Rating: 
Summary: Another Fantastic Lackey Book!
Review: I truly enjoyed this book, and can't wait until the second one is shipped to my home. This book tells the story of Herald Alberich, the foreign Herald we met in Take A Thief, another wonderful book.I read this novel immediately after I'd begun the Mage Storms trilogy. I was less than a third of the way through Storm Warning, and I was already bored to tears. Reminding myself of Lackey's amazing Last Herald-Mage trilogy, I set out to find another book in her Valdemar series that could satisfy my need for a good read. The first thing that caught my eye in the bookstore was Exile's Valor, which had just been released. Immediately, I picked up the book and began reading. It intrigued me so much that I bought it, something I don't usually do with books I haven't yet read, and went home anticipating an enjoyable afternoon of reading. It turned out to be much more than only "enjoyable;" it became one of my favorites in the Valdemar series. There are times when the book seems a little bit slow, but once you get through those few parts, the story more than makes up for it. I would definitely recommend this to everyone who is a fan of Mercedes Lackey, and if you enjoyed Take A Thief, then rest assured, you will love this book.
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Summary: Not your usual Valdemar 'Fluff'...
Review: Anyone who has read large amounts of Lackey has most likely gotten used to her formulas of writing. She doesn't always stick by them, mind you, nor are these always bad formulas to follow. Valdemar, by and large, has been plagued by 'unhappy' child stories. That is to say, children in bad situations who are suddenly scooped up by magical white horses and taken off to be Important People in the realm. There's much more to that, but that is the underlying basis to many of her stories. I find these enjoyable, for a very simplistic and sweet tales. I don't read them to tax my brain, but simply to loose myself in Valdemar for a while. Exile's Honor is a bit different, hailing more towards her Vows and Honor series and 'By the Sword'. The main character, Alberich, is not particularily unhappy with his life when he's scooped up (though he is in a bind at that particular moment in time) unlike many of the children of the earlier books. In this book, Lackey delves into what it means to keep a vow... and the refinement of that vow and how it changes your perceptions of the world as you realize exactly what you promised. Honor, duty, loyalty... all play a part as Alberich's life is twisted and turned, and as layers are peeled away he finds the core of himself and his faith.
Rating:
Summary: Good stand alone adventure
Review: Just so you know where I'm coming from, my favorite Valdemar series is "The Last Herald Mage". "Exile's Honor" is not as good as that series, but it is a good stand-alone adventure. For Vanyel fans, it's interesting to see the damage that Vanyel (Last Herald-Mage) did when he threw back those magic beasts into Karse and caused the Karsites to banish magic and hunt down magic-users. I bet he didn't think that he would cause such a repressive society to be born! Alberich is a product of the repressive Karsite society. He has learned to guard his tongue and not act in a way to draw attention to himself. Of course, having visions of the future, and then being chosen by a Companion and taken to the court of Valdemar isn't exactly anonymous behavior! He has a difficult time reconciling his new duties as a Herald with the tales he has been told of Heralds and their demon mounts. Overall, this is a good addition to the Valdemar universe. This book is more likely to be appreciated by readers who have read one or more of the previous series. Most of the explanations happen in "Magic's Pawn" (The Last Herald Mage) and "Arrows of the Queen" (Heralds of Valdemar). If you're new to Valdemar, you should start with those books first.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a must read!
Review: I thought that this book was one of the best in the Valdemar series. I admit that I am biased; I love all the books that Mercedes Lackey writes about Valdemar(especially the Herald Mage series) and would buy just about anything she produces, but I believe that characterisation is her strength and was a little disappointed to miss some of that richness in a couple of her recent novels. However, in Exile's Honor she has come back to full strength! I thought that the characterisations in this book were as good as anything she has done.
The story expands on a short story that I originally read in HorseFantastic which told how Alberich, then a loyal Captain in the Karse army, was rescued from Karse (and being burned alive), by a Companion who took him to Valdemar. Fans know Alberich from other stories of Queen Selanay's reign but the transformation of an intensely honorable man from being a loyal son of Karse to an equally loyal weaponsmaster in Valdemar without compromising his honor is a wonderful story. It is also a story which, to my mind manages to be upbeat, despite some pretty intense descriptions of battles, without ever becoming sentimental.
The book describes Selanay when she was the heir apparent - thereby shedding light on her character - and explains how she ascended the throne. It also introduces the Grove born Companion, Rolan - so it is a 'must read' for those who want to know all about Valdemar.
I strongly recommend this book. It could, I think be read alone, but I think that readers who are familiar with Valdemar will probably enjoy it even more . Buy it and enjoy!
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Summary: Another wonderful story from the world of Valdemar
Review: In the last year I have become a fan of Mercedes Lackey, I have read all of the Valdemar books except for the Owl Trilogy and Burning Brightly. She has created alot of wonderful and beloved characters in her Valdemar books, Vanyel, Talia, Skiff, Elspeth, Keorywn, Tarma and Kethry, and Alberich, who finally gets the spotlight in this great novel. It starts nicely with the short story that she wrote years ago showing how Alberich, Captain in the Army of Karse (the centuries old neighbor and enemy of Valdemar), was choosen as a Herald. Saved from being burned alive by the Vkandis Sunlord Priests for using "Witch Powers" by his Companion Kantor. From there she delves into Alberich's head as he comes to adjust to and love his new home in the land of the country he was raised to hate and fear. I loved how Alberich was torn in trying to remain true to his values of honor and loyality to both his homeland of Karse and his new home of Valdemar, trying to save Valdemar and at the same time not trying to hurt Karse too much is a balance he strives for throught the novel. I also enjoyed the portrayal of Vkandis Sunlord, the God of Karse, and how Alberich tries to understand what hand he played in bringing him to become a Herald of Valdemar. This is a nice companion piece to what we learned of the Sunlord in the Mage Storms Trilogy Alberich is not the only one featured in this one, a young Princess Selenay is shown, which was a nice touch as we see how she came to be the great Queen and ruler of Valdemar in the later books. Alot of other familiar characters pop up such as Talimar, Lord Orthellen, Myste and more. Plus we also get to see Selenays' father King Sendar, who I liked very much. It was nice to see them and get alot of backstory information only mentiond off hand in other books. If you love Lackey and Valdemar, you have to have this book. Its a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: Mercedes phoned this in
Review: Before anyone gets mad at me, just know that I've been a fan for a very long time and reread many of her books over and over again. This book was poorly written, with bad character development, and just plain awful. Even having familiar beloved characters didn't help the story. Don't buy it and don't read it. I bought Joust at the same time, and was pleasantly surprised by it, so if you need a new series by Mercedes Lackey, go to Joust.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so sure...
Review: I am not done reading this yet, but I just got into the section where we first see Myste and she might as well be walking around with a sign that says Mary Sue on it. Written on her forehead. In red marker. Don't get me wrong, I love most of Lackey's Valdemar series. Like nearly everyone else who commented here, LHM was life-changing for me too. However, I think that naming her Myste was a cute little nod we could all stand in the other books when she wasn't ever really shown to us in a signifigant way, but now? The similarities between this character and what I know of the author herself are setting off some warning bells.
Rating: 
Summary: This book had potential
Review: Unfortunately the author has a tendency to breeze over some of the more interesting aspects of the story. For people that like a light read, it might be ok, but the story is not very exciting, I put this book down alot. The climax comes after 300+ pages and is a letdown, followed by an utterly boring couple of chapters which had me screaming for the story to end. Lackey writes about emotions the protagonist feels alot but doesn't spend enough time on the characters overall, possibly introduces too many new characters, and lets the reader down by foreshadowing plot possibilities that never materialize. What does happen instead is utterly boring, fluffy fantasy writing. Additionally, the emotional bond and telepathic/empathic abilities between the human "Heralds" and the horse-like "Companions", is more likely to appeal to young girls that like horses than to seasoned fantasy readers. Yawn....
Rating:
Summary: There was alot of potential in this story....*SPOILERS*
Review: This book was hard to get through. There wasn't a single chapter in the book that had me so engrossed that I couldn't put the book down. In fact, I put the book down alot...
Lackey's focus in this book seems to dwell on whatever emotion the protagonist Alberich is feeling at any given moment, as he is a conflicted character who is forced to adopt a new country, Valdemar. And frankly, the constant comparisons he makes between life in Karse vs. Valdemar get old. After being nearly burned alive as a heretic in his homeland of Karse, he is rescued by the Valdemarans, who seem oddly desperate to give a member of an enemy nation one of the most important jobs in their kingdom. Unfortunately, Lackey doesn't dwell long enough on some of the more interesting aspects of this, such as Alberich's role as the Weaponmaster's Second, or the four Herald spies who have Karsite memories melded from Alberich's mind into theirs. More time spent on core character development was needed, instead of the constant introduction of new characters throughout the story (even at the end of the book!) who are given just a brief intro before the story must once again lurch on to it's ever so trite climax, the battle between Valdamar and the mega-underdeveloped Tedrels(practically a faceless enemy). All we know about them, is that they're bastards! And they want Valdamar for themselves, because they are homeless! And you can't trust 'em! And short of King Sendar's suicidal charge into battle, don't expect the climactic battle to do justice to the 300+ pages you had to endure up to that point. The battle is also followed by an utterly boring excursion over the border into Karse to rescue some bizzare group of refuge-like orphans who have their own society, even their own religious prophecy that they would one day be saved by the Heralds. The writing in these chapters is so dripping with emotion towards these children, that the reader just can't soak it up coming right off the big battle and the death of the king. Massive use of italics is really irritating...I was literally shouting for the book to end at that point. Also, most notably, the character Orthallen was introduced as a possible traitor and adversary to Valdemar and Alberich, someone that might have attempted a coup in his own lust for power. It never materialized.
Additionally, this story begged to come full circle with the possibility of Alberich somehow exposing the corruption of the Sunpriests of Karse and subsequently his friend and the Valdemaran Sunpriest Geri becoming the next Son of the Sun. This would have been sweet justice for Alberich and perhaps founded a
new peace between the supposedly ancient enemies of Karse and Valdemar. In fact I wouldn't have minded if much of the book was dedicated to a plot like this, there would have been alot more tension in the story if Alberich tried to return to Karse, perhaps as one of his alternate personas he used to ferret out crime in the Valdemaran city of Haven. Never materialized..... The bottom line: Alberich gets sucked into living the rest of his
life in Valdemar hook, line, and sinker, because he feels needed there, those evil Sunpriests who tried to burn him aren't around, he kinda likes this bookworm chick named Myste (and might need the rest of his life figuring out what to do with her next), he doesn't have to violate his principle of honor, and the food's better anyway. Yawn....
Rating:
Summary: i couldn't even finish it.
Review: In a word, BORING.
I've never read one of Mercedes Lackey's books before and I hesitate to reserve any amount of time to do so again. First of all, the protagonist was so flat I was hoping he would get killed off just to make him interesting. The only entertaining part of the book was Kantor, his companion, and that didn't make it worth my time. I feel like Myste was an incredible let down in evolving. Why did we get to know her when nothing substantial happens?
Don't waste time/money/effort. Find a better writer, one with more imagination and better character development. I don't get why people like her books. It's like something a teenager wrote and that might be insulting teenagers. And what is up w/ the italics!!!!!????? Every word does NOT deserve emphasis
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