A review by venusbloo
Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 
Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey is the fourth book in the Collegium Chronicles series set in the fictional country of Valdemar.  In the previous installment, Mags manages to rescue Amily from the clutches of the assassins intent on destabilizing the Kingdom of Valdemar. Things seem to have gotten back to normal for Mags and his friends.  Amily has since been through the Healing necessary to fix her leg, and she is beginning to work on learning to defend herself.  Likewise, now that Lena's father, Bard Marchand, is in disgrace, she is excelling in her studies towards becoming a Master Bard herself.  Bear, having been in charge of Amily's Healing, can finally feel confident in his abilities as a Healer even if he doesn't have a Gift. 
 
However, there is still plenty of mystery surrounding the assassins.  No one knows where they come from, who they work for, why some of their number seem to recognize Mags, or really anything much about them.  Also, their first attempt to kidnap Amily revealed that Amily wasn't their only target.  They tried to take Mags as well.  What could they possibly want from Mags?  As far as he knows, he's the orphan of foreigners killed by bandits, and he spent the first part of his life as a half-feral mine slave.  Unfortunately, Mags's unknown past is about the catch up with him, and he will have to call upon every skill he has to escape it alive. 
 
Some very interesting things happen in this book, but my favorite part in the whole thing is Bear's father finally getting his comeuppance.  Lena has had her vindication when it comes to her father, and it's finally Bear's turn.  Luckily, Lena helps with that, since Bear and Lena are in love and have been dating for a while.  They both decide to surprise everyone and get married.  Naturally, when Bear's father hears about this, he is in an uproar.  However, I don't think anyone expected him to show up with armed mercenaries to try to drag Bear away.  This was his downfall, since he conveniently forgot Bear lived on Palace grounds!  It was so satisfying to finally see Bear and Lena both happy and together, so I really enjoyed this part of the book. 
 
As far as Mags is concerned, he and Nikolas start working at the pawn shop again in an attempt to gather information as usual.  In fact, Mags gets a bit of a promotion.  He and Nikolas come up with a new persona for him that allows Mags to run the shop on his own some nights.  It's when he's leaving the shop on one such night that he begins to feel watched.  Before he knows it he's waking up in a wagon, drugged, and doesn't know where he is.  Not only that, but his Mindspeech is gone. 
 
Mags has to use all the skills he's learned as a Trainee and draw on his knowledge from his time at the mine to survive once he manages to escape his kidnappers.  He finds himself in hostile territory as well.  He's in Karse which is a country to the south of Valdemar that hates everything about Valdemar and Heralds.  It was important for Mags to have this experience, though, because I think it helped him feel more confident in his abilities.  Even though he had no formal survival training, he was still able to keep himself alive in the Karsite wilderness. 
 
Unfortunately, he is recaptured, and the assassins force him to drink a potion that forces a lot of memories into Mags's mind.  Mags is able to withstand this mental invasion, and thanks to the help of a local priest, he manages to finally escape back to the safety of Valdemar.  These memories he was given are very important, though.  Now he and the rest of the Heralds have more information than they could have dreamed of about the mysterious assassins and their origins.  
 
By the end of the book, Mags doesn't survive totally unscathed, but he still manages to hold his own.  He has also proven without a shadow of a doubt that regardless of his origins, he is a Valdemaran through and through.  He uses ingenuity to combine past experience with his training to foil his kidnappers.  There were several times he could have easily given up, but he kept pushing himself until he succeeded.  It takes a lot of mental fortitude to do something like that, especially since Mags was hurt, hungry, and missing his Mindspeech.  The overall lesson in this book was to keep doing what you know to be right and keep trying until you succeed. 
 
I gave Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey four out of five stars.  Mags consistently overcomes great odds to meet his goals.  Bear, Lena, and Amily all manage to find paths forward as well.  Mags and Dallen make a formidable team, and now that they have more information about Mags's past, they can work to discover who Mags is to these assassins.  Your past will always find you, and Mags is ready to face it by the end of this book.