Arrow's Fall
question
Can I expect Lackeys other series to have glaring plot problems like this series?
Magnus
(last edited
Jan 18, 2015 06:06PM
)
Jan 18, 2015 12:21PM
I've yet to finish the book and am considering whether I will, and whether I should continue to read the other series in the Valdemar universe. I enjoy the premise and some of the characters, but the glaring idiocies of the plot are too distracting for me to really enjoy it. Can I expect these types of idiocies in the other series? If I can I should probably just give up on Lackey since this is too much for my level of skill with willing suspension of disbelief :)
##Pasted from my current draft of a review:
In several instances terrible death and destruction occurs in distant parts of the country. The people there are apparently almost completely left to their own devices for defense against raiders, robbers, pirates etc. In each recounted occurrence village people have to defend themselves completely without help, or with the help of one or two Heralds. When they need significant help they travel for weeks to the capital and back. Before any help is dispatched the council and Queen have to take action in person. Obviously the help arrives far to late after great damage is already done. This repeats time and time again as it obviously would in a country "organized" like that. The ones that argues for the obvious - distributing the military force so that it can be where it needs to be when it needs to be - are portrayed as the bad guys and and the proposal is defeated by the protagonists.
When a region of the country urgently needs help no fast courier is sent. Instead the news is allowed to wait for an injured Herald limping along in an improvised carrying mechanism between two Companions to arrive.
In the middle of all this the Queen, heir and Talia decide that all of them leaving the country for an extended period would be a good idea. The merits of this idea is not discussed at all. It is just decided in a sentence or two in the book that they would go and that was that.
Once they enter this country they apparently learn for the first time about what has been happening in their neighbor country over the last several years. Information that any merchant moving between the countries know. Yet neither the Queen's nor her adviser, nor any of the council knows about these public, important, and widely talked about happenings in their neighbor country.
Then there's the peddler that spontaneously becomes a super-spy and finds the imprisoned Talia within hours. And of course it is possible for him to just walk up to the outside of her cell, because that's how dungeons tend to be designed...
And Dirk and Skif are sent on a pleasure tour home to Dirk. It's not like any other task could be assigned Dirk to keep him from Talia when every Herald is desperately needed to prepare for the next war. And he is anything but alone in this: Elspeth - assigned to rule the whole country while the queen is directing the front line - seems to spend most of her time planning Talias upcoming wedding. Never mind that a war that is likely to end the country is rapidly approaching.
It just keeps coming and coming. This is nowhere near a complete list of the idiocies.
##Pasted from my current draft of a review:
In several instances terrible death and destruction occurs in distant parts of the country. The people there are apparently almost completely left to their own devices for defense against raiders, robbers, pirates etc. In each recounted occurrence village people have to defend themselves completely without help, or with the help of one or two Heralds. When they need significant help they travel for weeks to the capital and back. Before any help is dispatched the council and Queen have to take action in person. Obviously the help arrives far to late after great damage is already done. This repeats time and time again as it obviously would in a country "organized" like that. The ones that argues for the obvious - distributing the military force so that it can be where it needs to be when it needs to be - are portrayed as the bad guys and and the proposal is defeated by the protagonists.
When a region of the country urgently needs help no fast courier is sent. Instead the news is allowed to wait for an injured Herald limping along in an improvised carrying mechanism between two Companions to arrive.
In the middle of all this the Queen, heir and Talia decide that all of them leaving the country for an extended period would be a good idea. The merits of this idea is not discussed at all. It is just decided in a sentence or two in the book that they would go and that was that.
Once they enter this country they apparently learn for the first time about what has been happening in their neighbor country over the last several years. Information that any merchant moving between the countries know. Yet neither the Queen's nor her adviser, nor any of the council knows about these public, important, and widely talked about happenings in their neighbor country.
Then there's the peddler that spontaneously becomes a super-spy and finds the imprisoned Talia within hours. And of course it is possible for him to just walk up to the outside of her cell, because that's how dungeons tend to be designed...
And Dirk and Skif are sent on a pleasure tour home to Dirk. It's not like any other task could be assigned Dirk to keep him from Talia when every Herald is desperately needed to prepare for the next war. And he is anything but alone in this: Elspeth - assigned to rule the whole country while the queen is directing the front line - seems to spend most of her time planning Talias upcoming wedding. Never mind that a war that is likely to end the country is rapidly approaching.
It just keeps coming and coming. This is nowhere near a complete list of the idiocies.
Ohhh, you basically nailed it for the next series as well. Lol. Quit while you're ahead. I can't even remember the next books after the Arrows series and I read several before I just couldn't take anymore.
Hey, that's just one book!
I do like her series, but her editing team is horrible. And either they (or she) never seem to go back and read previous books in each series. It is riddled with internal inconsistencies (especially between books and series).
People have shifting gifts/abilities and ages.
Books which take place earlier in time but were written later sometimes have better technology.
A person who has been crippled her whole life but get healed becomes an excellent weapons user in less than two years.
The Dragon Jouster series is almost worse. Each books has a little ending scene which seems to be completely negated by the plot of the next books, as if it didn't happen.
However, the Arrows series was one of her earliest series. Her writing does improve (for a while).
I do think reading the Last Herald Mage series is worthwhile. It might have been her best series. If you like angst.
I admit I still read her books, but I check them out of the library now and try for a little suspension of belief and need for consistency. And resist the urge to go back and fact-check against earlier books.
I do like her series, but her editing team is horrible. And either they (or she) never seem to go back and read previous books in each series. It is riddled with internal inconsistencies (especially between books and series).
People have shifting gifts/abilities and ages.
Books which take place earlier in time but were written later sometimes have better technology.
A person who has been crippled her whole life but get healed becomes an excellent weapons user in less than two years.
The Dragon Jouster series is almost worse. Each books has a little ending scene which seems to be completely negated by the plot of the next books, as if it didn't happen.
However, the Arrows series was one of her earliest series. Her writing does improve (for a while).
I do think reading the Last Herald Mage series is worthwhile. It might have been her best series. If you like angst.
I admit I still read her books, but I check them out of the library now and try for a little suspension of belief and need for consistency. And resist the urge to go back and fact-check against earlier books.
I would say I have always loved Lackey's books but I would like to point out that I started reading them at about 15 years old. I chose them at first because of the pretty horse on the front cover (yep horse mad teenage girl). I'm happy to re-read them nowadays out of remembered fondness. What I'm trying to say is the storyline is aimed at young adults, most of the main characters are teenagers and like lots of YA books things are much more black and white than adult because that's how often teenagers think.
I agree that the series you're reading is possibly the weakest as it is one of her first efforts but the themes are the same in the other books.
I hope you do find something you enjoy on goodreads, maybe join one of the groups that focuses of topics you enjoy.
I agree that the series you're reading is possibly the weakest as it is one of her first efforts but the themes are the same in the other books.
I hope you do find something you enjoy on goodreads, maybe join one of the groups that focuses of topics you enjoy.
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