Foundation by Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes Lackey has written this book before. And she’s written it better before. Foundation follows the story of Mags, a plucky orphan who is rescued from an abusive situation as a slave in a mine by a Companion and brought to Haven to become a Herald. Substitute Talia for Mags, and Holder for mine, and you have just summed up Lackey’s first book, Arrows of the Queen. The problem is that Foundation isn’t nearly as good.

Foundation is the start of a new trilogy set in Valdemar, Lackey’s favorite story world. The characters are retreads of old familiar faces, and the pacing is erratic. Lackey is obviously writing a trilogy, because the story just stops abruptly with little resolution. I have no problem with books being designed as trilogies with an overarching metanarrative, ... Read More