[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Finished another library book and another purchase from Poisoned Pen Press' 99 cent introductory mystery sale.

Changes by Mercedes Lackey is the latest in her "Collegium Chronicles" series-within-the-Valdemar-series. And it does seem to be intended as an ongoing, rather than the standard trilogy these things used to be, as once again we get slow-burn "development" of Mags and his friends' issues, and some form of progression on the "mysterious foreigners who have it in for the Valdemarans in general and Mags in particular" plot.

Actually, this can be best summed up by a thoroughly ironic passage within the actual book:


Three books in, I totally agree with this assessment, and I freely admit I've been continuing to read the new volumes in the series out of sheer morbid trainwreck curiosity.

This is not to say that the book is a total retread, because while the plots and character points are being drawn out and extended and recycled (and they've even re-invented that polo/volleyball/field hockey game they used in the Alberich books), you do find out some semi-nifty background details, such as the fact that there's a CSI: Haven team out there investigating mysterious causes of death and more of what happened to magic and the knowledge of it between Vanyel's death and Selenay's reign. And there is some actual baby-steps-forward progress on the overarching mysterious assassin/saboteur plot and the characters' personal issues.

But aside from that, the protagonist's continuing use of phonetically-spelt dialect in word and thought is seriously annoying, since he's started talking and thinking and internal-monologuing more, and I just want to club him like I was actually working in a goth club. Bartending. In the dark.

Speak proper Valdemaran; I know you can because you made a point of it in one passage. I don't care if you keep up the spoken-word pretense to fool people into thinking that you're dumber and worse-educated than you actually are. But I don't want to see that many needless eliding apostrophes and quaint folksy mispellings in your stupid thoughts, dammit!

Can't recommend, especially as it looks like they're going to keep dragging out the story over even more volumes. But okay for a library read if you're curious about developments to the setting.

I read this book last month and regretted it. Either I've outgrown Ms. Lackey, or she's gotten hopelessly lazy. Which is too bad, since I used to be able to enjoy her books, and she certainly produces a lot of them. But the last couple I really just haven't thought were all that good, and I confess this series was extremely disappointing. I think I'm going to have to just give it up, certainly the Valdemar books at least. The last book of hers I really enjoyed was Reserved for the Cat, so I may try to see if my Library has the newest Elemental Masters volume. I'm not willing to pay $12.99 for it.