Most fans of the fantasy genre have encountered a Mercedes Lackey book at some point in their reading. Most likely, that book was part of her Valdemar series. One of the nice things about Valdemar is that Lackey is gracious enough to allow other writers to play in her sandbox. There are four other Tales of Valdemar anthologies, all of them edited by Lackey.
What makes Changing the World an anthology to read, rather than just becoming some kind of sad retread on a series that is well past its prime, is that Mercedes Lackey does an excellent job of selecting stories from a variety of authors that still hold very true to the world she has built. All of the books that I have read in the Valdemar series have been very enjoyable, and I would still rank the Last Herald Mage trilogy among my favorite books. Changing the World is no exception.
Readers will find stories by Mickey Zucker Reichert, Rosemary Edghill, Sarah A Hoyt, and Tanya Huff, as well as an original story by Lackey herself. The stories largely only follow the common theme of being set in Valdemar and being about someone helping someone else, but that serves to highlight how well Lackey has built the world of Valdemar. There are definite rules here and a particular way things work that has been defined so clearly that the writers who are working in Lackey’s framework do so almost seamlessly. The magic works a particular way, and it provides a solid base for the stories. Above all, though, Mercedes Lackey is a master at creating characters that make readers care what happens to them, and when she selects stories for these anthologies, she chooses pieces that have those same kinds of characters in them. That care in selection makes these books more compelling than the average anthology.
“The One Left Behind” is Lackey’s contribution to the anthology. A weaver named Marya is contacted by a pair of Heralds who are conducting an investigation. However, Marya wants absolutely nothing to do with them because of her past. In fact, she’d prefer that they leave her to her work. Unfortunately, the Heralds have other ideas. It’s a bittersweet tale, with revelations that explain not only Marya’s attitude but how things are not always what they seem.
Mickey Zucker Reichert’s “The Reluctant Herald” is the story of Lubonne, the homely youngest son of a nobleman who is utterly content with his lot in life. When a Companion comes to Choose him, Lubonne is in the midst of planning his marriage to the woman he loves, and he tries to decline. Of course, that’s not how being Chosen works at all. However, Lubonne is the kind of character who must learn things the hard way.
“Nothing Better to Do” is by Tanya Huff. Jors, a Herald, encounters a toddler in a treecutter’s encampment and soon discovers that the child has been orphaned. He sets out to get the toddler to its family. That may sound like a very sad set-up for a story, but “Nothing Better to Do” turns out to be hilarious as a single, male Herald who has no experience with small children discovers what it actually takes to care for one.
There are thirteen other stories in the book, and all of them should appeal to Mercedes Lackey’s fans. The final story “Interview with a Companion” actually ties together three of Lackey’s more popular series–Serrated Edge, Diana Tregarde, and Valdemar–in a very surprising, but fun twist. That one is one of the most surprising stories in the anthology, since it isn’t exactly what the reader might expect to find. I can’t say much more without completely ruining the surprise, so I’ll stop with that.
Readers will find a nice mix of mysteries, political intrigue, and just plain good fiction in Changing the World. However, there is a caveat: if you are not at all familiar with Valdemar, this anthology is not the place for you to start. Changing the World does assume that readers are already familiar with Valdemar and its most common places, as well as some of the long-standing feuds and intrigues and its more famous denizens. You won’t have to be a scholar or have perfect recall of all the other books, by any means, but you will need to know at least a little about Valdemar before you can fully appreciate this anthology.
I’d recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Valdemar series, it’s a good, solid anthology with some very nice work by well-established and new authors. Lackey does a wonderful job selecting stories that not only complement each other but serve to complement her vision of Valdemar. Even if you’ve only dabbled a bit with one or two of the Valdemar novels, that should be plenty of background to help you appreciate this one.
