#ReadingValdemar: Arrows of the Queen

January 14, 2019
Arrows of the Queen Book Cover Arrows of the Queen
Heralds of Valdemar, #1; Valdemar #27
Mercedes Lackey
Fantasy
Daw Books
April 30th, 2005
eBook
320
Library
1987

Chosen by the Companion Rolan, a mystical horse-like being with powers beyond imagining, Talia, once a runaway, has now become a trainee Herald, destined to become one of the Queen's own elite guard. For Talia has certain awakening talents of the mind that only a Companion like Rolan can truly sense.

But as Talia struggles to master her unique abilities, time is running out. For conspiracy is brewing in Valdemar, a deadly treason that could destroy Queen and kingdom. Opposed by unknown enemies capable of both diabolical magic and treacherous assassination, the Queen must turn to Talia and the Heralds for aid in protecting the realm and insuring the future of the Queen's heir, a child already in danger of becoming bespelled by the Queen's own foes.

 

I couldn’t be more excited to be introduced to the world of Valdemar. My journey began with a seemingly innocuous conversation with Melanie @ Grab the Lapels. I knew of Lackey’s works, but I had never read any of them, nor did I understand the premise. All I knew was that Melanie had intentions to read 15 books (out of the 43 and growing collection!) by herself and I wanted to read more fantasy written by women. Thus, a great alignment was born!

Once Melanie and I joined forces, I started to hear from a lot of my friends. They LOVE Lackey’s writing. And these are women whose opinions I greatly respect. Suddenly, a buddy read turned into an all-out read along. AND I AM SO EXCITED. 15 books. 12 months. 5 series. What could go wrong?

 

Talia is different from the other girls her age in her Hold. She likes to read adventure stories and doesn’t want to be held down to the sorts of duties a respectable woman grows into in her world. She dreams of becoming a Herald of Valdemar, one of the great protectors of the kingdom bonded with the magical blue-eyed all-white horse-shaped Companions. On her 13th birthday, the wives of her father confront her to make a choice: Firstwife to a young, potentially abusive man, Underwife to an older man, or the acolyte Church of the Goddess. Instead of choosing, Talia runs. She runs straight into a rider-less Companion. Without a Rider present, Talia takes charge. After all, if she’s running away to return a lost Companion to their Herald, what could go wrong?

A female’s place was not to be learned; a girl reading – even if she was doing a womanly task at the same time – was as out of place as a scarlet jay among crows.

I will admit, from page one I knew what was going to happen. We all did. A wide-eyed youngster who comes from a repressive upbringing is suddenly freed and enrolled in a special school where she grows into herself. We all see where this is going. Talia makes friends, she makes enemies. And, she discovered that she has magical powers and important destiny. Arrows of the Queen is a collection of predictable tropes latched together to create characters and plot. But that didn’t change how engaged I was on every page.

It’s not so much desolate and dead here as it is dormant. It’s just a matter of seeing the possibilities.

Talia is the perfect character for the story Lackey has built. As Arrows of the Queen is the first published book in the Valdemar universe, we have a lot of world-building to establish. Talia is a wonderful blank slate for all world-building to be crafted around. While we Talia experiences most of this, as we’re in a school there is still quite a bit of explaining. However, I never felt like the explaining was distracting, inappropriate, or info-dumpy. Instead, I was right there with our scrappy protagonist as she learned the rules of her new life in the Collegium.

A miniature whirlwind burst into the room, interrupting her thoughts.

While Talia has an air of “Chosen One” around her, well, all the Heralds do. They are literally CHOSEN by their Companions. Talia is capable an compassionate, and often wise beyond her 13-year-old years (in a way which makes sense, I promise). Yet, Talia is also not a Mary Sue-type. Talia is scared, insecure, and fighting the backward and abusive culture she grew up in. Lackey consistently demonstrates that Talia will be her own biggest roadblock on her Heraldic journey. She has flaws to fight through her own flaws to achieve what she is capable of and I cheered Talia on the whole way.

Abstract thought takes a poor second place to berry pies when you’re only thirteen.

Talia, however, is not my favorite character. I don’t know if I could even pick a character! Valdemar’s world contains incredibly diverse and interesting people. And Lackey explores social issues which are incredibly progressive for 1987. Such as homosexual lifemates, gender equality, and sex positivity. Sometimes, Lackey’s messages are overt and other times subtle. But they are there. And these characters are not just vessels used to share Lackey’s opinions. Nope, these characters are well-developed; these social ideas are part of their lives.

Speaking of! Can we just take a moment to recognize the subtlety of feminine care Lackey tossed in here? Like, when Talia was receiving a tour of the bathroom:

Sherrill showed her where everything was located; the laundry chute, the supplies for moon-days, towels and soap —

MOON DAYS. And later, birth control is discussed! Be still my beating heart. These characters actually DO things to take care of their biological needs.

And these characters are what drive Arrows of the Queen forward. While we do have some “evil” for Talia to fight, the experience of her education and growth at the Heraldic Collegium is the focus of this story. If you’re someone who wants to read questing and stabbity-stabbity in your fantasy, well, you’ll probably need to wait until a later book. Don’t worry, I’ll report back.

“Oh, Havens. Doesn’t he ever learn?”
“He does. He never does the same trick twice.”

It is obvious at times, that this isn’t just the first book in the Valdemar series Lackey published. Arrows of the Queen is her first ever published novel. Lackey’s writing doesn’t yet have a ton of polish. It is witty and charming, engaging and exciting– but it falls short sometimes. Framing was often non-existent, meaning I could only tell of time’s passage by the seasons. Also, as is often a problem with books in a school setting, telling and not showing cropped up occasionally. This would wreck the pacing and made sections slow down quite a bit for me.

And yet… I still read this book in a single sitting.

All the sparkle had been snuffed out of her, and nothing was left but the ashes.

With the reading level, writing style, pacing, and focus of the story, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this book shelved in either the adult or young adult sections of the library. No matter where it is shelves, Arrows of the Queen is still an entertaining and engaging story. As soon as I finished this book, I immediately wanted to pick up Arrow’s Flight.

Ugh. There are so many concepts I want to explore from this book, but my review is too long already. I haven’t even started to talk about Rolan or Elspeth or Jadus or Keren or Skif or Mero or… well, you get it. Thank goodness #ReadingValdemar is a year-long read along.

This was where she’d belonged all along; as she’d told Skif, it had just taken her this long to see it.

Brace yourself, friends. It turns out, I might be addicted.

Are you participating in #ReadingValdemar? If so, link up your post below. It could be an old post or a new post, a list or a review — it doesn’t matter. Share your thoughts and feelings about Arrow of the Queen in whatever way your heart desires so we can follow along! Speaking of, you can also join us on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #ReadingValdemar. Each post will earn you two entries for our upcoming giveaways. Join up! We’d love to chat Valdemar.

Looking for more details? Check out my #ReadingValdemar home page.


Inlinkz Link Party


What do you think?

  • Have you read Arrows of the Queen? What do you think of this book?
  • What books have you read which could be shelved in YA or Adult? Why do you believe this?
  • Which tropes are turn-offs for you, so much so you’ll stop reading? Why?
  • What are you hoping to see in #ReadingValdemar? What would encourage your participation?

30 Comments

  • Jorie January 14, 2019 at 9:05 am

    (cleverly doesn’t read your review)

    Would you believe I’m still in No1 position to receive this on audiobook at my library!? I’m flabbergasted at what is causing the delay in receiving it, too! 🙁 This is the only wrinkle I foresaw as I already have No2 in print to read!! *le sigh* Unsure how this will play out now as I’m sitting here waiting on a hold I placed on 6th January… when I have updates I’ll share!! Til then, rock on! You guys are doing so well! I’ll be the tortoise coming up behind you!!

    • Grab the Lapels January 14, 2019 at 9:19 am

      That IS strange, Jorie. It’s not often I hear of being wait listed for an older book. Have you tried contacting your library or speaking to a librarian? Wouldn’t it be odd if all the bloggers following our read along are using the same library? Impossible!

      • Jackie B January 15, 2019 at 4:48 pm

        Can’t. Stop. Laughing. All the bloggers participating in #ReadingValdemar are OBVIOUSLY members of Jorie’s library. Plus, the library only has one copy. It will be a fight to the death. A pleasant death. One with books and snacks.

        • Grab the Lapels January 15, 2019 at 7:27 pm

          Shall I bring a cheese platter?!

          • Jackie B January 18, 2019 at 10:48 am

            Please do! I’ll make certain we have the community room reserved and I’ll cater in coffee. XD

    • Grab the Lapels January 14, 2019 at 9:21 am

      I love that we brought up different things in our reviews. I started mine by explaining how Lackey branched out from this first trilogy and the difference between magic (which is from the past and dead) and Gifts (which are in the present and naturally cultivated). I didn’t even think of mentioning how sex positive the book is. I must confess I blushed when I read that Talia can’t keep Roland from entering her thoughts, and he’s a very sex-positive horsey creature!

      • Jackie B January 15, 2019 at 4:53 pm

        I am looking forward to exploring the idea of magic vs. gifts more. I realize, after reading your own review, that the story of Vanyel is a story we’ll be returning to later! I was so sad when we only got a snippit of his tale; I wanted to know how it ended! (spoilers – Keren or someone told us how it ended. RUDE! There should have been a warning!) I don’t feel like I really understand gifts vs magic based on Arrows of the Queen alone. But it sounds like magic might be returning — and not in a good way.

        So much sex positivity!!! And in all sorts of different ways. Female fantasy authors FTW. I really appreciate that while we are learning about how the Heralds think of and consider sex, we are also exposed to the Companions. While it feels a bit voyeuristic of Talia, I think this is also a positive influence on her. And, potentially, the impetus as to why the Heralds hold the views of sex that they do.

        • Grab the Lapels January 15, 2019 at 7:35 pm

          I just imagine Talia in bed, a traumatized look on her face, totally paralyzed, as Rolan (I think I typed “Roland” above) is getting it on with a lady Companion.

          I’m trying to remember how a character would go about cultivating magic, but I can’t. It’s been too long. I think it’s spells like you would see in any other magical book. With heralds, notice they call them “spells,” but what they mean is focusing/concentrating. This is why Talia is in bed when she tries to take her gift of empathy on a walkabout (thanks for this term, Australia) to find whomever is distressed/in trouble.

          I totally didn’t know the end of Vanyel’s story when I read it. It was awful to experience, but yeah, SPOILERS. Then again, Lackey wrote this book first, so it’s not like she can undo what she wrote. I’ve also read there are some very small inconsistencies between Vanyle in the Arrow books and Vanyel in his own books. There’s also a standalone novel about the firestarter guy called Burning Bright.

          • Jackie B January 18, 2019 at 11:02 am

            Intersting image. My own mental picture is Talia being curious and trying to understand what is going on. I feel like there is probably a strong emotional bond, so Talia is less traumatized and more excited to learn things no one ever told her about. Who cares that it’s horse-style sexy time? She’s gotta learn about the birds and bees somewhere!

            Yeah, I got the impression that their Gifts happened through some sort of meditative trance based on both of the times Talia uses her gift around the locating of Ylsa. There are so many things the Gift/Spell space leaves open for exploration! I’m super excited.

            I love that Lackey later circles back to Vanyel’s story. I have the outline for a discussion post based on this for when we start reading Magic’s Pawn. And with the background on… Lavan Firestarter? As opposed to Griffon, I assume. (Too lazy to Google!) Either way, the interconnected nature of the universe is awesome.

            • Grab the Lapels January 18, 2019 at 11:23 am

              Cool, make sure you share your outline in the Google file I shared with you. As soon as I finish Arrow’s Flight I’ll pose an opening question for our discussion post. You’ll answer, then I’ll answer whatever you wrote, etc. It should look like a typed conversation.

              • Jackie B January 21, 2019 at 12:33 pm

                I am so excited to have our first discussion! I had best finish up Arrow’s Flight ASAP then.

                • Grab the Lapels January 21, 2019 at 4:55 pm

                  Good plan. Let me know when you do and I’ll kick off a conversation on a Google doc.

    • Jackie B January 15, 2019 at 4:48 pm

      Very clever, indeed! I will admit, I do this often when I want to express thoughts on a book review for a book I haven’t read yet. You’re not alone. 😉

      Ugh. I’m so sorry you don’t have the book yet! Well, no pressure to join in a timely fashion. No matter when you get to the books, we’ll be here to support, share, and be excited with you.

      Thanks for all your positivity and support, Jorie! I really appreciate it.

  • Kim @ Traveling in Books January 14, 2019 at 12:16 pm

    I had a lot of the same thoughts about the writing, namely that it’s definitely a debut novel, and it has a lot of cliches in it. That said, I devoured it again and am definitely looking forward to reading Arrows of the Queen. I will probably start it tomorrow.

    • Jackie B January 18, 2019 at 8:17 am

      I find it fascinating that some debut novels filled with cliches leave me bored and disinteresed while others keep me engaged from page 1. I wonder what the difference is here? Writing style? Focus on characters vs plot? I cannot figure it out!

      • Kim @ Traveling in Books January 18, 2019 at 8:40 am

        For me, it’s a matter of character and tone. I don’t mind cliches if the characters are interesting or unique, but if they start out as whiny teenagers, that puts us a red flag. Celaena Sardotihien and Mare Barrow drove me up the wall from the start, but Talia is sensible enough that she can put a royal brat in her place.

        Tone-wise, if YA fantasy promises to be a dark, fight-the-evil-empire melodrama starring a girl with special powers, it’ll have to be pretty spectacular to stand out from the ten thousand other titles with the exact same premise.

        • Jackie B January 21, 2019 at 12:18 pm

          Astute observations, Kim. That said, I don’t mind if a book series begins with a whiny teenager as I can understand the need for development and growth. It’s when the book doesn’t deliver on that demand I am left unsatisfied. Thanks to having been burned a number of times in YA, I am immediately on guard when a character is whiny or unsatisfactorally well-rounded. Middle grade I am more patient with. Reading level matters.

  • Vera January 14, 2019 at 11:03 pm

    I finished reading this book on Sunday and in my true poor planning manner, forgot to plan for a day or two to formulate my thoughts before I write a review…. oh well… I will be out either today or tomorrow though. I will link my post to yours and Melanie’s once my review is up though.

    I enjoyed reading your take on Arrows of the Queen. Like you, I knew what was going to happen, but that didn’t spoil my reading experience and I am also looking forward to finding out what happens next. I bought the entire trilogy and will be following Talia’s story further for sure.

    • Jackie B January 18, 2019 at 8:25 am

      I’m super excited to read your review, Vera! Don’t worry about timeliness. I have a feeling I might miss a few here and there in my journey this year. XD This is why the week is open for posting!

      I am certainly intrigued by how the cliches and predictability didn’t detract from my experience reading. I cannot seem to figure out why some books filled with cliches and predictability bore me and others do not. If only I could predict my reactions! Then I’d be able to cull my reading list more readily. XD

      I’m so glad you got the whole trilogy and will be joining us, and Talia, for the rest of her adventure. I’m looking forward to discovering what happens next with you, Vera.

  • Amanda @Cover2CoverMom January 20, 2019 at 7:01 pm

    I debated about reading this review before putting up my mini reviews because I knew you were going to cover all of my thoughts exactly…. and of course you did in amazing Jackie fashion!

    Have you read Arrows of the Queen? What do you think of this book?

    I have the SAME feelings exactly. I do think you might have enjoyed it a bit more than me though. I just couldn’t connect with Talia. I felt like she alternated between being timid and shy at times, and at others wise & confident beyond her years… She definitely didn’t feel 13 to me, which I struggled with. BUT on the other hand there were many things I did really enjoy, which I’ll go more into in my own reviews.

    What books have you read which could be shelved in YA or Adult? Why do you believe this?

    I think there is a fine line sometimes between YA or Adult… Especially these days when YA is including more and more “adult themes.” I am actually a proponent of YA books including more adult themes because I do not think teens are as fragile as we portray them to me… In fact, they see much worse on TV these days.

    Which tropes are turn-offs for you, so much so you’ll stop reading? Why?

    Oh man. I really dislike the hate to love trope in most cases. There are a few times it has worked, but more often than not it is not done correctly and makes it problematic.

    • Jackie B January 21, 2019 at 1:57 pm

      D’aw. Thank you! This was a surprisingly challenging review to write — a lot happens in this book, but also… not a lot happens. You know what I mean?

      I feel like Talia often didn’t feel 13, but I forgave it due to how Heralds work. I more or less assumed that the wisdom she was spouting came from Rolan or some Herald-Magical-Endless-Wisdom connection. Or something. I hope it will be explained more in further books!

      You’re so right. Television is covering heavier and heavier topics as time goes on, so younger and younger people are gaining exposure to these ideas. It’s hard to draw that line!

      Ew. Hate-to-Love only works for me if it’s a late children’s to middle grade book about first crushes. Otherwise… what? It’s ALWAYS problematic. Good trope to hate on! XD

  • Captain's Quarters January 23, 2019 at 8:43 am

    I didn’t have such a good time rereading this book even though I loved it when I was younger. Link below if ye be interested. I am also linking to another article I read today that talks about the Companion bond. Arrr!
    x The Captain

    https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/11/second-reflections-arrows-of-the-queen-mercedes-lackey/

    https://www.tor.com/2017/03/06/the-sff-equine-from-companions-to-dragons/

    • Jackie B February 5, 2019 at 9:15 pm

      Thank you for sharing these links!! I really appreciate it. I love hearing other thoughts on the books we read. 🙂

  • Essers January 28, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    Downer alert. I’m still only halfway through this book and I just can’t get into it. The simple language and the predictable events don’t keep me engaged. Obvious parallels to Harry Potter, but I could not put down the Potter books, and this one comes off as bland to me. I’ll trudge through to the end, but I’m not sure I’ll keep going with the series.

    • Jackie B January 28, 2019 at 4:38 pm

      I can understand. I put this book down a few times without the interest of picking it back up. It’s obvious to me that Lackey is trying to push her writing into new places in this book, but I don’t think she’s completely successful. Considering how much people have gushed about these books, I am hoping this is just a fluke. You know, one of those things which happens to the middle book/film. I’ll report back in two weeks!

      Is anything about this book appealing to you?

      • Essers January 29, 2019 at 8:19 am

        I’m referring to the first book here – the one you read in one sitting. Yes, I’m behind! 🙂 I have to say it’s hard to find something I like about it. I’ll try to finish it to give it a fair shake but it’s a slog. Maybe this writer just isn’t for me. I love this idea of a read-along since that usually gives me motivation to sit down and read, so if I don’t keep going with this writer, I’ll keep an eye out for future opportunities!

        • Jackie B January 29, 2019 at 9:04 am

          Oops! My brain was too far ahead. XD Don’t you fret.

          Hey, not every writer is for everyone! Arrows of the Queen reads like a dated young adult novel, for sure. My personal philosophy is “Life is too short to read bad books.” If you are’t enjoying it, stop!

          What do you normally like to read? Perhaps I can help you avoid a book slump with a recommendation beyond this?

          • Essers January 29, 2019 at 9:15 am

            I have about 85 books on my Kindle sitting there waiting for me to read them. Literally. LOL Being in a book club is such a help for me to have a deadline and a group of people who expect me to contribute to a conversation. I have a hard time taking the “luxury” to read. I had hoped living on a beach would help, but we bought a fixer-upper, so that work plus my 24/7 work schedule just adds more levels of crazy. I’ll get there!

            • Jackie B January 31, 2019 at 10:57 am

              Really? I’m a bit surprised that you struggle to make time to read. But, you do have a whole lot going on. I know that I need to be in the right mindframe to enjoy reading. Lately, I haven’t made as much time for reading because I have been so overwhelmed with work that I’m not interested. I cannot decompress with reading right now, apparently.

              The real question I have is then: Do you *want* to read any of those 85 books?

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