Rating: 
Summary: off to a great start....
Review: i've read and collected all of misty's books... barring 2 books which i haven't been able to get my hands on yet. and as such i can honestly say that this trilogy is one of her better works and this book is very engaging.i could go on about the plot, but i'm sure others have written about it already, so i'd just like to give my opinion on the book. one thing that i like is that it plunges straight in to the action. some say that you'd be able to understand elspeth better if you had read the earlier books, namely the arrow trilogy, but i beg to differ. firstly, i myself started reading her book not in the usual manner; i started on the 2nd book of the last herald-mage trilogy and it didn't confuse me at all. misty has a way of writing her books so that pll new to the valdemar books won't be puzzled no matter which book they read. her books are by far one of the easiest to understand amongst all of the fantasy/scifi genre. secondly, i had this trilogy first before i read the arrows trilogy... and i find it non-threatening to my ability to appreciate the characters in this book. so it's your choice really. however, i agree that reading the earlier books would give you a better understanding of the *political* situation faced by valdemar, more than anything else. get this straight; the reign of selenay *is* the current age in the world of velgarth, and most of her books relate to this age. back to the subject at hand... there's a lot of action in this book. on a first read, you'd be wondering why the heck is the story taking place at 2 places in the same time, but rather than confusing the blazes out of me, misty ties the plot neatly - albeit somewhat late - at the end of the book. the writing's solid, and she doesn't meander much on trivials as she is wont to do on her later novels, and the plot is, well, exciting. it is not usual for a herald to wander very far from valdemar, and literally unheard of if it's the heir to the throne! elspeth seems to relish the novelty of the whole trip, and not surprisingly, since living under the scrutiny of the whole nation is enough to make the average person go berserk! even on a journey that proved to be just the beginning, we can see how elspeth's character develops, realistically to boot. she matures quite fast, and she seems to have a better purpose in life with every step she takes. it helps that skif is there with her, although sometimes he seems like a grumbling and stubborn friend who refuse to accept change! some might find that the ending is abrupt, but to me, it just whets my appetite for the sequel... and i promise you that the sequel is just as riveting!
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the wait to the end!!
Review: In her typical form, Mercedes Lackey captivates the reader in one of her younger books, giving the reader more to look for towards the end. The plot thickens as the action steadily increases and finally explodes in the final conflict with Mornolithe Falconsbane! Any reader of Lackey should read this book! No question! I look forward to the next to books in the series, and am glad I found a fantasy author worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: In the beginning...
Review: In the Arrows triology, we were introduced to "the brat", Elspeth heir to the throne, terror of the Queen's palace, tamed by Talia. After a failed attempt on Elspeth's life, she embarks on a mission to find magical allies in the war with Ancar, king of Hadorn. So begins Elsepth's journey into the outside world. Meet Darkwind, exmage, scout of the elusive Talyderas, the hawkbrothers. Estranged from his father, he copes with the loss of his mother and a rogue heartstone. Chance, or fate brings them together. This is the first story in a great triology by Mercedes Lackey. This book gives the background needed for the following books, and neatly ties in with all the history of her previous books, starting with The Last Herald Mage series, all the way through to By The Sword. If you are like me, after you read this book, you will want to reread all the previous books or at least look up some of the finer points in Valdemar's history, and continue on to the last two books in the Mage Winds triology.
Rating:
Summary: In the beginning...
Review: In the Arrows triology, we were introduced to "the brat", Elspeth heir to the throne, terror of the Queen's palace, tamed by Talia. After a failed attempt on Elspeth's life, she embarks on a mission to find magical allies in the war with Ancar, king of Hadorn. So begins Elsepth's journey into the outside world. Meet Darkwind, exmage, scout of the elusive Talyderas, the hawkbrothers. Estranged from his father, he copes with the loss of his mother and a rogue heartstone. Chance, or fate brings them together. This is the first story in a great triology by Mercedes Lackey. This book gives the background needed for the following books, and neatly ties in with all the history of her previous books, starting with The Last Herald Mage series, all the way through to By The Sword. If you are like me, after you read this book, you will want to reread all the previous books or at least look up some of the finer points in Valdemar's history, and continue on to the last two books in the Mage Winds triology.
Rating: 
Summary: I think that the book speaks for itself.
Review: In this book Elspeth, heir to the throne of Valdemar, goes in search of someone to teach her to use her magic in the defense of her kingdom. Unknowingly, she steps right into the middle of someone elses war also- the Taledras (sp?) vs. Falconsbane. This is my favorite series of all time, but "Winds of Change" and "Winds of Fury" were far better than this book, in my own opinion. This book is a little slow, with some great kicks here and there, but it doesn't really get doing until Elspeth and Darkwind meet. The ending (and the rest of the series) make it well worth the read! If you have read this book and are discouraged by how slow you thought it went through most of it, I encourage you to go ahead and try the next two in the series. They are much faster paced and well worth the read. The book has a good plot and good characters, and all and all, is a worthwhile read, and a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for Lackey fans
Review: In this book, Mercedes Lackey rehashes the exact same plot we saw in the Arrows and Last Herald mage series. Same misunderstood young adult, same hero saves the world, same one dimensional evil villian. First, Elspeth goes from being a fairly interesting character in the first series, to being a brat. All of a sudden, she is misunderstood, disliked by her mother, and ugly. She isn't happy about anything. Lackey is known for whiny protagonists, but this is ridiculous. Show me exactly what Elspeth has to be discontented about. This happens to several other characters, Skif, who displayed much common sense in the other books, becomes an idiot. Tayledras are fools. The other problem I had with the book is the rehashed plot, which we have seen in every other series prior to this. Even the villian is recycled! All in all, if you read Arrow and Herald-Mage, then you have read this series, and the others are much more well done. I say skip this series unless you absolutely have to read everything Lackey writes.
Rating:
Summary: She's done it again!
Review: Lackey has done it again. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. In this book, Elspeth goes to lands outside of Valdemar. This is a wonderful book, but I suggest that you read all of the Valdemar books according to the time line in almost all of the books. DO NOT START WITH THIS ONE. If you do, it will be hard to follow along. If you have already read the others, then . . . READ THIS ONE!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite Mercedes Lackey book!
Review: Make sure to read the Arrows series, Magics series, Oathbound, and Oathbreakers before reading this book! Mercedes Lackey has done a great job of developing Elspeth and you will understand Elspeth better if you have read the preceding books. I think what I found most interesting about Elspeth is that she is sometimes vain and she has faults but she is still a strong, likeable character. I also thought Mercedes Lackey did a great job of giving us Elspeth and Darkwind's perspectives in each chapter.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Valdemarran Sequels
Review: Mercedes Lackey can really make fictions close to reality, You'll never stop looking for Valdemar sequels after this.
Rating:
Summary: Another great start of (so far) another great trilogy!
Review: Mercedes Lackey jumps right off into action in this book, but then during the middle section it lulls and just chit-chat goes on. There is very much action/adventure in this book and very little romance. The action really heats up when Darkwind meets Elspeth and they team up to try and defeat Falconsbane. There's about 7 or so pages of top-notch battle action there. For all fantasy fans, you might want to give this author a try; I've read another one of her trilogies(The Mage-Storms,) which was excellent and I look forward to reading the sequel to this one(Winds of Change). Once again, all fantasy fans should give this author a try; I think you'll like her.
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