Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by reddjena
Queen's Own by Mercedes Lackey
4.0
Recently, life has thrown me some curveballs, so I decided to re-read a character story that was similar to what I was going through. I found Arrows of the Queen early in life (either junior high or early high school) and loved the story then for almost the same reasons I wanted to read it again now. Also, DAW recently released the trilogy in a single paperback, which rekindled my desire to read the series.
I want to be honest here; I usually skip Arrows Flight in my re-read because not much happens. As one of Mercedes Lackey’s earliest writing endeavors, this trilogy suffers in a couple ways. First, the middle book is almost dead space with most of what is described being too drawn out. This really could have been a beefier duology and been a bit better for it. Second, the pacing is just a little off at times. I like getting to know how Court and Collegium work, and I like getting to learn more about Talia’s friendships, but there aren’t quite enough pages devoted to the action sequences. They read as very abrupt.
Readers who aren’t accustomed to older styles of writing in the fantasy genre may become frustrated or annoyed by the editing presented in the originals. And, I haven’t had the opportunity to examine the new release to see if the editing was updated at all. However, I think the story of acceptance, bullying, family, and adventure overcome these minor negatives.
The reasons why I love this tale are tied to the main character, Talia. As a child, she was raised in a household that didn’t provide love or acceptance for who she was as a person. Then, when she traveled to the capital to become a Herald, she was met with bullies and court intrigue from early on, plus she had to work through her issues of trust, friendship, and communication. Mercedes Lackey shows a great deal of knowledge about the human psyche and emotions. Anyone who wants more LBGTQ, female empowerment, and diversity in their fantasy should check out any of Lackey’s works as she was one of the originals to feature positive reactions and acceptance of what was mostly considered normal (in the worldbuilding) relationships of that nature.
Also, who doesn’t love horse gods :)
I want to be honest here; I usually skip Arrows Flight in my re-read because not much happens. As one of Mercedes Lackey’s earliest writing endeavors, this trilogy suffers in a couple ways. First, the middle book is almost dead space with most of what is described being too drawn out. This really could have been a beefier duology and been a bit better for it. Second, the pacing is just a little off at times. I like getting to know how Court and Collegium work, and I like getting to learn more about Talia’s friendships, but there aren’t quite enough pages devoted to the action sequences. They read as very abrupt.
Readers who aren’t accustomed to older styles of writing in the fantasy genre may become frustrated or annoyed by the editing presented in the originals. And, I haven’t had the opportunity to examine the new release to see if the editing was updated at all. However, I think the story of acceptance, bullying, family, and adventure overcome these minor negatives.
The reasons why I love this tale are tied to the main character, Talia. As a child, she was raised in a household that didn’t provide love or acceptance for who she was as a person. Then, when she traveled to the capital to become a Herald, she was met with bullies and court intrigue from early on, plus she had to work through her issues of trust, friendship, and communication. Mercedes Lackey shows a great deal of knowledge about the human psyche and emotions. Anyone who wants more LBGTQ, female empowerment, and diversity in their fantasy should check out any of Lackey’s works as she was one of the originals to feature positive reactions and acceptance of what was mostly considered normal (in the worldbuilding) relationships of that nature.
Also, who doesn’t love horse gods :)