Beyond

tl.lane

Sep 09, 2025

Valdemar, just another word for excellence!I read this novel voraciously. I had meant to only read a few chapters and stretch out reading this book into a week of enjoyment. Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. I should have realized I wasn’t going to be able to read it in small bits, it is a Valdemar novel and one written by M. Lackey, herself. Only the anthology short stories, have I ever been able to read slowly.Beyond was well plotted and written. The characters were so incredibly developed with so many great nuances to them, it made reading their story a privilege. As the reader, you already know that Valdemar away from the Empire was going to be created. How they got there, maybe not as much.Kordas and Isla were impressive to say the least. Kordas’s comment at one point about though being an arranged marriage, doesn’t mean Love is not there, even if it’s not the heart pounding initial love that might attract two people, is very true. I often wonder if this form of bonding and love isn’t better, you get to still be yourselves, but learn to allow for the other person to work with you and grow. They even address the fact that if Isla, if she ever met someone she did fall in love with, Kordas would annul their wedding vows. I don’t think either of them would necessarily find anyone better suited for each other.The various mages, and their circumspect way of speaking in code about The Plan was humorous. Having Delia there to act as the uninitiated, and when explaining things to herself, definitely helps if the reader missed some of the various double speak moments.My guess is the next book will be more of Delia and her potential suitor(s) as the new Kingdom of Valdemar is grown and expanded upon. Followed by when the King helps to make the Companions a reality to help this foundering land become something truly exceptional.Whenever I read a Lackey novel, after I always feel good about human nature and what life has to offer. She does show that there are bad things in the worlds, but a good person doesn’t have to succumb to that and be bad themselves. They should always strive to better things for themselves and others. Maybe a bit simplistic and naive to some, but to me it seems like rather impressive goals and something we should all strive for, especially with all the inequalities that are occurring in our own world. Reading her words always makes me feel as these inequalities can be addressed, maybe not completely removed yet, but we can make a better world together if we try.On a side note, I hope for more Diana Tregarde novels to someday be created. I understand that they were never the big sellers for her, which I don’t understand as I truly enjoyed them. I hope that maybe the wheel will turn or spins and possibly they might become popular now or in the near future, even if they weren’t initially. It would be difficult to surpass the popularity of the Valdemar books, but I would love to see them try.