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stormrogue's review
4.0
Loving all the storyline so far! Mags is quite interesting, he's growing into a fine Herald, and his friends are growing as well! Can't wait to see how things shake out in the next Mags-centered book, as there's still tons of questions unanswered!
inthecrease77's review
3.0
I like it, and as always it's very enjoyable to read Mercedes Lackey.
But I felt the ending was abrupt, somethings were tied up only in the last few pages. I felt wanting more. I felt there should be about 100 more pages, or at least even 50 more pages. Some questions weren't answered.
I hope there is another book of the Collegium Chronicles that will help answer some of the plots that were left out.
Maybe Amily's story.
Mags' speech got really annoying as the book went on, even difficult to read. I had to re-read many of his sentences because of the poor speech quality he has.
***Enjoyed the reread.
But I felt the ending was abrupt, somethings were tied up only in the last few pages. I felt wanting more. I felt there should be about 100 more pages, or at least even 50 more pages. Some questions weren't answered.
I hope there is another book of the Collegium Chronicles that will help answer some of the plots that were left out.
Maybe Amily's story.
Mags' speech got really annoying as the book went on, even difficult to read. I had to re-read many of his sentences because of the poor speech quality he has.
***Enjoyed the reread.
alannabarras's review
3.0
My least favorite of the series, just because it felt more like filler than an actual plot in and of itself.
kikmigi23's review
2.0
If Mercedes Lackey revisits these characters (which, given the ending of this book, seems likely) I plan on taking her dialect strewn dialogue and flogging her with all the dropped letters, made up words, slurs, and apostrophes. I am SICK of it. I will likely never reread this particular trilogy, and will count on a Wikipedia entry to remind me of the relevant plot points. It's Valdemar, I have to know what happened in the book, but sweet Lord, no one, no one, no one, wants to read paragraph after paragraph of dialect.
tondola's review
3.0
This 3rd book was less engagin than the previous in the series, but still a relaxing and comfortable read
scottishvix's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kmh_1832's review against another edition
3.0
Changes picks up the pace from the second book, thank goodness. The biggest disappointment for me - and maybe this is just me asking too much of YA - is that it flirts with some dark questions without really confronting them. Mags starts to consider how dark the life a spy might be - always snooping and snitching and not being yourself - then drops the question. He and feels bad about it for a day, but doesn't really give much thought to the fact that he's going to have to do a lot more relatively terrible things as a spy, if that's really what he's going to do with his life. But he just sort of accepts the future that Nikolas has picked out for him. Ok. Whatever, Mags. Fortunately he's actually a likable, clever character and never *quite* falls into flat-out CAPSLOCK HARRY mode.
I have to give Lackey a great big side-eye for her presentation of sex workers and people with disabilities. There's a minor character who is a prostitute, and it's implied that she became one because she was too lazy to be a maid. Um, what? And Amily. A great deal is made of the fact that she's a terrible burden on her father - not just that she feels that way, but that she is. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Obviously there is no reason to be patronizing to people with disabilities, but geez, do you have to hammer on the word "burden" so very much?
And again, too much kirball, not enough foreign spies.
Spoiler
terrorizes some little kids (witnesses) and threatens to sell one of them to a pedophile (he wouldn't really),I have to give Lackey a great big side-eye for her presentation of sex workers and people with disabilities. There's a minor character who is a prostitute, and it's implied that she became one because she was too lazy to be a maid. Um, what? And Amily. A great deal is made of the fact that she's a terrible burden on her father - not just that she feels that way, but that she is. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Obviously there is no reason to be patronizing to people with disabilities, but geez, do you have to hammer on the word "burden" so very much?
And again, too much kirball, not enough foreign spies.
alassel's review
4.0
This is the most recent Valdemar novel, following along as the third in the series telling about the founding of the Herald's Collegium and its early years. I love the world of Valdemar and will always enjoy stories set there, as they are consistently entertaining and wholesome while managing not to be treacly or too predictable. This novel did not disappoint, and there were some great parts that referenced other parts of the Valdemar history (especially the orb) along with continued development of the young characters that form the center of this story. However, there were a few flaws in this one that bothered me - first, Mags' accent seemed much more difficult to follow this time, and while I understand that it is written that way for a variety of reasons, I think that the same effect could have been achieved with a simpler style that left the intent plain but made it more readable. Secondly, the setup for the final event in the novel was way too predictable and I saw it coming at the first mention, and such a blatant setup is not usual for this author. The way the final event was handled was great, and was a fast-paced and exciting finish to the book, but the setup to get there was so simplistic that it felt out of place to me. Despite these flaws, this is still a good book for the Valdemar canon, and I am giving it four stars since I can't give it three and a half.