Passages by Mercedes Lackey – 4 Star Book Review

This fourteenth anthology of short stories set in the beloved Valdemar universe features tales by debut and established authors and a brand-new story from Lackey herself.

I was granted access to an eARC of Passages by the publisher, DAW, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not swayed my opinion. My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

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About the Book

Passages
Tales of Valdemar Book #14
by Mercedes Lackey

Published 24 November 2020
DAW

Genre: High Fantasy
Page Count: 352
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

This fourteenth anthology of short stories set in the beloved Valdemar universe features tales by debut and established authors and a brand-new story from Lackey herself.

The Heralds of Valdemar are the kingdom’s ancient order of protectors. They are drawn from all across the land, from all walks of life, and at all ages–and all are Gifted with abilities beyond those of normal men and women. They are Mindspeakers, FarSeers, Empaths, ForeSeers, Firestarters, FarSpeakers, and more. These inborn talents–combined with training as emissaries, spies, judges, diplomats, scouts, counselors, warriors, and more–make them indispensable to their monarch and realm. Sought and Chosen by mysterious horse-like Companions, they are bonded for life to these telepathic, enigmatic creatures. The Heralds of Valdemar and their Companions ride circuit throughout the kingdom, protecting the peace and, when necessary, defending their land and monarch. 

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My Review

My Rating: 4 Stars
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Passages is a collection of short stories inspired by and in the world of Mercedes’ Lackey’s Valdemar series, written by an assortment of authors including but not limited to Lackey herself. I love coming across the anthologies Lackey curates from her worlds because I always discover new authors to seek out and read more from, and I love the fact that this amazingly talented author I both love to read and look up to as an aspiring author encourages fan fiction. I loved the diversity in the sort of characters the other authors decided to focus on in their stories. Obviously, since this series was created by and belongs to Mercedes Lackey there’s nothing quite like reading her characters and stories, but many of the other authors chose to tell the stories of characters Lackey might not have considered for major roles, which is both a refreshing and world-broadening experience for fans to read.

I must admit that I’m not nearly as familiar with the Valdemar series as I am with Lackey’s books in the Elemental Masters and Tales of 500 Kingdoms, but I didn’t feel like I was missing anything while reading this book. In fact, I do feel that Lackey’s own story at the end of this book is a great introduction to the Valdemar world for anyone who has enjoyed some of her other works as I have, but perhaps don’t know where to start with the dauntingly large Valdemar series. I also appreciate the fact that Lackey’s own entry in this anthology is at the end. This both allows all the other authors included to shine while also giving Lacey’s fans that treat we crave getting to her writing as the finale.

I would like to acknowledge that short fiction isn’t for everyone and note that like all of Lackey’s anthologies containing other authors, I’m a little put off by the fact that the cover design does not make it immediately obvious that this is not written entirely by Lackey herself. It’s far too easy to miss the “edited by” line above the large author name, and the small front cover blurb that indicates this is a collection of short stories is easily ignored by fans who are used to a small teaser in white text on a corner of the cover design. Although as I said I have come to love discovering new authors through these anthologies, I didn’t enjoy the first such anthology I read because I felt so blindsided by the fact that I wasn’t reading the author I expected to read.

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Want more? Check out my 5-star review of Jati’s Wager by Jonathan Nevair!