Overdue review: Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey
Print date: 1989 (20s: 1, 50s: 2, 60s: 4, 70s: 10, 80s: 9, 90s: 9, 00s: 27, 10s: 2)
Verdict: Keep. (44/102)
A review I happened upon of this series said something along the lines of "How does such a deeply flawed writer draw me in so tightly?" It's a sentiment I echo. I loved this book. I blew through it in three days. If I would have read it when I was a teenager it would have meant the world to me. And yet...
The plot is sloppy. All the elements used later are introduced early, but it still feels like the story is all over the place. The writing style is simple in a way that borders caricature too often, taking some of the impact away from a story which is extraordinarily hard. And the characters are put through the wringer repeatedly in a way that seems almost unnecessary and gets within a stone's throw of author abuse.
But reading it got me through a very difficult weekend. I shouldn't have been able to concentrate, shouldn't have needed any more emotional stress. Yet I was immersed in the book in a way where all of that didn't matter. I wanted to know what happened to Vanyel, and Savil, and Tylendel. I cared.
Which is the strength of the book. I know I'm hardly blazing a path of new criticism to say that Mercedes Lackey builds good characters, but it's true. She manages to capture the flaws in people without making them villains. She brings humor in the face of hardship. She understands that people feel differently from each other in ways that don't always make sense even to themselves. You really connect to these people as a reader-- you can't help it.
The backdrop doesn't hurt, either. Valdemar is everything a fantasy universe should be, full of magic that feels real enough to touch but fantastic enough to inspire a sense of awe. It's a diverse setting too, stitching together a number of different cultures into one long history. You want to visit and you feel like it could really exist.
It did for me, when I needed it to. I suspect I'm not alone in this.
Page count: 352 (22750 total)
Completed: 64 (29 female authors, 30 male authors, 5 anthology)
Rejected: 38 (23 male authors, 15 female authors)
Next book due: Sunday, November 13th
This entry was originally posted at http://kilroy.dreamwidth.org/379876.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Verdict: Keep. (44/102)
A review I happened upon of this series said something along the lines of "How does such a deeply flawed writer draw me in so tightly?" It's a sentiment I echo. I loved this book. I blew through it in three days. If I would have read it when I was a teenager it would have meant the world to me. And yet...
The plot is sloppy. All the elements used later are introduced early, but it still feels like the story is all over the place. The writing style is simple in a way that borders caricature too often, taking some of the impact away from a story which is extraordinarily hard. And the characters are put through the wringer repeatedly in a way that seems almost unnecessary and gets within a stone's throw of author abuse.
But reading it got me through a very difficult weekend. I shouldn't have been able to concentrate, shouldn't have needed any more emotional stress. Yet I was immersed in the book in a way where all of that didn't matter. I wanted to know what happened to Vanyel, and Savil, and Tylendel. I cared.
Which is the strength of the book. I know I'm hardly blazing a path of new criticism to say that Mercedes Lackey builds good characters, but it's true. She manages to capture the flaws in people without making them villains. She brings humor in the face of hardship. She understands that people feel differently from each other in ways that don't always make sense even to themselves. You really connect to these people as a reader-- you can't help it.
The backdrop doesn't hurt, either. Valdemar is everything a fantasy universe should be, full of magic that feels real enough to touch but fantastic enough to inspire a sense of awe. It's a diverse setting too, stitching together a number of different cultures into one long history. You want to visit and you feel like it could really exist.
It did for me, when I needed it to. I suspect I'm not alone in this.
Page count: 352 (22750 total)
Completed: 64 (29 female authors, 30 male authors, 5 anthology)
Rejected: 38 (23 male authors, 15 female authors)
Next book due: Sunday, November 13th
This entry was originally posted at http://kilroy.dreamwidth.org/379876.html. Please comment there using OpenID.