Magic's Pawn
- 349
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Magic’s Pawn” is a moving coming-of-age fantasy that treats its queer characters with real emotional seriousness. In this first volume of “The Last Herald-Mage” trilogy, Vanyel, gifted in magic but longing to be a bard, is sent to his aunt Savil for training, and his slow road to accepting himself carries the story. Grief and depression are part of it, and some readers find the book as sad as it is beautiful.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Groundbreaking epic fantasy series in Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar universe • Lambda-Award winning novels with heartfelt high adventure and magic Though Vanyel has been born with near-legendary abilities to work both Herald and Mage magic, he wanted no part in such things. Nor does he seek a warrior’s path, wishing instead to become a Bard. Yet such talent as his, if left untrained, may prove a menace not only to Vanyel but to others as well. So he is sent to be fostered with his aunt, Savil, one of the fame Herald-Mages of Valdemar. But, strong-willed and self-centered, Vanyel is a challenge which even Savil cannot master alone. For soon he will become the focus of frightening forces, lending his raw magic to a spell that unleashes terrifying wyr-hunters on the land. And by the time Savil seeks the assistance of a Shin’a’in Adept, Vanyel’s wild talent may have already grown beyond anyone’s ability to contain, placing Vanyel, Savil, and Valdemar itself in desperate peril.
Reading order · The Last Herald-Mage
Full order & progress →- Magic's PawnThis book
8.08.0 / 10 - Magic's Promise
8.08.0 / 10 - Magic's Price
8.08.0 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.1 across 91 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 38% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 8.0 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.3 | 6 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 8.1 | 85 | 93% |
Frequently asked
How long is Magic's Pawn?
It has 349 pages — shorter than 89% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 8.0, the closest to this book.
