so much diaf

Surfacing from work, work, God, work....

Notes on the Mage Storm trilogy.

1.) If you read The Mage Storm trilogy, Karal will desensitize you to Mary Sues forever. I mean, to put it this way; I like Lavan now. I like Lavan Fucks-a-Horse and Firesong Loves-Reflection-Too-Much so much my heart beats for them. Myste seems a well-rounded, realistic character. They aren't Karal. Who seriously should have died in a fire, and I swear I forgave Firesong everything ever for perpetuity for hating him. Just. DIAF.

2.) Now I remember why I stopped reading the Mage Storms trilogy. That was a nightmare. But Tremane made it worth it.

3.) If Elspeth and Gwena could be more smug and self-satisfied, I'm pretty sure they would explode.

4.) For a woman whose people sent demons after other people for fun, Solaris et al have an awful lot of self-righteous rage for Tremane assassinating Ulrich, who was also a demon caller and you know, I bet he might have like, sent them after people. You know, since that was his job and how he got his special robe and all.

5.) An'desha - die in a fire. You were so annoying when you got all 'healed' which seemed to mean 'being a dick and whining a lot' and 'being a dick and smug about it' and 'being a dick because you are finding a Higher Spiritual Plane'.

6.) Seriously. They brought back Tarma from the dead to talk about how awesome Karal was. I--what? Are you kidding me?

7.) Irony--Elspeth bringing assassins to assassinate Tremane for--assassinating people. Weird--no one seemed to think that was strange.

Notes on The Last Herald Mage:

Vanyel is awesome. I mean, this could be because Karal brain damaged me, but that's okay, you know why? Vanyel isn't Karal. Also, because only Vanyel could have a twink half his age with tons of sexual experience panting after him and not like, notice. And then when he does? Angsts about it. Oh Vanyel.

Final Notes:

Why is there no hate Karal groups? We need one. I want to join it. TEN WAYS KARAL DIES AND THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE.

This has been a message from me and my Kindle bonding.

Comments

[nagasvoice]

Hey, it could be a meme: Ten Different AUs in which Karal DIAF. Or a Flood. Or something else with an Eff. Possibly rude funny things involving the letter Eff, even. (There may be red shoes involved....)
And the even funnier part is that I haven't read any of these books, and I'm unlikely to do so, which means rally I have no right to dogpile on them, but it's fun to kibitz.

[out_there]

I'm suddenly so glad I never read the Storm Mage books, but did read the Last Herald Mage trilogy.

Also, because only Vanyel could have a twink half his age with tons of sexual experience panting after him and not like, notice. And then when he does? Angsts about it. Oh Vanyel.

Hee! I suddenly have an urge to re-read that book.

[northern]

<3 Vanyel's emo self.

[venetia_sassy]

*blinks* I always liked the Mage Storm books. Especially the Firecats. And I quite liked Karal ... I kind of wanted to slap An'desha and Firesong a few times though. Also Elspeth and Gwena (they annoyed the hell out of me in the Mage Winds trilogy, too.) But as Special Teenage Heroes went, I found Karal one of the least irritating of Lackey's creations.

[blueraccoon]

*points up* This.

[vae]

Oh, Vanyel. Why so pretty in angst?

I don't remember loathing Karal that much - I do remember loathing An'desha. I mean, seriously,I get that he's got very little life experience so is mentally "young", but grow the fuck up already.

I'm definitely in support of 10 ways Karal DIAF, though, because it sounds like fun. Also kind of like a 1950s series of children's books. Karal Dies In A Fire! Karal Dies In A Flood! Karal Dies In A Fury! Karal Dies In A Fandance! ...okay, the last one may be less likely but I'm sure Firesong could manage it.

[seperis]

DIE An'desha. YES.

[parhelion]

I have to admit, I liked Karal just fine; he reminded me of a couple of kids I knew around that age. He also seemed a lot less filled with ANGST! ANGST I TELL YOU! than many -- well, most -- of Lackey's young protagonists, which started him way ahead of the field for me right off the bat.

I will not argue, though, that the Tremane scenes were the best things in the book and the reasons why I still have the trilogy around somewhere. I loved, loved, loved all the "quickly rebuild the nation amidst this disaster or die" scenes. In fact, the one scene not involving An'desha that nearly made me throw the book across the room was when the heralds were being deeply condescending because Tremane had actually had to grow morally after starting with much less ethical grounding than they had and facing challenges five times worse than they ever would. What a loser!

Okay, yeah, I'm a big Tremane fan. Does that make up for not being able to join the Karal hate club?

[everbright]

I read these about a jillionity years ago, I think number 2 is still down in the basement in long-term book storage. In think I got stuck where Firesong was, almost trying to bring people back from the dead, I think? I had to give up on it and skim through those parts on a second try.

BUT THEN!!!!!! The foreign legion from the magical empire re-organized the country that's always picking on Valdemar! That was totally my favorite part, all the organizing and building they were doing, even before they figured out they was basically stuck there. ML always does the Describing The Facilities thing where I'm openly fascinated. Which is weird, because long descriptive passages are usually a hallmark of BadFic.

Lackey man. I will read all of her stuff until she turns up toes.

[seperis]

The kingdom building was incredible with Tremane. She did fantastic there.

[hazel]

Basically, the last half-dozen times I have read that trilogy, I have read the Tremane bits and ONLY the Tremane bits, because every other character fills me with rage. And even the Tremane bit is spoiled by Solaris thinking she is totally justified in fucking with the mind of the RULER OF ANOTHER SOVEREIGN NATION because he did her wrong during a war. And then I get really cranky and go whine to my flatmates. Also, Lackey's "ridiculous" and gratuitous "fondness" for quotemarks whenever she-the-author hits an opinion she doesn't like.

Which is to say: I totally feel your pain.

[lorax]

You're making me want to finally finish READING the shelf full of Lackey books I have in my room.

[seperis]

YAY! IT BRINGS JOY! And Lavan Fucks-a-Horse!

[seekergeek]

Hee! I didn't hate Karal, but I agree that Tremane was the character that definitely rocked the house in that series.

And Vanyel is totally awesome. Especially when he's knocking down his bigoted father using only the power of his drugged injured ansty teenaged heart-broken mind. *wipes away single crystalline tear*

(It must be the season. I'm currently re-reading Last Herald Mage for the umpty squat time. Never change, Mercedes Lackey. Never change.)

[vito_excalibur]

Oh god, that scene. I think I got through the second half of my adolescence on the Vanyel books.

In retrospect, I was clearly born to be a slash fangirl.

[azurehart]

Have you read her Collegium Chronicles yet? The first book, Foundation was okay, but the second book, Intrigues made me want to scream. Everyone horribly mistreats the main character Mags, and he nearly dies, but he ends up instantly forgiving everyone for what was obviously severe child abuse. Mags doesn't see it this way simply because his life before he was chosen was so bad, that even his abuse at the hands of the heralds seems almost pleasant in contrast.

I don't know how I got through reading it without a rage blackout to be honest. I know she has a habit of putting her characters through a lot, but this was too much even for her.

[akacat]

The only thing I remember about that trilogy is that I liked Karal by the very end. Now I want to reread it to figure out when I went I started to like him. It's all your fault!

[ithiliana]

*g*

This post is a thing of joy and beauty forever!

And I say that even though I admit that I totally indulge in Lackey's work when I want to embrace my emo inner angsty young teenage spesul snowflake self. In my defense, I first found her work in 1985 (still remember sitting in my bathtub in my rental place in Boise, Idaho, while working as an adjunct teaching five comp classes a semester reading the first of the Queen's Herald series with awe and wonder because, well, at the time, there weren't that many young women who were Called to be Special Heroic Types)--I will admit I now do better with her male characters usually). And I have a totes hard on for intelligent, talking horses (and cats).

But, um, yeah. It's me and my id, I admit it.

But oh, it can be a lovely wallow.

(I had to check the book to remember which emo angsty young man Karal was!).

I like An'desha beter, and I adore adore adore adore Tremane.

[seperis]

Tremane was amazing. I adored him. He kind of justifies the existence of that entire series. Kerowyn, Tremane, and I swear I know it's cliched, but Vanyel. I hated that series a couple of years ago when I read it, but this time, IDK, love love love.

[terrio]

I think Karal kind of won me over in the first Mage Storms book, where he verbally bitch-slaps the hell out of An'desha, who desperately needed it. I especially liked the bit just before he heads off to start the bitch-slapping, where he thinks, "I am expendable. I am stupid. Here I go," which Blake's 7 fans might recognize as a riff on Avon's line in "Horizon": "I am not expendable, I'm not stupid, and I'm not going."

[meigui]

So I was scrolling past this entry on my reading page and the word "Solaris" caught my eye, and I was like, "what, the OS?"

...yeah, never read the series, just thought I'd share.

[laurajv]

Hhahahahahaha Oh Karal, die die die. I had managed to blot you from my memory until now. I now need some assassins to assassinate seperis for bringing you back in my life. I'm going to bring John Wilkes Booth back from the grave, i think.

[seperis]

I was getting worried I was alone with nora in my endless hate. Tremane! THINK OF TREMANE. God knows I spent that series lying back and thinking of England Tremane.

[beck_liz]

I have re-read an awful lot of the Valdemar books multiple times. Many of them are totally comfort novels for me. I mean, heck, Vanyel was the first inkling my 12-year-old self had that there were gay people and hey, they might be OK folk!

I have not re-read these, however. I don't remember disliking Karal that much, but I do remember disliking An'desha. A LOT. I wanted to whack him upside the head. A LOT. But that's about all I really remember from that trilogy: whiny An'desha. Which is probably why I haven't been as interested to re-read them as other Valdemar books.

[tamarillow]

Umm. I actually quite like Karal - one of the few examples of a priest type person in a organised religion in fiction who has personal faith, and thinks about his faith, and tries to change his thinking and knee jerk reactions in response to events. I have generally positive feelings about Ardis for the same reasons.

Mind you, the bits I re-read most are all about Tremaine and his awesome. Also, the apparently completely unnoticed hypocracy of the Heralds wandering around philosophising about the need to make sure Valdemar is safe justifying terrible acts in war and assasination, and never once thinking 'Oh yes, and we were actually AT WAR when Tremaine brought assasination to the table...' Argh.

[joannindiw.livejournal.com]

...I might have to dig out my books because somehow, I don't remember Karal. ...

[seperis.livejournal.com]

That's hte weird part. I don't eitehr. I read the first two and then forgot them. And then I realized I hadn't read that series and was like, huh.

And now I know why I ran away. Holy shit, Karal. Who everyone--and I do mean everyone--thinks is awesome. Everyone.

[norabombay.livejournal.com]

Karal is a pimple on the ass of Mary Sue Books.

Like, I LOVE Lackey, for all her sins. But Karal is just. He's lacking in any redeeming quality.

He's so. PERFECT.

Meanwhile, he kills the Ghost of Tarma. And Van. And Stephen. AND hurts reincarnated horse SAVIL.

I hates him.

The only reason he doesn't have hate groups is that everyone has blocked him out of their conscious minds.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

And Need. Killed Need. NEED.

[renshai.livejournal.com]

I think I only made it through the first book of that trilogy...

I'll just hang out over here, with my well-loved copies of Oathbound/Oathbreakers and By the Sword.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Tremane the builder of kingdoms? Worth it. I am re-reading now just for Tremane being awesome. He's possibly one of the best characters she wrote.

[ladysorka]

Weirdly, Karal is the only thing I like about the Mage Storm books.

[nianeyna.livejournal.com]

You know... I only have the vaguest memories of that series. I remember not liking it though. It was not quite as boring as the Owlthingy trilogy and not quite as horrifying as Lavan literally-dies-in-a-fire-thank-goodness-finally, and yet in the combination of those two attributes managed to be... yeah. >.>

Also lol, VANYEL. My friends and I affectionately call him the Angstmuffin. I can think of few literary characters I'm quite as fond of as Vanyel. Bless. XD

[seperis.livejournal.com]

When Tremane starts building a kingdom in Hardorn? Yes, that's worth it. The rest, eh. w/e.

Vanyel, however, is love.

[inteligrrl.livejournal.com]

I swear to god, when I read ML I feel my EQ dropping. They are my eternal shame that I save for days that I need to indulge in the heights of teenage angst... so basically for those really bad PMS's I turn to Mercedes Lackey and super dark chocolate ice cream.

That said, *hearts Vanyel*

[seperis.livejournal.com]

VANYEL IS LOVE AND AWESOME. I seriously just bonded with him.

[meretricula.livejournal.com]

I think I still have those books at home, and I probably read them more often than the Mage Winds trilogy. just the parts with Tremane, though. he is so goddamned badass. competence in a lead character, how do I love thee, let me count the ways...

[seperis.livejournal.com]

YES THIS. Tremane just--I want a book about him. Just about him being awesome.

[dimestore-romeo.livejournal.com]

I like Lavan Fucks-a-Horse and Firesong Loves-Reflection-Too-Much so much my heart beats for them.

Haha, omg, I grew up on these books. I think I read every single Heralds of Valdemar book back in the day (or like, five years ago...), and I thought Vanyel was so sad and romantic and brooding. And then I grew up a bit and was like, honey, get a life. And Lavan! I was indeed kind of waiting for him to have actual UST with Kalira, or something. You know if someone wrote this on the internets he totally would. Like that HoV fanfic on ff.net with the mage storms and that guy and the centaur. Although I don't really remember. :/

Firesong too, even though he was a total bitch. Although I really came to love his crazy masks. For some reason, I just could not like any of the ladies in these books, they were always really smug, especially Elspeth, or really woobie-ish, like Talia (mostly). I think I was only reading them for the queer characters, and they were the best of it and never got nearly enough screen time.