BASTION ends the five-book story arc that tells Mags story. From abused mine slave to Herald of Valdemar is quite a journey and it was fascinating watching him grow up and come into his own. Throughout the whole series we have watched Mags search for his history. In this episode we finally find out about his people.

Mags has escaped from the people who kidnapped him, but he is afraid that he brought trouble back with him to the Collegium in Valdemar. He is very worried about Amily, the young woman he loves, and his friends becoming targets. He did gain a promise from his kidnappers to stop trying to assassinate the Crown that Mags is sworn to protect.

So a plot is hatched. Mags will go out on circuit with a mentor as most young heralds do and along the way he will "die." His friends will also get out of town for various reasons of their own. They will meet up and hope to elude the assassins. The will be patrolling the north of Valdemar including the Bastion which used to be a bandit hide-out. The same bandits who killed his parents. Mags is hoping to find some clues about them.

He and his mentor weren't expecting to find an area that was hostile to heralds and many problems to solve. Nor was he expecting to find the family that he had wondered about for years. His cousin Bey is a fascinating character who tries to convince Mags to come "home" with him and be part of the assassin's guild that Bey hopes to take over.

This story had romance as Mags and Amily finally get together. It had danger as Mags and company had to fight off assassins who also wanted to take Mags home with them. It was a nice conclusion to a story arc. ( )

I read this a second time. This one was cozy and enjoyable. ( )

{fifth of 5 in Collegium series, part of Valdemar series; fantasy}(2013)

After his adventures in Redoubt Mags returns from Karse to the Collegium, where the Heralds mine him for information on their enemies. They decide that, rather than being a sitting target for the assassins he is kin to and whom they feel will return to try their luck again, he should go out on Circuit with a Herald mentor. To help camouflage his real purpose his three friends, Bear, Lena and Amily, will join them and head to the Bastion, the area where his parents died, in the hopes he can discover more about them. Closing the circle in the last book of this sub-series, it is Herald Jakyr - the Herald who rescued Mags from the mine he was a slave in - who accompanies him on his Circuit, prior to becoming a full-fledged Herald. The story of Mags's parents is finally told and the situation regarding the assassins who have been haunting him is resolved once and for all.

It was interesting to see the more mundane aspects of a Circuit, especially one that wasn't as welcoming to Heralds - thought it wasn't as beguiling as Talia's Circuit. I do have a sneaking liking for Bey, who introduces himself later on in the book. I should warn you, if you're thinking of giving this to a younger reader, Mags and his girlfriend take the next step in their relationship and, though the details are not graphic, there is a bit of intimacy.

Lackey's style is informal and she adds a lot of explanations which bog down the plot (unlike writers like Robin Hobb or Robert Jordan whose details add depth to their worlds). At the beginning of this fifth book, it's mainly recap with not much direction so it starts off slowly but fortunately the pace picks up a bit further in. I feel that Mags's story could have been tightened up a bit and told in fewer books.

(August 2023)
3.5 stars ( )

I am more than a little tired of all Mags' and company problems being solved by Dallen taking over. It's admittedly been a bit since I last read a Valdemar book, but I don't remember the Companions being quite so omniscient.I know there's always been lots of mystery about them and their abilities, but this struck me as a bit deus ex machina which is never really fun. Whether this is the final book in the series or not, I am pretty sure I'm done. ( )

I like the books Mercedes Lackey writes, she is good at creating a believable world and people to populate it. While her writing is not the strongest I do find it engaging ang and enjoyable. I like a series I can live inside of and her books are ones that have characters I feel invested in and a world I believe could exist. ( )