Title: Magic’s Price
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Series: The Last Herald Mage #3, Valdemar #6
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Daw fantasy
Year: 1990
5th sentence, 74th page: What if he thinks I’m just some kind of bedazzled child?

Valdemar – the once-peaceful kingdom protected by the magic of its Herald-Mages – is now beseiged on all fronts. The king lies near death, the neighboring land of Karse wages a relentless war against Valdemar, and the forces led by a master of dark forbidden magic are massing to strike the final devastating blow against the kingdom.

And Vanyel, the most powerful Herald-Mage Valdemar has ever known, has become the primary target of the evil which is reaching out to poison all the land. With all his fellow mages slain, Vanyel alone remains to defend his people against the dark master’s army. yet a dream vision has revealed to Vanyel the fate which awaits should he and his Companion Yfandes take up the dark master’s challenge. And if either Vanyel or Yfandes falters, the dream will become a horrifying reality in which both Valdemar and its last Herald-Mage must pay the ultimate price…

I loved the entire The Last Herald Mage trilogy, and the finale certainly didn’t disappoint. Even though I knew what the ending would be from mentions in other Valdemar books, but, I still wanted to watch the entire tragedy unfold.

This stunning conclusion not only restored your faith in the world and love, but it also took you on a journey to the creation of so many things within the Valdemar world. The woods were Talia and Kris fought, the vrondi from the Collegium chronicles, the fact that the Heralds became automatically connected – it all made sense because of this story. Not only did I have the pleasure of watching Vanyel’s last stand unfold, Lackey helped me to understand so many other aspects of the Valdemar-verse that I didn’t even realise I was misunderstanding.

And then there was the introduction of Stefan – Bard Stefan who we hear so much about in the other books finally bought to life in all of his beauty and vibrancy. The moment he entered the pages, I was in love. Actually, his purity, sweetness and talent reminded me so much of one of my best friends that I just wanted to hold him.

Although I knew how Vanyel’s last stand would end – I did not expect the ending to the book. Lackey takes a feeling of disappointment (after Vanyel finally finds Stefan and vice versa) and makes it into a beautiful ending that will definitely bring a tear to your eyes.

<- Magic’s Promise

Foundation ->

Image source: Wikia