Win Closer To The Chest (Valdemar: The Herald Spy, #3) Picturized By Mercedes Lackey Ebook
Mags, the King of Valdemars Herald Spy, has been developing a clandestine network of young informants who operate not only on the streets of the capital city of Haven, but also in the Great Halls and kitchens of the wealthy and highborn.
In his own established alternate personas, Mags observes the Court and the alleys alike, quietly gathering information to keep Haven and the Kingdom safe.
His wife Amily is growing into her position as the Kings Own Herald, though she is irritated to encounter many who still consider her father, Herald Nikolas, to be the real Kings Own.
Nonetheless, she finds it increasingly useful to be underestimated, for there are dark things stirring in the shadows of Haven and up on the Hill.
Someone has discovered many secrets of the women of the Court and the Collegia and is using those secrets to terrorize and bully them.
Someone is targeting the religious houses of women, too, leaving behind destruction and obscene letters,
But who Someone at the Court A disgruntled Palace servant One of the members of the Collegia Someone in the patriarchal sect of the god Sethor Could the villain be a woman And what is this person hoping to achieve It isnt blackmail, for the letters demand nothing the aim seems to be the victims panic and despair.
But why
Mags and Amily take steps to minimize the damage while using both magic and wits to find the evildoer.
But just as they appear to be on the verge of success, the letter writer tires of terror and is now out for blood.
Mags and Amily will have to track down someone who leaves few clues behind, They must thwart whatever plans have been set in motion, and quicklybefore terror turns to murder, So disappointing. The story was bland and slow, It was easy to read in that the way it was written wasn't an impediment i, e. the sentences weren't too long or complicated, After awhile though I realized I was really bored, waiting for something of interest to happen, I almost gave up but because I'd read the first two in the trilogy I didn't want to give up on this one.
Again, the story was soso at best, It was more of a young adult book than an adult book, There was nothing that wasn't suitable for teens, There was no sense of danger because it is pretty clear none of the major characters are going to die or suffer permanent injury.
On the plus side I really liked Mags way of speaking, He doesn't speak like any other Herald portrayed in the other Valdemar books, or at least I don't think so.
He clearly was uneducated, unpolished, And he retains elements of that in that he continues to speak that way even as a Herald though he can speak more correctly when he tries.
For me this dialect I guess that's what you call it was not difficult to get used to and wasn't an annoyance but helped cement the character.
As far as how this book rates in the trilogy I'd say thest one was the best followed by this one and then thend.
But as a Lackey series it ranks toward the bottom, At least I was interested enough to read them so that's something,
I can only recommend them if you're really bored, like Mags or like to read every Lackey book no matter what.
One thing that I noticed in thend book but didn't mention and it was more heavy handed in this last book is the author's stance on Christianity.
It seems clear to me that she targets Christianity more than any other religion because she paraphrases the bible or so I recall.
Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions I don't think so,
In thend book it's made clear that "there is no one way" religionwise, This is not a real surprise because I think this view was clear as far back as the Vanyel books Magic's Price, etc.
but it was vaguely, briefly uncomfortable in thend book because of a few pages and way too heavy handed in this one.
The villains in this book are religious fanatics of a Christian fundamentalistonsteroids point of view, Don't get me wrong, I think the point of view extreme needs to be discouraged/put down.
But in the book it seemed that any Christianity is wrong/bad and that bothered me, All religions that believe in "one true way" are intolerant, but if you believe that there is no one true way and are intolerant of religions that disagree than that seems to be okay, according to the book.
I couldn't find the passages that really bothered me, sorry, I skimmed back as far as pageand couldn't find them, Oh well, it might not even be something you notice, If you read the books you can decide for yourself if it's an issue or not,
So, go ahead and read the books if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you that they were bland and slow and written as if the author was on autopilot.
Each and every one of Lackey's Valdemar novels feels like home, I did enjoy this book, but what I write here is in comparison to the other books which are Absolutely Brilliant.
If you're like me and you've read and reread every single other Valdemar book, . . You know you've got to pick this one up too, because it's going to be new, If you're looking at these as a firsttime reader, let me instead recommend the Arrows of the Queen trilogy or Brightly Burning as a standalone.
personally, I started with Owlsight,
I'm finding the books in The Herald Spy trilogy to be a little bit light in comparison to some of the others.
Short reads, I'm finishing them very quickly and am not able to bask in the wonderful world of Valdemar for very long.
My gut instinct is that the books that have to do with Mags are for a newer reader who is not yet familiar with Valdemar, and who may be at a bit of a younger reading level.
Some of the characters feel like repetitions of characters we already know and love longtime readers of the series already know and love Skif as a heraldspy and Talia as the new female Monarch's Own, so there's not much new happening.
Plot points haven't grabbed me and the conflicts that are happening are somewhat laughable in comparison to what we've seen the Heralds deal with before.
Loose ends are getting wrapped up a little bit too tidy, and conflicts resolved a little too easily.
Maybe it's harsh to say so maybe the intended audience is a bit different for these books.
Still, they feel like "ValdemarLite, "
Buy this book if you can't get enough of Valdemar and you've read all the others.
You'll reenter the world you love and you'll glimpse some new storylines amp new history to learn about.
Skip it if there are other Valdemar books out there that you haven't read yet guaranteed, they are probably better.
I had a dream that I pulled out Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers to reread it, . . but all the characters had been replaced with Valdemar people, . . then I realised I wasn't dreaming, just reading this book lol, The pacing was much better in this one, I feel, It still wrapped up a little rapidly, and the foreshadowing was super heavy, making this one again feel like YA.
Maybe they are, and I've misread the target audience,
I mean, it's more books in a world I love, but I'd like something that feels a little more grown up.
truly pushing boundaries in how condescending a book can be and ill still finish it, even more than usual, valdemars vaunted pluralism is a vehicle for lackey to deliver endless multipage lectures about her incredibly confused ideology.
it feels like every male character gets a turn to lecture Amily for being emotional and bad at her job and jumping to conclusions.
I liked this a lot, certainly better than the second one!
I want more Mags and Amily!!! Awful.
It leaves such a bad taste,
First, the story is unbelievably slow, No action, lot of commiseration, It's hard to read, and it seems to me the writer had a hard time writing it too.
There is just no flow,
Second, the characters, I usually like Mags and Amily's stories, but there quite out of characters in this one, Amily's is seriously reduced, she spends way too much time second guessing herself which does not follow with all the evolving she does in the previous books.
Mags looks like a moron to say the least,
Third, the main story, It's supposed to be a story about a mysterious person hating women,
As a feminist, I am sad that there is no interesting development from the obvious script.
no mystery there except weird chronic stupidity from all characters,
You can write about abuse without giving into it, but that's is sadly not the case here.
The author seems to relish the "obscenities" of the villain and the pain of it's victims.
This is not enjoyable. It is sad.
Why do they all the spies circle and the King's spend half the books suspecting a woman Because the pettiness indicates it must be a woman
Why do the woman which can be attacked are not warned like the adults there are but kept in the dark To protect their fragile nerves
Come on !
And the end.
the characters congratulates themselves as if they accomplish something extraordinary,
Like a toast to mediocrity,
Third in The Herald Spy subseries and eighth in the sitelinkCollegium Chronicles, both of which are a subseries within Lackey's overall Valdemar universe.
This subseries revolves around Mags and his Companion, Dallen,
If you're interested, there is a sitelinkchronological listing of the Valdemar books on my website.
My Take
As angry as the conflict made me, Closer to the Chest is a story with a warm and cozy feel for its dayinthelife of Mags, Amily, and the royals, as Mags and Amily and the king and his son and wife endear themselves to the populace and take care of their people.
Makes you wish our politicians would care half as much, I do love how thoughtful Mags is towards those who are not so well off Amily has also learned to be more aware, and we get to learn right along with her.
I absolutely LOVE the message Lackey sends in Closer to the Chest about how wrong it is to say that women should know their place.
To think they're only good for what is considered traditional women's work, I'm already a believer, and Lackey pokes and pokes away at how disgusting these beliefs are,
I'm confused as Lackey initially gives the impression that Teo is a collector for a moneylender, but then she has him working as a bodyguard for the goldsmith who may be the moneylender
It's irritating how long it takes Mags and his friends to figure out who the likely culprit is.
It's one thing to have to scrounge for evidence, and another to be so obtuse,
I had to laugh about the servants appalled that Lady Dia actually sleeps with her husband! More laughter ensued with Mags' wish that "a plague would target only stupid people".
Yep, it's one of my dreams as well, lol,
It's a world with the kind of values you want your children to have the Heralds and the king and prince who are so concerned with ensuring everyone's wellbeing.
And this particular story is a good one for kids to read, if only to help hammer in that this attitude towards women is wrong.
The Story
A series of seemingly unrelated attacks and burglaries against women has the town of Haven and the Court up in arms with Herald Mags and King's Own Amily helpless to stop it.
The evildoer leaves few clues behind, and Mags and Amily must thwart whatever plans have been set in motion, and quickly before terror turns to murder.
The Characters
Mags, a, k. a. , Harkon Willy the Weasel's nephew, Magnus, Lord Chipman's cousin, or Geb Lackland who infiltrates an organization, is the King's Herald Spy gifted with Mindspeech and married sitelink Closer to the Heart,to Amily, the King's Own Herald, who has discovered her own Gift.
Dallen is Mags' Companion Rolan is Amily's,
Herald Nikolas had been the King's Own until he died sitelink Closer to Home,, and Rolan's bond passed to his daughter, Amily.
He's also "Willy the Weasel", his undercover role as a pawnbroker who deals in information.
"Willy" has a staff now: Jem, Eller, Sam, and Luke.
Kyril is the king of Valdemar Prince Sedric is his son and heir who is married to the pregnant Lydia, Soren's niece sitelink Closer to Home,.
The Housekeeper, Mrs. Pellam, is another of Nikolas', Lady Dia breeds muff dogs, organized the Queen's Handmaidens a group of women spies who include Keira Tremainet, Joya, and the deceptive Keleste, and is married to Steveral, Lord Jorthun, who had been the king's spymaster and Nikolas' mentor.
Tuck is/was Dia's protégé and brilliant with his hands, Nils is one of Dia's trainers, Miana is her maid, Violetta appeared in sitelink Closer to Home,,
The Collegium are
three schools where children are trained in becoming Heralds, Bards, or Healers.
The deans include Caelen Heralds, Melita "Lita" Bards and, Devin Healers.
Other Heralds include Pip who has just returned from a circuit Jakyr is the one who discovered Mags in sitelink Foundation Willowby is permanently assigned to the Haven court system and, Kerit's gift is psychometry.
Lena Marchand Tyrall is a Master Bard her father, Bard Marchand, met his fate in sitelink Changes,she's married to Bear Tyrall, an innovative Healer.
The Chronicler keeps records for the Healers, Margeritte is another of the Healers,
Trainee Bards include the gifted Dani, and Sara is a Trainee Herald.
The Blues are students and include children of people who live at Court or on the Hill and sponsored children including Katlie Gardener and Kaven.
Aunty Minda is the house mother for Mags' band of runners and informers Trey is one of them.
One of the original rescues is Coot who now runs the official runner business,
Teo does debt collection for a moneylender, Mika Tarneff, and works as a bodyguard for Bren Kriss, a goldsmith and moneylender in Tanner's Quarter.
I gotta wonder who Dettler is,
Lord Semel Lional he's one of Kyril's New Men, his wife, Lady Tyria, and their sensible children Hawken is the oldest, the gorgeous Helane, the brilliant Lirelle, and the ambitious Loren come to Court, expecting to move into Lord Renolf's townhouse.
Lord Merriman and his wife, Lady Felicity, have come to Court with their twin daughters.
Duke Henley believes in his own importance, Lord Anslott doesn't like change and doesn't approve of women, Maegery Ereson is a tease, Lady Jemma Teal is quite clever, and Amber Larele is a flirt and poaches.
Lady Harmitege moves herself and her eight chicks out of the Palace, Danver Haylie and his set are ones to beware, Lady Herra and Lady Amberly are cranky spinsters, Jared was a tutor,
Watchmen include Carter and Captains Kay March and Ned March.
Flora is the madame at Flora's and also one of Nikolas' contacts, Cilla is the House Healer at Flora's, The Sickle Moon is another bawdy house,
Hatchet, DogBilly, and Rufus are the latest bad guys from whom Mags took children.
The "Poison Pen" is a nasty, vicious person whose intelligence is much too accurate and knows his or her way around much too well.
The religious groups in Haven
The Sisters of Ardana are
a dying religious group cheated out of their building.
Mother Yllana is their abbess, They also have Abbess Reed who may be Mother Yllana Other sisters include the unhappy Klera Coppersmith, Aster, Loveage, Basil, Ivy, Nelie, Thoma, and Thistle who is in charge of the Scriptorium.
Kyle Benson is the new carter, Meya and her husband are some of the worshippers,
The Temple of Betane of the Axe is
a militant order of women who work as bodyguards and fill in for the Guard as needed.
The prioress is their leader, Acolyte Asha inspires hero worship and offers good advice,
Birana the FlowerCrowned concerns
itself with growing flowers whose High Priestess is appalled.
The Order of Saint Hitia has
the largest library in Haven and is devoted to scholarship.
The Temple of Sethor the Patriarch is
the latest religious group to come to Haven with strange beliefs.
Theodor Kresh is the High Priest, Other priests include Brother Pakler, Precepts Darent and Renn Haladane he has a twin brother, Roan their father had been a chief priest, Taryan Haladane, and Novice Tomson.
The Heralds are the ultimate law enforcement in Valdemar, Companions are magical white "horses" with silver hooves and blue eyes who can mindspeak with the Herald to whom they bond.
Companion Seraf appears to be attracted to Dallen, Kirball is a game a sort of cross between polo and soccer invented when Mags was still a Trainee.
The Sleepgivers are a clan of assassins with Mags' cousin, Bey, its head sitelink Bastion,.
The Cover and Title
The background of the cover is warm browns with a toneontone graphic of Dallen galloping across.
The center is the shape of a decorative shield acting as a frame for a determined Amily holding a dagger and Mags with a tool belt and holding a hammer they're dressed in a subdued orange.
They're separated by a highly carved pillar in the middle with poison pen letters floating between them, one of which is pinned at the bottom of the shield frame, dripping with blood.
The author's name is in embossed silver at the top while the title is in an embossed pale gold at the bottom with the series information below it embossed in white.
Oh, yeah, this title is definitely Closer to the Chest for Mags and friends, as it affects so many people in Haven and at Court.
.