Mags, so named because he had the eye of a Magpie, was a slave in a gem mine until one of Valdemar’s magical companions chose him. After that, he entered a whole new world as a trainee, and despite all odds, attracted the notice of some powerful people who were eager to use his skills.
This is something of a fluid story, without the typical event-driven structure. It’s really about Mags, so it takes some time to get to the intrigue portion. Nevertheless, I found it captivating from the first. The detailed descriptions of working in a mine, coupled with Mags’s sad inside view of the situation, were a masterpiece. We might think what he endured, his treatment, and the little he had to eat were criminal — and they were — but Mags just thought that’s the way life was. The priests told him so, after all.
I read this book over two years ago, before the two sequels were available. I reread it recently, now that I have the two sequels (almost) in hand, and I enjoyed it more than I did the first time. The reason, I think, is largely because I have those two sequels. The story doesn’t end in book one, but that’s normal for Mercedes Lackey. She writes in trilogies, so I recommend reading her that way. Luckily, unlike some other fantasy authors I could name, she doesn’t write insanely long books. nor does she write insanely long series — just neatly packaged 3-volume sets.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and/or strong characters. It is other world fantasy, but don’t let the label get you down if you don’t usually go for epic/D&D-like books. This isn’t that. It only belongs in the same category by a fluke of setting.
Rating: 4.5/5
Title: Foundation
Author: Mercedes Lackey
ISBN: 1423307941
Published: October 2008