I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
Into the West
by
Mercedes Lackey
fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by DAW Books on December 13, 2022 and has 504 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Unnatural Issue, "The River's Gift", Finding the Way and Other Tales of Valdemar, Foundation, Intrigues, Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit, Owlknight, Charmed Destinies, Changes, Beauty and the Werewolf, Invasion, Home From the Sea, Dead Reckoning, Conspiracies, Bedlam's Edge, Crown of Vengeance, Redoubt, Harvest Moon, World Divided, Elemental Magic: All New Tales of the Elemental Masters, Sacrifices, Steadfast, Burdens of the Dead, Bastion, Victories, Blood Red, The House of the Four Winds, Games Creatures Play, Closer to Home, Born to Run, Wheels of Fire, When the Bough Breaks, Chrome Circle, Changing the World: All-New Tales of Valdemar, Under the Vale and Other Tales of Valdemar, Arcanum 101, A Tangled Web, Winter Moon, Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar, Elementary: All-New Tales of the Elemental Masters, No True Way: All-New Tales of Valdemar, From a High Tower, Hunter, Closer to the Heart, Silence, A Study in Sable, Elite, Closer to the Chest, Tempest: All-New Tales of Valdemar, A Scandal in Battersea, The Hills Have Spies, The Bartered Brides, Dragon's Teeth, Eye Spy, Breaking Silence, Pathways, Passages, Magic's Pawn, The Black Gryphon, Magic's Promise, The Serpent's Shadow, The Oathbound, The White Gryphon, The Silver Gryphon, Beyond, Spy, Spy Again, Oathbreakers, The Lark and the Wren, The Gates of Sleep, Phoenix and Ashes, The Wizard of London, The Robin and the Kestrel, Oathblood, Take a Thief, Exile's Honor, The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley, Owlflight, Brightly Burning, Exile’s Valor, Sword of Ice and Other Tales of Valdemar, Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar, Crucible, Choices, Into the West, Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar, The Fire Rose, The Case of the Spellbound Child
Second in the Founding of Valdemar fantasy subseries for Young Adult readers revolving around the beginning of the country. It’s but a part of Lackey’s overall Valdemar universe. The focus is on the caravan’s journey through a strange land.
If you’re interested, there is a chronological listing of the Valdemar books on my website.
My Take
It’s a Plan that went back several generations, which doesn’t say much for the government’s awareness of the damage they were doing.
I love that the Dolls were self-aware enough to help Kordas back in Beyond, 1. Their “becoming” is even more encouraging and goes toward enhancing Kordas’ character as a compassionate man. It was fascinating to read of how the Dolls are made, their abilities, and their self-awareness. It does explain the vrondi that appear much later in the series.
Kordas’ concern about immediate needs rather than palliative aid for the mentally ill reminds me of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover, particularly as the characters assess their immediate needs in Darkover Landfall.
Then again, Kordas does prove he’s a politician with some of his actions and talk. Yes, we learn this through Lackey’s use of third person global subjective point-of-view. Kordas’ perspective is the primary POV, but there are other characters whose thoughts, feelings, and actions we experience through their perspectives.
For the first time in their lives, Kordas and Isla can openly claim their children, whom they had been passing off as Hakkon’s bastards. Another freedom in their escape from the Empire is what the mages reveal to Kordas.
There’s such a beautiful sharing and exchange of aid and information. Including that nicely done info dump related by the Tayledras about their past. This includes a summary of the Mage Wars, and we learn of the creation of Lake Evendim. I love the Tayledras emphasis on education and the importance of general knowledge!
”A monarch’s sweetest crop is the quality of his people.”
There are character arcs everywhere, from Kordas to Delia who questions her inhibitions, her Gift, and her insecurities;
I had to laugh. It’s true that we think adventure is a wonder, when it’s actually “cold, mud, or bugs. Usually all three.” It’s definitely an adventure with traps, encounters with angry villagers, internal strifes, striving through unfamiliar, uncivilized lands, unnatural creatures, unexpected reveals of manipulation,
Then again, the aid the Valdemarans get from Pebble only goes to show why befriending different beings is beneficial, lol. Lackey’s depiction of Pebble’s reactions was a crack-up.
Okay, so I’m laughing a lot. Into the West is such a blend of drama, action, tension, inner examination, and fun as it reveals the creation of the Valdemar I love through its characters and their responses to both trouble and those unexpected encounters.
It’s so amazing to see the beginnings of how Valdemar will evolve, and I could wish our own system paid such attention to our own societies. Staying mindful of what’s going badly and then taking care of them. That action reinforcing talk is truth. Presenting the “very best, significant, and understandable examples”, which, I guess, means eliminating most of the news media which promotes its own preferences rather than true truth. Now isn’t that a scary thought, that one has to define “truth”.
Despite the weird words, Into the West is an easy and exciting read. I think I need to re-read it.
The baron’s mission statement is one we should all take to heart: “There is no one, true way.”
The Story
Although many had turned back, Kordas still leads some 15,000 people onward into the unknown West as they float down the Ter’i’le’e.
The Characters
Duke, I mean, Baron Valdemar, Kordas, is not a soft man, but he is a compassionate one. Isla is his supportive wife. Their “nephews” include Little Jon, Restil, and Hakkon. Delia is Isla’s sister with a Fetching Gift and in love with Kordas. Arial is a Valdemaran Gold who has given birth. Delia rides a False Gold. Hakkon, Kordas’ gay cousin and seneschal, has Skydancer, a Valdemar Gold.
Herald Beltran is good with a knife. Ivar amd Bay, Ivar’s black mastiff, will be essential in scouting. Manta is Ivar’s horse, a Charger out of the Grimjack line of Valdemaran horses. Alberdina Endicrag, a healer with knowledge of herbs and more, rides Dandylion, a False Gold. The Page Army is created to give the young ones purpose and is organized by Sol Adrescu, a retired Imperial Army lieutenant. Others in the convoy include Pig, a truffle pig that belongs to Cass Pommery from Coldspring; Howler is a herding dog; Hale Lorant is a mayor; Wymat Rai is on the Council; Lord Ashbern; Mrs Gully; Goosecatcher Phobro; Hoggee Ferbrow; and, Grim, who is the horsemaster. The middle-aged Lord Portrain thinks he should have more than those peasants. Lord Hayworth is considering his options.
The Tow-Beasts have all been trained in harness to pull their barges and include Tight Squeeze; Dasha, a False Gold; and, Sunshine; Buttercup. Hoggees are human barge-towing specialists.
Valdemar’s Guard . . .
. . . arose from the caravan’s need for a policing group. Petrof is the oldest Guard. Belkenny is a town in the Duchy of Penrake where former Imperial Master Sergeant Briada Fairweather had been in the Penrake Guard and has two idiot cousins, Bret and Bart, who want to be part of the baron’s scouting party.
Rose is a Doll, named Truthseekers by the Tayledras. Dolls are constructs, intelligent, aware with all knowing what one knows, and enslaved to serve as the backbone of the Imperial Palace’s servant-structure. Part of their construction includes vrondi, Air-spirits. More of the Dolls are naming themselves and include Trout, Cobweb, Ivy, Dern, Amethyst (she’d been a gift to Lady Meriposa from the Emperor), Pansy, Dagger, Panacea, and Peridot.
The Six Old Men are . . .
. . . the primary mages and include the cheerful Dole, Ponu, Wis, Koto, and the twins Ceri and Sai. Jonaton is a very powerful mage, and Sydney-You-Asshole is his enormous black cat. Carrot, who is the mule Jonaton rides. The Mender is a young protege of Sai’s who is good with Doll repair; Venidel is Sai’s new apprentice. Endas has trained in things useful for a scout. Pelias is Timon‘s apprentice. Angia is said to have a knack with plant magic. The mages have all chosen to stay with Kordas and the unknown future — they know how the Empire treats magicians.
Pebble is the baby Earth Elemental the Emperor had imprisoned in Beyond.
Those who left the caravan, for whatever reason include . . .
. . . The Squire with his prize sow, the Empress, has settled in a new village. Donat Benin is the criminal who is exiled. Siman is a mage who will stay in the new village.
The Tayledras are . . .
. . . also known as the Hawkbrothers who bond with birds. Silvermoon k’Vesla is the leader of his clan. With him are Leafdance; Steelstrike; Cloudcaller, who is one of their mages; Steelrain; Calmwaters, who is a healer; and, Wildwolf, who had been known as Moonmoon. Jelavan, a hertasi, will help guide the Valdemarans. The Star-Eyed is their goddess. A vale is their protected home-place powered by a Heartstone. The tervardi are humanoid birds while the dyheli are a larger version of goats; Akayla is their King Stag. These dyheli are pretty clever at herd management. Ekeles are Tayledras dwellings.
Back in the Empire
Duke Merrin, formerly Lord Merrin, has taken over Kordas’ former home and estate.
Another “conspirator” had been the Earth Elemental seeking vengeance against the Emperor (Beyond). Poomers and Spitters are weapons. Change-circles are a trap for living beings, a result of the Mage Wars. The wyrsa are a nasty sort of beast while the maka’ar are flying horrors. The Red Forest, a.k.a. Blood Forest, is almost worse. The Pelagirs is a system of evolving entities that could take over the world. A telcaster is a device that can ensure everyone gets a good view; an illusionarium is a bigger, fancier version. The Ter’i’le’e is the river on which their caravan floats.
Magic Storms marked the end of the Great War five hundred years ago.
Ma’ar’s evolution as an evil mage is recounted. How he singled out small portions of a population and villainized them, made these people sound as if they were “out to get” the majority population. A Hitler, a Putin of their times. Urtho was an Archmage who simply wanted to create wonderful things. The co-existence of Ma’ar and Urtho that led to the Valdemar: Mage Wars.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a rugged prettiness with the baron riding into the wind, his black hair flowing behind him. Dressed in a green embroidered vest and pants and a white shirt, he’s astride one of his Valdemar Golds, carrying a highly decorated crossbow in his gauntleted hands. The background is mostly grays of a dismal journey with orange dragonflies, a lazy river twining behind him. The author’s name is at the top in white while the title, also in white, is at the bottom. To the right of Kordas’ head is the series info in a deep orange.
The title reflects the escape of the duke and his people, Into the West.
