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A review by bluestjuice
Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
3.0
So, I've never read any of Mercedes Lackey's fiction in my adolescence. This is a pity, probably, because this book is exactly tailored to the adolescent fantasy reader. I'm going to be rather critical in this review so I want to preface this by making it clear that despite its many flaws, Arrows of the Queen was quite readable and I was interested in what would come next despite its lack of much character development or a terribly involved plot. This is something of a feat, and I credit it as much to the world building as anything else.
So. I'm serious when I say I would have probably loved this as a teenager, and not even because I was obsessed with horses (I wasn't, really) - though this series would hit those buttons, too. But this has the classic Pern-esque every-fantasy-novel-ever trope of an adolescent child who doesn't fit in at all with her dull daily life. Talia's childhood in Sensholding, a fringe outpost characterized by strict obedience, repressed emotions, and a patriarchal power structure which includes polygamy, is rough. She's underloved and her unique qualities are not appreciated, just like every teenager everywhere. The novel pivots at the point where she flees an arranged marriage and encounters a horse which carries her away from the holding and into the heartland of the kingdom.
I found it rather unbelievable how completely distinct the holding culture was from the culture of all the rest of the people in the kingdom - it doesn't seem to make sense that they would be able to maintain this relatively isolated and unique way of life while sharing borders with the more ordinary citizens in the next town over. The biggest problem with this part of the book, however, is how very perfect Talia is at all things. She reaches the Heralds' Collegium and discovers that the horse - make that Companion - that she's bonded with happens to be the horse of the Queen's Own Herald, making her the herald presumptive for this position which is the second highest in the Kingdom. The wish fulfillment fantasy here is pretty overwhelming, and it continues as she is introduced to the different parts of her new world, in which she discovers that there was never anything wrong with her, it's just that her family and culture didn't understand her. Now she is modest and self-effacing, charming and cordial, a bit shy and standoffish, but not to worry, teachers and trainers and other students just warm to her by the strength of her winning personality. It turns out she's a whiz at bringing bratty children to heel. She might not have any formal fighting training but that's okay, the surreptitious archery she did with her brother a few times as a kid puts her on par to be as good as any other archer after a few practices. She's a super-talented horseman: they can't teach her anything. She discovers a latent (and wholly unnecessary) gift for singing. She's wise beyond her years and offers insightful guidance and counsel to the adult Queen at the age of 14. She develops a talent for emotional mind-reading and has to train to defend herself from all the emotions swirling around. It just... meh. It's too much. It's every adolescent fantasy of finding the perfect place where everyone will adore you just the way you are, made real.
The plot pretty much at this point becomes a episodic wandering melange of super-light political intrigue, and relationship-building episodes that see Talia making friends, struggling with bullying, taking on more responsibility, etc. The main plot thread that traverses the whole thing involves a plot against the Queen, but Lackey isn't interested in really digging into this plot in any meaningful way. We never even find out the names of the courtiers involved in it, because we aren't supposed to care. This plot thread is a vehicle to allow Talia to look good by discovering secrets and helping to secure evidence that can be used to incriminate the schemers.
Anyway, I had been warned that this is a weak link in the series, and that they improve (it was apparently also the first). The writing was engaging and I did like certain elements of the way the world was designed (although parts of it I found silly). So I'll be reading on in the hopes of more elaborate character development and storylines in future books.
So. I'm serious when I say I would have probably loved this as a teenager, and not even because I was obsessed with horses (I wasn't, really) - though this series would hit those buttons, too. But this has the classic Pern-esque every-fantasy-novel-ever trope of an adolescent child who doesn't fit in at all with her dull daily life. Talia's childhood in Sensholding, a fringe outpost characterized by strict obedience, repressed emotions, and a patriarchal power structure which includes polygamy, is rough. She's underloved and her unique qualities are not appreciated, just like every teenager everywhere. The novel pivots at the point where she flees an arranged marriage and encounters a horse which carries her away from the holding and into the heartland of the kingdom.
I found it rather unbelievable how completely distinct the holding culture was from the culture of all the rest of the people in the kingdom - it doesn't seem to make sense that they would be able to maintain this relatively isolated and unique way of life while sharing borders with the more ordinary citizens in the next town over. The biggest problem with this part of the book, however, is how very perfect Talia is at all things. She reaches the Heralds' Collegium and discovers that the horse - make that Companion - that she's bonded with happens to be the horse of the Queen's Own Herald, making her the herald presumptive for this position which is the second highest in the Kingdom. The wish fulfillment fantasy here is pretty overwhelming, and it continues as she is introduced to the different parts of her new world, in which she discovers that there was never anything wrong with her, it's just that her family and culture didn't understand her. Now she is modest and self-effacing, charming and cordial, a bit shy and standoffish, but not to worry, teachers and trainers and other students just warm to her by the strength of her winning personality. It turns out she's a whiz at bringing bratty children to heel. She might not have any formal fighting training but that's okay, the surreptitious archery she did with her brother a few times as a kid puts her on par to be as good as any other archer after a few practices. She's a super-talented horseman: they can't teach her anything. She discovers a latent (and wholly unnecessary) gift for singing. She's wise beyond her years and offers insightful guidance and counsel to the adult Queen at the age of 14. She develops a talent for emotional mind-reading and has to train to defend herself from all the emotions swirling around. It just... meh. It's too much. It's every adolescent fantasy of finding the perfect place where everyone will adore you just the way you are, made real.
The plot pretty much at this point becomes a episodic wandering melange of super-light political intrigue, and relationship-building episodes that see Talia making friends, struggling with bullying, taking on more responsibility, etc. The main plot thread that traverses the whole thing involves a plot against the Queen, but Lackey isn't interested in really digging into this plot in any meaningful way. We never even find out the names of the courtiers involved in it, because we aren't supposed to care. This plot thread is a vehicle to allow Talia to look good by discovering secrets and helping to secure evidence that can be used to incriminate the schemers.
Anyway, I had been warned that this is a weak link in the series, and that they improve (it was apparently also the first). The writing was engaging and I did like certain elements of the way the world was designed (although parts of it I found silly). So I'll be reading on in the hopes of more elaborate character development and storylines in future books.