• Magic's Promise

  • Valdemar: The Last Herald Mage, Book 2
  • By: Mercedes Lackey
  • Narrated by: Gregory St. John
  • Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,112 ratings)

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Magic's Promise  By  cover art

Magic's Promise

By: Mercedes Lackey
Narrated by: Gregory St. John
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Publisher's summary

The wild magic is taking its toll on the land, and even Vanyel, the most powerful Herald-Mage to ever walk the world, is almost at the end of his strength. But when his Companion, Yfandes, receives a call for help from neighboring Lineas, both Herald-Mage and Companion are drawn into a holocaust of dark magic that could be the end of them both.

©1990 Mercedes R. Lackey (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Magic's Promise

Average customer ratings
Overall
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Story
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story, frustrating narrator

First, I love this book. I have lived it since I was ba teen. However. Can we PLEASE have consistency in how character/place/tribe names are pronounced in the overall Valdemar universe? If that is too much (as it obviously is), can we at LEAST have consistency within the same series, read by the same narrator? Or even in the same book?? The narrator actually used the correct Ashkevron name maybe 3 times in this book, other times going back to the mispronunciation he used in the first book of the series (he kept saying "Ashkrevon" instead of the correct "Ashkevron"). It is distracting and frustrating. the narrator also skipped words a couple times, which was also frustrating. Additionally, narrators should probably match tone to description explicitly mentioned in the book. IE, if someone is to have whispered a phrase or said it in a gentle tone, maybe don't read that phrase in the same voice as you read everything else.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Better than Book 1

What did you like best about Magic's Promise? What did you like least?

I liked that the characters had more depth in Book Two when compared to Book One.

I least liked all of the "ly" words. They greatly distracted me and took away from the story. You will see this same statement in the reviews for the other two books.

If you’ve listened to books by Mercedes Lackey before, how does this one compare?

Better than Magic's Pawn

What does Gregory St. John bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nothing really.

Do you think Magic's Promise needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It has one.

Any additional comments?

Again, the homosexuality seems to be placed as an afterthought. It is never fully developed. It seemed the author was trying for an epic romance and it just sort of fell short.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A great listen! Don't pass it up!

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

Yes

Have you listened to any of Gregory St. John’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard him before but now I'll look for his other audiobooks for sure!

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

I couldn't stop listening!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

One of my favorite authors. Masterful performance and incredible story. Only complaint is that you cannpt get ALL of the Valdamar books from Audible.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stunning

This book truly is magnificent and the reader follows the voices and intonation very well

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Stands the test of time

First read this when it came out and I was a teenager. Still as heart wrenching and fascinating and spellbinding as then.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

LOVE

This trilogy and it's characters thrill and astound me. Actually, no, Mercedes Lackey astounds me! I highly recommend The Valdemar series

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

worth reading the 2nd book

starting out thought I had missed a short story or something but it all gets explained in the end.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well done, needs pauses

I adore this story and this series. Gregory St John does a beautiful job. My only issue is with the lack of pausing between segments of the story. When you are cruising along, listening to one set of characters interact and there is no pause at the scene change, it strains understanding. Other than that, this is an excellent rendition of this book!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing story, terrible narrator

It absolutely drives me nuts when a narrator can't be bothered to learn how to pronounce things before recording. It's unprofessional and disrespectful. I don't know what happened to it, but there used to be a pronunciation guide for Tayledras, Shi'na'in, and Valdemaran. Otherwise, at least learn "Merc" and "bow".

I've always loved Vanyel's tale, but the sloppy narrating kept throwing me out of all 3 of these stories. Do better.

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