About this title: Lavan Chitward is a very unhappy young man; pulled away from his country home by his parents' ambitions and resettled in the big city of Haven, he is desperately lonely, bullied and beaten at school, ignored by his parents. It is not surprising that he falls ill - but his illness is the first manifestation of a terrible power, the Gift of the ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First Edition
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: DAW
ISBN-13:9780886779894ISBN:0886779898
Description: Good. 0886779898 spine creasing, light edge wear; The most highly-anticipated novel of Mercedes Lackey's amazing career, Brightly Burning marks the glorious return to her bestselling Valdemar series-with an untold legend as moving as it is thrilling....His name is Lavan Firestorm, a young man blessed-and cursed-with a special talent for firestarting. His legend has haunted the darkest corners of Valdemar, yet the truth has never been told. Here, at last, is his story. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: DAW, Bergenfield, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780886779894ISBN:0886779898
Description: Good. 0886779898 Mass market paperback, previously read used book in good condition, varying degrees of shelf wear, some spine creases, m..._ read more
Description: Very Good. 0886779898 Copy has been read but remains in nice & clean condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or high-lighting. Spine is tight; a clean read. Front cover has a 1 1/2 inch tear. Interior of book is in great condition. read more
Description: Very Good. 0886779898 Copy has been read but remains in nice & clean condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or high-lighting. Spine is tight; a clean read. Some shelf wear to the cover. Back cover corner has been folded. Interior of book is in great condition. read more
Description: Good. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. 0886778891 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Fine. 0886779898 Looks like an unread copy in near perfect condition. Pages are clean and not marred by marks. WITH SLIGHT SHELF WEAR. read more
"I picked up Mercedes Lackey's 'Brightly Burning' for $1 at my local library, and unfortunately after reading it I can see why they wanted to get rid of it.
The book starts off not magnificently, but interestingly enough, with the main character, Lavan, being sent off to school by his parents. Over a hundred pages cover his experience at school, where he is bullied by older students. Lackey actually deals with this section well enough, even though Lavan isn't a particularly likeable protagonist, I think many readers will be able to relate to the fear and suffering that comes with being bullied. Lavan's feelings and reactions, as well as the attitudes of his classmates are covered realistically - this is one of the few strengths that the book has.
Eventually Lavan 'overcomes' his bullies, becomes a Herald trainee (due to his gift, the ability to manipulate fire) and is 'chosen' by a Companion. This is where the book, which for the first 100 pages is rather average but decent fantasy, starts to really go downhill. The focus of the book shifts to a strange love triangle (between Lavan, a girl called Elenor, and Lavan's Companion, Kalira) and the war between Valdemar and the Karsites. The war is a rather mundane affair, even though it is a main plot point, it has this oddly tacked on feel; the Karsites are typical religious fanatics, who want to wipe out Valdemar, the Companions and Heralds because they are 'evil'. The Karsites' motives are never properly explored, and despite the fact that Lavan and other characters ponder over the fact that many of the Karsite soldiers are probably ordinary people like them, who don't deserve to die, and most likely don't want to fight either, since the reader never gets to know the Karsites, they remain a faceless enemy that doesn't inspire sympathy. The author gives only a few characters on the Valdemar force the bare minimum of character development, so it's difficult to care about what happens to either side during the war.
What really ruined this book more than anything for me though was the love triangle. Lavan has a 'life bond' with his Companion, Kalira, a being who isn't a horse, but physically resembles one. I found the flirtatious exchanges between the two of them downright creepy. Even though Companions aren't horses (as the author constantly reminds us), Kalira is incredibly horse-like, she is more like an intelligent magical horse than a powerful being. Lavan and Kalira's relationship is never developed, the reader is just made to accept that they will never care romantically for anyone except each other, (even though there is barely any basis for these feelings) because of their 'life bond'. To me, the life bond is the author being lazy - instead of developing a meaningful relationship between the characters, she just slaps the term 'life bond' in place and that's it, they are bonded for better or worse, inseparable. Cue mushy feelings, don't worry about whether or not the relationship works.
If you don't mind reading about the romantic love between a boy and horse, and 300 pages of build up to a boring war sounds good to you, then I recommend 'Brightly Burning'. Otherwise steer clear."
"This book would have been great except for one thing: for a good chunk of pages in the middle NOTHING HAPPENED. I mean several chapters. It was really grueling. I liked the premise, and at least some of the characters, and even the ending seemed appropriate, but I wouldn't want anyone to suffer through the interminably inaction in the middle."
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