I have loved Mercedes Lackey’s books for thirty years. As I said in my review of her last book, I still have the SFBC omnibus of the Last Herald Mage trilogy on my shelf and I can’t tell you how many times I read it.

Until recently, I haven’t read many of her Valdemar books in the last few years. I listened to the audiobooks of the Collegium Chronicles series, which was fun, but I felt it dragged on too long, with too many kidnappings, and Mags’s accent drove me bananas. I lost touch with the series when my library stopped buying the ebooks of the Herald Spy series after Closer to Home, and I was disappointed in Spy, Spy Again, the third volume in the series focusing on Mags’s kids.

Last year, I really enjoyed Beyond, her new novel about the origins of the kingdom of Valdemar. So I was very happy to get an eARC of the sequel, Into the West, from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book continues on directly from the last one. It is a weird book. The pacing is so strange, and the book never seems to give much focus to the interesting characters, instead sticking mostly with Duke Valdemar, who is somewhat dull, and his sister in law, who takes way too much time to get over her schoolgirl crush on her brother in law, which was always kind of creepy. The book spends a long time on logistics of the journey of barges down a river, and after some loooooooong slogs it just seems to give up on that with a deus ex machina that takes most of the suspense away from the journey. Then there is a big battle at the end that feels tacked on and unnecessary. There were a few fun infrastructure tidbits of how the castle is built that I smiled at, but the ending felt abrupt. Is there going to be another book? It felt like a definitive ending. But We would need another one to explain how the vrondi end up where we know them to be, as well as to establish Companions. It’s not Valdemar without magical white horses!

This was a fun, if odd, book. I’m glad I read it.

Fair to good but not her best work. Wordier and more descriptive details on clothing, etc plus lots of repetition. At the same time, I enjoy the characters and the background to Valdemar just wish there was more action.

An excellent entry in the Valdemar series. Lackey can always be counted on for excellent worldbuilding with in-depth characterizations that totally suck you in. It built slowly and then really took off at the end. I love going back to her books again and again.

This book continues the founding of Valdemar trilogy and will be a delight to existing fans of the series. The second book of trilogies are always hard, and this one isn't a book that newcomers to Valdemar are going to pick up and enjoy, but long-time fans will appreciate the continued adventures of (Baron) Valdemar, his family, and the vrondi as they recover from their escape from the Empire and begin to explore the lands that will eventually become Valdemar.

There's so much weight of worldbuilding that some of the sections come across a little info-dumpy who've read the rest of the Valdemar trilogies, but are necessary context for anyone who later decides to read the books in chronological order. I wasn't a fan of a few plot beats that are a bit deus ex machina for my tastes (sorry to be so vague, trying to avoid spoilers!) but this is definitely a point where YMMV and I expect other fans of Valdemar will be excited and enjoy the same things that put me off. The vrondi continue to be delightful and are definitely my favorite part about these books. All in all, this was an enjoyable read and I'm very much looking forward to seeing how Lackey brings the founding story arc to a close.

While this book (the second in the trilogy) can be a bit slow in parts, it does make you feel the struggle that the people were on during their months-long journey to find a new home. There is quite a bit of character development for most of the main characters. Some of them still have a lot of growing to do, but there is progress. I was very excited to see the return of some favorite character types/groups and you'll fall in love with a new character very quickly. I can't wait for the final book in this trilogy which sets up the foundation for Valdemar's founding, something Misty's fans have been waiting for and wondering about for a very long time.

I’m loving revisiting Lackey’s Valdemar series as an adult, and really enjoying these Founding of Valdemar books. This one picks up right after Foundation. We follow some of our favourite characters from book one and the slower paced build up on the first half is completely paid off in the gripping second half. I blazed through the book. Recommend the whole series.

This is the second book in the series, and although it was very good, it did not have the same pizzaz as the first book. The characters did not experience the kind of growth that I wanted to see, even though the book was well plotted. I also found Delia's crush to be somewhat overdone. and not entirely realistic. What I do like, very much, is how human these characters are. They are not perfect people as they will become in legend. I certainly hope that in the next book, we will see the characters mature realistically.

Thanks to netgalley for an ARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

I've been an avid reader of the Valdemar books for decades, and I've been delighted that Ms. Lackey is now giving us the backstory - how Valdemar was founded. The story began in Beyond, with the plan to escape the Empire and the events precipitating it. The second installment gets us out of the Empire, travelling to find a place where the refugees can make a new home.

The refugees run across some of the residuals of the Mage Wars, and have to fight off creatures that they have never seen before. They have to keep evaluating their surroundings, to determine whether they have found a place that will work for a new home - and, all the while, trying to be mindful of the effects that they are having on the places they pass through. And, winter is coming!

As they progress, we see much of the story from the perspective of Kordas, Baron Valdemar, as he's trying to work out how to balance managing the trek of a large number of people, with his values and principles as a leader, and we see him espousing the principles that will run through the Valdemar books, most especially that there is no one true way.

This was an excellent backstory, seeing how the Valdemar we are so familiar with in its later year got that way. I can't wait for what (I assume) will be #3 - I have a couple theories from bits and pieces that were dropped here, and I'm eager to see if they pan out!

Fans have long awaited the complete story of Valdemar's founding. There have been hints and small bits of the story worked into other books as characters discussed the history of their kingdom, but not the full account from beginning to end. Last summer with the publication of Beyond the tale began and we read of Kordas and his attempt to take the people of the duchy of Valdemar and flee from the cruelty and depravity of the Eastern Empire. On December 6 the second installment in the series will take us along on the journey to find a new land to settle.

Into the West chronicles the efforts of Baron Kordas to weed out the troublemakers and possible imperial spies before he takes the group through the gates set up by his mages to a place far from the empire's reach. Scenes show Kordas, his wife Isla, sister-in-law Delia, and their companions as they organize supplies, learn new skills, and encounter dangers that try their resolve. Kordas must face his internal struggle not to fall into the ways of the imperial court. "I won't be like them. I can do this and not be like them," he thinks to himself.

As readers of Valdemar stories we know that they are headed into lands blasted by the Mage Wars hundreds of years ago, so we wait to see which creatures corrupted by Change Circles or left behind by those long ago mages the group will encounter. Will they travel through the Pelagirs? Will they encounter the Hawkbrothers? Will the magical gates hold up to the strain of transporting so many and all their supplies? And who will be lost along the way?

With the skill we have come to expect of Mercedes Lackey the journey through the wilderness toward a new home is a compelling story of bravery, cooperation, and the desire for a better way of life. That won't stop of us from impatiently waiting for the next book, but we can always go back and re-read other Valdemar adventures until it is available.

Into the West by Mercedes Lackey is book #2 in the Founding of Valdemar series. I found this book to be quite compelling. I am a big Valdemar fan and this series brings home to me all the people of Valdemar originally had to go through. I really enjoyed this adventure and insight into the beginnings of Valdemar.

Into the West by Mercedes Lackey is a wonderful sequel to Beyond following the ongoing adventures that are the eventual founding of the kingdom fans have long known as Valdemar.

What I loved
-The book drops me immediately into a situation that shows both our main character's problem solving skills and his serious temper control struggle.
-Real issues that come with moving a large group of people are not shied away from. (The effect on nature , the behavior problems,not knowing the area)
-I was left excited for book three

Who I would recommend the book for
Into the West is a book best fit for fans of the heralds of Valdemar saga that have at a minimum already read its direct predecessor Beyond.

A great continuation of the series, we finally get to see how it all started for Valdimar. Can be read by long time fans or those just starting in the world of Valdimar!!

I love this series and was so looking forward to this book. After a slow build up things got exciting. This tale is filled with surprises, action and adventure.

Great book that continues to explain so much of the founding of Valdemar. Can't wait for the next book in the series

This is the second book in the Author's Founding of Valdemar series - I would recommend reading the first book to fully understand the worldbuilding and characters

Baron ( former Duke ) Kordas Valdemar has begun to realise that their temporary camp , after fleeing from the Empire's capitol , will only support a few of their number ....... even this needs the consent of the existing villagers
He needs to galvanise his people to take a perilous journey through lands filled with obstacles and mage damaged lands and creatures , to find unoccupied lands that will support all of them.
It is only by the Duke's deft handling of the difficulties both human and " other " that they will reach safety......... but not all will survive , some giving their lives for others
The Empire has not forgotten them , it is only a matter of time until they are found ......... can the defeat an army with many more battle mages or will a surprise discovery render they aid they need ?

This book is much slower paced than the previous book with the travails of the journey taking centre stage
but just as enjoyable nevertheless - I look forward to the next in the series

This is a pioneering story with mages , magic , mythical beings and just ordinary humans doing the best they can just to survive ...... a fantasy world at its best

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Mercedes Lackey has done it again. I love all of her books and this one is no exception. This author's fantasy is one of a kind and the story was very emerging and surreal. She will always be one of my favorite authors.

I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in return for my honest opinion.

Wow! Mercedes Lackey continues to out-do herself. We have been waiting years for the Founding of Valdemar story and it has not been disappointing. The story flows at a good pace and there are a few intriguing plot twists. Such an enjoyable read! Already excited about the next book in the series!

Into the West is about the founding of Valdemar and takes place immediately after Beyond. The story captures many of the hazards the people had to survive in order to reach a new land, and highlights their ideals and growth. It was also enjoyable following Delia's growing into adulthood as well as the Baron's learning more about accepting help in good leadership. There are certainly some surprises later on in the book, and a lot of exciting action and interesting character development all along. A very satisfying read.

I greatly enjoyed Into the West. I have been a big fan of Mercedes Lackey for many years and it was so nice learning about the creation of Valdemar. The characters were fun and engaging. I thought that the author did a great job explaining why so many of the events worked out the way that they did and was satisfied with the completion of the novel. I can't wait for the next one.

I read the first book right before this, because since I was being asked to review, I thought that would work best. So, I didn't have any delay between the characters of Beyond and the plot in Into the West, but if I hadn't or if it had been too long between books in the series, I think that I would have been confused with some of the characters and the story. For example, Beltran only has a very short appearance in this book, but he was such a pivotal character in the first book. I think that, if I had only read this one, I would have been wondering why they even mentioned him. Ditto Hakkon who has more of a presence in this book, but not much of an explanation in the way of who he really is. Yes, they do explain his relationship to the boys, but it's a paragraph and then we are done. As a middle book, it is typically slow so that, while things happen, the action was confined to a few small bursts.

That being said, I really did enjoy the book. The scouting party portions were probably my favourite, even though Delia rubbed me wrong in the two books. Her crush was a bit off putting to be honest. But I am hoping that she'll mature even more in the next book in the series to the point where she keeps growing on me. And the Dolls and Pebble were pretty amazing as characters.

The book is well written. The characters who feature prominently are well developed. And there is room for a lot to happen in the next book. There was a bit towards the middle-end which started to get into philosophy and religion in a big way, but it ended before I could get truly annoyed. And was followed by a pretty good action scene.

I like Mercedes Lackey, and the Heralds of Valdemar will have a place in my heart forever. And reading about their origins is really fun. Not remembering too much of the founding stories from the previous books helped me a lot, because I wasn't picking apart the details which may not have aligned as well with what I had originally understood as the Duke's story.