Owlknight

December 9, 2019
Owlknight Book Cover Owlknight
Owl Mage #1; Valdemar #39
Mercedes Lackey & Larry Dixon
Fantasy
DAW Books Inc.
November 1st, 2000
Hardcover
326
Library
1999
Young Adult
Larry Dixon

From fantasy legends Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon comes the third and final volume in a powerful saga charged with war and magic, life and love.... Two years after his parents disappearance, Darian has sought refuge and training from the mysterious Hawkbrothers. Now he has opened his heart to a beautiful young healer. Finally Darian has found peace and acceptance in his life. That is, until he learns that his parents are still alive-and trapped behind enemy borders....

(via Goodreads)

 

As #ReadingValdemar comes to a close, Melanie @ Grab the Lapels wrap up with Owlknight, the final book in The Owl Mage trilogy. We’ve gone a bit off the rails as this tale takes us far outside of Valdemar. But set in Valdemar or not, Lackey and Dixon still hold up their end of the bargain with a wonderful adventure tale.

15 16 books. 12 months. 5 series. What could go wrong?


Last time in Owlsight

Darian has grown up. He’s an adopted member of the Tayledras clan k’Vala, studying to become a Healing-Adept mage, and growing into his expected future role as leader of the k’Valdemar Vale. But he’s not the only one who is expected to come into greatness. Keisha, Healer in training, refuses to abandon Errold’s Grove for her studies in the Collegium despite her potential to become a full Healer.

When a northern barbarian tribe is found roaming the border of k’Valdemar and Errold’s Grove memories of when Blood Bear attacked four years ago come rushing back. Only this time, the tribe carries with them a sickness new to Valdemar and the Vales…

The Owl Mage Reviews:
Owlflight Owlsight — Owlknight


 

Since Darian and Keisha helped find a cure for the diseases the Ghost Cat tribe brought with them into Valdemar, more and more pilgrims from the north have been venturing to Sanctuary to be cured. Keisha is tied up helping heal in Sanctuary, learning from the Tayledras in k’Valdemar, and administering to Errold’s Grove. Darian is almost a Master level Healing-Adept, training daily for his trials, and working up to become an Elder in the k’Valdemar Vale. But when some of the pilgrims to Sanctuary bring evidence that Darian’s parents might still be alive in the far north Keisha and Darian decide to lay their responsibilities to their communities aside for once and see what they can learn.

The things I have done over the past few years have been almost all for others, but this is for me.

I will admit, when I read the summary for Owlknight, I was disappointed. I wasn’t interested in reading a novel where Darian is off to find his long-lost parents. However, once I started reading I loved every moment of this plotline. It’s been a while since we’ve read a Valdemarian quest, and this one is fun and different! As the quest took us literally off the map of Valdemar, we explored new lands and cultures. Lackey and Dixon introduced a whole new cultural element with the northern tribes. They all have high-level overarching similarities, but each tribe is certainly unique. I greatly enjoyed getting to know each one Darian and Company met on their journey.

Dress your best. Heroes in paintings always look terrific, and you never know when it might be your turn to become a legend. 

The moral and ethical questions explored in Owlknight kept me intrigued. Lackey and Dixon present a number of situations on this quest where there is no single correct answer. With such a diverse group of characters traveling together, this is a perfect mixture for exploring the ramification of our choices. Darian’s choices are driven by his need to find his family above all else. Keisha to protect and prevent injury. Shandi to Queen and Country. Kel for honor and glory. Wintersky to logic and efficiency. I could keep going. But the point is I was never bored reading long debates on what choice is the right choice between these characters — particularly when they realized there was no single correct choice.

But there were long moments where I was bored.

I don’t know how many of you know this, but I have aphantasia. This means I do not see images in my brain. No mind-movie for me. More on how this affects my reading in a future post, but what is relevant for this Owlknight review is that a large portion of this novel is physical description of things. Clothing. Art. Villages. Architecture. Landscape. You name it, Lackey and Dixon spared no words describing it. The descriptions in Owlknight are the most verbose of any Valdemar series we’ve read to date. Since I don’t see images in my head, and I quickly realized that these descriptions served no purpose to further the plot, I eventually started skimming. I skimmed, combined, over 20 pages of descriptive passages. Thankfully, this is the only content I wanted to skim. The rest of the tale engaged me.

So Firesong decided that it was time to do a little delicate prodding. Not meddling — more in the order of information gathering. He never called his meddling by that unflattering name. Unsolicited guidance, discreet help, a nudge, but never meddling

I appreciate the exploration of Keisha and Darian’s relationship. Yes, this exploration was dominated by Keisha’s perspective. But as a “strong, independent, career-driven woman” I’ve shared a lot of Keisha’s concerns. I’ve read books that explore a portion of what this means in a modern relationship, but not all these ideas at once in a single book. Let alone a fantasy novel! Owlknight is meaningful to me for this exploration. Lackey and Dixon cover all sorts of societal and internal pressures and expectations for women like Keisha, like me. In the end, I’ve come to the same place mentally, emotionally, and romantically that Keisha did in a similar way. I love Keisha even more after Owlknight than I did in Owlsight.

From a relationship perspective, I was hoping we’d get to know Shandi and Steelmind better. Both Keisha and Darian hint that they see something sparking between their friends, but Lackey and Dixon never demonstrate anything which would signify to me a true relationship. I didn’t want to be told they were in love with each other, I wanted to see it!

For those who have not the learning or the wisdom, all good advice sounds like empty croaking.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed reading The Owl Mage trilogy. I connected with these characters deeply, loved getting to know the different cultures in and around Valdemar, and found the lack of an overall Big Bad very gratifying. Unfortunately, this trilogy has the weakest writing of any Valdemar series Melanie and I read for #ReadingValdemar. Pacing is consistently poor, too many characters are always introduced, and seemingly important details are either forgotten or dropped often. In my perfect book world, Lackey will re-write this trilogy someday and it will be stronger. One can dream at least.

 

Wow. Ladies and gentlemen — Melanie and I just completed #ReadingValdemar! 16 books over the course of 12 months, with a book review for each book and a monthly discussion post. I’m glad we ended with The Owl Mage, as it leaves us on a high and happy note for all of Valdemar. There are still plenty of Valdemar books for us to read, but it’s important to celebrate such a magnificent accomplishment! Woohoo!


Are you participating in #ReadingValdemar? If so, consider writing a post and joining us for our next giveaway! By linking up any post you gain an entry. 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 Owlknight or the Owl Mage trilogy 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.

Haven’t started participating yet? No worries! You still have a few weeks to join up. We hope you’ll join us!

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


Stay tuned to see who will win our second #ReadingValdemar giveaway!

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What do you think?

  • Have you read Owlknight? What do you think of this book?
  • What fantasy books have you read which explore moral and ethical questions? Did you enjoy this aspect?
  • Do you read any universe-style book series, like Valdemar? Which ones? Why?

9 Comments

  • Grab the Lapels December 9, 2019 at 10:22 am

    I was so excited to read your thoughts on this novel, as I realized that I read it fast and felt sad when it was over.

    • Jackie B @ Death by Tsundoku January 15, 2020 at 8:13 am

      I’m trying hard to catch up with backlist comments, as you can see.

      I’m also sad Darien’s story is over. I don’t suppose you think we’ll see him or Keisha again in future Valdemar books, do you? I cannot imagine we will based on the currently published novels in their timeline. But, what do I know?

      • Grab the Lapels January 15, 2020 at 12:44 pm

        Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll see them again. The trilogy Lackey is currently working on comes years before even Talia’s story, so Darien is out.

        • Jackie B January 16, 2020 at 7:10 pm

          Booooooooooooooooooooooooo.

          But I get it. Sad Jackie.
          I’m excited to find new characters I love, though! My copy of The Black Gryphon arrived today. Bring it on.

          • Grab the Lapels January 17, 2020 at 1:15 pm

            Don’t forget I’m sending you Exiles of Valdemar. I shall remember (I think).

            • Jackie B January 21, 2020 at 4:46 pm

              I’ll pester you if we get closer to Fall without it being around. Yay! Book mail!

  • Captain's Quarters December 10, 2019 at 9:43 am

    Congrats matey! Ye both gonna read any more of these books or have ye had enough?
    x The Captain

    • Jackie B December 19, 2019 at 12:36 pm

      Thanks, Captain! Melanie definitely wants to keep reading Valdemar books in 2020. Honestly, I need some personal reflection time to determine if I’m going to continue. I really love being able to discuss these books with her, and I greatly appreciate how being a part of #ReadingValdemar kept me engaged with the blogging community during a very turbulent year for me personally. But almost every Valdemar book comes out at 3 stars for me. Do I want to spend that much time in 2020 reading books I won’t love? Am I ready to break away from the structure #ReadingValdemar provides me and get back into the swing of things? Did I let #ReadingValdemar become a crutch for me? I have a lot to think on before I decide.

      What thoughts do you have? I’d love your candid opinion.

      • Captain's Quarters December 19, 2019 at 1:49 pm

        Hmmm that does be a tough call. I have very much been enjoying reading Valdemar with yer posts but did notice that all seemed to be three stars. I am doing a catalog of me book collection right now and I have to admit that despite me love of those books, the rereads I did were lackluster. I kept focusing on how much better fantasy has gotten and the flaws instead of what I used to love about them. I actually ended up getting rid of mine (except for take a thief) because I don’t think I will be rereading any more of them. I rather let the nostalgia feeling win. The only exception be the first mage war book because I just found it. I will likely read that one in the new year and then decide if I am going to get rid of that trilogy too. It seems likely at this point that those will go too. For me personally, there be very few series these days where 16 books can hold me interest. I do want to read the Vorkosigan saga and the four other series set in the Realm of the Elderlings but I don’t know how many of them I will get to. Those two series are exceptions. I think ye have lots of other things (like Newberys) that ye can be reading. I am not sure what else ye would get out of the series especially since ye be going to the beginning and a lot of those elements are present in the later timeframe. Just me two cents though. I used to be more of a completionist about author’s work but life is too short and there are too many books out there. If I am not feeling a book then I just stop reading. Hope that helps?
        x The Captain

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