Owlsight (Valdemar: The Owl Mage Trilogy #2)
It has been four years since Darian saw his village sacked and burned by barbarians. Taking refuge with the Hawkbrothers, he soon finds his life's calling--as a Healing Adept. But even as he learns the mystical ways of this ancient race, Darian cannot escape the dangers threatening his future. Another tribe of barbarians is approaching. The time has come...to stand up and...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
October 1st 1999
by DAW
(first published 1998)
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### Amazon.co.uk Review
Orphaned when his trapper parents failed to come back from the forest one day, young Darian is resentful when apprenticed to the damaged magician Justyn. He sees little point in the few tricks he manages to learn, and what has magic done for Justyn save leave him under-employed, sick and despised in a remote village? Then half-human invaders take the town and Justyn dies heroically helping people escape while Darian looks on in horror. Lost in the forest, Darian is rescu
Number 25 in the quest to read 100 books in a year. This is the second book in the "Owl" trilogy, which has also been rebranded as "Darain's Tale.'
The middle book in the trilogy is always the toughest. Darian is now a young adult and has been fully adopted into the Tayledras or Hawkbrother clan; he has been undergoing training both as a warrior and as a mage. He has found a home . . .
More interesting is the introduction of Keisha, who, following the death of Justyn (in the first book in the tri...more
The middle book in the trilogy is always the toughest. Darian is now a young adult and has been fully adopted into the Tayledras or Hawkbrother clan; he has been undergoing training both as a warrior and as a mage. He has found a home . . .
More interesting is the introduction of Keisha, who, following the death of Justyn (in the first book in the tri...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is the second book in the Owl Mage series, that began with Owlflight, so you should read that first.
I generally like Lackey's Valdemar books, and if you're new to them I'd start with the first published, Arrows of the Queen. They almost all deal with Heralds, a police/military force bonded to and partnered with "Companions," magical creatures in horse guise.
Heralds don't factor much in this particular trilogy though, but the Tayledras, featured in other stories, do, and for me that more t...more
I generally like Lackey's Valdemar books, and if you're new to them I'd start with the first published, Arrows of the Queen. They almost all deal with Heralds, a police/military force bonded to and partnered with "Companions," magical creatures in horse guise.
Heralds don't factor much in this particular trilogy though, but the Tayledras, featured in other stories, do, and for me that more t...more
One of the things I love best about these Valdemar books is that they often focus on a sense of duty, but usually that comes with the faint taint of nationalism. Yes, Valdemar is the best country ever--one founded by immigrants with the principles of religious freedom and cultural tolerance--but it can seem a little, well, nationalist on occasion. So centering this book on a young Healer whose oath of treating the sick transcends race and boarder as well as a young man growning up in two culture...more
This book, along w/ another reason I won't get into here, turned me off this author forever.
Besides my more personal reason for abandoning her books, this one had a gigantic error in it. One so obvious even I as a nonprofessional writer, could see it.
Then there was the part that was included for what seemed personal as opposed to professional reasoning. Sort of like when Ayn Rand, in Atlas Shrugged, has her character make a 70-page speech, which seems unrealistic to me; and that unrealism ruins...more
Besides my more personal reason for abandoning her books, this one had a gigantic error in it. One so obvious even I as a nonprofessional writer, could see it.
Then there was the part that was included for what seemed personal as opposed to professional reasoning. Sort of like when Ayn Rand, in Atlas Shrugged, has her character make a 70-page speech, which seems unrealistic to me; and that unrealism ruins...more
I remember really liking the first book in this trilogy so I was pleased as punch to pick up this second book.
However.
I found myself bored more often than not, sad to say. There was so much internal talking and descriptions of surroundings and people that I found myself skimming pages to finally get to any interesting action scenes. Alas, it felt like far too much skimming and far too little action. It was ultimately a forgettable book.
I'm going to give the third a try and hope for better result...more
However.
I found myself bored more often than not, sad to say. There was so much internal talking and descriptions of surroundings and people that I found myself skimming pages to finally get to any interesting action scenes. Alas, it felt like far too much skimming and far too little action. It was ultimately a forgettable book.
I'm going to give the third a try and hope for better result...more
So, the writing style was much like the first book, which didn't really help how I felt about the book, but I thought it felt a bit less repetitive. Now whether that was just getting used to the style or actuality I'm not sure. Really, I plowed through just because I was curious enough about where the characters were going, and well truth be told I am just stubborn like that.
If I hadn't checked out this book along with the 3rd from the library at the same time, I probably would have passed on t...more
If I hadn't checked out this book along with the 3rd from the library at the same time, I probably would have passed on t...more
Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series provides one of the cornerstones of my reading history. After discovering her when quite young, I still follow new additions to the series - nearly twenty years later! I read and re-read these books over and over again throughout my youth, but I haven't re-read this series in its entirety in a long time - and never as an adult. There are some new books added to the series since the last time I read them, so this re-reading project is pretty exciting for me since...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Owlsight is definitely more solid than Owlflight - less drama, more interesting worldbuilding without the tedious flashback-driven backstory. We get a cameo by Kerowyn, and really awkwardly-placed references to the rest of the main Mage Storms characters, which is nice but clumsy, and otherwise it's just a fairly solid YA adventure.
My main gripe with this series is the bizarre-in-context patriarchal assumptions. In a country where there is no sexism at all in the ruling class, it's jarringly out...more
My main gripe with this series is the bizarre-in-context patriarchal assumptions. In a country where there is no sexism at all in the ruling class, it's jarringly out...more
In the second of the owl series, we continue to find out more about the border towns of Valdemar and the Taleydras. In this one, the healing gift is also explored more than in previous books. Keisha grows into her powers without the help of the Healer's Collegium while Darian continues to train as a wizard. The Northern barbarians again appear but not in the same way as in the first book. You can't take anything for granted in Ms. Lackey's fantasy world as she continues to expand and populate it...more
The second volume of Darian's Tale is not quite as well paced as the first one. It is very much a set-up novel, with the climactic action happening in a few pages in the final chapter, leaving many threads still unraveled for the final volume. The writing isn't quite as lively and the parallelism between the two main characters often felt overly contrived.
A minor note: the second main character's name is Keisha, and I had a hard time taking her seriously because of that. Kept expecting her to br...more
A minor note: the second main character's name is Keisha, and I had a hard time taking her seriously because of that. Kept expecting her to br...more
Book #2 of the Owl series (Darien's Tale). Book #1 was dull and boring. Book #2 is better (enough to get another star but just barely). Starting book#3 tomorrow so I hope it ramps up soon. Love Mercedes Lackey's books and wish she would write more but IMHO her best were the Heralds of Valdemar Series (Arrows of the Queen, etc), and the stories about Vanyel (the greatest mage of all time). We'll see how she does in OWLSKNIGHT (book #3 of Darien's Tale).
Lackey is one of my favorite authors ever! I started reading her Valdemar series in 8th grade but I will still pull out her books to reread them. I also love her work so much that I never miss the chance to buy her new stuff. This series was her last full Valdemar series and I’m sad to say I almost wish she hadn’t written it. This whole series just fell flat for me and although, as always her characters were great, the whole work just felt a bit formulaic.
Another reread. I like the first book in the series best and the last book least, but I enjoy them enough that I usually read them all. Not much happens until the very end of this book, but the first half details what life is now like in a village in Valdemar and a hawkbrother Vale. Wonderful if you enjoy description and tedious if you do not.
Pretty formulaic, but exactly the formula that I was looking for, so I enjoyed it. I did think it was quite a bit better than the first book of the series. Darian's matured a lot, and I enjoyed the addition of Keisha as a main character very much. I'm kind of looking forward to reading Owlknight now.
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Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts &...more
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