Magic's Pawn

Valdemar: The Last Herald Mage, Book 1

By: Mercedes Lackey

Narrated by: Gregory St. John

In Magic's Pawn, an ancient age in the history of Valdemar comes to life - an age when the kingdom was ravaged by the ungoverned fury of bandit warlords, ferocious ice dragons, and the wild magic of wizards. A new addition to Lackey's Valdemar kingdom - and her most powerful series to date!

©1991 Mercedes R. Lackey (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Amazing story, sub-par narration

This wonderful story is marred by the narration. With weird phrasing, mispronounced words, misspoken words (fair instead of far, etc.) and no difference between the various characters, the narrator makes it hard at times to follow who's saying what or when the scenes change. If you're familiar with the story this is a good addition to the ways you can enjoy it, but if you're not familiar with the story the oddness of the narration will make it hard to follow.

The story itself is as moving and exciting as I remember from the multiple times I've read the book and when I'm doing something like knitting or driving it's nice to get to listen to the story, even if I am mentally correcting the narrator every so often.

Great Book from a favorite author

Would you consider the audio edition of Magic's Pawn to be better than the print version?

Is this a trick question? They are different in many ways. The story is the same, but with the print or kindle version, I am stationary in my comfy chair. With the audio version I can go on my daily (10 mile) walk or clean the house, do laundry, driving, etc. Both options are great, but the audio version has more flexibility.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Vanyel.. But his aunt is a very close second.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Vanyel kills the Frost dragon and realizes he has a calling.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

In a world where magic is possible, a young man finds power, love and himself.

Any additional comments?

None

Rewarding story; melodramatic performance

I wanted to hear the story of Vanyel, and the story is good if a little long winded in parts. The narration however positively drips with melodrama which I found annoying. A good story doesn’t need that type of support, and was very off putting. I speeded up the narration which definitely helped calm that down or I couldn’t have listened to it. If this weren’t Mercedes Lackey and a story I want to know I would abandon it here.

great acting and voice! but check pronunciation

one of the best valdemar books so far, the acting was great, although the pronunciation of Tayledras was all wrong... I kept correcting him in my head ^^'

but I really enjoyed it

Love these books!

Absolutely loved the story! I rad it when I was younger and was happy to find the series on audio book. Now I can listen while I'm on the go.

Great story!!!

such a tragic start to a powerfuly epic life one of my all time favorite books brought to life with such great reading! all together a masterful presentation

Narration smooth with an even volume

This is an old favorite that I can enjoy again, even though I can’t read anymore. The narrator made it very easy to stay in the story.

Simply one of my favorite coming of age stories!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This was a great fantasy and by an author with real knowledge of psychic and magical abilities!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Vanyel. He was the main character and it is his story.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Vanyel is healed by the Tayledres.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Just beautifully written.

Reader Starts Off Bad

I've read this book several times. The reader, however, takes a while to actually get into the book. There is not enough emotion and the breaks do not time well with the sentences. I almost gave up on listening to the audiobook, but since I knew what happened, I decided to keep going.

Eventually, the reader does get better. Not enough to make up for the poor beginning, but at least it finally felt like he got into the swing of the book

Still GREAT!

I first read this book many, many years back and fell in love with the series as a whole. And, it is still just as amazing now as it was then. Yes, there are a couple of problematic phrasing found in it. But, understanding the characters, they tend to add to the story. highly recommend.