#16 Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar edited by Mercedes Lackey

[missingvolume]

Anthologies like this are a love/hate thing with me. The upside was reading new stories by Lackey and Dixon in Valdemar. The downside is that I read a few that could have been anywhere and didn't feel that much like a "Valdemar" story. My favorite story had to be by Larry Dixon, the story is a direct sequel to a previous short story he had written for the Daw 30th Anniversary anthology. The Lackey piece was a Tamra and Kethry story. Not bad but no real fleshing out of the duo. None of the stories were bad it was just a few of them didn't appeal to me but might to someone else. Overall a good anthology.

Comments

[mrmeval.livejournal.com]

Is that the one with mzmadmike's story?

[missingvolume.livejournal.com]

Yep. And Mike's was one of those that it really could have been in any Fantasy setting. No heralds, companions or bards or Valdemar for that matter. Don't get me wrong, it was a good story and I really liked what he did in it but it just didn't say Valdemar unless you want to go with the idea of a noble mercenary company but I think other writers have done that as well.

[cordova829.livejournal.com]

Odd, MMIke's story was the one which got me to read the others from the antho, which was an introduction to the world in itself.

I shall hang my head in shame and admit I have never read any of her Valdemar books before Crossroads....

[missingvolume.livejournal.com]

No reason to do that. ;-) There are lots of series out there I still have not read.

So how did you find out about the short story to even read them? If you do decided to read the Valdemar books I have to say that the early ones are the better ones.

[blloonaticbmber.livejournal.com]

And I'd agree with that. I never did get around to reading the Owl books. I tried a few others, and they were more work than pleasure.

[missingvolume.livejournal.com]

The Owl ones felt forced. I'll reread the first two trilogies but but that is about it.