11.30.2021 | Tuesday

Winds of Fate

Item: Winds of Fate
Rating: 4.5
Author: Kim

category: Book Reviews
tag(s): adult
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title: Winds of Fate
author: Mercedes Lackey
series: Mage Winds #1
published: 7 July 1992
publisher: DAW
genre(s): fantasy
pages: 460
source: bought
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookBub | Goodreads

rating:

| series rating:

the blurb

Lackey, who has enchanted readers since the publication of her first novel, Arrows of the Queen in 1987, scores another hit with the paperback release of the first book in an exciting new series. High magic had been lost to Valdemar when Vanyel gave his life to save his kingdom from destruction by the dark sorceries. Now it falls to Elspeth -- Herald, heir to the throne -- to take up the challenge and seek a mentor who will awaken her mage abilities.

my review

Winds of Fate, and the trilogy, creates a turning point in the Valdemar saga. It’s not the advent of something new, but rather the return of something long forgotten. The immunity from magic that has existed since the death of Vanyel (The Last Herald-Mage trilogy) has kept Valdemar safe from enemy magical attacks. But that immunity seems to be fading away.

Much of the book takes place away from Valdemar, in the lands of the Hawkbrothers. And I love the world of the brothers. To me, I envision them as a blend of Tolkein’s elves of Galadriel and First Nation peoples. Their world is so different from Valdemar, from our own, that it really draws me into the story. And as with all Valdemar books, there are twists and turns, magic and fantasy, and enemies to battle, all of which I adore!

But I will admit that, despite my lifelong and diehard love of Valdemar and Mercedes Lackey, there are some things that bother me about this book. While I love Darkwind, Elspeth, and all the characters of the Vale, I don’t love the casual treatment of rape that is too often found in some of the books. This one included, and somehow, at least to me, in a more obvious way. Characters that have experienced rape (off the page for the most part) seem to recover too easily, quickly able to put the trauma aside to enjoy intimacy. However, I think it’s probably a result of the times. The early 90s, when this was published, wasn’t exactly the most enlightened time when it came to sexual assault.

The second thing I didn’t love was Skif’s character arc. His purpose in this book seemed to be solely to have a misogynistic crush on Elspeth, to provide the motivation for her to grow and come into her own. He treated her like porcelain for much of the book, became ego-hurt whenever she made choices without him or in opposition to his own wishes. And that all seemed very out of character for the Skif we’d met in earlier books. When he had feelings for Talia, in the Arrows trilogy, he did not act like that. So it was bizarre.

That being said, those things were not enough for me to give this book less than 4.5 stars.

About Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes Lackey is the well known author of the Valdemar books, set in her own world, Velgarth. She has also written in several other universes, including romances for Luna set in the fairy tale ‘five hundred kingdoms’.

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