musings on Mercedes Lackey

I just finished reading Brightly Burning for the second time, and wanted to write about it.

I feel like this book is, in some ways, a reaction to her earlier work, Magic's Price. The central question, from my perspective, is, "What kind of person gives their life for their country?" Accordingly, both books end with the deaths of the main characters. (I'm not giving much away, here. And if you haven't read the Last Herald-Mage trilogy, either you don't read fantasy or you've been living under a bush for the last twenty years, and I have no sympathy.) However, the way that these deaths are treated is incredibly different.

( Some spoiling )

I think it's interesting to see how Lackey has grown as a writer in the ten-plus years in between these books. I also think that it's awesome that she is writing well again, after the nadir of the Magewinds books.

YA goodness

This week I read A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and Birth of the Firebringer by Meredith Ann Pierce. The latter was lent me by ceelove, the former was recommended, I believe, by ascikitty.

A Great and Terrible Beauty reminded me a lot of The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey, with the dual climates of India and Britain and magic. However, it also incorporates some of that boarding-school stuff that many of us love to hate. It had some interesting stuff about power, and the proper uses of power. I liked it. Three stars.

Birth of the Firebringer is a book I resisted reading for a while. I generally stay away from stuff about unicorns. But I'm glad I made an exception when ceelove recommended it to me, because I really liked it. It had some interesting stuff about belief and perspective. Following the law versus following your heart... I liked it a lot. Four stars.

I've started Anansi Boys but took a break because I was feeling sorry for the main character. I'm also working through Dreaming Down Under.