Brightly Burning

Valdemar (Chronological) #21

by Mercedes Lackey

Brightly Burning marks Mercedes Lackey's return to the kingdom of Valdemar, and introduces us to a portion of the otherwise unchronicled reign of King Theran. The book's principle figure is Valdemar's most powerful herald, Lavan Firestorm, who comes of age during Valdemar's war with its long-time enemy, the kingdom of Karse.

Sixteen-year-old Lavan Chitward's world is turned upside down when his mother is selected as a textile guild representative in the small rural community where he was raised. Moving to the capital city of Haven rips him away from his friends and boyhood pleasures, and nothing in Haven seems to fill that void. Unable to fit into the nouveau riche society, and unwilling to follow his parents into the textile guild, he finds himself adrift and depressed. His father enrolls him in a special school that will allow him to choose a trade that interests him, rather than be apprenticed against his will. There he finds himself terrorized and tortured by the boys in the sixth form until, with an awful roar, the gift of fire awakens deep within him and extracts revenge for his sadistic treatment.

With the help of a unique herald, an empathetic healer and a special companion, Lavan soon learns to keep his gift under control and eventually, to direct his awful firestorm as far as he can see. When the kingdom of Karse attacks, Lavan is hurried to the border to assist his king and country by repelling the invasion. During the final battle Lavan earns the name Firestorm and becomes one of the most famous heralds in the history of Valdemar.

Brightly Burning is a distinct and unforgettable coming-of-age story. With a compelling cast of characters and lively dialog, Mercedes Lackey once again demonstrates her adroit mastery of fantasy fiction. --Robert Gately

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Young Adult, Adult

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

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 & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.

"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.

"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.

"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:

"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."

Also writes as Misty Lackey

Author's website

Reviews

[Tahariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book - it's most definitely my favourite of anything I've read by Mercedes Lackey. Not only are the characters appealing, the plot interesting and the prose devoid of sentimentality (a common pitfall in her books), but it is genuinely moving, and I have reread this quite a few times.

Definitely worth it.

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

In this book, we get yet another black sheep and social outsider who finds himself suddenly enshrined in the world of the Heralds after a horrible set of circumstances, and of course he's just what the kingdom needs most at the moment because that's just how this world works. Lavan's a firestarter, which I'm not sure how that's related to mind-magic instead of "real" magic. I guess because it's tied into his emotions? And for once, we have a book without any rape or sexual assault, so its got that in its favor. Though there's still plenty of physical assault because of the bully subplot, and there're war scenes and other such scenes, so you've been warned. I was bemused that the plotline with the Guild school was kind of dropped and we never find out what exactly happened with the schoolmaster, other than he was going to be replaced. Did he have to pay fines? Do jail time? Anything at all? I wouldn't be surprised if that's addressed in some other story somewhere down the line though, because that's just how this series works.

I do think when Lackey can keep herself contained to a single plot, she really does much better than when she's trying to write a trilogy that spans years or decades. The writing did improve overall from the first book, Arrows of the Queen, to this one (note that I skipped ahead in publication order by quite a bit to end the year with a standalone book rather than start another trilogy), and keeping this a standalone helped keep the plot more concise, though it did still manage to meander at times in the middle.

My main issue with the series as a whole isn't its simplistic depiction of good vs evil, where the good guys are always good (which is not to say that they're perfect) and the bad guys are always bad. Even Harry Potter barely had more nuance. I could gripe about the constant misogyny, in all its forms, but even that takes a backseat since there are plenty of great female characters. No, my main issue is that, as interesting as some of the characters were, a lot of times it felt as if the characters didn't really have solid personalities but instead just took on personality traits as required by the plot or the moral of the story. Skiff is the strongest example of this. He was chill in Talia's trilogy when we first met him, but then he's turned into an alphadouche so Elspeth can be all "I am woman, hear me roar and defy the patriarchy." It makes the characters feel like they're caricatures, and I can't get invested in caricatures.

Oh, and the lifebond nonsense. *eye rolls* Why spend time creating an actual genuine bond between your characters when you can just write "lifebond mumbo jumbo" and be done with it? ... Because that's not interesting, that's why.

Twelve months, twelve and a half-books (two of those books being collections of short stories and novellas, which is just cheating if you ask me, lol), and I gotta say, I'm glad that I decided to check out this series and see what it was about. It's clearly influential in the genre of fantasy and YA, and it's still going strong after thirty years, which few fantasy series can boast to. I don't have a great need to read any further in this series at this point, however, though I may come back at some point to read the Mage Wars trilogy.

[Anna Pearce · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably because I've been having a bad month, I've been re-reading books from my youth and trying to determine which, if any, hold up now that I'm much older.

This one didn't hold up at all. Of course, I recall not particularly enjoying it when I first bought it on publication, so I'm not sure what it proves.

The main character of this story is Lavan who, like most Lackey heroes, is a poor misunderstood boy whose family just doesn't understand him. He is abused by someone in authority (in this case, both the head of his school and a group of older bullies) until Something Horrible happens, and then everyone is really sorry. In this case, Lavan uses his latent fire-starting magic abilities to kill his bullies by burning them to death.

Of course, Lavan is then chosen by a Companion to become a Herald, thus proving that even though he did this horrible thing, he's a good person at heart, whose abilities will be of utmost importance in defending the Kingdom of Valdemar from the evil religious fanatics to the south.

Also, he's lifebonded to his horse.

This is basically a very fast re-telling of Vanyel: The Angsting, except that while you have three books to get very attached to Vanyel and see him growing out of his whiny phase into an entirely different whiny phase, Lavan's story is over before he even turns 18.

This book includes: people becoming disabled in order to add to the angst level of other characters, magically healed disabilities, main male characters continually talking about the female characters being too weak or delicate to handle things, a dearth of female characters, "simple" country folk being contrasted with the "uppity" city folk, bad parenting, and angst.

This book does not include: a compelling main character.

I did enjoy Herald Pol, who is Lavan's mentor, but I felt that was more because I was dreading when Lavan's POV was going to return more than because of anything making Pol terribly interesting.

This book migrated from my shelf to that of the thrift store. I hope they get more enjoyment out of it.

[Saphirablue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, wow.

Even though I knew how this was going to end (after all, the fate of Lavan Firestorm is mentioned often enough in the other books), it still broke my heart and got me to shed a tear. :(

I quite liked the switching POV between Pol and Lan. :)

Lan is not an easy person to like because of his anger and his powers. But, I'm glad that characters like him still exist in this 'verse because there have been and are times when I've been/am as angry as him. I'm just lucky, that I don't have a firestarting Gift.

I love the Companions so much. They are such wonderful beings. <3 And, I'm such a sucker for it when they show up protecting their newly Chosen and when they are protective in general. <3

Yeah, the mention of Ashkevron? Stabbed my heart. Vans family still being here and protecting Valdemar. My heart.

So, yeah, loved it.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar is a brightly drawn, vivid world, perhaps not terribly unique in its particulars, but remarkable enough in terms of its social & magical structures. Unfortunately, at least in the case of Brightly Burning, the world is populated by flat, unlikable, and inconsistent characters. Furthermore, Brightly Burning suffers from a plot that is hastily conceived and poorly executed.

Lavan Chitward's life is suffering. At the start of the book it was a struggle to determine how much of Lan's struggle was meant to be sympathetic, and how much of it was meant to be hilarious. There's some overblown teen angst because his parents just don't understand him and he doesn't want to have a job or do chores or anything like that, so instead they send him to a school where he is mercilessly bullied. I feel like this was the part of the book that gripped me the most -- there was emotional tension, palpable danger, and I felt like Lan grew as a character during his time at school. However, Lan's gift soon awakens and he moves on to the Collegium.

As a new reader to Lackey's Valdemar, I found the structure of the Collegium fun & engaging, if not particularly inspired. Still, the plot started to drag here -- by the time the midwinter festivities rolled around, I was struggling to finish a chapter per day. Strangely, the narrative doesn't really pick up from that point onward -- there's about as much time devoted to inconsequential travel as there is to the big climax at the end. Which, I think, highlights the fact that the book suffered badly from a lack of conflict. The bullies in the first portion of the narrative provide a source of conflict, but once they're dealt with, and all the loose ends concerning that are tied up, there's no real driving force behind the narrative. Of course there's the war with Karse, but it's strangely absent from the narrative, and, as another reviewer noted, feels tacked on. I guess the foreshadowing at the beginning of the book implied a very different story than the one I eventually got.

Furthermore, while the writing itself was perfectly serviceable, even enjoyable, there were two big weaknesses to the craft of the novel: (1) dialogue, which bordered on unrealistic and even hokey at times, and (2) action sequences, which were especially notable towards the end of the book where we got detailed descriptions of the armies' movements, but no real sense of the battle, or of the impact of the battle. Furthermore, several times the same sequence of events were retold from both Lan and Pol's perspective with nothing unique or valuable added to the retelling.

Still, the greatest flaw in the book lies, at least for me, with its characters. I failed to get a firm grasp on Lavan as a character. He started off as a whiny teenager and grew into someone with very little in the way of personality. Was he witty? He had his moments, but they were few and far between. Was he observant? Some of his comments would lead us to think so, but considering how absurdly obvious he was to Elenor, I would hesitate to attribute this characteristic to him. He was certainly (and understandably) angry, but aside from some (very understandable) reactions, I got no sense of character from him.

Similarly, Pol and Tuck also fell flat. Pol was the generic mentor/dad and Tuck was the token best friend who was conveniently capable of whatever quality was necessary. Kalira had some personality, but since all her interactions were reactionary to Lan she was similarly hard to pin down. I guess I rather liked Elenor, which meant that this book was certainly not for me. Indeed, Elenor's treatment was abhorrent -- she's constantly dismissed as whiny, naive, useless, and stupid (even by her own parents). For the last half of the book she has this completely inexplicable crush on Lan that serves no narrative purpose. It's never acknowledged, it never causes anything to happen, and her presence is ultimately completely meaningless to the plot. I was expecting her to sacrifice herself for Lan or something similarly tragic, but she mostly just mooned over him then got over it.

And, to tackle the elephant in the room, I was pretty weirded out by the whole life-bond thing with Lan and Kalira. Not necessarily because it was a dude in love with his not!horse (though that was strange) but because it happened to immediately. It was just mentioned off hand for the purpose of causing Elenor angst (to no real end) and didn't play much of a role except in the last fifteen pages or so of the novel. I really would've been okay with the life-bond if there had been some growth or acknowledgement of it, but it was mostly a vehicle for the tragedy at the end which made it feel cheap, rather than meaningful.

I'm intrigued enough by the world to try other Valdemar novels by Lackey, but Brightly Burning itself was a disappointment and a trial to read.

[Kathryn Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh no no no, that was super sad. :(
I really enjoyed Lavan's story, and how he came of age. Kalira is definitely one of my favourite Companions.
Paul and Sataron were interesting characters and I also enjoyed their story.
I love all Mercedes Lackey's books that are set in the Valdemar universe. I desperately wish I had my own Companion.

[Jeremy Preacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a way, a lot of the Valdemar books are boarding-school books. This is the only one that involves an actual school, though. The first third of the book is as much a bullying-revenge fantasy as anything, although I would very much not recommend it solely for that, as Lavan Firestorm is perhaps the most truly tragic character in a long line of tragic characters of Valdemar.

Beyond the actual arc, it's a charming book filled with Lackey's usual charming supporting cast. There's enough real drama to keep it moving - even the boarding school bullying is genuinely scary - and enough mundane detail to establish the characters involved. The last third is a war story, and it does an excellent job of establishing both the tragedy inherent in heroism and, perhaps surprisingly, of parenting.

I do get a little annoyed at books where the main character is a "poor little rich kid," tremendously privileged but with that privilege completely ignored in favor of the real but not all that critical disadvantages of, say, having wealthy, influential parents and living in the fashionable part of town. Lackey seems to trend in that direction (and when she goes the other way she goes a touch overboard) and it bugs me here more than it does when the privilege involved is that of feudal nobility, but that may be my personal peeve.

I read Brightly Burning before any other Valdemar book, and it was rather an odd introduction to the world - it's a standalone novel (perhaps moreso than any other,) but it's definitely aimed at the dedicated Valdemar reader and I liked it much better after having a better grip on the universe. It holds up tolerably well - it'd probably be better off classified as YA material, but it's solid YA material.

[D Dyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
This entry in the Valdemar series tells the story of the firestorm much referenced in many of the latter books. If you’ve read any of those books you should already know that this is a tragedy. And while Lackey does a great job of bringing us back into the fantasy world she’s created, including some of the tropes one becomes familiar with when reading her books, this isn’t the best of her novels. LAN is a little too similar to some of her other characters, a boy with a big power and a romantic life complicated by circumstance, and as the protagonist we spend a lot of time with him. I wish I could say that I felt he’d been made more complex or sympathetic. The other characters are in my opinion a bit thin. This book was fun to read and I very much appreciated the chance to see the full story for a character that has been so frequently referenced but it isn’t one I’ll be contemplating much after finishing it.

[Soo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:

3.5 Stars

Got the audiobook on the latest Audible 2-4-1 sale. The storyline makes me think of my fav Valdemar character but failed to make me feel the absolute love & sorrow I have for him.

[Xanblank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this when I was 15 and absolutely adored it.

Read it when I was 25 and still absolutely adored it.

And yes, I cried my eyes out both times, lol.

[Aveline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up Mercedes Lackey's 'Brightly Burning' for $1 at my local library, and unfortunately after reading it I can see why they wanted to get rid of it.

The book starts off not magnificently, but interestingly enough, with the main character, Lavan, being sent off to school by his parents. Over a hundred pages cover his experience at school, where he is bullied by older students. Lackey actually deals with this section well enough, even though Lavan isn't a particularly likeable protagonist, I think many readers will be able to relate to the fear and suffering that comes with being bullied. Lavan's feelings and reactions, as well as the attitudes of his classmates are covered realistically - this is one of the few strengths that the book has.

Eventually Lavan 'overcomes' his bullies, becomes a Herald trainee (due to his gift, the ability to manipulate fire) and is 'chosen' by a Companion. This is where the book, which for the first 100 pages is rather average but decent fantasy, starts to really go downhill.
The focus of the book shifts to a strange love triangle (between Lavan, a girl called Elenor, and Lavan's Companion, Kalira) and the war between Valdemar and the Karsites. The war is a rather mundane affair, even though it is a main plot point, it has this oddly tacked on feel; the Karsites are typical religious fanatics, who want to wipe out Valdemar, the Companions and Heralds because they are 'evil'. The Karsites' motives are never properly explored, and despite the fact that Lavan and other characters ponder over the fact that many of the Karsite soldiers are probably ordinary people like them, who don't deserve to die, and most likely don't want to fight either. Since the reader never gets to know the Karsites, they remain a faceless enemy that doesn't inspire sympathy. The author gives only a few characters on the Valdemar force the bare minimum of character development, so it's difficult to care about what happens to either side during the war.

What really ruined this book more than anything for me though was the love triangle. Lavan has a 'life bond' with his Companion, Kalira, a being who isn't a horse, but physically resembles one. I found the flirtatious exchanges between the two of them downright creepy. Even though Companions aren't horses (as the author constantly reminds us), Kalira is incredibly horse-like, she is more like an intelligent magical horse than a powerful being.
Lavan and Kalira's relationship is never developed, the reader is just made to accept that they will never care romantically for anyone except each other, (even though there is barely any basis for these feelings) because of their 'life bond'. To me, the life bond is the author being lazy - instead of developing a meaningful relationship between the characters, she just slaps the term 'life bond' in place and that's it, they are bonded for better or worse, inseparable. Cue mushy feelings, don't worry about whether or not the relationship works.

If you don't mind reading about the romantic love between a boy and horse, and 300 pages of build up to a boring war sounds good to you, then I recommend 'Brightly Burning'. Otherwise steer clear because why I'm giving it even one star is a slight mystery to me...

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the saddest books in the overall Valdemar saga, perhaps even more so than those of Herald Vanyel. But is also one of my favorites. The book is one of the few standalones within the saga, too.

Lan has been uprooted from his country home and friends, moved to Haven, the capital of Valdemar. His parents are artisan Guildmasters who seek to rise in their fields, but he’s left feeling as if he has no place. Even his siblings are following in their parents’ footsteps, but Lan wants nothing to do with either family business. All he wants is to be a member of the Guard, which his parents forbid, feeling it to be “beneath” them. It has left Lan an outlier in his own family. To make it worse, they decide to send him to a school, one in which the headmaster leaves all the discipline and order to a group of older students who love nothing more than to cruely bully the younger students. One thing leads to another, and a terrible accident occurs. But there’s a silver lining… he finally finds his path, even if he will probably always remain an outlier, this time from those who fear him.

The author laudably runs the gamut of relationships in this series, those that aren’t quite as “status quo.” She wrote of same-sex relationships, even throuples, long before those became more mainstream. But this one created a lifebond, a soul mate bond between people, between Lan and his Companion. A completely nonsexual lifebond, but one based on the purest of love and trust.

It truly is a beautiful read!

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've never read Lackey or her Valdemar books, this wouldn't be the place I'd start. The first published is the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy beginning with Arrows of the Queen, and the earliest chronologically, and in my opinion her best, is the Last Herald's Mage series beginning with Magic's Pawn.

Chronologically, this book is set between those two trilogies, and fleshes out a mention of Lavan Firestorm in the first trilogy. The book starts out in a way typical for Lackey's books, with a young man misunderstood by his family who finds his destiny when he's "chosen" by a Companion (magical creature shaped like a horse) and thus enters the ranks of the Heralds.

If you've read others of those Valdemar books and love them, you'll probably enjoy Brightly Burning, which certainly is eminently readable, well-paced, and as imaginative as any, but this book and the character of Lavan just didn't for me have the pull and ability to move me the way Talia and Vanyel of her first two sets of books set in Valdemar.

[BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was truly a sad story for me. Laven Firestorm is a pyro - his ability is scary for many people. He's abused in a crappy school and his natural defenses take over. This catches the eyes of the Heralds. I felt sorrow in this book because we all know the ending to this story isn't going to be happily ever after. There is war and Valdemar is once again on the defense and in trouble. Laven and his chosen are the last hope. The love in this book transcends human love. Soulmates in the true sense. A bittersweet ending which was fitting.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book, it is one of the ones I read at least once a year. Guaranteed to make you cry, I still get choked up at certain points of the story even now. Enjoy!

[Jackie B. - Death by Tsundoku · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recurring struggle I have with the Valdemar books is pacing. Not so with Brightly Burning. Lackey quickly captured my attention and kept me on the edge of my seat. Part of this tension is brought on because I learned in The Queen's Own the legend of Lavan Firestorm. And part of this is because the whole story is heartbreaking from page one. Lackey tosses Lavan, and the reader, from tense moment to tense moment.

I also found extreme comfort in returning to old school Valdemar. I have missed Lackey's focus on Heraldry and mind magic. While Firestarting seems a bit more like proper magery, I liked being close to Companions, mindspeaking, and the culture of Heralds. Reading about this world was like coming home.

Brightly Burning is an exceptional addition to the Valdemar universe. It will remain one of my favorite Valdemar books (ironically, the stand alone novels are my favorites…. Hm, perhaps Lackey does better with page limitations?) far into the future, I am sure. In fact, Brightly Burning is the first book of 2020 to leave me with a book hangover. High praise indeed.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heroic but tragic tale of a young boy that has an incredible gift. Mercedes Lackey has written many series now in this wonderful world she has created. This is a standalone novel about Lavan Firestorm who has the fire starter gift to an incredible degree. He is a young boy who does not fit in at home and can't find his place. Tragic circumstances lead him to be chosen by a companion that is everything he needs.
Reading this I could not help but feel for Lavan even as I could see where his journey was leading him.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite reads as an angsty teenager growing up before YA was even really a thing. Sure, JK Rowling was giving us HP, and Aussie authors like Isobel Carmody filled my local library shelves, but back then I say 'filled' as a loose term, because there was only two shelves of books dedicated to teenagers, jammed between the picture book section and the scary adult fiction section, of which you weren't allowed to hire anything until you turned thirteen (my father would sneak such books onto his library card for me. I remember getting the stink eye from librarians as I stood with him in the forbidden adult fiction, while he pretended to look and I pointed at what I wanted. This book was one of them) I remember hiring it over and over, because I adored Lan and Kalira so much, and dreaming of a companion to come and take me away on adventures.

Even as an adult, this was one of the top books I tried to buy my own copy of. I was unsuccessful for many years until I finally found a copy of a hardcover in a second hand store, and then finally a paperback a few years later as my back up copy. Every few years I read it again, and still find that same joy I did the first time. Ultimately it ties with Owlflight as my favorite Valdemar book, but it's a happy tie. Five stars, forever and always.

[Heather Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lavan

Lan’s story is poignant and ultimately devastating, yet it seems vital to the tale of Valdemar and Karse as a whole.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tuesday Gaming Book Club pick

Very Lackey! Emotions run high, ideals even higher, pair-bonding runs deep and so do adolescent crushes. Definitely can be read as a villain origin story.

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, I felt attached to all the characters - Mercedes Lackey had a pattern in her valdemar books and this one follows it perfectly. Very satisfying read

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not long ago I tried another Lackey, acquired somehow or other, and found it an unreadable exemplar of 'high' fantasy. So I began this one with trepidation, but the assurance of a friend here that I'd like 'regular' Lackey just fine. And I am happy to say that I do. The story unfolds around a young and unhappy teenager who does not fit in at all with his family of cloth merchants. They've moved to the city and he is miserable away from the fresh air and physical activity. His parents, as parents are so often inexplicably are (but we'd never have a plot otherwise), are disappointed and even angry with his intransigeance and decide to send him to the new merchant-run school where he is set upon by a truly appalling bully. He becomes angrier and angrier until, in a rage, a magical power--to make fire--bursts forth uncontrolled and fatal. There are many powers, for mind-speech to empathy but this is rare beyond rare. Those with powers like these are sent to become either Heralds, Bards, or Healers. Heralds acquire a Companion-a horse that chooses them, and with whom they stay for a lifetime. But not only is Lavan chosen, but the bonding is an almost unheard of "life bond"--they will live or die as one. Valdemar is under siege from enemies and before he is fully trained Lavan is sent to the front. What I admire about this story is that it isn't the least bit sentimental -- but I can say no more without spoiling. I look forward to reading more of the books about the kingdom of Valdemar and surrounding lands. This book is somewhere in the middle of the work, but all are written to be stand-alones. ***1/2

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercedes Lackey was an author who I first discovered when I was in middle-school, and she wrote about exactly what I wanted to read about when I was that age. As a result, she's become the fantasy equivalent of comfort food. When I'm sick and laying about at home, I want grilled cheese sandwiches and gingerale; when I'm emotionally strung out and need to have an easy, comfortable escape, I read Mercedes Lackey. Sure, grilled cheese and Mercedes Lackey books will never achieve 5-star ratings and upper-class restaurant/literary status. But when you're feeling down, they're damn welcome and make you feel worlds better.

Of all of the Mercedes Lackey books/series that I've read, I have to say that this one is my second favorite. Mercedes Lackey has a tendency to recycle her plots and archetypes like crazy, and this one does a good job of being unique despite the clear repetition of the 'abused, gifted child is rescued by morally upright clique running utopic government' motif.

Additionally, it is the only Mercedes Lackey book that tackles head-on Lackey's fascination for non-status-quo love relationships (aka. the main character being in life-bonded with his Companion). One of the things I enjoy about fantasy and other speculative fiction is their ability to offer social criticism -- Mercedes Lackey has already written about gay life-bonds, as well as other relationships that are considered risky in the mainstream publishing world. This book takes it a step further, while avoiding any explicit scenes or scenes of questionable taste.

All in all, this is the sort of comfort reading I enjoy. I'm rereading it while I'm in bed, sick, and having a damn good time remembering how much I loved these books when I was an adolescent.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is any book, by Mercedes Lackey, that calls to me deeply, it is definitely this one.

In this story, Mercedes Lackey is at her best, telling a tale of adversity; of courage, under the kind of fire that burns even more brightly than the title.

As she does so very well, Mercedes has written of both the type of people that we strive to be like, and of the things that we would all love to experience - like the true love, and acceptance, by our family and friends, despite being so very different from them.

The joy of finding something that only we can do, in exactly the way that might help both ourselves, and others, is something most people strive for and, even if it doesn't quite turn out as we expected, all we can do, as Lavan did, is to try and find a way to turn something that scares us greatly, into the kind of courage that can overcome that fear, and go on, anyway.

I loved reading Lavan's story. It reminded me of so many instances in my life, and of the resolve to do better, next time. It spoke to me of how much we can all attain, if we try hard enough, but it also reminded me that not every story has a happy ending - but, also, that life really does go on, despite that - even if it IS a life we hadn't planned on, or for.

This book is one of the - many - reasons that I've gone back, time after time, to re-read her books - and to also discover the joys of finding the new ones I hadn't read before, just like this very one!

I can only hope that she stays as prolific a writer as she has been, for many more years to come, because I plan to keep re-reading them all!

[Dixie Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an emotional story. Many of my favorite Mercedes Lackey stories are; she seems to have a gift with the whole abused teen genre. The bullying I went through was nowhere near as severe as Lavan's, but his struggles still remind me of my own. A little too much really; on subsequent rereads of this book, I tend to skip much of the bullying scenes, finding them too emotional to stand.

In this book, Lavan is a merchant's son who doesn't fit into the family mold. They send him off for schooling, hoping that'll help him pick an appropriate profession. (They don't approve of the only profession he prefers, that of a guard.) However, bullying is rampant at the school, ranging from verbal to the physical. Lavan resists as long as he can, but when they finally corner him, he snaps. And the bullies find out firsthand why Lavan is remembered to history as Lavan Firestorm.

Most likely he would have faced criminal charges, except that a Companion chooses him while he's healing. Which makes him a herald. And the heralds have uses for a gift like his. Especially with war on the horizon.

Lavan's bond with his Companion, a lifebond, is the other thing that makes this story stand out. She loves him completely and utterly, something that I was desperate to feel as a child. So this book is also a comfort to me when I feel down.

[Midnight · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really didn't like the main character, Lan. I actually looked forward to reading the other points of view more than his. He spends the entire book whining and does some pretty irresponsible things that had me yelling at the book.

The pretty picture on the front with the white horse and the fire? It literally took 130 pages until you even see a glimpse of that. All the way up until that point you have to deal with Lan's constant sniveling and his idiotic family. The only reason I kept reading was for another main character, Pol.

I really enjoyed the world that the author built, and the ideas surrounding the main story's point (which is reflective in all of her other books). But it took SO long to get to the interesting part. And I felt like Lan never actually grew at all. I want to read the author's other books because I like the idea of the world she built, but I was happy to finally put this one down.

[Denyse Loeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Lavan Firestorm, a Herald Firestarter, a merchant's son who was originally enrolled in the same school that trains the Heralds by his parents. Bullied near daily by the older students, it isn't until he releases his gift in self-defense that anyone is aware he even has a gift. He becomes chosen and trained to be a Herald, it is only during a conflict with Karse that everyone learns how truly devastating his gift can be.


Impressions: Personally I love Lackey's Valdemar books, even though they are more aimed at a y.a. audience, and Brightly Burning is no exception. It's nice to see her filling out some of the back history and charcater histories now days. I even cried at the end of this one. Course, my husband would just say I'm a sucker. ;)

[Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The collegium will always feel like home. With a vague idea that this was going to end in tragedy (I've only read one other series associated with Valdemar) I knew I would still love every moment of this novel. And I was right. Following Lavan and Kalira was a joy to experience because Ms. Lackey writes these novels to wrap the reader in a cozy blanket.

I think these books will always fall into a few deadly tropes for some folks, but if you can get past the chosen one, farm boy ideals that come with a lot of these older fantasy novels, with villains that are needlessly cruel and heroes that can't help their goodness, Valdemar is a place that will always make you happy. Even with tears running down my face at the end of this novel, I can't wait to get back to the Collegium once again.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

High-fantasy at its most solid, this is a stand-alone novel about Lavan Firestorm within the Valdemar/Herald series. Enjoyable, though a little dull in places listening to Lan whine about being a misunderstood teenager but probably a great YA read. Not a happy-ending per se, but a good read overall.