Review of EXILE'S VALOR by Mercedes Lackey

A NOVEL OF VALDEMAR

DAW, October 2003

Although Valdemar defeated the Tedrel invaders, the nation is still troubled, providing plenty of work for weapons master and spymaster Alberich. Selenay, the young queen, misses her father and dreams of romance--to the point where she is unwilling to listen to reason. Not that anyone bothers trying to reason with her. She is the Queen, after all, and the country needs an heir.

EXILE'S VALOR follows shortly after the events described in EXILE'S HONOR (see our review). VALOR is a smaller story--one of court intrigue, spies, and attempts to gain political advantage through love. For me, the plot seemed to barely get off the ground for the first two hundred pages. Excruciating detail of Selenay's unhappiness might seem necessary to justify her rash decision to fall in love with the first handsome man to pay attention to her, but it is still excruciating for the reader. Similarly, details of Alberich's shopping trip for new disguises are the type of information that could only appeal to the most avid Valdemar fan.

In EXILE'S HONOR, author Mercedes Lackey (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Lackey dug deep into character goals and motivation. In VALOR, she focusses more on the surface. For me, the result was not up to Lackey's usual teriffic example. Fans will want to read this one and stay current, but it isn't Lackey's best.

Two Stars

Reviewed 2/15/04

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