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    Arrow's Flight
    Arrow's Flight
    Arrow's Flight
    Audiobook9 hours

    Arrow's Flight

    Written by Mercedes Lackey

    Narrated by Christa Lewis

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Talia could scarcely believe that she had finally earned the rank of full Herald. Yet though this seemed like the fulfillment of all her dreams, it also meant she would face trials far greater than those she had previously survived. For now Talia must ride forth to patrol the kingdom of Valdemar, dispending Herald's justice throughout the land.

    But in this realm beset by dangerous unrest, enforcing her rulings would require all the courage and skill Talia could command-for if she misused her own special powers, both she and Valdemar would pay the price.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 8, 2018
    ISBN9781977378033
    Arrow's Flight
    Author

    Mercedes Lackey

    Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music. Also known as Misty Lackey.

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    Reviews for Arrow's Flight

    4/5

    874 ratings18 reviews

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    • 4/5
      One of my favorite books, it was nice to listen to it. The accents threw me off but it was good.
    • 5/5
      A good read. I do like how you learn more of Talia's personal struggles. This is one of the books in the Valdemar series that makes the Heralds seem more real.
    • 4/5
      This continues the story of Talia as she qualifies to be a full-fledged Herald, and finds out that the white arrows that are a Herald's badge are actually message arrows. As the Queen's Own Herald, she also sits in on court business, as well as her normal heraldic duties. The first of those duties, as a newly-qualified Herald, is to ride circuit for a year and a half around the far-flung towns of a sector of Valdemar with another Herald as her counsellor, to complete her training. While on circuit, the Heralds act on the Queen's behalf, hearing disputes and meeting out justice impartially.I felt that the narrative was a bit slow. Instead of making more of Talia's time in court, or her experiences on circuit, the plot focussed on her emotions, with the drama turning on the characters' refusal to discuss the elephant in the room and prolonging the agony. Talia's Companion, Rolan, especially, should have forced the issue but uncharacteristically (I felt) he refused to discuss it.Not the best of the Valdemar books, I feel, but not the worst.3.5***
    • 5/5
      Talia has become a full Herald but has one more hurdle to overcome. She needs to spend eighteen months riding circuit in Valdemar to learn more about her role as a Herald. Kris is her mentor and guide and has had his image of her poisoned by his uncle Lord Othallen. Talia has a unique mind Gift; she has a very strong gift for empathy and the ability to manipulate other people's emotions.She is also dealing with falling shields. Her gift came upon her early and was strange. No one was quite sure how to help her get a handle on it. The Heralds passed her on to the Healers who have similar gifts. Unfortunately, each group thought the other had taught Talia the basics of controlling a mind Gift. Now the stress of dealing with Kris's distrust and the rumors that indicate she's misusing her Gift have set her into a downward spiral to depression and maybe even suicide. Besides dealing with a plague and an epic snowstorm, she and Kris have to find a way to build the foundations she never had and help her get control of her Gift. This was an excellent middle book in a trilogy because it focused on Talia's Gift and her gaining control of it and understanding about it. It is a coming of age tale with real growth for Talia during the course of the book.
    • 5/5
      Re-read 2017The second book in Talia's series. It mostly focuses on her leaving the collegium and actually being a herald though she's still in training. However, it's not as simple as the description I gave sounds, multiple things happen and even though she's out of Haven issues from the city keep affecting her. Still one of my favorite series by this author.
    • 5/5
      This is the second book in a series that starts with Arrows of the Queen. It seems that many times the middle book of a trilogy is a bit weaker; this one is just as strong as its predecessor. There are problems to be overcome; people grow and change in this story. There is foreshadowing for the next book and you'll find yourself saying "So that's what it meant!"Each fantasy reader should have this in his or her personal library.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book in this sub series featuring the Herald Talia as she develops her powers as Herald and Queen's Own. Sent out on her first circuit as Herald with her Councelor, Kris, Talia knows that things will be tough but she hadn't considered the effects of Kris's uncle's snide words on her precarious control of her empathic gifts.This is a reasonably decent book for a second in the series though there are a few eevnts that occur just because they have to (e.g. the plague ridden village and the one beset by raiders).
    • 3/5
      Arrow's Flight is more coherent a novel than Arrows of the Queen, I'll give it that. Since it's got a straightforward arc, the episodic feel to the various adventures works just fine, and the central conflict carries all the way through.

      I'm not sure that makes me like it any better, though. The central conflict is based on the infuriating "two people refuse to actually talk about the obvious problem" trope which I just loathe. And once it's conquered, it shows up for an encore in an utterly pointless pseudo-love-triangle bit of drama that goes nowhere but an almost-worth-it reconciliation scene.

      There are good things about it - I do like Talia's actual process of coming to terms with her power, and this book is possibly the only one that really expounds on a Herald's day-to-day, non-wartime job. And Lackey's writing is noticeably tighter even from Arrows. It's just even more a book I can't quite love because I'm too old and cynical.
    • 5/5
      This is the sequel to Arrows of the Queen concluded in Arrows Fall. I loved the Valdemar stories as a teen and recently read them in a fit of nostalgia and found I still love them: good comfort food. The series deal with a kind of police force/military in a medieval setting bonded with magical horses the equal of their riders and full partners. The trilogy with Talia this is the middle book for is also a engaging coming of age tale in the classic mold, with an unappreciated child finding and growing into their destiny. This particular story has Talia finally done with her schooling and going out in the world, and I thought the story dealt well with some of the ethical dilemmas of her gift. A good read in an involving world with characters Lackey makes me care about.
    • 4/5
      Out of all the novels in this trilogy, this has to be my least favorite. But I still enjoyed it, and the series, a lot, so my saying that it’s my least favorite isn’t something bad, really.In this installment of the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy, Talia is sent out on her 18 month intership and the entire book revolves around the duties a Herald is likely to perform on circuit. To be honest, it was a refreshing change of scenery from the Collegium – there were only so many situations Talia could find herself in, and a lot of them were starting to repeat. So when I say the change of scenery is a nice change, I mean it.Right off the bat, a new friendship is unveiled. Kris and Talia are bound to become closer, as he is her “mentor”, of sorts. It doesn’t help, however, when he asks (very bluntly!) Talia about the rumors spreading in Court about her. This dampers the mood immediately, and Talia is suddenly cast into self-doubt and a depression that eats away her soul. In fact, after the first 50 pages, the entire novel was basically Talia being suicidal/depressed, angry, and weak. Am I being harsh in saying she’s weak? Hell no. If I were her, I would have tried my best to reverse the predicament she was in. All she did was reflect on it and allow the doubt to eat away at her. I wanted to reach into the book’s pages and slap her silly. I mean, I’m glad that she had something she wasn’t sure of/skilled at, since a lot of things just came easily to her in the first book, but it was getting me depressed while I was reading about it.Back to Kris and Talia... I love that they both love someone so much they don’t want to hurt that person, and sacrifice their own feelings (however insignificant) because of that. I love Kris; I’ll admit. He’s funny, arrogant, gallant (at times), and understanding/patient (well, after he reevaluates his perceptions of others). He screamed different, very much like Skif did in the first novel [pertaining to how all the characters sounded the same]. Near the end of the novel, the Midsummer’s Eve scene with him had to be one of my favorites. It was such a nice, loving, thoughtful scene, and I have to admit that I got misty eyed. So sweet! I have to admit that I hated the lack of action. By action, I merely mean that half of what we read is just them riding, and Talia being emo in the corner (okay, not the corner). There were only about... four scenes that deviated from the monotonous circuit up north, not including the snow-in that occurred. Two of those scenes were stuck in the back of the book, as if Mercedes Lackey just thrust them in without careful planning at all. I also disliked the lack of time (what can I say, I’m a stickler for time!) sequence. One moment, we’d finish up a scene and in the line break, we’re months ahead. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish when a time jump would happen, and I’d have to re-read again to check what month I was reading about.Upon this re-read, I found some things I had missed in previous reads, which got me really excited. Knowing how the third book goes, I was able to foreshadow a few events (two in particular stuck out; the Weatherwitch and the flowers), so I was happy I was able to pick those events up that I hadn’t in earlier reads.
    • 4/5
      It's strange, but in between Arrows of the Queen and this novel, the style has become so much closer to the way Lackey writes the rest of her books. Less narration-in-the-guise-of-dialogue, less voice of god telling about the behind the scenes stuff that readers need to know but that can't be explained in any other way. The story is driven more heavily by character interaction than before, and that's what I like most about her Valdemar novels. The style is still less refined than in later books, but it's getting there. The seeds have been planted and the plant is growing.In this second book of the trilogy, Talia has earned her Whites and is off on her first circuit, a year and a half in the field with a mentor to guide and help her learn the more practical aspects of being a Herald. We get a clearer view of just what a Herald does here, the real nitty-gritty of the lives they lead and the work that they do, and much in the same way that Arrows of the Queen gives us a good look at just what training to be a Herald can be like, this is good groundwork for later books in that we know more about the little bits of Heraldic life, the less-than-epic events that sometimes get overlooked in the larger picture of the history of Valdemar.If this book has any one failing it's in the pacing, and even then there are understandable reasons why the author dwells on just about everything that happens for a month and then skips half a year. It can throw the reader a little bit, and make you read back to make sure that no, you didn't actually miss anything, but as jarring as it can be sometimes, there are reasons for it. To give equal time to everything would mean the underplaying of some important things and giving too much attention to other more trivial things.I'm still enjoying the reread of this series, and I'm seeing things that I missed before and appreciating all the familiar and much-loved aspects that little bit extra.But then, I freely admit that I'm a die-hard Valdemar fan, and your mileage may vary on these books. The things that I enjoy about them tend to be the very things that other people find tedious and dull. Still, I definitely recommend the series to people, and at least counsel giving them a try before making a final decision. Especially when the series gets going with the Winds and Storms trilogies, it's easy to get pulled into the world and get lost within it.But that's a review for another day.
    • 5/5
      Amazing story and amazing author. This is book two of the trilogy. Talia is finally a herald but need to complete her year and a half internship in the field. She is partnered up with the handsome Kris. She goes through self doubt about her heraldic gift and this book is a coming to terms with herself and the heavy responsibility of her gift.
    • 3/5
      This second book of the Queen's Own series did not impress me quite as much as the first one did. I love reading about Talia and her Companion, but this one moved much slower than the first. I really loved all of Lackey's vivid descriptions of Talia's adventures on her field internship. Her work in the small towns of Valdemar is heroic and fun. I did get annoyed at the pace occasionally. There would be pages and pages of a very small snippet, and yet sometimes the bond between Kris and Talia or their heroism would be cut short. Overall though, a fun read.
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite Lackey series set in Valdemar. Lackey does write fluffy books, but I like that about them. There is good and evil and everyone fights the good fight. Its a quick enjoyable read that is no less worthwhile for being a lite read. The characters are all plausible is slightly one sided and the story is interesting if shallow. If you looking for an epic this isn't it. If you want a couple of fun afternoons try itne Arrows set.
    • 4/5
      The sequel to Arrows of the Queen, Talia's story continues to unfold. More of the history of Valdemar is revealed, and Talia's powers begin to emerge in a sometimes terrifying fashion. This is, perhaps, the weakest book in the trilogy. The action is just the slightest bit draggy. Not much happens for fairly long stretches, but there are lots of ominous overtones.As a totally spurious aside, this book many years ago was my first encounter with Lackey's work (a Christmas gift from my mother, who has always been prone to buying the second book in a series, for some odd reason...). In the days before Amazon, and lacking a local bookstore, I checked the mailbox every day for weeks, waiting for the mail-lending library's copy of Arrows of the Queen to arrive so I could find out what happened first.
    • 3/5
      I loved these books as a kid. Sadly, they don't stand up to an adult reading, although these three are probably the best of the bunch, with a freshness and lightness of touch that the other Herald books rarely achieve. The simplistic writing works for the extremely naive protagonist.
    • 4/5
      Talia becomes a Herald, gets her whites and goes of to do a circuit wich will make her full Herald. During the circuit she loses control of her gift and gets snowed in by a snowstorm of great feroicity.
    • 3/5
      This the second book of a trilogy shows the dreaded mid trilogy droop Lackey's plot often seems rather linear which is what makes me think of them as suitable for young adults.. But I cant think of one that was marketed as such in this case I suspect it is because the conservative American market would find the implied message that its okay to have sex with people that you just think of as friends as dangerous.