Winds of Change (The Mage Winds, Book 2)

Rating:
Summary: Three and a half star fantasy
Review: "Winds of Change" was much better than "Winds of Fate," and I wish the former, rather than the latter, had been the start of the "Mage Winds" trilogy.

I know this flies in the face of just about every other reviewer here. Bear with me, please.

In the first book, "Winds of Fate," Elspeth, heir to the throne of Valdemar, had gone off to find some mages, because Valdemar was in grave danger, and it had none. Along the way, she found out that *she* was a mage, and prospectively very, very powerful; she also regressed quite a bit from how she'd been previously drawn in "By the Sword" and the "Arrows" trilogy.

Darkwind, in the first book, started off as an ex-mage and had to take up the mantle of magecraft again, because his clan, K'Sheyna, was in grave danger, and most of the mages were tapped out.

The thing is, if I'd read this book alone, I'd have liked it better. Darkwind and Elspeth are drawn to be much more sympathetic characters in this book. They have interests outside magecraft, and we see a bit of that. We also see Gwena finally getting her comeuppance (in the first book, Gwena, Elspeth's Companion, really raised Hell because she tried to coerce Elspeth into doing things, rather than asking or explaining anything). And we see more about Treyvan and Hydona, as well as more from Nyara and Skif.

Nyara really starts to come into her own, here. Without her efforts, Mornelithe Falconsbane (the big bad guy) would not be put down at the end of this book. And, without Treyvan and Hydona, the book would lose quite a bit of light, laughter, and love, as their successful romance foreshadows both Darkwind and Elspeth's eventual pairing-off and Skif and Nyara's as well.

The thing is, like I said before, it's *not* the first book in a trilogy. It's the second. And, as such, I have to go off the first book, or this book would make no sense whatsoever.

So, much as I like this book, and would like to give it a higher rating, I feel in good conscience I can't. So, I'm giving it three and a half stars, and would definitely recommend it -- with the extremely grudging addition that, without "Winds of Fate," this book will make little to no sense.

Rating:
Summary: Three and a half star fantasy
Review: "Winds of Change" was much better than "Winds of Fate," and I wish the former, rather than the latter, had been the start of the "Mage Winds" trilogy.

I know this flies in the face of just about every other reviewer here. Bear with me, please.

In the first book, "Winds of Fate," Elspeth, heir to the throne of Valdemar, had gone off to find some mages, because Valdemar was in grave danger, and it had none. Along the way, she found out that *she* was a mage, and prospectively very, very powerful; she also regressed quite a bit from how she'd been previously drawn in "By the Sword" and the "Arrows" trilogy.

Darkwind, in the first book, started off as an ex-mage and had to take up the mantle of magecraft again, because his clan, K'Sheyna, was in grave danger, and most of the mages were tapped out.

The thing is, if I'd read this book alone, I'd have liked it better. Darkwind and Elspeth are drawn to be much more sympathetic characters in this book. They have interests outside magecraft, and we see a bit of that. We also see Gwena finally getting her comeuppance (in the first book, Gwena, Elspeth's Companion, really raised Hell because she tried to coerce Elspeth into doing things, rather than asking or explaining anything). And we see more about Treyvan and Hydona, as well as more from Nyara and Skif.

Nyara really starts to come into her own, here. Without her efforts, Mornelithe Falconsbane (the big bad guy) would not be put down at the end of this book. And, without Treyvan and Hydona, the book would lose quite a bit of light, laughter, and love, as their successful romance foreshadows both Darkwind and Elspeth's eventual pairing-off and Skif and Nyara's as well.

The thing is, like I said before, it's *not* the first book in a trilogy. It's the second. And, as such, I have to go off the first book, or this book would make no sense whatsoever.

So, much as I like this book, and would like to give it a higher rating, I feel in good conscience I can't. So, I'm giving it three and a half stars, and would definitely recommend it -- with the extremely grudging addition that, without "Winds of Fate," this book will make little to no sense.

Rating:
Summary: Great Fantasy!
Review: After reading Winds of Fate, I couldn't help but read this book. Although Elspeth's aggrevated attitude started to get to me after a while in Winds of Fate, she began to go through a transition in this book, becomming someone I could actually relate to! I still love Darkwind as I did in the first book, and finding out that Firesong was...not as he seemed made my jaw drop! An exciting, multi-faceted, and altogether wonderful fantasy!

Rating:
Summary: An exciting continuation of the Trilogy
Review: Heralds Elspeth and Skif have journeyed far from their native Valdemar in search of mages to protect against the dark forces of Ancar of Hardorn. Their search has taken them to the Vale of the Tayledras Clan k'Sheyna, where they have been made Wingsibs of the Clan. Thus, Elspeth begins her mage training under the tutelage of a Tayledras scout and former Adept, Darkwind, and two gryphons, Treyvan and Hydona.

But an evil force is lurking in the Uncleansed Lands, a Dark Adept that will stop at nothing to destroy the Tayledras through the rogue Heartstone he has created. Will Elspeth and Darkwind be able to stop him before it is too late?

"Winds of Change" is the second book in Mercedes Lackey's Mage Winds Trilogy. I really enjoyed it and went through it very quickly. There was lots of action and rarely a dull moment. The love scenes were sweet and not overly graphic, and thus lightened the mood and allowed more intimate glimpses into the characters involved.

Lackey is so good at creating a thoroughly, convincingly real world that the reader feels like he or she has actually been there. It is a real treat to read her books. I feel like I go somewhere completely new and different each time I start another of her books.

The characters are absolutely wonderful as well, especially Darkwind. He is one of my favorite Lackey characters, and I greatly look forward to finding out what will become of him in the next book. "Winds of Change" completely changed my attitude towards Elspeth. She has never been one of my favorites (the only thing that really got me through "Winds of Fate" was Darkwind), but she really started to mature and grow finto someone I really respected and liked in this book.

As with "Winds of Fate," "Winds of Change" is filled with Tayledras characters. So if you like the Tayledras, this is a must read.

Don't get me wrong. I really loved this book, but there were a few small things that bothered me about it. First, Skif and Nyara's relationship. It is just too weird for me and almost too scripted. Like, how did he know that he truly loved her and wasn't just falling for the spells put on her? It just never came off as being as realistic as the rest of the book did. Second, Mornelithe Falconsbane's evilness. He is just too evil. It seems to me that Mercedes Lackey tends to make her villains very one-sided and so unexplainably evil that there is no way the reader can feel sorry for them. I'm just one of those people who likes to be able find the cause for the evilness so that I can better understand why a villain is the way he or she is.

Bottom Line: A nice addition to the Valdemar series and another absolute treat for my fellow Tayledras lovers out there. Make sure that you read "Winds of Fate" first!

Rating:
Summary: An exciting continuation of the Trilogy
Review: Heralds Elspeth and Skif have journeyed far from their native Valdemar in search of mages to protect against the dark forces of Ancar of Hardorn. Their search has taken them to the Vale of the Tayledras Clan k'Sheyna, where they have been made Wingsibs of the Clan. Thus, Elspeth begins her mage training under the tutelage of a Tayledras scout and former Adept, Darkwind, and two gryphons, Treyvan and Hydona.

But an evil force is lurking in the Uncleansed Lands, a Dark Adept that will stop at nothing to destroy the Tayledras through the rogue Heartstone he has created. Will Elspeth and Darkwind be able to stop him before it is too late?

"Winds of Change" is the second book in Mercedes Lackey's Mage Winds Trilogy. I really enjoyed it and went through it very quickly. There was lots of action and rarely a dull moment. The love scenes were sweet and not overly graphic, and thus lightened the mood and allowed more intimate glimpses into the characters involved.

Lackey is so good at creating a thoroughly, convincingly real world that the reader feels like he or she has actually been there. It is a real treat to read her books. I feel like I go somewhere completely new and different each time I start another of her books.

The characters are absolutely wonderful as well, especially Darkwind. He is one of my favorite Lackey characters, and I greatly look forward to finding out what will become of him in the next book. "Winds of Change" completely changed my attitude towards Elspeth. She has never been one of my favorites (the only thing that really got me through "Winds of Fate" was Darkwind), but she really started to mature and grow finto someone I really respected and liked in this book.

As with "Winds of Fate," "Winds of Change" is filled with Tayledras characters. So if you like the Tayledras, this is a must read.

Don't get me wrong. I really loved this book, but there were a few small things that bothered me about it. First, Skif and Nyara's relationship. It is just too weird for me and almost too scripted. Like, how did he know that he truly loved her and wasn't just falling for the spells put on her? It just never came off as being as realistic as the rest of the book did. Second, Mornelithe Falconsbane's evilness. He is just too evil. It seems to me that Mercedes Lackey tends to make her villains very one-sided and so unexplainably evil that there is no way the reader can feel sorry for them. I'm just one of those people who likes to be able find the cause for the evilness so that I can better understand why a villain is the way he or she is.

Bottom Line: A nice addition to the Valdemar series and another absolute treat for my fellow Tayledras lovers out there. Make sure that you read "Winds of Fate" first!

Rating:
Summary: This is a really fantastic author
Review: I have read all the books in the Valdemar series and this one was just a good as all the rest. Mercedes Lackey knows what she is doing. The main character in this story is one of her more memorable.

Rating:
Summary: I love this book!
Review: I love Elspeth! She's my kinda hero. Darkwind reminds me of myself sometimes. I haven't read the other two, but I bet they're just as good.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, and well defined.
Review: I was captivated by the very beautifully developed concepts of the magicks in this book. The plot twists and turns, and it is BEAUTIFUL. I love this book!!

Rating:
Summary: Vanyel's Back!!!
Review: I was so excited to Vanyel back in story by Mercedes Lackey. It's nice to see what him Stefen have been up to all these years, andd the rest of the book was just as wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Elspeth and Darkwind's journey continues
Review: In Valdemar, Princess Elspeth is the heir to the throne and a herald, but in K'Sheyna Vale, she's just another mage in training. After becoming members of the Hawkbrothers, Elspeth and the ex-theif Skif part ways momentarily to complete their own tasks. Elspeth is beginning to learn magic, and it's becoming obvious from the start that she has it in spades. Her teacher, Darkwind, finds himself facing the challenge of teaching a slightly uppity (and not to mention attractive) woman while relearning much of the magic he swore never to use again.

Meanwhile Skif and Wintermoon, Darkwind's brother, start too look for Nyara, the changechild of whom Skif is still quite smitten with. Nyara is also the newest wielder of the sword Need. It appears that Need is the only one that can help her become independent of her father, the cruel adept, Morenlithe Falconsbane. who is planning on striking again soon. He will stop at nothing from stealing the power of the Vale's heartsone. Elspeth, Darkwind, and the other mages of K'Sheyna Vale know they must stop him but they know that he's impossible to defeat alone.

This book was just as good, if not better that Wind of Fate. The first book in the trilogy was merely warming us up for the thrills you'll find in this one. There are many good parts about this book. Me being a closet hopeless romantic, love to watch the mere attraction between Darkwind and Elspeth grow into something possible more. I can't wait to see what happens to them in the next book. The character Nyara, who almost annoyed me through certain parts of the first book, really grows in leaps and bounds in this one. She's now one of my newest favorite characters. I'm also pleased to see Elspeth calm down a bit in this one. Her character is also turning out wonderfully. This is an amazing book filled with many twists and turns and memorable scenes. If you've read the first book I highly recommend reading this one as well.