I would like to take a moment to say it is amazing how much reading one can get through when confronted with an essay/reading deadline or an imminent book release.

83 / 100 (83%)

I'm trying for 100 books this year rather than 50. I think I can do it, too.

50bookchallenge for 2008.

( The List )

I've been reading some reviews of this book. And I am surprised.

This is probably my second-favourite of the Velgarth books, following Exile's Honour. I think Alberich is a fantastic character, and I welcome any scrap of information we recieve about him. I like Myste too. Alright, so she does seem to solve a huge amount of problems considering her lack of appearances in any other book, but the same can be said of any character - series' such as these need to allow characters to drop in and out of the spotlight. No one stays famous forever.

And the Mary-sue thing... well, perhaps it's true. Perhaps Myste really is Ms. Lackey down in print, but there is nothing wrong with that really. It was not obvious to me that she was meant to be the author, and this was one of the last ML books I read. I think only someone who followed Lackey's life quite closely would be able to tell while reading, and I don't think it's fair to hold that against the book.

The last argument - that the timeline, spelling etc. was a bit messed up - well, that's true enough. Although I didn't notice the switch between bard and herald, or the change between the exile series and the mage winds regarding the death of the Prince Consort, I noticed stuff like Talamir/Talamit. Typos, we all get them. To me, it is not a big deal. Lynn Flewelling does it too (as I mentioned earlier, Thasali/Thalassi). The sudden absence of editors in the publishing community seems to be making itself felt.

Regardless of all these problems, then, I still think everyone should read this series, and the Exile ones in particular. Who can resist Alberich? :D