potentially tense and fascinating situations. Lackey is an excellent "young adult" writer, as her style reads like it was meant for adolescent eyes, and her rather shallow and two dimensional plots compliment that. Certainly I'd recommend this book to any young adult or adult who is looking for some entertaining light-reading without a lot of depth. This book gets a star over what I gave the last one because of its slightly deeper plot and more likeable protagonist, but Lackey's derivative approach and black-and-white portrayal of "good" and "evil" and the sheer lack of complexity ultimately hurts its rating.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the story -- hated the telling
Review: All I can say is, "Wow!" That was one of the most amazing stories I have ever read -- completely and utterly spell-binding. Never before have I been moved to tears, smiles, and chills so many times in one book. My arm hairs were literally standing on end with all of the suspense that is built up in this murder/mystery-style book. I found myself wishing that I could read faster than I do -- I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. At times, her language became too confusing to understand -- this is the only reason this book did not get 5 stars. It was often too difficult to understand what the author was trying to say. On more than one occasion, I found myself re-reading paragraphs multiple times just to get a basic idea of what she meant. There are still some sections that I don't understand because of the complicated language. Yet, Lackey does a masterful job of developing her characters. If you're going to read this book, definitely read "Magic's Pawn" first -- at best, Lackey does a mediocre job of explaining the intricacies of the characters she carried over from the first book of the trilogy. Overall, I loved this book, and heartily recommend it to anyone who is willing to see past the words and experience the story.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Work by Miss Lackey
Review: An excellent book that chronicles an all-out adventure covered in mystery and mixed with major character growth on the part of Vanyel, the Herald Mage. Miss Lackey takes you on a journey through a potential border-dispute between two countries on the edge of Valdemar, Vanyel's country. Mix in a murder/mystery plot, magic, and the mystique of the Heralds of Valdemar - and you get an excellent piece of work. But wait! As with most of Mercedes Lackey's novels, you get excellent character growth - including many self-analysis from Vanyel, who struggles to come to grips with his sexuality, the suicide of his previous lover, and the manner in which his "legend" escapes from reality into fiction, aew and fear. Simply one of the best efforts from a second book of trilogy I have read in a long time. It will keep you turning pages long into the night.
Rating:
Summary: A Truly Good Book
Review: Bravo! While not as good as the first and third books, I truly enjoyed this one. It's a little slow in the begining, but it makes up for it. It's rather odd, because it's over ten years since the last book and there are a few tidbits missing (like the map which is thankfully included in the third book), but all and all this was a great book.
Rating:
Summary: I absolutely LOVED this Trilogy
Review: Hard to believe I discovered Misty in October of 2001. (I don't count the book with Anne McCaffrey.) I picked up Magic's Pawn at the bookstore, and the rest is history.
I loved Magic's Promise (I loved them all). I cried almost as much in this one, as with Magic's Price. (I don't want to give the story away for new readers). It kept me awake trying to solve the murder mystery. (My husband was not appreciative.) Misty's writing pulls me into the story, as another reviewer said, and I feel a part of it all. I feel so sorry for Van. I wish Misty would have given us more of his life and training, but this trilogy is worth reading. (I've read it 5 times since October 2001, and laughed and cried every time.)
Rating:
Summary: Heros always win...
Review: Heros always win. That is one rule that will never change. Every has noticed that, but has any one ever notice the price that hero pays (when he returns home alive). I never did until I start to read The Last Herald Mage Triolgy. Vanyel pays the price of being a hero by watching people he cares for grow farther away, out of neccessity. That is a price I would hate to pay. You see heroism from another point of view in the Last Herald Mage triolgy, the point of view of a hero not some perfect happy ending storybook hero the kind you grow up with, but the kind that puts his life on the line because he has to who doesn't get there in a nick of time every time, who sometimes is to late and sometimes early enough and sometimes in a nick of time. Vanyel is a person not a story book hero. He loses the love of his life, best friends and sometimes all he can do is get revenge for those deaths. He gets all kinds of nicknames, nicknames he usually doesn't like. People he has known for years fear him because he is so strong. He dislikes that and it hurts him because he is human and not a story book hero. He endures all of this and comes out on top, even though he may want to quit, simply because he feels he has a duty to people to use his power to help others and protect them. He is like a storybook hero in that aspect. He doesn't always have a happy ending or any other story book norm. but he always does what is needed even if it goes beyond he duty as a Herald but that is what Vanyel does. Go beyond what needs to be done or what can be done and pull a mircle out of thin air to save people and to protect people because that is Vanyel. Somewhere he manages to fit in a life and happiness and other storybook things
Rating:
Summary: Not a Lackey fan, but loved this trilogy!
Review: I am not a fan of Lackey at all. I have rarely enjoyed her books, and am not particularly intrigued by the world of Valdemar. However, this is a phenomenal trilogy! It was impossible for me to put any of the three down until they were completely, fully and totally consumed. I bought this trilogy back in 1991, and have re-read it every year or so since. It's a profound love story, full of characters you can almost touch and feel, and definitely sympathise and relate to. Vanyel is a young boy with no latent magical abilities whatsoever, until a niaive sacrifice for his "soul-mate" results in a backwash making him one of the world's most powerful mages, but at a devastating price (and we're not talking just the death of his lover here, folks!). For those who think this is a gay love story, you cannot be more wrong. Vanyel is an unlikely hero who just happens to be homosexual, and the casual way Lackey handles his sexual preference should be inspirational to anyone, straight or gay. Actually, the fact that Vanyel's homosexuality is such a very small and very private part of his life when compared to his other attributes and his duties leads me to think perhaps the gay community has more to learn from his example than any other segment. He's not out to prove anything, or to impress or shock anyone. He simply wants to be accepted, himself alone, and to be allowed to pursue happiness in his own private way. There are some inconsistencies throughout the series, but one won't notice them unless you are particularly observant and/or frequently re-read the trilogy (which you probably will). All in all, very high in my list of fantasy favorites.
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