Foundation by Mercedes Lackey

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I love Mercedes Lackey. She is another fantasy author whose new books I always make a point of reading. She is very different from Juliet Marillier, who I talked about just a couple of posts ago. Lackey's books are lighter reading, though no less enjoyable. They definitely qualify as a guilty pleasure for me.
Foundation is the story of the founding of the Herald's Collegium in Valdemar. It takes place before most of the books in the Valdemar series, but includes a lot of references for those of us who've read the rest of the books. It is very similar to most of the series beginnings: a boy (or girl, but in this case, it's a boy) who is struggling in life (in this case, he is an orphan, and working as a slave in a mine) is Chosen by a Companion (mystical being in the form of a white horse). This boy then has to learn how to live at the Collegium and become the Herald that he is meant to be. Mags is the main character of this book, and he is perfectly likeable. The only problem I had with this book is one that is usually not an issue in Lackey's books. The ending felt incredibly unfinished to me. Even within the series, Lackey rarely leaves so many loose ends, or at least they never feel this loose. This one left me with a lot of questions, which presumably will be answered by the next book in the series. It was just a bit disconcerting. I always look forward to more books by Mercedes Lackey, but now I know that I have another trilogy to look forward to.

The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey

The Five Hundred Kingdoms is definitely becoming one of my favorite settings for new fantasy books. Lackey does a fantastic job creating the world, and keeping it consistent from book to book. These books can also be read individually, without worrying much about messing up the storyline. Some characters do crossover (mainly Elena, from the first book, The Fairy Godmother), but the books are still stand alone novels.
The Five Hundred Kingdoms are a place where The Tradition rules, although most people seem to be unaware of it. The Tradition is a magical force that works to bend the world to its will - its purpose is to create fairy tales. These fairy tales can be good or evil, so it is the job of the Fairy Godmothers to keep the evil tales from coming about. They also keep an eye on the good tales, because those can become bad very quickly if the right circumstances are not brought about to make the tale complete. It is rather amusing, and clever, the way that Lackey makes these things work out.
The Snow Queen is the story of a Fairy Godmother who is mainly in the role of punisher. She spirits away young men who are on the verge of becoming uncaring and evil, and teaches them a lesson. These are necessary lessons that make them better people in the long run, but they never see it that way initially. So Aleksia leads a rather lonely existence. She watches over a vast array of northern realms, including a people called the Sammi, whose culture is intricate and intriguing. Aleksia becomes involved with the Sammi when someone starts destroying whole villages, claiming to be the Snow Queen. As always, Lackey creates wonderful, sympathetic characters, and of course there is a happy ending. Luna Books, the publisher, is a Harlequin imprint, so sometimes the romance becomes a little bit more hot and heavy than we are used to seeing from Lackey. But not this book. Of course there is a romance, but it is all contained within the hearts of the characters, no bodily interaction required. These books are fun reads, completely guilty pleasures, and The Snow Queen is no exception.

The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey

Another one of Mercedes Lackey's very readable fantasies, this one the story of Swan Lake. At first I thought that it may have been part of a series, but it is a stand alone tale. Lackey has written two other series that center on well-known fairy tales: the Elemental Masters series and the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. This book is closer to the Elemental Masters series, as it does seem to take place in our world, just a more magical version. (Whereas the Five Hundred Kingdoms are very fantastical and not at all real.)
The Black Swan follows Odile, who is the daughter of the antagonist of the ballet Swan Lake (Odette being the good swan princess). In this story, Odile learns to sympathize with the plight of the swans, Odette included. She continues to defend her father's actions, until she learns that she has also been a pawn to his machinations all along. This gives her the courage to overcome his power. The story goes along just like the ballet, but when Odette and her Prince Siegfried throw themselves into the lake to die, Odile kills her father and saves their lives, providing a happy ending for everyone.
Lackey's characters are intricate and have quite a bit of depth, and of course there is always some interesting psychology going on. In this case, it is Odile dealing with her love for her father when he shows her nothing but contempt. This is a very well done and satisfying rendition of the traditional ballet story.

Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey

This is one of those fantasy books that I read in a day, just for fun, because I love Mercedes Lackey. Her books are incredibly easy to get through, and are great for escaping and just reading something entertaining. Not that they are shallow. She always deals with interesting issues, usually psychological in nature, and the Elemental Masters series (of which this book is the latest) always deals with some interesting social issues as well.
Every book in this series takes place in early 20th century England, but an England where magic happens, that most are not aware of. All of the main characters are female, and they all become embroiled in plots where magic is involved in some way. Throughout the stories, Lackey deals with social issues regarding women's rights, the poor and working classes, and even issues like abortion. Her women are no-nonsense people that do what needs to be done to survive. They are incredibly likable, as are most of their supporters. It is interesting to note that in this series all of the villains are also female, usually very devious and power-hungry. And they are definitely hate-able. There is also usually a love interest, but that is not the focus of the story, and he is almost never the one that actually does any rescuing. The women rescue themselves.
The Elemental Masters series is more formulaic than Lackey's Valdemar books, but I enjoy the formula, so that's okay. The books also do not need to be read in any sort of order, as they are not sequels of each other; they simply take place in the same world. In this book, the main character is a poor Parisian ballerina who is under the protection of a cat, supposedly made her protector by her vanished magician father. The cat leads her to England, where he hopes to help her create a home for herself where she will no longer suffer from poverty. She takes the name of a Russian ballerina, because her name carries no notoriety. Unfortunately, the Russian ballerina was destroyed, and had her body (and name) taken, by a nasty magical creature. When the creature discovers her name being used, she sets out to destroy the impostor. And from there, the story fits nicely into the formula, as things come more and more to a head. It all comes together right at the end for the big final showdown between the good and bad guys, with an epilogue to nicely wrap things up.
An enjoyable read, and as usual, a quick one. If I could read these books slower, I would, because I do really like them. But there is still plenty of Lackey's books that I have not read (she is extremely prolific), so when I need another quick escape for a day off, one will be there.