This review was originally written on July 13, 2013
I remember reading Buzzfeed list on terrific fantasy books with awful covers. It was a riot, but I couldn't help wonder why this one didn't make the list.
I almost didn't buy the book because of it. This was back in the days before online reviews and recommendations, and I had passed over this book in the local used book store many times. It didn't sound bad but the cover looked so pink and little-girly that I kept putting it back on the shelf; there's no way I'd like a book that looks so fluffy and childish!
I must have been particularly hard up for new reading material on one trip or another, 'cause I eventually did buy it.
And it blew me away.
This book is the introduction to the world of Valdemar. It's the book that started it all, in a world that I revisited many, many times. A world I loved immediately with a love that increased every time I reread it.
Now, I love Mercedes Lackey. I've loved virtually everything she's written, and by now I've read most of it. There are other people who look at Valdemar as dreck with trite, cliche characters and a formulaic, superficial plot. I can't really even deny that these people have a point, even if I think they're being too hard on her books. But there's just something about this world that I still love to escape to after all these years that speaks to its magic. Nevertheless, I'm not writing this to change anyone's mind.
No, I'm writing this review primarily to speak to those other readers who look at the cover of this book and roll their eyes; clearly this is going to be "Girl with Bad Haircut Meets My Little Pony." Not so. This pink and pale blue gaggy cover holds one of my top favorite stories ever. To those of you on the fence, I'd recommend getting this book and preparing yourself for a multi-volume adventure.
9/10 stars
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