Valdemar saga (in chronological order of the world, not order of publication):
We are back in Valdemar. This time we meet a young orphan boy named Skif. He's staying with his abusive uncle's hotel doing grunt work and surviving mostly on stealing food and pickpocketing. He meets another pickpocket who introduces him to a man who helps him develop his thieving skills and he eventually leaves his uncle's house. When his mentor dies in a fire, Skif is determined to figure out who started that fire and get his revenge.
And you know what? It turns out that what he really needs to solve that fire mystery is a Companion and he's Chosen by Cymry. Seriously, it's just like the story of Mags all over again. I want NEW STORIES, Mercedes Lackey. I want NEW MAGIC. It was a fun book to read and I always like hanging out in Valdemar and it was nice to see Alberich again. But, you know, this orphan boy story whose problems are all solved by being Chosen is sort of old hat. Surely we don't have to recycle stories in a world with magic?!
3/5 stars
Lines of note:
"People'll be skatin', makin' snow stachoos an' forts, 'avin' snowball fights."
"Kids?" Skif asked. "Littles?"
Raf laughed. "Na, growed people, too! Graybeards, even! I seed 'em!"
Raf laughed. "Na, growed people, too! Graybeards, even! I seed 'em!"
Skif could only shake his head at the notion of full-grown adults having the leisure to pursue snow sports. (page 97)
You know what? It is sort of rare that I take the time to just goof off in the snow. It's very much about clearing the snow or whatever.
Why would anyone bother to steal the collection of silver miniatures, anyway? They were unique and irreplaceable, yes, but you'd never be able to sell them anywhere, they were too recognizable, and you wouldn't get a fraction of their value if you melted them down. Oh, a thief could hold them for random, Skif supposed, but he'd certainly be found out and caught. (page 177)
On my beloved podcast Let's Go to Court (RIP), Kristin was always interested in art heists and Brandi thought they were stupid for this very reason. What are you going to do with the Mona Lisa once you have it?
What I looked up:
raree shows (page 98) - a form of entertainment, especially one carried in a box, such as a peep show
horse sharper (page 248) - I assume it means a horse thief, but I can't find a definition that says so.
Here's the context:
We've had a carnival trickster, a horse sharper, and a girl who pretended to be a witch, told fortunes which turned out to be correct ForeSight, but also took money for curses she never performed...We've had a former assassin. We've even had a spy. (page 248)
We've had a carnival trickster, a horse sharper, and a girl who pretended to be a witch, told fortunes which turned out to be correct ForeSight, but also took money for curses she never performed...We've had a former assassin. We've even had a spy. (page 248)
Hat mentions (why hats?):
Skif had never seen the hair before - stark black with thick streaks of white running through it - because it had been hidden under a hood or a hat. (page 231)
The Palace seamstresses bespoke the goosedown for featherbeds, the swansdown for trimming, and the tail feathers for hats. (page 292)
Yes, it does seem like there would be no need to recycle stories in a world with magic! But, it was fun to read so there's that.
ReplyDeleteI do like the magical creatures! There's something that's worth it to me just to hang out with magical non-horse horses.
DeleteThis is not my fav genre to start, so I am
ReplyDeletenot planning to read it- but I am team Create new stories.
We should all be Team Create New Stories!!
DeleteEight books in this series? You are seri-ous about this book stuff. (I couldn't think of anything else)
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of these books, but I'm guessing you've read all to this point?
It's way more than eight books! Most of those are trilogies or quartets. So many books!!
Delete